Ryo Hisatsune shares reason for unique fairway wood setup at ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

Ryo Hisatsune, the 22-year-old PGA TOUR rookie from Okayama, Japan, will be teeing it up this week in his home country at the 2024 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. In his previous three outings at the event he's progressively improved, finishing T52 in 2021, T12 in 2022 and T6 in 2023.

After earning his PGA TOUR card in 2023 through the Race to Dubai Rankings - PGA TOUR Eligibility, Hisatsune has played a full schedule of 24 PGA TOUR events thus far, including 14 made cuts, six top-25 finishes, and one top-10 finish (T3 at the 2024 Wyndham Championship). Hisatsune, who notably ranks 21st on the PGA TOUR in Greens in Regulation and 46th in Driving Accuracy, currently ranks 93rd in the FedExCup Fall standings heading into the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.

On-site at ACCORDIA GOLF Narashino Country Club, PGATOUR.COM caught up with Hisatsune to see what clubs are in his TaylorMade staff bag, and why.

Hisatsune revealed that he uses a unique setup including a 16.5-degree 4-wood and a 21-degree 6-wood. Hisatsune ranks just 160th in Spin Rate off the tee, and 60th in Apex Height, so he searches for clubs that can help him hit the ball a touch higher to maximize distance and stopping power. The slightly higher lofts on his TaylorMade Qi10 Tour fairway woods help him achieve the height he’s looking for.

“Having a 4 and 6 would be a unique setting compared to other players,” Hisatsune said. “[The 6-wood] is 21 degrees. It helps me shoot the ball higher. I am able to hit around 240 yards using this. I can hit the ball higher, then stop the ball. On the PGA TOUR at some courses I need to hit it farther, so this wood plays an important role for me.”

In his mixed bag of irons, Hisatsune recently started using a new TaylorMade P7CB 4-iron, which he says also helps him achieve more height on his shots, to go along with a set of TaylorMade P7MC irons (5-PW).

“This is my 4-iron, a different one than before,” Hisatsune says. “I got the new P7CB. I only have the 4-iron. This helps me shoot higher when I need a 220 to 230-yard shot with a long-iron. From 5-iron to pitching wedge I use P7MC. This is the gear I go for. The most important point for me is to shoot higher, and it’s been very helpful. It helps me put it close to the pin, so I have a lot of trust in this club. I have been using this for the past year.”

Hisatsune uses three TaylorMade MG4 wedges (54, 56 and 60 degrees), most notably including a Tiger Woods-inspired grind on his lob wedge.