AP Was There: Future arrives with Tiger’s record Masters win

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Titleist has begun its TOUR validation process at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Typically, Titleist brings new product out to PGA TOUR ranges and courses for feedback from the professionals before launching them to retail. That is exactly the case with Titleist’s new utility products, including U500 and U510 driving irons, and TS2 and TS3 hybrids. While Titleist isn’t speaking on the new designs just yet, we can speculate on a few things from the photos taken by PGATOUR.COM on Monday. Firstly, Titleist seems to be establishing cohesiveness between its hybrids and its metalwoods by giving them the familiar “TSâ€� name. In the past, Titleist gave its hybrids different nomenclature — such as the 818 H1 and H2 hybrids — than its drivers and fairways woods. Now, it seems they are fitting right into the TS family. The TS2 looks to be a more forgiving option given it’s larger profile at address, and the sleeker TS3 – likely a lower-spinning or lower-launching product – appears to have a weight port in the toe. Also, with its U500 and U510 irons, Titleist appears to be separating out utility irons from a full set of irons; this is reminiscent of its popular 712U iron of the past. In the past few years, Titleist staffers have used T-MB irons as their driving irons, but those weren’t necessarily specifically made to be driving irons since T-MB irons were offered as a full set to the public. Now, it seems the U500 and U510 irons will stand alone as driving irons. Relatively speaking, it appears the U500 has a sleeker profile than the U510, which offers a larger profile and wider sole; this could mean the U500 is lower launching and the U510 is higher launching and/or more forgiving. Based on media photos provided by Titleist above, it appears that the Project X HZRDUS Smoke shaft will be the stock offering for the new utility clubs should they hit retail in the future. As we await the possible retail release of these products, and more information from Titleist about their designs, check out the photos below taken by PGATOUR.COM on Monday. Titleist U500 iron Titleist U510 iron Titleist TS2 hybrid Titleist TS3 hybrid

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New gear at the Ryder Cup is usually limited to custom footwear, but this week, Xander Schauffele will be taking on Whistling Straits with a new driver. The Olympic gold medalist is moving from an Epic Speed Triple Diamond to an Epic Speed Triple Diamond LS. According to Callaway, the switch is the final piece in the optimization puzzle that began when Schauffele made the switch into the Chrome Soft X LS ball (the LS stands for low spin) in early June, before a run that saw him finish in the top-10 in the U.S. Open and win the Olympic men’s golf competition. Schauffele is committed to using the ball for its across-the-bag performance, but the lower spin rate was compromising his ability to hit the tight draw he prefers off the tee. In a quick-fix solution ahead of the TOUR Championship, Callaway TOUR rep Kellen Watson, installed a Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 7 X shaft to help Schauffele squeeze out some more spin with his driver. Schauffele continued his East Lake success that week, shooting the third-lowest 72-hole score of the week to finish fifth in the FedExCup. However, for Schauffele and Callaway, a solution that allowed him to keep his Graphite Design Tour AD BB 7 X shaft in play was the ultimate goal. According to Callaway’s Johnny Wunder, Xander and the Callaway team were in pursuit of the following Trackman numbers. Stock shot: 2,200-2,400 RPM 5-yard draw: 2,200-2,400 RPM Fairway finder: 2,600-2,700 RPM Fade: 2,400-2,600 RPM Working with Watson; Callaway’s Senior VP of Global Sports Marketing, Tim Reed; and his father, Stefan, Xander discovered a switch that helped him attain those numbers. He switched to a 10.5-degree Callaway Epic Speed LS Triple Diamond head (set to 9 degrees) with the Tour AD BB 7 X shaft. The head is designed to create less spin, but tuning down the loft – which opens the face, a look Schauffele prefers – added the RPMs Schauffele was looking for and allowed his draw to fly slightly higher and farther.

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