Weekly 18: Three deserving, inspiring winners

Webb Simpson has highly discerning eyes and hands when it comes to his equipment. He has a very specific feel he’s seeking from his irons, but it’s been difficult in recent years to find a set that checks all of the boxes with each club. In the last year alone, Simpson has used three different Titleist iron sets, including the T100, the 620 MB and the 680 Forged. According to Titleist Tour rep J.J. Van Wezenbeeck – who works closely with Titleist staffers on their equipment needs – Simpson has different things he likes (and dislikes) about each of the three models. Simpson, whose seven TOUR wins include THE PLAYERS and U.S. Open, has been playing the 680 Forged irons off-and-on since they first came out in 2003, and he’s most comfortable with the shaping and increased offset of the irons. The 620 MB irons, which came out in 2019, have a more compact shape with less offset, and although Simpson prefers the shape of the 680’s, he likes the size of the 620’s. The T100 irons, on the other hand, were released in 2021 and have a modern cavity-back construction, and while Simpson prefers blade style designs, he did like the sole shaping, grooves and performance out of the rough with the T100’s. He hasn’t been able to find the perfect iron, so instead of continuing to accept trade-offs, Titleist simply gave Simpson the custom prototype treatment. On Tuesday, Simpson revealed an all-new set of “682.WS” irons that combine everything he likes about his previous 680 Forged, 620 MB and T100 iron models. They’re built exactly to his preferences using special Titleist machines. Simpson told GolfWRX.com that he likely won’t play the irons just yet, however, since it’s his first week receiving them, and windy conditions are expected in Sea Island. “I wanted the blade look and setup, but I wanted the new grooves,” Simpson told GolfWRX. “They kind of have the T100 grooves. I had a lot of success out of the rough with the T100’s, but I still wanted the blade look and feel, and they kind of converge into one iron. It looks just like the (680 Forged irons). It was all JJ’s idea. He thought of it and he wanted to get going on this special project for me. It’s very exciting. They’ll be in play next tournament for sure. They’re beautiful, they’re awesome.” Only two players have received the same custom treatment previously: Justin Thomas with his 621.JT models, and Adam Scott with his former 681.AS irons. Now, Simpson has his initials on set of 682.WS irons. According to Van Wezenbeeck, the custom project started at this year’s U.S. Open, and after rounds of R&D prototyping and testing with Simpson, he finally received the final versions at The RSM Classic this week. The set of 682.WS irons even has Simpson’s preferred “5.5” iron, which splits the difference in loft between a 5 and 6 iron. At the 2022 Players Championship, Simpson told GolfWRX.com that he started using a 5.5 iron to fill in yardage gaps after adding he took out his 6-iron to add a fourth wedge. He strengthened his 7-iron, and bent his 5-iron to a 5.5-iron. Simpson likes what he likes, and now he finally has his perfect set.

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