Equipment
A Deep Dive: The equipment timeline of David Duval, 1993-2001
Like Tiger, David Toms, and Fred Couples there are certain players that I have been obsessed with for years. If you go to my Instagram, you can see it in plain sight. When it comes to DD it was more than the what, it was the why, the how that sparked my curiosity. Let’s face it, in 2000 with the Mossimo gear, Oakley shades, jacked-up physique, and on Titleist staff, was there ever a cooler looking player?
No. There wasn’t or isn’t.
That’s where my interest in Larry Bobka came about. I saw David and Larry walking the fairways of Sahalee at the ’98 PGA Championship.
At the time, I was already knee-deep in David Duval fandom but that experience took me over the top. Bobka had a handful of clubs in his hands and would pass DD a 970 3-wood, Duval would give it a rip and the two would discuss while walking down the fairway. Of all my time watching live golf, I have never been so awestruck.
This is an homage to David’s equipment during his prime/healthy years on the PGA Tour. From his early days with Mizuno, into the Titleist days, and finally Nike.
1993-1995 Mizuno
*This was an interesting time for Duval from an equipment standpoint. The pattern of mixing sets to put together his bag began and it was the time he transitioned from persimmon (Wood Bros driver) into metal woods. It was also the beginning of his long relationship with Scotty Cameron, a relationship that still stands today.
What was in the bag
Driver: TaylorMade Tour Burner 8.5 w/ Dynamic Gold X100 (*he also played with the Bubble XHKP Prototype)
3-wood
King Cobra @14 w/ Dynamic Gold X100
TaylorMade Tour Issue Spoon @13 w/ Dynamic Gold X100
Irons
1993: (1) Ping Eye2, (3-PW) Mizuno Pro TN-87 with Dynamic Gold X100
1994: (1) Ping Eye2, (3-PW) Mizuno Pro TN-87 with Dynamic Gold X100
1995: (2,3) Mizuno TC-29, (4-PW) Mizuno TN-87 with Dynamic Gold X100
Wedges: Mizuno Pro (53, 58) with Dynamic Gold X100
Putter: Scotty Cameron Classic Newport (35 inches, 71 lie, 4 degrees of loft)
Ball: Titleist Tour Balata 100
Glove: Mizuno Pro
1996-2000 Titleist
The beginning of the Titleist years started off quietly. There wasn’t any new product launched and David wasn’t quite the star he would become 12-18 months later. However, it gave Titleist the opportunity to get to know DD and his overall preferences, which aren’t dramatic but certainly unique. He didn’t win in 1996 but did qualify for the Presidents Cup Team and finished that event off at 4-0. So the buzz was going in the right direction and his peers certainly took notice.
It was 1997 that things took off on all fronts and it was the year that Titleist made David Duval the face of the DCI brand and with that decision spawned the greatest cast players cavity ever: the 962B—and also equipped David Duval to go on a 3-year run that was surpassed by only Tiger Woods.
Hence the deep dive article I wrote up earlier this month
What was in the bag
Driver
1996
TaylorMade Bubble Tour 8.5 w/ Bubble XHKP Prototype
1997
TaylorMade Bubble Tour 8.5 w/ Bubble XHKP Prototype
King Cobra Deep Face 9 w/ Dynamic Gold X100
Callaway Warbird Great Big Bertha 6.5 w/ Dynamic Gold X100, True Temper EI70 Tour X
Titleist 975D 6.5 (no line heavier head weight) w/ Fujikura Prototype X
1998
Callaway Warbird Great Big Bertha 6.5 w/ True Temper EI70 Tour X
Titleist 975D 6.5 (no line heavier head weight) w/ True Temper EI70 Tour X
1999: Titleist 975D 6.5 (no line heavier head weight) @ 7.5 w/ True Temper EI70 Tour X
2000: Titleist 975D 7.5 (no line heavier head weight) w/ True Temper EI70 Tour X
3-wood
1996
King Cobra @14 w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold X100
1997
King Cobra @14 w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold X100
1998
Callaway S2H2 (1 Dot) @14 w/ Fujikura Vista Pro 90X
Callaway Steelhead 3+ @13 w/ RCH 90 Pro Series Strong
Titleist 970 (Dark Grey Head) @13 w/ True Temper EI70 Tour X (only tested this one)
1999
Callaway S2H2 (1 Dot) @14 w/ Fujikura Vista Pro 90X
Cobra Gravity Back 14.5T w/ True Temper EI70 Tour X
Irons
1996
(2-PW) Titleist DD Blank Prototype w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (w/sensicore)
(2-PW) Titleist DCI Black “B” w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (w/sensicore)
*This prototype set was a blank set of the DCI Black “B” but with sole modifications.
