By Jennifer Gardner
GPA Equipment EditorTaylorMade looks to be going after Adams for dominance of the hybrid count on the PGA Tour.
TaylorMade's Tour Report shows that the company picked up Will Mackenzie, David Mathis, John Rollins and Brian Davis, all of whom were playing at least one Adams hybrid. Kenny Perry also started using a TaylorMade Rescue TP hybrid, but he had not previously had a hybrid club in the bag.
"We filled a staff bag with 20 shafts (five most popular shaft models) and filled the pockets with Rescue TP heads. We parked ourselves at the driving range and fit players on the spot," the Tour Report said. "We can't stress enough how easy FCT makes our job. Last year, we might have been able to take a staff bag of our product to the range, but if a players needed something done to the club, we would have to run back and forth to the truck …
"This week, we were able to park ourselves and fit players on the spot. The hybrid club itself is a very interesting club to fit because players are all looking for different performance benefits. Some guys want it to have a high trajectory, they want to be able to hit it off the tee, don't want it to go left. With FCT we can do it all in a short amount of time."
 Bernhard Langer and Garth Mulroy both used RT Technologies' Midas shafts in their hybrids last week, with winning results.
 Adams Idea Pro and TaylorMade Rescue TP are both popular hybrids on Tour. TaylorMade is working to overtake Adams' high hybrid count. |
MIDAS SHAFTS GET TWO WINS: Two winners last week used shafts from small Louisiana-based RT Technologies shaft maker. The Midas shafts, designed to work well in hybrid clubs, were in the bags of Champions Tour winner Bernhard Langer and Nationwide Tour victor Garth Mulroy.
Mulroy had two RT Midas shafts in his two Adams hybrids. Adams offers the hybrid shafts as an option for tour players, but RT does not pay players for using its equipment.
"We've been close to a couple of wins this year so we are glad it finally happened," said Robbie Newton, RT Technologies president. "Our Midas series shafts are probably the most used out on the tours and they really do provide tremendous accuracy and stability."
Mulroy used both an 88-gram and a 98-gram shaft in his hybrid clubs.
"Either version can perform under the most strenuous of conditions," Newton said. "We are so happy for the winner and, as always, are very appreciative of all players out on the PGA Nationwide Tour who use our products."
HEAVY PUTTER GETS CHAMPIONS WIN: Bernhard Langer, who has used an Odyssey 2-ball long putter for a couple of years, swapped it out in favor of a Heavy Putter prototype over the weekend at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.
Langer used a DX3 prototype, a 48-inch-long mallet style putter, to sink a 35-foot-long putt on the first playoff hole. Although he missed a par save on the next hole, playing partner Tom Lehman sunk his putt for the team's victory.
Heavy Putter recently added tour reps at both the Champions Tour and Nationwide Tours because of increased player interest in the company.
