Equipment
WM Phoenix Open Tour Report: Adam Scott speaks, CHIII talks putter testing, and custom “party” covers
Every year, the Waste Management Phoenix Open is home to the “Greatest Party on Grass,” and event-goers celebrate with a couple of adult beverages. The stadium atmosphere on the 16th hole is one of the most raucous scenes in sports, and most certainly the rowdiest in golf.
TPC Scottsdale – site of the WM Phoenix Open – is also known for having some of the smoothest and truest rolling greens on Tour. Players often find the WM Phoenix Open to be a great spot for putter testing.
So, in this edition of our weekly Tour Report, we focus mostly on new and custom putters as well as festive custom putter covers we spotted inside the ropes this week.
Let’s dive right into the Tour Report from the 2022 WM Phoenix Open. Here are 10 things we spotted.
Check out all of our photos from TPC Scottsdale here!
1) Adam Scott’s Mezz.1 putter and new bag

Being that Adam Scott is no longer a full Titleist staffer, I was curious to see what he’d have in the bag this week. While he does still have 13-of-14 Titleist clubs in the bag, he’s using a new L.A.B. Mezz.1 Proto broomstick-style putter.
He spoke with GolfWRX about the new head:
“I think they’ve refined their design with this new head,” Scott said. “The original head, that Directed Force, maybe was hard for a lot of people to adjust to the size of the head, and this new [Mezz.1 Proto] is smaller, but has the same benefits…I thought the technology in the original was good, but now with the new head design, it feels, looks, does all the things better than the original head for me…I’m looking forward to a week on pure greens to see what happens.”

He’s also made a bag switch-up for this year. He’s now carrying an all-red leather staff bag with “UNIQLO” logos on the front and side panels. Scott is a brand ambassador for the global apparel retailer.
2) New Scotty Cameron putters

Scotty Cameron began tour seeding of two new putter models this week: Phantom X 9 and X 9.5.
Click here for more photos, speculation and information about the launch.
3) Charles Howell III does putter testing, as always

Ahead of his 600th start this week, Charles Howell III was conducting some extensive putter testing. As he explained to GolfWRX, he enjoys doing putter testing just to keep things interesting since he’s happy with the rest of the 13 clubs in his bag.
“I don’t switch anything else…I’ve played the same driver and driver shaft forever now. I’ve played the same 3 wood, etc., so you have to switch something. There’s also part of it, too, that it keeps it interesting and exciting. When you’ve played golf as long as I have, sometimes it’s just part of the fun of it to look at something else. It’s why we’re all gear heads, right? You don’t need any more reason to it than that. I’m not a guy that can look at the same putter forever. I’m just not.”
4) New Ping putters

Ping unveiled a number of new PLD (Putting Lab Design) putters this week, and Ping has confirmed that a retail offering is on the way. According to a Ping representative, the “PLD Milled” putters will come available in four models – Anser, Anser2, Prime Tyne 4 and DS72 – starting the second week in March.
5) Custom party covers

Seemingly every year, Bettinardi creates a new custom “Party On” headcover made of festive colors. This year, the company is back again with a new design, featuring stick figures partying with solo cups. A few artistic liberties aside, I’d say they capture Arizona’s Phoenix Open party scene quite well.

Swag Golf, a company that makes custom covers and putters, got in on the fun as well with its Cactus party covers.
6) Aaron Rodgers’ TaylorMade putter

With hair down to his shoulders, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers showed up at the Wednesday Pro-Am with a bag full of TaylorMade equipment. His setup included a brand new Stealth Plus driver and a custom TaylorMade Spider putter with an “A12” logo on the sole; as a reminder, Rodgers wears No. 12 on the football field.
7) Tom Hoge’s custom Pebble-winner

I don’t want to sell you on it too hard, but the story behind Tom Hoge’s winning Odyssey White Hot OG 2-ball putter is an all-timer. What started as a simple request for a custom putter turned into so much more.
Check out the full inside scoop on Hoge’s ultra-custom 2-ball putter here.
8) Brooks Koepka’s Cleveland-Srixon setup

As of November 2021, Brooks Koepka is officially a Cleveland-Srixon staffer, and he’s carrying a Srixon staff bag. Speaking with the media, Koepka went deep into his experiences with the company’s clubs over the past year. To summarize, he’s extremely happy with the V-sole construction of his irons, he loves the stability that his Srixon Z-Star golf ball offers in the wind, and he worked hard with the company on the grind of his Cleveland RTX ZipCore wedges – especially the lob wedge (pictured above).
For a much deeper dive into Koepka’s new setup, click here.
9) C.C. Sabathia’s Eastside Jordans

Former left-handed pitcher of the New York Yankees, C.C. Sabathia, played in the Wednesday Pro-Am wearing a pair of custom Jordan 4’s. In speaking with GolfWRX, he revealed they’re a limited-edition collab between Jordan and Eastside Golf.
Eastside Golf was developed as a lifestyle brand, raising awareness to the sport among the youth and non-golfers: “We want to inspire the culture, promote diversity and continue to be authentic,” says their website.
10) A proto Toulon blade

While this putter wasn’t designed for any pros in particular, the Odyssey Toulon SSM Proto is a bullseye-style putter that can be used by lefties and righties.

Xander Schauffele, a right-handed player, had some fun on the practice green, hitting a few putts from the left-handed side. Don’t worry, he’s sticking with his right-handed stroke come competition time, but the Toulon blade was a big hit on the greens given its updated take on an old-school design.
And that’ll do it for this week’s putter-heavy Tour Report, and don’t forget to check out all of our photos from the week here. We’ll see you next week for the 2022 Genesis Invitational.
Equipment
Neal Shipley, AKA, the “Big Fridge’s,” custom stamping
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.
Equipment
From the GolfWRX Classifieds: L.A.B. Purple DF3 with Masters cover
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
Whats in the Bag
Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
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

Ed Settle
Feb 12, 2022 at 7:19 pm
I’m sure you noticed it also, Aaron Rodgers logo on the bottom of his putter is not just 12, but “a R”
PJM
Feb 11, 2022 at 1:44 am
“Ping unveiled a number of new PLD (Ping Lab Design) …”
Hmmm – pretty sure PLD is an initialism of Putting Lab Design, as it appears on the putter shown.