1997, 1998, 1999, 2000: (2,3) Titleist DCI Black (4-PW) Titleist DCI 962B w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (with sensicore)
*David liked the original prototype version of DG Sensicore X100 that had weight removed from the center of shaft to create better feel and a slightly higher trajectory
24 Feb 2000: David Duval watches the ball after hitting it during the World Match-Play Championships at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. Mandatory Credit: Harry How /Allsport
Wedges
1996: (52 @53, 58) Mizuno Pro, (56 @57) Cleveland 588 RTG w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
1997: (53) Cobra “Trusty Rusty”, (57 @58) Cleveland 588 RTG, (58) Titleist Bobka Grind, (57 @58) Cobra Trusty Rusty w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
1998: (53) Cobra “Trusty Rusty”, (57 @58) Cleveland 588 RTGw/ True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
1999: (53) Cobra “Trusty Rusty”, (57 @58) Cleveland 588 RTG w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
2000: (53) Cobra “Trusty Rusty”, (57 @58) Cleveland 588 “Gun Metal” w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
PUTTER
1996: Scotty Cameron Classic Newport 1 35 Inches, 71 Lie, 4 Degrees of Loft, Scotty Cameron Long Slant Neck Laguna Custom (double welded neck)
1997: Odyssey Dual Force Rossie 2, Scotty Cameron Pro Platinum Newport “Beached” 35 Inches, 71 Lie, 4 Degrees of Loft w/ PingMan “Blacked Out” Grip
1998, 1999, 2000: Scotty Cameron Pro Platinum Newport “Beached” 35 Inches, 71 Lie, 4 Degrees of Loft w/ PingMan “Blacked Out” Grip
2001: Nike Golf and The Open Championship
The relationship with Titleist Golf ended quickly and when David showed up to Kapalua with a non-Titleist stand bag the rumor mill went nuts. The story (although super speculative) was that David opted out in the middle of a $4.5 million per year deal with Acushnet, a lawsuit followed, but Davids’s stance was that he had a marquee player clause that allowed him to walk if he wasn’t “marquee” aka highest-paid.
Apparently he had a point, Acushnet had recently inked big deals with Davis Love and Phil Mickelson leading someone on the outside to do the math. However, I’m not an attorney, wasn’t there, and have no clue what the legality of any of it was. Point is, he walked and landed at Nike with a new head-to-toe contract.
