Newport Cup 2K8: The Equipment

This past weekend we slogged through some rainy weather (and one ridiculously insane course) to play the Newport Cup. While not only enjoying the other participant’s company, I also enjoyed taking a sneak peak behind the bags of the equipment the other guys were using.

I also greatly enjoyed using the equipment that came courtesy of our sponsors. Each are very highly recommended and carry the Bag Drop seal of approval. I suggest checking them out during your next stop at your favorite golf shop.

What I found wasn’t too surprising (only one strange geometric-shaped driver) among the better players in the group and I came away with some ideas of what I may look for if I ever decide to revamp my bag (mostly in the wedge configuration).

So join me as we take a peak behind the curtain of the equipment that made headlines at the Newport Cup.

Drivers
The big sticks got a good workout for the rounds (with the exception being at Thunder Hill) and there was some significant airspace that was covered by several of the bigger hitters (most notably, our own Danny Ottmann who seemingly hit a few drivers oh, about five miles). So let’s take a look at what drivers were put in play for the weekend.

The folks at Titleist edged out TaylorMade for most drivers at the Newport Cup with three drivers for the former and two for the latter. The most popular driver (okay, so two is a very small sample size) was the 907D2 which is slated to be put out to pasture this fall with the arrivals of the eagerly anticipated 909 series. A 905S rounded out the Titleist contingent while the TaylorMade drivers were both the TP versions of the r7 SuperQuad and the r7 460.

Joining in our driver category was a Callaway ERC Fusion, a Cleveland HiBore (yes, the original model) and a Srixon ZRW.

Fairway Woods
To say there was quite a few different fairway woods put in play would be a massive understatement as a grand total of of nine were put in play. Yet again, Titleist led the way with four various models and lofts (904F 5-wood & 3-wood, 980F 3-wood, and 906 F2 3-wood).

Coming in second was Cleveland with an XLS 3-wood and an XL 3-wood. After that we have solo representatives from TaylorMade (Burner TP 3-wood), Tour Edge Exotics (3-wood) and the now defunct Sonartec (SS-03 4-wood).

Hybrids
If you still think hybrids are only for higher handicapped golfers, you need to check your head. With handicaps ranging from 0.6 to 18.1, everyone present had at least one or more hybrids in their bag. Having said that however, most everybody still had their longer irons in the bag in addition to adding the easier to hit hybrids. It would seem for the most part, rather than replacing the the longer irons, it was the extra fairway woods that were replaced.

Of the nine total, Titleist had the most with three (sensing a theme here?) with the 585.H. Other companies represented were Cleveland (Halo), Mizuno (Fli-Hi II), Ping (G-10), Cobra (Baffler Pro), Maxfli and Callaway (X Series).

Irons
Blades are a thing of the past. Okay, not quite but only one set was put in play this weekend and that was our sub-single digit handicapper. Everyone else played cavity-back irons to gain some additional forgiveness on those less than perfect shots (which for me was quite a few!).

Leading the charge was both Mizuno and Titleist who were each represented by three sets put into play. The Mizuno offerings were all from their MP line with the 32, 57, and 60 making the most of the rounds.

The Titleist offerings were a little bit of old and a little bit of new with the snazzy looking forged AP2 being mixed in with the venerable 804 and 704 forged models. Rounding out the irons were a set of Srixon I-506 as well as a set of Ping Zing style irons.

Wedges
Five of the eight participants trusted Titleist Vokey as their wedge of choice in various loft and bounce configurations. Several players had a wedge setup of 52°, 56°, and 60° while others boasted 54°/60° or 52°/56°. Mizuno (MP-T), Sonartec (t35) and Solus round out our wedge category.

Putters
Two words: Scotty Cameron. Various models were put into play by six of the eight particpants including several from the Studio Select line, a JAT, as well as a Futura Phantom. Say what you will about the pricetag these command but considering how many times you are using your putter versus any other club in your bag and that price becomes very manageable. Rounding out our flatstick category were a Ping Redwood Anser and Odyssey White Hot #4.

Final Thoughts
Due to time constraints and some uncooperative weather, our group was never afforded the chance to try out each others’ equipment to find out if there was something we were missing in our personal bag.

Nonetheless, it was very interesting to see what other (and better) golfers used for equipment as well as how they used them and how they were able to manipulate the trajectory, curvature and spin put on the ball to get to the task at hand; getting the ball in the hole in the fewest strokes possible.