Will Zalatoris details equipment overhaul for 2024

After missing most of 2023 after having back surgery, Will Zalatoris is working his way back onto the PGA TOUR and trying to regain the form that made him one of the TOUR’s top players.

Zalatoris, winner of the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship, was among the TOUR’s top iron players and a consistent contender in majors.

Zalatoris made his return to competitive golf in December at the Hero World Challenge, his first tournament since he withdrew from the Masters. Zalatoris finished last at Hero, then missed the cut two weeks ago at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

There are some promising signs for Zalatoris after he finished T34 in The American Express.

Not only is he shaking off the rust after eight months away from the TOUR, but he’s also playing this year with several new clubs in his bag.

For example, Zalatoris says he switched to a Titleist TSR2 driver in 2024, which launches and spins a touch higher than his previous TSR3 model. The higher ball flight helps him keep from trying to lift up on the ball too much; the driver design does the work for him. For similar reasons, Zalatoris also switched into a Titleist TSi2 fairway wood, which, according to him, appears to visually show a little more of the face loft compared to the TSR2+ fairway wood he used in early 2023.

“We spent a lot of time with the 3-wood actually,” Zalatoris told GolfWRX.com at The American Express. “I went back to a TSi2. It’s 15 degrees. We put a bunch of hot melt in it to dampen the sound. I like how I’m able to see the face a little bit more, so it makes me hit down on it, as opposed to lifting it up in the air.

“I put the TSR2 driver in this year to get a little bit more height just so I don’t have to feel like I have to lift up on it with my back. Just shaking off the rust, but so far so good. It’s been a little bit of trial and error since I came back. The 3-wood was a huge find for me because I struggled for about a year with having the right 3 wood. I love that dampened sound.”

Along the same lines, Zalatoris also switched into a slightly more forgiving set of irons.

While Zalatoris has successfully used a set of T-100 irons for the past several years, he switched into a set of Titleist’s new T-150 irons in 2024. Titleist’s T-150 irons have slightly thicker toplines to help golfers achieve more forgiveness on off-center strikes throughout the set and achieve more overall distance.

Although the forgiveness helps, it’s actually the nostalgic look of the irons that caught Zalatoris’ eye the most, leading to his switch.

“With the T150’s, they look really similar to iron I used to play that was a blade back in the day,” Zalatoris said. “To me they kind of look like a 695MB, which was like my first adult iron I ever played. (The T-150 irons have) a little bit thicker topline than the T100’s, compared to the older models, and that’s why I switched to em, but I bent them back to the same lofts that I had..."

“I had 695MBs when I was 12 with like ladies’ steel shafts in them and I just wore those to pieces. (The T-150 irons aren’t) actually built to look like (the 695MB irons), I just thought that’s what they look like. When I set ‘em down, I just loved ‘em. I loved the T100’s, I won with ‘em, I had ‘em in the bag for 2+ years, but it’s one of things you look down on (the T-150 irons), and you have a ton of confidence.”

Zalatoris also switched into a new T-350 iron, which is considered a “game-improvement” iron within Titleist’s new T-series lineup. While most retail consumers of the T-350 iron will use them throughout the set for more forgiveness and launch, Zalatoris is using the 4-iron as a driving iron, and a more forgiving option out of the rough compared to his previous T-200.

He found the T-350 iron during a commercial shoot with Titleist in 2023, and now it’s officially made it into Zalatoris’ bag, albeit without a number stamped on the sole to avoid any confusion.

“I’m playing a T-350 3-iron actually, which is kind of like the game improvement iron,” Zalatoris said. “That one was kind of a fun find when they showed us the new irons last year. I had the T200 in my 3-iron last year. I hit it fine, but I was looking for something a little bit easier to hit out of the rough. It looks awesome out of the rough and I’m able to dig it out of the ground. It’s a fun one. It’s set up like a 4-iron for a T-350, but because we don’t want to have two 4-irons in the bag, there’s no number on it.”

In case those weren’t enough club changes for Zalatoris in 2024, he also upgraded into a set of new Titleist Vokey SM10 wedges, too.

“I switched to the SM10’s,” Zalatoris said. “The 50 and 54 are really similar to what I used to play. I like squaring off the 50 and 54, where the leading edge is really square, kind of like an iron. The 60, I still play the T grind. One thing they did I really like a lot is they made the toe a smidge higher, so the ball stays on the face a little longer when I open it up so it gets a little more spin. It’s been really good out of the bunkers actually.”

For amateur golfers reading this story, take this as an instructional on what golf club fitting is all about. Find the clubs that are right for your swing and your body. Not only can the right clubs improve your game, but they can help preserve your body against injury, too.

To see more photos and information on Zalatoris' equipment setup, head over to GolfWRX.com.