Welcome to this week’s Tour Report from the 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut.

Cromwell is only about a two-hour drive from Brookline, where the 2022 U.S. Open was hosted last week, which may have had some influence on the strength of field this week at the Travelers. Big names such as Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth (who debuted a new driver!) and Scottie Scheffler are all in attendance. Justin Thomas was there early in the week, but he withdrew citing a tweaked back. Brooks Koepka was supposed to be there, but he withdrew for, well, a different reason.

Aside from the strong field, it was also a strong news week for golf equipment, since two huge club launches went down at the Travelers.

As always, GolfWRX was live on-site to take photos of players’ golf clubs and talk to Tour insiders about what the pros are using and testing, and why. The weekly Tour Report is here to recap it all.

It was a busy week at the Travelers on the gear front, so let’s dive right into the Tour Report.

See all of GolfWRX’s photos from the 2022 Travelers Championship here

Titleist drops new TSR drivers and fairways, and sees early success

Titleist started its “Tour Seeding and Validation” process with new TSR2, TSR3 and TSR4 drivers this week, and driver heads protected in bubble wrap were getting passed out like free samples at Costco. Titleist staffers and others were working with Titleist reps to test the new products and get dialed into their specs.

If you want deep insight into initial player feedback, we wrote extensively about the launch over on PGATOUR.com.

After getting confirmation from Titleist on Thursday after the event started, GolfWRX learned that 18 PGA Tour players switched into a new TSR model for this week. Among the list of names to switch was Jordan Spieth, who is notoriously slow to switch into new product.

Check out all of GolfWRX’s photos of Spieth’s new driver here. 

In addition to the new TSR drivers, Titleist also launched new TSR2, TSR2+ and TSR3 fairway woods. After speaking with multiple Tour players personally, word on grounds was that the fairway woods were notably higher launching than the previous TSi fairway woods, but not higher spinning.

Multiple players also commented that the full-face, white-painted grooves made for a comfortable look at address. In total, 13 PGA Tour players switched into a TSR fairway wood at the Travelers.

See all of our photos of Titleist’s new TSR drivers and fairway woods

Callaway’s new Jaws Raw wedges

In other launch news, Callaway officially announced the launch of its new Jaws Raw wedges. In actuality, we’ve seen the Jaws Raw wedges in PGA Tour player bags for weeks, but the company announced the retail release date and revealed all of the tech info.

Marc Leishman, Xander Schauffele, Brian Stuard and Kevin Kisner have been among the names to already use the Jaws Raw wedges in competition.

In terms of the new wedge design, the most notable changes are the inclusion of a new Z-grind, a raw face, two different finishes, a progressive hosel system throughout the lineup of different lofts, and Tungsten weighting in the mid-to-high lofted wedges to offset the longer hosel lengths for CG purposes.

Kisner, when speaking to GolfWRX at the Travelers, said this about his 52-degree wedge: “The grooves are more aggressive, and I find it easier to hit from the fairway on full shots.”

Check out GolfWRX’s full Callaway Jaws Raw wedge report here

Kisner speaks on his new 2-ball putter

Speaking of Kisner, GolfWRX also caught up with him about his relatively new putter switch. While Kisner started the year using an Odyssey Exo Seven mallet putter, he switched to an Odyssey 2-ball 11 at the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge.

“I switched to this putter a couple weeks ago, and it’s been pretty good,” Kisner said. “I haven’t made a ton but I roll it really nice.”

When I asked Kisner if he ever played a 2-ball back in the day, he answered, “Yeah man. That’s why I always like going back to this. I used to play with a Backstryke, too. I did it all.”

Apparently, Kisner isn’t afraid to experiment with all sorts of different Odyssey mallet putters. For now, though, he’s going with the Odyssey 2-ball 11.

Tour-used practice aids

In attempt to highlight some of the Tour-used practice aids, I’m going to sprinkle in a few each week for the Tour Report going forward. This week, I’m including two that caught my eye recently.

First, The Raindrop (pictured above), developed by Perfect Practice in a partnership with PGA Tour putting guru Matt Killen, was being used by both Rickie Fowler and Sung Kang this week.

A common drill on the PGA Tour is to attach a string to two posts on either end of the intended target line of a putt on the practice green. The string provides visual feedback to help with both alignment and stroke path. The Raindrop is a retractable string that makes setup and take down much easier; typically, a loose string gets tangled and twisted. This helps solve the porblem.

Additionally, PGA Tour players such as Hideki Matsuyama, Xander Schauffele and Sam Burns have been spotted using a Lights Out hole replacement, made by GolfSlingShot.com. Not only does the aid help provide a target when a hole isn’t available on a packed practice green, but it can help during practice rounds on the golf course when putting around a future hole position. Also, according to the text written on the back of the aid, there’s a point system to raise competition (and could make for a gambling game, if you’re into that kind of thing).

Tony Finau’s latest putter experiments

Tony Finau’s old Nike Vapor Fly Pro driving iron was the talk of our Two Guys Talking Golf podcast this week, but he’s been experimenting with Ping putters over the last week or so, too.

