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We've been lucky enough to watch Crazy Shafts grow from a virtually unknown cult type brand to premium high performance brand in a few very short years. The great thing is Crazy is still growing its brand and product lines. Last year saw more and more golfers around Japan exposed to Crazy as the premier high modulus carbon shaft brand.  Crazy's media presence has grown significantly in the last 365 days. I read every golf publication in Japan and 2 years ago, there was rarely even a mention of Crazy as at that time, it targeted a much narrower audience with far less products.  The shafts were already pretty good but not everyone had the power and swing speed of long drive competitors which is where the shafts really shone.  Fast forward to 2010 and Crazy began to offer more shafts suiting a wider range of golfers and media outlets and shops and golfers around Japan began to take notice.

Marketing and media aside, at the end of the day its performance that counts. It can be difficult to measure shaft performance as every player is different, and every player needs their "own" shaft, so pitting up Crazy models against other brands models is difficult to say the least. So up to this point its been very hard to make shaft comparisons. Crazy shafts are not for everyone. Price wise they are probably one of the most expensive brands. Though keeping in mind that experimenting and changing shafts all the time, no matter what the brand is also a very expensive undertaking. Its all about finding the right shaft. So I was very excited when I was able to come across some data from International Sports Marketing Ltd's Japanese wing which compiled reviews of different equipment here in Japan from amateur and recreational golfers like you and I. Rather than say this shaft is better than that shaft, the reviews are based on individual satisfaction with a specific shaft model (kind of the way they do satisfaction surveys with cars).  This is not the be all end all of shaft rankings as it still is very unscientific and with no controls. Its just the feedback of golfers and how happy they are with their purchase pf a specific shaft. While this won't tell us how good a shaft necessarily is or even who the shaft might fit, it does give us an idea of the shafts ability to perform especially when someone has put down a large sum of money for shaft.

So as you probably guessed, Crazy must have done quite well in this shaft rankings. The rankings are always changing as reviews keep coming in but the current number one ranked satisfaction shaft model is the Crazy Black 46 shaft.  Number two surprised me as it is the Bangvoo Premium. You have to hand it to Japanese golfers to see a $725 and $1050 retail shaft ranked 1 and 2.  Number 3 is Miyazaki's Kusala Blue followed by Fujikura's Motore Speeder VC.1 line, UST Mamiya Axiv Core Red, Diamana Blueboard, Crazy Black 50,  Fubuki Alpha, UST Mamiya ATTAS T2, Bangvoo 787, Crazy TJ-46 Noir, Tour AD MD and Diamana's ahina.  This is pretty good recognition for Crazy putting it up there with all the big mainstream brands. One surprise for me was the lack of high reviews for Graphite Design and it could be just the sampling of reviews (just under 500 shaft reviews were used so far).

A big part of Crazy's growth has been getting out there and letting people try their shafts. As I noted earlier in a post, Crazy has launched their Tour Van/bus which not only supports top pros and amateurs at tournaments but also during non competition days, allow for recreational golfers all around Japan to test their shafts.  The Tour bus is currently in the middle of a 75 stop tour holding testing and fitting events all across Japan. If you stop in Japan on vacation or are here already, we can help set you up with a session.

At these fitting events and also recently at their Crazy Factory stores, they have been keeping track of different players and their club settings/whats in the bag. Its fun to see what kind of Crazy shafts others are playing. This week we've got a top female amateur's bag to show. Rumi Yoshiba is still in high school but she led all golfers at the end of last month at LPGA Japan's Q-school/pro test 2nd stage. Rumi uses Crazy shafts in all her woods as well as the Crazy 435 Driver. Her bag is as follows:

Driver: Crazy 435 10.5* Crazy Black 46 6.2 Flex (R) 45.5" 305g  D2
3 Wood: Yamaha Inpres X 15* Crazy FW-01 Evolution 6.9 Flex (SR) 43" 315g D1
5 Wood: Yamaha Inpres X 18* Crazy FW-01 Evolution 6.9 Flex (SR) 42.25" 323g D1
Utility: Yamaha Inpres X 22* Crazy FW-80 6.9 Flex (SR)
Irons: Yamaha Inpres X V Forged 750GH Regular
Wedges: Yamaha Inpres X Wedge 950Gh Regular
Putter: White Hot XG #7

More and more female golfers especially top amateurs have been spotted playing Crazy shafts thanks to their lighter weight but premium control and distance. We hope to see Rumi continue her success and make it to the Japan Tour!

