Davis Love III returns to Pebble Beach in new role

CROMWELL, Conn. – As previously reported by PGATOUR.COM, amateur standout Matthew Wolff announced that he joined Team TaylorMade ahead of his professional debut at the 2019 Travelers Championship. TaylorMade officially confirmed today that the company and Wolff have started a multi-year equipment deal. For more information about the TaylorMade clubs Wolff is using at the Travelers Championship, PGATOUR.COM caught up with the person who knows his equipment best: Ryan Ressa. Ressa, Manager of Product Development at TaylorMade, works with junior and collegiate golfers, helping them with their equipment needs. Wolff and Ressa first started working together around 2013, and Wolff has been playing TaylorMade products ever since, according to Ressa. “He was a really good player, a really solid athlete,â€� Ressa said of Wolff when he was around 14 years old. “A lot of juniors came to the Kingdom (TaylorMade’s fitting center) at that time, but when he came through, that’s when the light clicked on… the guy is just a natural talent. When you see some of the things he does with the golf club and the golf ball, that hasn’t changed since he was 13. Like the sound he creates now, that was the one thing that stood out back then.â€� When it comes to equipment, Ressa says he’s not one to tinker a lot. Back when Wolff was a junior golfer and into his collegiate years at Oklahoma State University, he’d go to the Kingdom once in January to get fit into the new product, and he wouldn’t change much all year after that, except for an occasional loft tweak. “He likes what he likes, but he’s also not hesitant to try or put new stuff in,â€� Ressa said. “He’ll come in January when we have the new product. He’ll hit it and we’ll get him into it and he’ll get comfortable with it over the next couple weeks and then he’ll go with it. He doesn’t tinker much.â€� As for his current equipment, Wolff has made a few recent changes. Ressa takes PGATOUR.COM through his equipment at the Travelers Championship (as of Wednesday’s practice session) below. Driver: TaylorMade M6 (8 degrees) Shaft: Graphite Design AD-TP 7TX Ressa says: “He’s got the M6 8-degree driver in the bag, and we just made that adjustment a couple weeks ago. He had an M5 9-degree that he used that through college. He was probably spinning it a little too much throughout the course of March and April, but we didn’t want to tinker much as he was going down the stretch of the National Championship. Then we went to a different head model last week, and lowered the loft, just to give him something different to try. He loved the feel and the sensation of the weight being in the back of that head. He felt like it gave him a bit more workability, so that’s what he’s been going with the last couple weeks and all indications are that he loves it. It has a little less spin, probably 300 rpm less spin, and he likes the control. He likes to work it both ways, depending on how he’s feeling. The M6 is giving him that flexibility.â€� As for the driver shaft, Ressa says: “He’s probably had this shaft for 3 or 4 years, and honestly the Graphite Design feel is very unique. It’s very smooth through impact, and he always identifies with that. He might test a shaft here or there, but he always comes back to that. The launch fits his eye; it probably takes off a little higher than most guys like, but he likes the higher launch and the window that comes out in. He’s always been comfortable with that, so we haven’t tinkered much with it. We tested some other Graphite Design driver shafts a couple years ago that were maybe a little stronger, but he always came back to that TP. “He’s hanging out at D4 swing weight. His stuff is a little bit shorter, so he plays his driver at 45 inches, which is just a touch shorter than where most of my guys are. He likes the shorter length because his arms seem to hang a bit lower. So that seems to be consistent throughout his bag. He plays his stuff a little shorter all the way through.