Equipment
11 Revealing photos from the 145th Open Championship
GolfWRX was live this week from the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. If you missed any of our photos from the week, browse all of the galleries in the links below:
It was a special week for GolfWRX, as this marks the first time we made the trek overseas to take photos at the Open Championship. That means we’ve finally completed the career Grand Slam (of photos at major championships). Exciting stuff.
But anyway, let’s reveal some photos from Royal Troon.
Leaderboard Bags
TaylorMade’s Commemorative staff bags for the 145th Open are nothing short of awesome, matching the iconic leaderboards at the event.
And Andy Murray won at Wimbledon. Well done.
Stimp Tunnel
How do they get a Stimpmeter reading when the Scottish wind begins blowing? Time to break out the plastic storage boxes.
Here’s to hoping they’re not running at a 14+ like the United States’ 2016 version of the Open.
The Equipment Switch Heard ‘Round the World
Charl Schwartzel made a major equipment switch this week. He changed sponsors and joined the #PXGTroops, putting mostly PXG clubs in the bag.
See his Open Championship WITB here.
Jackets and wedges
Jackets? What kind of jackets…Green Jackets? While Scotland has some odd names for potato preparations, they’re pretty creative with the dish names:
- The Big Easy (Ernie Els)
- Full Monty (Colin Montgomerie)
- Victor Dupoisson (Victor Dubuisson)
- Smokey Miguel (Miguel Angel Jiminez)
What’s going on here Vijay?
Where are the alignment aids, bamboo sticks, water bottles, Gatorade bottles, and all of the other range aids you normally use? And now that I bring it up, where is your golf bag??
It looks as though Vijay may be testing some equipment ahead of the Open Championship, figuring out what longer sticks he’ll have in the bag.
Going to hit a quick bucket of balls
Or should I say cage of balls.
The Wilson Gang
Throw up the “W” if you’re reppin’ Wilson Staff.
The Bogey Train
Royal Troon’s 11th hole, called “The Railway,” has a train track going up the entire right side of the hole. It played as the most difficult hole on the golf course in the 2004 Open, and it wouldn’t be a shock for it to play as the most difficult in 2016.
The players will definitely need to train themselves not to hit the ball right on this hole.
Postage Stamp
You can’t mail it in on Hole No. 8 at Royal Troon, nicknamed the “Postage Stamp” for how small its green is. There’s no bailout on this tee shot, despite it being the shortest hole on the course. It’s not often you’re guarding against making a huge number with a wedge in your hands, but don’t be surprised to see some “others,” and maybe even a double-digit number this week if the winds kick up.
Where’d the ball go?
Judging by where he’s expecting the ball to be and where it actually is, I’d say this ball hit the lip and went back into the bunker. As they say, pot bunkers are often stroke penalties, and this photo shows why.
For the kids
We all forget sometimes — even some of the best players in the world forget — but it’s all about growing the game and getting kids out on the course. Hey kid, nice move.
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















Benny Karpen
Aug 17, 2016 at 6:52 pm
Mickelson seized the moment with a birdie on the par-5 h from a bunker short of the green, and a 4-iron to 15 feet for birdie on the par-3 h to reach 8-under par.
Dave
Jul 19, 2016 at 11:45 am
Best tourney ever mabey the usga could learn about how to run a great event can’t wait until next year. Great write up.
Rob
Jul 16, 2016 at 8:55 pm
Merry Mex = Lee Trevino
Christosterone
Jul 16, 2016 at 12:53 pm
Those taylormade bags kinda remind me of a bang bag I had about 10 years ago…it was the exact mustard yellow of the leaderboard and was awesome…
Love your posts as usual…
-Christosterone
RG
Jul 17, 2016 at 5:07 pm
Yeah or RBZ headcovers!!
RG
Jul 17, 2016 at 5:08 pm
Stage II that is!
Greg
Jul 16, 2016 at 12:16 pm
Nice job AT.
Totally forgot I now have all the majors on the men’s tour. I have three of the five on the LPGA, also.