Bespoke blades to a gas station putter: See top 10 gear stories of 2024 FedExCup Season
13 Min Read
GolfWRX.comScottie Scheffler put his official stamp on the 2024 FedExCup last week, logging another victory to cap off a dominant 2024 and become a FedExCup Champion for the first time. It seemed that once Scheffler made a putter switch at Bay Hill ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, it was smooth sailing from there, with the world No. 1 winning seven times on the PGA TOUR as well as a gold medal at the Paris Olympics – but more on Scheffler’s dominant set of golf clubs later.
Scheffler's putter switch was just part of a year that was packed with gear news, from club releases, new prototypes, interesting equipment switches, and a few new emerging trends, too.
Below, GolfWRX.com takes you through the top 10 gear stories of the year. Without further ado, here they are (in no particular order):
1. Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa put TaylorMade’s Proto irons on the map
At the 2024 Valero Texas Open, Rory McIlroy unveiled a brand new, unreleased TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron. According to McIlroy, the iron was helping him achieve a higher launch with a responsive, blade-like feel. Shortly after McIlroy’s switch, Collin Morikawa also switched into a “Proto” 4-iron at the RBC Heritage, citing a higher launch and predictable distance control.
The wave didn’t end there, though.
Rory McIlroy's prototype TaylorMade 4-iron. (GolfWRX)
Michael Block, the club pro who was the Cinderella story of last year's PGA Championship, also switched into a full set of the TaylorMade Proto irons at this year's PGA, replacing the TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC irons that he’d been using for over a decade.
Eventually, TaylorMade decided to turn the “Proto” iron design into a retail set of P7CB irons. Morikawa ended up switching into a full set of the P7CB irons for the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open and The Open Championship. Long-hitting Chris Gotterup switched into a full set of the P7CB irons at the 2024 3M Open, too.
"For me, it's just a little bit more forgiveness," Morikawa said about the iron switch. "I don't hit it that high and I don't hit it that far compared to a lot of guys out here. So having a little bit more height off the trajectory ... gives me a little bit more of a playing field."
The TaylorMade Proto/P7CB irons made for a seemingly ever-evolving story throughout the summer of 2024, certainly deserving of a spot on our Top-10 list.
2. Shane Lowry’s putter change
Throughout his career, Shane Lowry has mostly opted for some variation of Odyssey’s famous 2-ball design. For example, Lowry has used models including Odyssey’s Stroke Lab Exo 2-ball, a White Hot Pro 2-ball blade, and a White Hot OG 2-ball.
At the 2024 Zurich Classic in New Orleans, however, Lowry switched into a TaylorMade Spider Tour Z mallet putter for the first time. It was similar to the putter his partner for that week, Rory McIlroy, has used for years.
Shane Lowry's TaylorMade Spider Tour Z model putter. (GolfWRX)
As it turns out, the switch worked, and the pair went on to win the event. Lowry spoke on the switch following the winning performance:
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar; it has a white line on the back of it and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
3. Matt Fitzpatrick switches irons after a decade
Matt Fitzpatrick's Titleist T100 irons with a custom “Fitz” grind. (GolfWRX)
For most of his career, Matt Fitzpatrick has used Ping S55 irons, which were released to the public back in 2013. With so much success using the irons, it wasn’t a certainty that he’d ever switch out of the classic designs.
After testing Ping’s Blueprint S irons in late 2023, however, Fitzpatrick decided to make an iron switch for 2024. Although Fitzpatrick started off by switching into the Blueprint S irons early in the year, he eventually switched into Titleist T100 irons with a custom “Fitz” grind at the 2024 U.S. Open.
We weren’t expecting an iron switch from Fitzpatrick this year at all, which is exactly why he cracked our top 10 list.
4. JT’s gas station putter
Justin Thomas' Scotty Cameron putter he tested at a gas station. (GolfWRX)
Justin Thomas has switched putters numerous times throughout the past couple years, so Thomas switching putters isn’t necessarily huge news. This story, however, was particularly interesting given the circumstances.
Paul Vizanko – the Director of Scotty Cameron Putter Fitting and Player Development – recommended that Thomas try out a custom putter that was designed for Gordon Sargent, the world's second-ranked amateur and the first player to earn a PGA TOUR card via PGA TOUR U Accelerated. The putter had custom alignment lines on the crown, including a parallel line and a single dot.
On a time crunch before heading to Ohio for the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, Thomas texted Sargent about the putter, and they ended up meeting at a local gas station in Alabama to make the hand-off. Thomas eventually had a new prototype putter built that was inspired by the design of Sargeant’s putter, but the gas station putter understandably became a popular story in its own, unique way.