â€� 3 Wood: TaylorMade M6 (15 degrees) Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke 6.5TX 80 grams Ressa says: “Three wood is a tough club for him because he hits it so far. So he will kind of alternate that one based on the course and based on what he needs that week. He goes between a 15 degree and probably a 16-degree. I would say most of the time he’ll carry a 16-degree — something that doesn’t fly so far, maybe 275-280 yards. When he gets that 15-degree, and he’s feeling it and it’s warm outside, that carries about 285 yards and goes out to 300, which is not super playable for him. I think this week he’s gone back to a lower loft, but traditionally he plays a 16-degree.â€� While Wolff doesn’t tinker much with shafts, he changed this week – at least, as of Wednesday — from a Graphite Design BB shaft to a Project X HZRDUS Smoke. Driving Iron: TaylorMade P760 (2 and 3-iron) Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Tour 130X Wolff has two different long-iron options in the bag this week ahead of the Travelers Championship. With 15 clubs in the bag, it’s likely that he’ll choose just one of these driving iron options. Ressa says: “He’s got a 760 3-iron that’s bent down to 18 degrees, so technically it’s a 2-iron. That’s been a great club for him off the tee at some of these tighter courses throughout the spring. After that, he transitions into the P750’s, 4-PW. He’s played that Nippon 130X shaft for I think 2.5 years now, since we got him into the 750s.â€� Irons: TaylorMade P750 Tour Proto (4-PW) Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Tour 130X Ressa says: “We’ve tested some smaller blade irons, but he always comes back to the 750s. He likes the shape and the forgiveness and the workability of those.â€� Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind (52, 56 and 60 bent to 62 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Ressa says: “He’s played Milled Grind wedges since we’ve had those, so a couple years. He goes 52, 56 and 62. He has a 60 that we’ve bent up to 62 for him, and that has little heel and toe relief grind on it. He’s just recently put that 62 degree in, just to have a little more height around the greens as he’s got into these tougher courses like the National Championship, which was pretty difficult, and he kind of anticipates that difficulty as he goes through this summer. That’ll be consistent in his bag.â€� Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Tour Shaft: KBS CT Tour putter shaft Ressa says: “He’s always had kind of a half mallet putter… he felt he didn’t putt great during the Waste Management and that was right around the time we introduced the Spider X. So we got him a few models of that and he put it in play the following week in Hawaii, and he won that tournament going away. He was off and running with that putter. He loves the look and the stability and everything about it, so he’s been in that since probably early February. It’s face-balanced, single bend, 33 inches, 1.5 degrees of loft. Pretty standard. No special insert.â€� Special made for Wolff after he turned pro is this “Wolffieâ€� headcover that features a wolf logo stitched with Oklahoma State University colors. The headcover, which may just be one of the best headcovers on TOUR, was designed by Cameron Bosson and the design team at TaylorMade. Wolff is also currently using a 2019 Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TaylorMade is giving him an extended period of time to make the switch into TP5x (similar to Jon Rahm in 2016), according to a company representative. Related: Matthew Wolff bringing unique game to PGA TOUR

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Lexi Thompson carded a 68 on Saturday at the CME Group Tour Championship, and she will carry a 3-shot lead over Nelly Korda into the final round.

