What The Pros Are Playing: Valspar Championship

We patrolled the Copperhead Course prior to this week’s Valspar Championship to see what the pros have in their bags for one of the toughest tracks on the PGA TOUR. We spotted no shortage of creative attempts to improve putting, plenty of testing, and a combo set that should be an inspiration to all amateurs.

Putting mats are where it’s at

Putting mats are quickly picking up steam on TOUR. Players used to use shafts or alignment rods to work on their setup and the path of their stroke. These mats are a simpler way to accomplish the same objective. The mats can be quickly and easily set up and they are lightweight and compact. Let this be a lesson for every golfer out there that even the best golfers in the world work on putting fundamentals week-in and week-out.

DJ is sticking with the TaylorMade Brandon 1

Dustin Johnson looks to be sticking with a new TaylorMade Brandon 1 prototype putter built with an LA Golf graphite putter shaft. He initially put this club in play for the final round of the RBC Heritage. “I really like it. It's got a different shaft in it and a different head, but rolled good, so we're going to keep it up,” Johnson said after shooting a Sunday 66 at Harbour Town. He gained more than three strokes on the greens that day, shooting his best score since the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. This is the same prototype putter Tommy Fleetwood put into play a couple of weeks ago too (image below via TaylorMade).

Nobody is going to confuse clubs with Patrick Reed

One of the great benefits of having your own signature iron set is that no one is going to mistake their bag for yours. That's certainly the case for Patrick Reed, who has his own signature set of blades from Japanese manufacturer Grindworks.

Adam Hadwin like to supersize his combos

Adam Hadwin isn’t really known as being a big gearhead in the traditional sense, but his approach to building his combo iron set is something a lot of golfers can learn from. Hadwin’s Callaway iron set consists of three different models, which include the Apex MB (blade), Apex TCB, and an older model Apex UT. This is a perfect example of using the right tools to fine-tune a bag and achieve proper distance gapping.

Ian Poulter is testing drivers

Titleist staffer Ian Poulter was spotted with two TSi series drivers in the bag on Tuesday of the Valspar Championship, and although we don't know the exact reason for testing, it could be that he is trying to pick up a bit more distance off the tee by using a longer shaft. Ian currently ranks 27th on TOUR in driving accuracy but is well back in distance and outside the top 200. A few extra yards could go a long way for the Ryder Cup stalward.