"I was using a putter I had and I was texting with Paul Vizanko at Scotty Cameron and telling him some things that I liked and disliked," Thomas said. "He mentioned the putter that Gordon (Sargent) had, and I was texting Gordon about it. And then next thing you know, Gordon was like, Oh, I don't need it. I'm not using it, and I'll be driving past you here soon.
"So yeah, it felt a little shady, but that was probably the only Scotty Cameron putter exchange in a gas station outside Nashville."
5. Popularity of mini drivers
Akshay Bhatia's Callaway Ai Smoke mini-driver. (GolfWRX)
Although the concept of “mini drivers,” or 2-woods, has been around for a long time in the golf world, the modern designs are seeing more action on the PGA TOUR than ever before.
In case you’re new to this product sector, a “mini driver” is built as an in-between option; it’s smaller than a driver, but bigger than a 3-wood. The mini driver is meant to be higher spinning and more workable than a driver, but easier to hit than a 3-wood given the overall volume of the head and size of the face.
Jake Knapp won the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidante with a TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver in the bag, but he wasn’t the lone member of the mini driver contingent in 2024. Other players who also used a mini driver throughout 2024 include Max Homa (TaylorMade BRNR Mini), Tommy Fleetwood (TaylorMade BRNR Mini), Adam Scott (TaylorMade BRNR Mini), Chris Gotterup (TaylorMade BRNR Mini), Cameron Young (Titleist TSR 2-wood), Webb Simpson (Titleist TSR 2-wood) and Akshay Bhatia (Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Ti340 Mini Driver), among others.
Bhatia's switch came on the biggest stage at the TOUR Championship.
“If I have restricted start lines, I can draw a driver, but if I have this mini driver to where I can turn it a lot easier, then it’s a nice option," Bhatia said before the first round at East Lake. "The mini driver gives me more options; it's faster, but it spins a little more, so the consistency of the ball flight is tighter, and that’s what I need.”
6. Long putters continue to surge
Webb Simpson's broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird putter. (GolfWRX)
The anchoring ban was implemented on Jan. 1, 2016, but since then, players have figured out how to use a broomstick-style putter effectively while hovering it away from their chest. Bernhard Langer and Adam Scott have been some of the leaders in this movement.
"I think I was probably a notable young player to use a long putter, and that may have broken the mold of it being an old man's club, although I'm quickly fitting into that category now," Scott said jokingly at this year's TOUR Championship. "But seeing more guys go to it doesn't surprise me. And I think, you know, everyone seems to be getting fairly good results who do go to. So I wouldn't see why more don't give it a try."
In 2023, several big name players including Will Zalatoris, Bhatia, and Byeong Hun An switched into broomstick-style putters, and they each continued using that style this year.
In 2024, the broomstick brigade gained another, surprising member. At the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, Simpson debuted an Odyssey Ai-One “Cruiser” Jailbird broomstick putter, inspired by Bhatia.
“My caddie, David Cook, caddied for (Bhatia) at the (Texas Children’s Houston Open) and he putter beautifully,” Simpson told GolfWRX.com. “Then, I watched (Bhatia) on TV at the Valero, and he putted beautifully. And I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’ I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, this is pretty easy.’"
7. Wesley Bryan uses two 4 irons
Wesley Bryan's bag setup featuring two 4-irons. (GolfWRX)
Most golfers use just one 4-iron in their bag, but most golfers aren’t Wesley Bryan.
Bryan, a PGA TOUR winnerand YouTube golfing sensation, came to THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson with a mixed set of irons, including two different 4-irons; a Titleist T200, and a Takomo 101 U.
As Bryan explained to GolfWRX.com, his Takomo 301 CB 6-iron goes about 195-200 yards while his hollow-bodied Takomo 101U Driving Iron goes about 220 yards, and his Titleist T200 4-iron goes about 235 yards. The Takomo 101U 4-iron is bent about 2 degrees, so it effectively plays like his 5-iron, but it remains stamped as a 4-iron.
For Bryan, it’s all about filling the right yardage gaps, not about the number stamped on the bottom of the club. There are no rules when it comes to equipment; each club is simply a tool.
8. Adam Scott keeps everyone on their toes
Adam Scott's Miura blade irons. (GolfWRX)
Adam Scott is an equipment free agent, so he’s free to test and use whatever brands of clubs that he desires. And he takes full advantage of that freedom.
