Check out new gear in bag for Hideki Matsuyama’s record-breaking win

Hideki Matsuyama brought in the new year by doing something no other golfer has ever done: Shoot 35-under at a PGA TOUR event.

Matsuyama earned his 11th career PGA TOUR title in a birdie bonanza at The Sentry, and it came in record-setting fashion. Matsuyama carded 35-under 257 at The Plantation Course at Kapalua, three strokes clear of Collin Morikawa, to set a PGA TOUR record for the lowest 72-hole score in relation to par.

At The Sentry last week, Matsuyama ranked first in Strokes Gained: Total, second in SG: Approach the Green, and third in SG: Putting. Matsuyama’s putting performance gained particular attention through the week because he was using an all-new Scotty Cameron 009M Center Shaft Tour prototype putter. Matsuyama is no stranger to trying out numerous different prototype putters every week on TOUR, but typically, he opts for a plumber’s neck hosel. This week, he switched it up and went for a center-shafted model, where the shaft extends upwards from the center of the clubhead versus the heel portion.

In general, a plumber’s neck hosel has a slight toe hang and is usually best for players with a slight arc to their stroke, whereas a center-shafted putter is mostly face-balanced and is best for players with a more straight-back and straight-through stroke style. Either way, the center-shafted Scotty Cameron prototype worked wonders for Matsuyama in his record-breaking appearance at The Sentry.

Interestingly, Matsuyama was also using a new 2025 Srixon Z-Star XV golf ball, which was just announced to retail by the company on Monday. Matsuyama actually switched to the prototype golf ball ahead of the 2024 Genesis Invitational in February, but to the general public, the golf ball is completely new.

Per Srixon, the Z-Star XV golf ball is formulated with a new, extra thin, urethane cover that’s engineered with “biomass” that enhances durability.

“Our approach to this generation of the Z-Star Series was to produce a more durable ball without compromising performance,” said Jeff Brunski, vice president of research and development at Srixon. “This generation’s unique cover and stronger coating help improve the spin performance specific to each ball, while our team has improved distance and control to provide golfers purer performance from tee to green.”

Plus, a new FastLayer DG Core 2.0 design is firmer at the center and gets firmer from the inside-out, helping optimize spin and distance. Obviously, something is working with the golf ball for Matsuyama, since he’s won three times (The Genesis Invitational 2024, 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship, The Sentry 2025) since making the switch.

For the rest of his bag setup, Matsuyama uses a Srixon ZX5 LS Mk II 9.5-degree driver, a TaylorMade Qi10 3-wood, a Cobra King RadSpeed Tour 5-wood, Srixon Z-Forged II irons (4-9) and Cleveland RTX 4 Forged Prototype wedges (48, 52, 56 and 60) to go along with the new Scotty Cameron center-shafted putter.