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The hype around junior standout Akshay Bhatia was palpable when he decided to forgo college and turn pro last year. After becoming the youngest player ever to represent the United States in the Walker Cup, Bhatia made the leap to professional golf at just 17 years old. Needless to say, expectations are high after his utter dominance of the junior level, and all eyes are fixed on the young standout. Bhatia and coach George Gankas developed a very realistic plan to combat Bhatia's lack of collegiate experience—one that didn’t involve wins and top 10s as much as it relied on learning how to be a pro. And that’s what we are seeing with young Bhatia now. Since his debut last September, the made cuts have been few, but the process has been right on schedule, culminating with a T9 finish two weeks ago at the season-opening Safeway Open. Bhatia, now 18, was the youngest player to finish in the top 10 of a PGA TOUR event since Justin Rose finished fourth at the 1998 Open Championship. Bhatia's top 10 earned him a start in this week's Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic. It takes young pros, especially teen-aged ones, time to mature and gain an understanding of themselves and their games. And of course, one of the most important things you need to learn once on the big stage is managing yourself and your golf bag. Bhatia has the backing of Callaway tour support, and in particular tour manager Jacob Davidson. With Davidson's help, Bhatia is slowly adding nuance to the bag—while relying on the DNA that has worked tremendously his whole career. GolfWRX had a chance to chat with Davidson and this is what he had to say: WRX: How has Bhatia's knowledge of equipment evolved since last year? Davidson: Akshay has an extremely good eye and feel for his equipment. He can immediately tell the difference in specs, grinds, and weight. He is very sensitive to this because of how good his feel is. It's the sign of someone who has great hands and is a creative player. Akshay does all these things very well for someone his age. He is very mature and articulate with his equipment. WRX: Where do his sensitivities to equipment lie? Is he a numbers guy or a feel guy? Davidson: Akshay can tell you immediately when it is in his hand before he even hits a shot. However, Akshay has had a Trackman for 3-4 years now and pays obsessive attention to his numbers. He is a rare breed in the fact he goes both ways. WRX: As a high-speed player, it would seem face stability and spin control trump everything else. What are his optimal launch conditions with the driver? Davidson: If I recall, he is around 12.5 degrees of launch and 2,150 rpms. Akshay is a world-class driver of the golf ball. Pound for pound maybe even the longest on TOUR. What does he weigh, 122 pounds (laughs)? Bryson eats more steak in a month than Akshay weighs. WRX: His irons are strong-lofted. Do you do anything special grind wise to offset the lack of bounce? Davidson: Yes, we straighten the leading edge and adjust the bounce for better turf interaction. WRX: What is the most challenging part of his bag to get dialed? Davidson: Three-wood and putter. Akshay likes to hit several different shots with his 3-wood both off the tee and ground. Akshay has been in and out of putters but recently has settled on this armlock the last few weeks and has been putting great. Joe Toulon and Akshay have a great relationship. WRX: Is there a miss in his bag you are trying to mitigate at all costs? Davidson: We are continuing to dial in his distance control and approaches around the green. Akshay switched into the Chrome Soft X Double Dash before the Wyndham and has seen increased stability in the wind and much tighter spin dispersion numbers throughout the bag. Since his debut, the bag has changed very little beyond updating the driver and 3-wood to the current Callaway Mavrik Line, Jaws MD5 wedges, and a new putter. The only part that seems to shift gears week to week is his 3-iron, which is currently an Epic Forged but at times can be the Apex Forged UT. That’s it. On TOUR, those are small shifts and, besides the putter, there are no wholesale changes ever made. Debut WITB VS Current DEBUT: *driver not pictured DRIVER: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X HZURDUS "Hulk" Smoke Green 75 6.5 TX 3-WOOD: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero (13.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X HZURDUS "Hulk" Smoke Green 85 6.5 TX IRONS: Callaway Apex Forged UT (3), Callaway Apex MB 18 Raw (4-PW) Shafts: Project X HZURDUS Black 95 X 6.5 (3), KBS $-Taper Black 125 S+ (4-PW) WEDGES: Callaway MD4 Raw (50S, 54S, 60C) Shafts: KBS $-Taper 125S+ PUTTER: Odyssey Stroke Lab Ten GRIPS: Iomic Sticky 2.3 Black Akshay Bhatia Current WITB DRIVER: Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero 8.5 Shaft: Project X HZURDUS "Hulk" Smoke Green 75 6.5 TX 3-WOOD: Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero (15 degrees) Shaft: Project X HZURDUS Hulk Smoke Green 85 6.5 TX IRONS: Callaway Epic Forged (3), Callaway Apex MB 18 Raw (4-PW) KBS TG Hybrid Proto 95 X (3), KBS $-Taper Black 125 S+ (4-PW) WEDGES: Callaway MD5 Jaws Raw (50S, 54S, 60C) Shafts: KBS $-Taper 125S+ PUTTER: Odyssey SL Black Armlock 7 GRIPS: Iomic Sticky 2.3 Black

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