Equipment
TOUR REPORT: Jordan Spieth changes drivers, Josh Allen’s SICK putter, and Kisner’s new Wilson setup
Welcome to Monterey Peninsula, one of the most beautiful golf properties in the world, for the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
In my opinion, this week is one of the most interesting weeks of the year for golf equipment entertainment. That’s because the field is stacked with celebrities who have varying levels of skill sets and industry access. Getting a peek at how the celebs setup their golf bags is intriguing and unpredictable; you just don’t know what kind of golf clubs you’ll find.
Also, Jordan Spieth, a celebrity in his own right in the golfing world, made a shocking driver change this week, and we got an awesome Arnold Palmer history lesson at Pebble Beach.
It was a packed week in the golf equipment world, so lets get right into this week’s Tour Report from the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Michael Pena is a gear head?

Actor Michael Pena, who’s a single digit handicap golfer, was testing out two different drivers – a Callaway Paradym and a Ping G430 – at the beginning of the week. By the time the event started, Pena opted for the Paradym. He was also testing out two different putters – a Bettinardi BB8 and BB8 Tri.
Testing out different clubs at the event to get as dialed as possible? Pena must be one of us.
Carlton’s saucy putter

Alfonso Ribeiro, best known for his role as Carlton in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, has been a longtime participant in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and he carries a low single digit handicap.
Ribeiro has fresh clubs almost through the bag, using Ping’s new G430 metalwoods and i230 iron models. He does, however, use an older Ping Sigma2 Tyne putter, which was released back in 2018. The putter is caked with lead tape on the sole, too, proving Ribeiro always does things with a touch of flair.
Charles Kelley’s old flatstick
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Charles Kelley, a country singer and lead vocalist for the band Lady A, uses a TaylorMade Ghost Manta putter, which was first released in 2012. The paint job has certainly seen brighter days, but golf balls don’t care about the aesthetics of a golf club. If it works, it works, and Kelley says it hasn’t left the bag in three years.
Kira’s 7-wood

Kira K. Dixon, a reporter for the Golf Channel and Miss America 2015, has an eclectic golf bag setup, highlighted by a Callaway Epic Max, which she equips with a Project X Cypher Fifty 5.5 shaft.
Macklemore embraces bogeys

“Thrift Shop” rapper Macklemore isn’t the best golfer in the Pro-Am field, but his outfits are certainly some of the most eye-catching. The Seattle native actually has an entire lifestyle golf brand, called the Bogey Boys, which has a uniquely fun fashion style that also embraces bogeys on the scorecard. His “Bogey Boys” brand name is laser etched onto his custom TaylorMade P-790 irons.
Amanda puts the mic down

Amanda Balionis Renner, a CBS Sports reporter, is usually the one asking golfers the questions. This week ahead of the event, however, she competed in celebrity challenges at The Hay, and we were able to get a look inside her club setup. She was spotted with all-new Callaway Maradym metalwoods, new Paradym irons, and a custom Odyssey Toulon putter with a white-and-green LA Golf shaft.
Amanda Balionis Renner 2023 WITB
Darius unveils a new PXG driver?

Unveiling unreleased golf club prototypes isn’t usually the norm for celebrity golfers, but who better to show off a new PXG Gen6 0311 XF driver than musician and PXG staffer Darius Rucker? Judging by the looks of Rucker’s Gen6, PXG has spread out the three weight ports to the outer perimeter of the soles, which is likely to add forgiveness to the design.
Arnold Palmer’s $250k irons

Behind the first tee at Pebble Beach is a putting green, and surrounding that putting green is a line of golf shops with green awnings. One of those shops, called “Golf Links to the Past,” is filled with antique memorabilia and awesome stories to tell.

Along the back wall, a set of Arnold Palmer’s game-used irons is on display. In fact, they’re Palmer’s personal Wilson Staff Model Dyna-Powered custom irons that he used to win 14 times in 1960-61, including the ’60 Masters, the ’60 U.S. Open, and the ’61 Open Championship.
They’re selling for a cool $275,000 at Golf Links to the Past.
How did the store acquire the golf clubs, and why are they worth so much money? Click here for the entire story.
Another Arnie story you may not have known

Across the street from Pebble Beach’s clubhouse is the Pebble Beach Visitors Center, and it’s well worth a visit for anyone interested in the history of the golf course and the surrounding area. There’s gold nuggets all over the place inside. One that particularly caught my interest was the “Palmer on the Rocks” story told in the photo above.
Check out more photos and stories from Pebble Beach here
ScHoolboy Q – Wedge of the Year, ft. Callaway

ScHoolboy Q, a rapper who sings hits such as “Man of the Year” and “THat Part,” is an avid golfer with keen eye for fashion – check out his ski mask look on Wednesday for proof. He also covers up his golf clubs with stylish “Malbon Golf” headcovers, and he has an awesome blue-and-orange Callaway Jaws Raw wedge with a laser-etched Q on the back.
Josh Allen’s insane Tour-Only Scotty Cameron
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NFL quarterback Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills has a smooth-yet-powerful golf swing, and he also has one of the coolest gear setups of any player in the Pro-Am field. In the video interview with GolfWRX.com above, Allen shows off his Jordan sneaker putter cover, ultra-custom Scotty Cameron putter, and a new TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver.
Click here for more Josh Allen WITB photos, and check out our full story on Allen’s clubs over on PGATOUR.com
Jordan Spieth’s shocking driver change

Photo Credit: PGA TOUR
For the last several years, Spieth has mostly opted for Titleist’s TSi3 driver. He had a brief stint with Titleist’s new TSR3 driver model at the 2022 Travelers Championship, but he’s struggled to upgrade from his trusty TSi3.
This week, however, ahead of the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Spieth began experimenting with the Titleist TSR2 model, instead of the TSR3. Working with Titleist tour rep J.J. Van Wezenbeeck, Spieth found the TSR2, set in the D-1 hosel setting, was able to keep his spin numbers more consistent and provide greater forgiveness when hitting shots of varying trajectories and shot shapes.
On this week’s PGA Tour Equipment Report, we went in-depth on Spieth’s surprising driver change: Take a read here
A look at Camilo Villegas’ golf club lofts

Villegas has Srixon’s new ZX7 MKII irons in the bag, but his lofts are far from stock. Since Villegas writes his club lofts inside the back cavities, we can see his 7-iron is lofted at 36 degrees, which is 4 degrees weaker than the stock 32-degree iron spec. Interestingly, Villegas also plays one of the weakest driver lofts on the PGA Tour: a Titleist TSi3 11-degree head, although it’s in a C1 setting, which decreases it by 0.75 degrees.
Kevin Kisner’s new Wilson set

Kisner made one of the biggest off-season equipment switches on the PGA Tour, signing a new deal with Wilson for the first time in his career. This week at Pebble Beach, we got our first look at his equipment setup as a full-time Wilson staffer.
Check out his full setup: Kevin Kisner’s 2023 WITB

And, with that, we say goodbye to the beautiful cliffs of Pebble Beach. We’ll see you next week for “The Greatest Show on Grass” at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open in Arizona.
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

Ned
Feb 6, 2023 at 6:25 am
What happened to the Pebble Pro-Am a lot of the top players were absent. Guess the money is below their standard.