DRIVER:
Titleist 975D 7.5 (no line heavier head weight) w/ True Temper EI70 Tour X
Titleist 975E Prototype 8.5 w/ True Temper EI70 Tour X
Nike Titanium w/ True Temper EI-70 II Tour X (pictured below)
Nike Titanium Prototype 7.5 w/ True Temper EI70 Tour X (featured image)
3 WOOD:
Callaway Steelhead Plus 4+ @15 w/ RCH 90 Pro Series Strong
Nike Prototype @14 degrees w/ True Temper EI-70 Tour X
Sonartec/Excedo (SS-03 head) Driving Cavity @14 w/ Fujikura Vista Pro 90X
IRONS:
(2-PW) Titleist 990B w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (with sensicore)
(2-PW) Nike Prototype “DD” Grind MB w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (with sensicore)
(2) Titleist DCI Black w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (with sensicore)
WEDGES:
(53) Cobra “Trusty Rusty”, (57 @58) Cleveland 588 “Gun Metal” w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
(53,58) Nike DD Grind w/ True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
PUTTER: Scotty Cameron Pro Platinum Newport “Beached” 35 Inches, 71 Lie, 4 Degrees of Loft w/ PingMan “Blacked Out” Grip
SPEC TALK
Over the years the one constant was David’s iron and wedge specs. As a shut-faced player he has always favored traditional lofts in his irons. However, a cool thing to note is his lie angles remained constant 59.5 (2-4), 60 (5-9). The running theory here was being a shallow (low hands) and shut faced player, keeping the lie angles at a constant (flatter) lie angle allowed him to feel like his angle of attack could remain the same for each iron. It’s just a feeling but that’s what he did. If the “why of it” is true, it looks like he was doing Bryson things before Bryson did.
David Duval Iron/Wedge Specs
Loft/Lie/Length/SW
- 2-17/59.5/40.25/D5
- 3-20.5/59.5/39 1/6/D4
- 4-24/59.5/38 9/16/D4
- 5-27/60/38 1/16/D4
- 6-30.5/60/ 37 9/16/D4
- 7-35/60/37 1/16/D4
- 8-39/60/36 9/16/D4
- 9-43/60/36 5/16/D4
- P-47/61/36/ 1/16/D5
- GW-53/62/35 5/8/D4
- LW-58/62/35 9/16/D6
Whew…since this prolific run, David transitioned into some interesting projects with smaller companies like Scratch, B.I.G Golf (AKA Bio-engineered in Germany), back to the mainstream with Nike, and most currently Cobra Golf.
I hope you all enjoyed this walk down memory lane with me, Duval is not only fascinating from a career standpoint but digging into the equipment of DD has been quite the experience.
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
Eric Granata
Jun 14, 2020 at 7:15 pm
Get him on the POD!!!!
Pelling
Jun 1, 2020 at 11:12 am
Terrible equipment. Wonder what he could have done with better wrenches?
Corey Meyer
May 29, 2020 at 4:19 pm
Outstanding! DD was my guy. Wish the injuries would not have shut him down so early. Playa was stone cold blooded. I still have the SI cover he did in a frame. Would love to meet him someday and get him to autograph it.
RK
May 29, 2020 at 2:41 pm
“Let’s face it, in 2000 with the Mossimo gear, Oakley shades, jacked-up physique, and on Titleist staff, was there ever a cooler looking player?“
Great article, but you’ve got to be kidding…!! Duval – cool looking? Ha, ha, you must be a total nerd. The Oakley glasses were/are so stupid-looking and lame. No style at all. Look to Couples, Norman, Donald, Jimenez, etc – those guys were cool. Duval never was.
Brandon
May 30, 2020 at 10:27 am
David Duval is far from “jacked up”, now or in his prime. Wunder must be a twig boy.
Rob
May 29, 2020 at 2:16 pm
Can you do a follow up on the B.I.G golf company and how quick it vanished?
mbc
May 29, 2020 at 2:05 pm
What’s with the super low lofted drivers?
Gunter Eisenberg
May 29, 2020 at 9:39 pm
Back then wound balls where common in the 90s which spun too much so most pros had to use low lofts to compensate.
Kep
May 29, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Awesome article, love these deep dives.
I’m going to argue that the Ping S55 irons were the greatest cast players cavity of all time though 😛
Homer Sinpson
May 30, 2020 at 4:41 pm
You would love to read this entire terrible article. You must be a club homer.
Ty Webb
May 29, 2020 at 11:53 am
Pretty solid! I could swear that s2h2 had an RCH 90 pro series in it no?
e
May 29, 2020 at 11:24 am
This is awesome thank you – more of this kind of stuff please!
Homer Simpson
May 30, 2020 at 4:43 pm
Homer