So Crazy continues to grow and hopefully we can help you find the right Crazy shaft for your swing.! You can check out all Crazy's products in our shop and email us anytime if you need fitting help!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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It's my turn to post my most recent WITB "What's in the Bag" Episode.  First a little info on my game.  I've been playing since a child but never really cared about my score until around 10 years ago.  Growing up my father would take me to the driving range and Pearl Country Club in Aiea Hawaii.  My first set of clubs outside of a toddler or borrowed sticks were a set of Tommy Armor 845's and the Biggest Big Bertha driver.  My last 3 rounds were 81 - 87 - 92, hows that for steady!  The foursome I last played with at Industry Hills golf club in L.A  finished 35 coor's light's in a drinking game, It was 41 on the front nine and a complete disaster on the back. I've got video that I'm not willing to post.

So enough of that, let's get on to my specs then bag.  My swing speed averages around 100.  I can crank it up to 108 and lose all control. When I swing smooth I slice the ball.  What's recently been working for me is a happy medium of being aggressive and composed.  A good drive starts to the left and fades to center while a bad drive is a pull or a slice.  I hit the ball medium high and my lowest score was 76 4 years ago.  I don't hit the ball very far, my averages are  +/- 5-10 yds Driver = 240-250, #3 = 225, 19* UT = 205, 21* UT = 190, #5 = 175, #6 = 165, #7 150, #8 = 135, #9 = 120,  PW = 115, 52* = 95, 58* = 80.  With my irons a bad shot is fat, I have a naturally steep swing that produces nice divots and lots of spin.  As many of you have seen in the video reviews my backswing with woods is rather flat,  My buddies call me Helicopter sometimes,  My irons are level with my right shoulder and my wedge shots have a backswing that's way too long.

Driver: Ryoma V-Spec 9.5 w/ Muziik BangVoo Premium S-Flex
3 Wood: PRGR Egg Spoon 15* Stock M46 Shaft  (Awaiting Crazy Evolution )
Utility: 19* & 21* 2011 TourStage X-UT w/NS950 Stiff
Irons: 5-PW Yururi KM-0107 Black Forged CB's w/ Crazy CBI-80 Limited R-Flex
Wedges: Crazy Prototype's 52/58* w/ Crazy 100 Wedge Shafts
Putter: Odyssey 2-Ball Center Shaft w/370g weight & Muziik Grip

There are a few adjustments I'm making soon.  I plan to introduce a PRGR R35 chipping wedge and  some sort of driving iron  to replace the 5 iron. I've got a huge arsenal of clubs to pull from when something is being naughty and can never leave things alone.  I also plan on testing the Yonex, Royal Collection, and Yamaha utility woods head to head against my X-UT's.  In the future I would also like to try these Crazy shaft's in the Limited TourStage 905 CB's.

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It's been a while since I have posted bag pics. It's also been a long time since I was proud of my club setting.  A little bit about me Jacque aka TourSpecGirl.  I've grown up playing the game of golf and Wailua GC on the lovely isle of Kauai in Hawaii will always be my home course. My dad is still a crazed golf fanatic playing a good 4+ rounds per week back at home, my brother loves the sport yet has little time to play since becoming a doctor and my other brother is a manager at TPC Summerlin Vegas.

In the family we also have my uncle David Ishii who has 14 pro wins including JPGA major  under his belt and even won the 1990 U.S PGA Sony Open.   As an adult my passion for the game was reborn just before moving to Japan back in 2001, Chris aka TourSpecGolfer was still new to the game and I loved giving him the beat down.  I still do now days...:)

My previous clubs were a full set of Lepon by Endo 1 thru LW,  it's the womens version of Epon quite old but still a very forgiving set.    In 2010 we visited Japan and I didn't bring clubs Tario aka Gocchin was kind enough to lend me his wife Koko's clubs and she was gaming the PRGR women's eggs.  I fell in love and had to have them.  Back in late February, Ryoma sent us all drivers and I put it into play at Hirakawa GC a famous Japanese golf course where they hold senior JPGA events.  I loved the Ryoma so much I had to have that exact driver sent to me 11.5 men's R2 flex which I think is a bit too soft for me as I'm producing too large of a draw at times.

Here's the breakdown of my set, I have space for a couple more clubs to fill the gaps, I'm still deciding what clubs those will be and when I do I will update this blog post:

Driver: Ryoma 11.5* R2 flex
FW: PRGR 17* Egg Spoon ladies flex
FW: PRGR Egg PX-03 #9 Wood
Irons: 6-PW PRGR ladies Egg irons
Wedges: AW+SW PRGR ladies Egg
Putter: Odyssey Marxman 33" w/ Muziik Grip

I haven't had an official handicap in years but my last several scores were 84 - 87 -87. I plan to go into the low 80's be the end of the season.  Below I have a short video Chris (TourSpecGolfer) made that shows my swing during a round a couple months ago in Japan at Hirakawa GC in Chiba.

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Driver: Epon AF-102 w/ Tour AD DI-6 SR flex
Fairway Woods: PRGR EGG Spoon 13* & EGG Fairway #5
Irons: Custom BLK Epon AF-502 w/ Crazy Longest Yard Iron Shafts
Wedges: Seven Hills Prototype
Bag: Seven Hills Prototype
Ball: Srixon Z Star XV

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2010 has been the best year in a long while for golfers searching for the perfect players iron or semi players design.  For a while it almost appeared that technology had maxed out in forged iron arena but when Epon released it's AF701 model just over a year ago everything changed...

