Equipment
A broken club led to a last-minute change for Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship
Editor’s note: We filed this piece for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report.
Phil Mickelson created history at the 2021 PGA Championship, becoming the oldest major winner ever amid an unforgettable scene on the 72nd hole.
The 50-year-old’s equipment set up at Kiawah Island included a new Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond driver with just 5.5 degrees of loft, but it was far from smooth sailing for Mickelson’s equipment throughout the week. He had not one, but two, clubs crack at Kiawah Island, including one that became unplayable as he was preparing for his final-round tee time.
“You can’t swing it as hard as I hit it and not expect them to crack,” Mickelson joked in Sunday’s post-victory press conference. “It happens. In fact, if it doesn’t happen, you start to question the manufacturer, hey, aren’t we making this as hot as we can?”
The first club to go was Mickelson’s 11.5-degree TaylorMade Original One “Mini Driver,” which he uses as a 2-wood. It caved in during the third round.
“Little things happen, but (Saturday), I hit a couple of squirrelly shots on 12 and 13 and the face on my 2-wood flattened,” Mickelson said. “Fortunately, I had a backup head and swapped it out and hit it great today.”
Mickelson’s 2-iron was the next club to go, but it was not as easy of a fix. And it happened minutes before his final-round tee time.
He had his Callaway X Forged UT 2-iron in the bag all week until the clubface cracked during Sunday’s warm-up session, necessitating a change to Mickelson’s equipment setup.
The clubs that helped @PhilMickelson win the PGA Championship.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 24, 2021
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
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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...
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Driver: PXG Lightning Tour Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft:...
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Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Mini...
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
