Equipment
The biggest switch Justin Rose made this week…that no one will notice
Gold medal and a 99. Justin Rose has been in a 2017 TaylorMade TP ball with that stamping (or version) for almost five years. In following this compelling equipment story closely, I started to realize that there are certain markers to look at when a player like Rose switches anything.
Let’s be really clear here, besides Tiger Woods, there is no one on tour as in-tune with his equipment as Rose. I have had conversations with those who work with Rose, and the stories are very Tiger-like. Noticing minor grip size differences, RPM rates in the minutia, wedge flight windows down to the foot. It’s nuts. The reps on tour earn every nickel of their pay when they get a club in Rosey’s bag.
So here we are, the rumors of the switch are all over the place, speculation of the why and how is running wild. Let’s forget about the business side and just deal with the gear for a minute.
Knowing Justin’s equipment as I do, I know that there are things to track when big changes happen. In this case, I noticed new iron shafts, significantly different iron shafts. KBS C-Taper 130X to a Project X 6.5 in 4-PW, 52, and 56.
This tells me two things: He is trying to find controllable spin, and a golf ball switch might be going down.
Being the golf junkie that I am, I watched intently this morning to see if there was a close up of his golf ball. Low and behold, BOOM. As he stood up to his 5-wood chip off of the green I saw exactly what I was looking for: A 2019 TaylorMade TP5 ball.
As I mentioned before, I know exactly how hard it is to get anything in and out of Rose’s bag, let alone his security blanket. The 2017 TP ball is one he ascended to No. 1 with, won a gold medal, and for a good while, was arguably the best iron player in the game (until TW checked back in).
Justin Rose is a player who narrows ball performance down to the difference between a 10-footer and a 6-footer. It’s not a distance thing or even a wind thing. It’s down to his ability to shape all of his shots into a 6-foot bucket. Point is, the ball he had was doing that for him, so to switch into the TP5 ‘19 suggests that it’s not only better, but this ball—in combo with the new irons, shafts, etc.—Rose has found something that feels like home…but only better.
In this case, beyond ball speed increases across the bag (by nature of the new tech), my hunch tells me that he is cutting spin on mishits to tighten dispersion.
We have yet to hear from anyone on the ground or involved with his testing, so stay tuned to see what transpires, but this is the biggest switch he is making in my opinion.
Justin Rose WITB
Driver: TaylorMade SIM (10.5 degrees @ 8.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XTS 70 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XTS 80 TX
5-wood: Cobra SpeedZone Tour (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 X
Irons: TaylorMade P730 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 (52, 56 degrees), Titleist Vokey Design Prototype K Grind (60 degrees)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (52, 56), Proto Hi-Rev 135X (60)
Putter: Axis1 Rose
Grip: Flat Cat Svelte
Ball: TaylorMade TP5 ‘19 (No. 1)
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Pw
Mar 7, 2020 at 10:22 pm
Decent article until you said he was arguably the best player in the world until TW checked back in…. that’s hilarious.
Benny
Mar 7, 2020 at 7:40 am
Mr Coz is onto something. Peter Kostas tweeted PXG and Honma let go their players due to poor results. Not sure if this is true but when these outside OEM’s want to grow they need hungry players ready to fight tooth and nail. Maybe JR was let go from bad play after the first year?
Petercybulskipp
Mar 6, 2020 at 1:12 pm
Is this not just another TM fluff piece?
Matt
Mar 6, 2020 at 10:43 am
If he’s this particular about his equipment it makes one wonder why he would sign a big multi-club contract with a company like Honma that would seem to lack the resources necessary to meet his expectations. I’m honestly shocked there aren’t a lot more equipment free agents on tour, especially those who have plenty of money made and are particular about their equipment.
Tom Newsted
Mar 6, 2020 at 7:16 am
I do find it interesting that Honma got kicked out so quickly. This is clearly not a sponsorship issue but an issue of Justin wanting the absolute best tools for his game. I just wish I could be as exacting as he is and be able to tell the difference between spin rates and feel. Then again that is one of the reasons he gets paid to play and I still pay to play. The only thing I can say about his gear is those Project X shafts are the same shafts I play and they are fantastic.
bobbygolf
Mar 6, 2020 at 5:32 am
The difference is so minute it’s more about confidence and what’s going on in his head. I’d like to see a placebo test where the new ball is marked as the old one and vice versa and due to the many factors involved during play, he wouldn’t know the difference.
Kerk
Mar 6, 2020 at 2:06 am
Honma bits the dust…overpriced anyway….
Nate
Mar 5, 2020 at 7:13 pm
My hunch, project x spin a little more than c-taper for me = 2019 tp5 spin less and he is just trying to keep the same.
Curious
Mar 5, 2020 at 3:57 pm
Why does he have a 15 degree 3 wood and a 16 degree 5 wood?
James
Mar 5, 2020 at 3:32 pm
When is Adam Scott’s 2015 Pro V1 going to be talked about?
Jafar
Mar 5, 2020 at 2:14 pm
Nice to see the KuroKages, they work really well in fairways
William Boulton
Mar 5, 2020 at 1:42 pm
What happened to his contract with Honma?
Was it 1 or 2 years?
M.Coz
Mar 6, 2020 at 4:10 am
It is believed that he broke the contract as in mot complying with the agreement which likely just severed him from any monies that he was supposed to be paid. He may have to pay some back if he was paid in advance in some way. Sergio did something similar with Callaway. His problem started with the Callaway ball which went thru some very bad problems with inconsistencies in it’s manufacture some of which became public. As a producer they couldn’t deny the issue and Sergio was able to move on from the ball he was originally hired to promote. how his club deal disappeared could have had something to do with that. Apparently Callaway let me leave without any fighting. Interestingly these two guys 10 years ago was the backbone to the TaylorMade staff and they have both left within a short time of each other and then both backed out of the their next equipment deals in less than 6 months of each other.