Scott has popped up on our weekly Equipment Report more than any other PGA TOUR player in 2024, simply due to how many times he made major changes. In 2024 alone, Scott has used irons from Ping, Miura and Srixon, and he’s used drivers from TaylorMade, Titleist and Callaway.
He's been especially difficult to keep up with on a week-to-week basis, because sometimes Scott switches irons based purely on turf conditions. For example, at the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship, Scott switched into Miura AS-1 blade irons in Scotland to help handle the firm turf conditions, and he switched into KM-700 irons with more bounce because of the Zoysia grass in Memphis.
"Equipment and technology is a big thing," Scott said at the first leg of this year's FedExCup Playoffs in Memphis. "You see it every week, guys working on Trackman, and that's not really where I've grown up. Yeah, if I was critical of myself, although intentions being right, I probably didn't manage that as well as I could have, and certainly see the need to be more on top of that going forward.”
It hasn’t always been easy covering Scott’s equipment, but it’s always been entertaining.
9. Scottie Scheffler’s dominating setup
Scottie Scheffler's TaylorMade Spider Tour X mallet with L-neck hosel. (GolfWRX)
Scheffler made two key changes in 2024 that propelled him to his seven-win season: 1) He switched into TaylorMade’s new Qi10 core driver (8 degrees), and he switched into a TaylorMade Spider Tour X mallet with an L-neck hosel.
After a 2023 season that saw a number of putter changes from Scheffler, he switched into the TaylorMade Spider Tour X putter at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational, won the first week using the putter, and it hasn’t come out of the bag since.
Ahead of the 2024 TOUR Championship, Scheffler spoke on the putter, and why it’s worked so well for him in 2024.
“I felt like I did way too much experimenting with putters in the last year leading up to the switch to the Spider,” Scheffler said. “And it’s something where before I started working with Phil (Kenyon), I felt like I would bounce back a lot between ideas on how I wanted to putt. I felt like I didn’t stick to something and really kind of ride the highs and lows of it. And I think that’s really how you get better in this game, is sticking to your process.
"When it came to the Spider, I always loved the way it set up. And I had tried putters like that in the past and never really putted great. But I didn’t really give it the full go. I can have one bad day and be like, ‘That didn’t work.’ And so the thing I liked most about it was how good I lined it up. I don’t often use a line on the ball, and so I feel like I’m much more athletic with my putting. I get much more into the feel and the visual and that’s what I’m good at on my full swing. And so it seems to make logical sense that I should probably do that with my putting, as well. But for some reason, for, you know, the last year, a lot of the year I was thinking very technically and trying to be perfect on the greens and it didn’t really go that well. And so when I switched to the Spider, I was able to free things up and see some good consistent results from it.”
Scheffler was able to awaken his inner athlete on the greens using the new Spider putter, which has worked to the tune of seven PGA TOUR wins in one season. Yeah, we’re thinking the putter switch worked.
10. Titleist’s GT drivers start hot
Titleist’s new GT2, GT3 and GT4 line of drivers debuted this year. (GolfWRX)
Titleist’s new GT2, GT3 and GT4 drivers first launched at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday in June, and by the Genesis Scottish Open in July, more than 115 players had used a Titleist GT driver in competition.
That’s quite an impressive feat for a mid-year driver launch.
Zalatoris, who was one of 13 players to switch into a GT driver the first week they were available at the Memorial, spoke on his experience with the new GT2 driver:
“I think this is the most that we’ve been begging (Titleist) to put (a driver) in our hands as fast as they can. We first tested it I think in early December. I think the part that’s really cool about it is it’s just kind of plug-and-play. I have the exact same shaft, the exact same setting. And immediately I’m picking up 1.5 mph ball speed, and that equates to about another 6.5-7 yards of carry. I think the thing that I really noticed when you compare it from my old one, from the TSR to the GT, I think the mishits just get brought in that much more; 4-5 yards out here on Tour in dispersion could be the difference of you being in the fairway and having another birdie look … you miss a fairway and now you’re laying up trying to make par the hard way.”
The list of notables using a Titleist GT driver include Max Homa (GT3), Tom Kim (GT3), Cameron Young (GT2), Justin Thomas (GT2), Byeong Hun An (GT4), Billy Horschel (GT3), Webb Simpson (GT3), Brandt Snedeker (GT2), Denny McCarthy (GT2), Garrick Higgo (GT4), J.T. Poston (GT3), Patrick Cantlay (GT2) and Adam Scott (GT2).