At the 2022 U.S. Open, Finau approached Ping putter rep Dylan Goodwin and asked for more weight on his putter head to help with face awareness throughout his stroke. To provide a solution, Goodwin applied about 5 grams of lead tape to his gamer PLD Anser 2D putter. Due to the speed of The Country Club’s greens, though, Finau didn’t feel comfortable with the extra ball speed the heavier putter head was giving him, so he took it off.

This week, at the Travelers, Finau was carrying an identical backup putter to his gamer… except 5 grams of lead tape was applied. Although Finau told GolfWRX on Tuesday that the putter without the lead tape on it is his current gamer, it seems Finau will be experimenting with the lead taped putter to see if it provides the solution he’s searching for. Only 5 grams might not seem like a lot, but Finau can clearly feel the difference.

I asked Goodwin how this tidbit might help to amateurs. Here’s what he had to say:

“What I found is when you’re adding head weight, obviously the mass is greater and I feel we get more ball speed. People can obviously make adjustments, tempo can slow down, maybe not take it as far back. I’ve definitely found they definitely hit it faster, it comes off a little faster.”

If your issue is leaving putts short on slower greens at your local course, maybe add some head weight, because it could add some speed off the face.

Rickie Fowler’s daughter-inspired prototype putter

In case you haven’t been following along to the weekly Tour Report, we’ve been covering Fowler’s putter saga throughout 2022. He’s been testing and changing putters frequently.

At the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship, however, he made a switch that seems to be sticking. He changed into a custom 3D-printed Cobra Stingray 20 putter, which had some noticeable changes compared to the retail version.

This week, at the Travelers, Fowler was testing out a new option; it’s nearly identical to the prototype he debuted at the Wells Fargo, except it had a 10-gram weight in the sole instead of a 5-gram weight, and it also has a completely custom sole inspired by his daughter: Maya Fowler (born on November 18, 2021). Cobra also made him a custom putter cover to go with the theme. No contest, this is the most heart-warming putter in pro golf.

See more photos of the putter here.

An L.A.B. Golf prototype putter (made for Tommy Fleetwood)

According to an L.A.B. Golf representative, the prototype putter pictured above is a 1-of-4 design, and one of those protos went into Tommy Fleetwood’s possession this week. On Tuesday, Fleetwood was presented with the putter, and although we didn’t spot Fleetwood testing it, he told GolfWRX he would try it out on the course during his practice round. Fleetwood has been locked onto his Odyssey White Hot Pro 3 putter recently, but he remains open to testing new models.

We did confirm, however, that Fleetwood was testing and considering making the switch to a new Callaway Jaws Raw 60-degree wedge this week. He did have two Titleist Vokey options in the bag, as well: one is a 60T grind, and the other is a 60K grind.

I’m not sure who Fleetwood intends to get the message stamped on his 60T wedge, but I’d advise whoever it is to “Get a Life.” That’s Fleetwood’s suggestion, by the way, not mine.

A new Tour prototype offering for Foresight Sports’ GCQuad

Foresight Sports’ GCQuad remains a popular launch monitor out on the PGA Tour, and the system just got a little bit easier to use. According to a Foresight rep, the company has made 200 velcro strap prototypes that attach to the unit and make it easier to transport. Save the back, get some launch numbers.

Martin Trainer’s awesome setup

A blade 2-iron will always catch my eye. I can’t personally hit one, and I don’t recommend amateurs try to play with one either, but it sure does look good sitting in the bag.

Martin Trainer’s Wilson Staff Model blade 2-iron is a site to behold, but his entire WITB setup is also impressive to the eye. Trainer is currently using a 6.5-degree Wilson Labs Staff Model proto driver and 13-degree 3-wood, raw Wilson Staff Model wedges, and a Scotty Cameron Tour Only T-12 Prototype putter.

Trainer’s WITB has the respect of GolfWRX forum members…at least, according to the feedback so far.

Scott Stallings has a very familiar looking putter

Stallings’ Scotty Cameron T5 proto putter has serious Justin Thomas vibes. Same head model, same knuckle neck. Luckily, Stallings’ putter has “S.S.” stamped onto the face so we can tell the difference.

See more photos here.

Cole Hammer’s WITB and putter changeup for his PGA Tour pro debut

It’s been a long time coming, but 22-year-old Cole Hammer, from the University of Texas (who competed in the 2015 U.S. Open!), is finally making his professional PGA Tour debut at the 2022 Travelers Championship. Of course, we had to photograph his full WITB setup.

Most notably, according to Ping rep Dylan Goodwin, Hammer made a putter change this week. The putter pictured above, featuring a dot alignment line on the top rail, was his gamer coming into the week. After doing some early-week testing, however, he realized that using a line, instead of a dot, was more beneficial to his alignment. He also wanted a putter with more shallow milling marks on the face in order to provide more feedback (due to a slightly higher pitched sound and firmer feel).

The putter pictured above was his previous gamer, but Hammer decided to switch into the new putter model prior to the event. Next time we meet up with Hammer, we’ll be sure to take in-hand photos of the new setup.

Unfortunately, that’s all the gear news we have from this week at the Travelers. Tune in next week for the Tour Report from the 2022 John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.

Until then, enjoy the video version of our latest Two Guys Talking Golf podcast below, where we discuss all of the gear news from the week, and much more.

See all of GolfWRX’s photos from the 2022 Travelers Championship here