The all new AF-502 like the AF-701 features a hot steel face attached to an S20C forged body.  Endo owns the patent on this technology and all OEM's that use it are required to pay a licensing fee. I'm not 100% sure but I think they have this patent for another several years before its free for other OEM's to take advantage of.   What this technology does for the player is expand the sweet spot over a much larger zone making poorly struck shots travel much further. It also incorporates hot spring steel which really cranks up the distance so be prepared for the increase, this was the most noted thing about the AF-701.  The downside to his face insert is the feel at impact it feels like a driver had a child with an Iron set. What Epon has done to fix that is fill the AF-502's hollow areas with a vibration dampening " Alpha Gel " making it soft and very rewarding when you make contact with the ball.

This year I have gone through a ton of different forged cavity backs.  Everything from the Yamaha Tour Model to the PRGR TR500 or the Epon AF-302, and more.  All very good irons but I figured it's about time I drop the ego and play something that is easier to hit. While golfing with Gocchin about a month ago he was kind enough to let me play his ONOFF backup set, they had a healthy portion of offset, a bigger profile and was no where near compact but to my surprise I could easily produce straight high shots that landed softly. This helped me realize that I don't need to have the most playeresque iron out there, I can handle a some offset, a thicker sole and top line in the name of forgiveness.

Click "Read More"to see stunning In-Hand images of the Custom AF-502 Irons by Epon...

I decided on the Crazy Longest Yard Iron Shaft. It's produced of 50 ton carbon and plays much lighter (77g ) than past graphite shafts I have had in Irons. It also spec's out much stiffer than other carbon shafts I have tried.  The stiff flex for this shaft plays to the same frequency as a DG S200 steel shaft. The 50T carbon really helps square the club head up at impact very quickly.  I decided on a single soft stepping of the shafts.  I really hope my experiment works out as these shafts run almost 250.00 a piece! combine that with the price of the 502's + Custom Finish and I'm look at a very expensive trial.

It's been a long time since I have had graphite in Irons, The Miura MB5003's with Roddio I-10s were the last set I gamed with carbon shafts.  The graphite gave the Miura muscle back extra added distance, It also allowed me to swing at a more controlled pace. I feel like mis struck hits did not vibrate as harshly up the hands and overall it was just a good solid performing experience.  That has me excited about my new irons, instead of going muscle back im going semi players cavity back. Instead of the pure feel of a blade I am giving an advanced CB technology a try. It should be interesting stay tuned.

I have a couple of rounds scheduled this week with lots of Demo club's to hit. Expect some reviews coming soon with my input as well as our top tester "Tatsuro" who is back in town and will be testing with me. Should be good to get feedback from two very different levels of players.

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Magazines and websites love to cover what's in the bag for all the top pros on tour. One of the things I find most interesting is what's in the bag of your fellow peer or average golfer. There are so many brands out there and what each person plays is not only a testament to what fits them but what brands they like and in many cases what is most popular in the market. Today we are going to look at the what's in the bag for... ME.

As many of you know I have access to almost any club in Japan and I test and try all different brands and models regularly. At first switching clubs for me was like a revolving door, but strangely enough, I have slowly become less of a golf club ho in Japan than I was before. Maybe because I've finally tried to stick with what works for me, and the gear that will improve my game. Too many players, myself included, get caught up in all the great gear out there and swap clubs in an out, often more frequently then we should. While reasons like simply wanting to try something new or on the search for the longest iron or best spinning wedge, are all valid reasons (I use those reasons too), sometimes when a club works you stick with it.

So what has managed to stick with me most of this year? Some of you who know me may be amazed to see how used my clubs actually look since in the past my WITB posts on the forum has always looked like brand new clubs. This is a credit to the clubs I play now as most of them have lasted much longer than usual.

So as I've said above, my main bag (yes I do have backups so I still qualify as a "club collector"  lol) consists of clubs I actually game and work for me. These are clubs are truly help me make my game better.

Driver: The driver is my worst club. I have long battled the right side and because of this lose distance. I went from too steep a downswing, causing too much spin and too high a trajectory to flattening out my swing which improved spin tremendously but in the process losing trajectory.  I've been able to get away with playing 10.5 and 11.5* retail off the shelf drivers. Many of these retail drivers especially average golfer models have real lofts that are higher (in some cases 2-3* even) than stated loft. The truth is this is not necessarily a bad thing for the average golfer or slower swinger because, as I have discovered myself, that higher loft works for getting extra carry for this bracket of player. This fall I replaced my PRGR GN502 gamer with a Kamui Works 456 Silver. As many of you know this driver is handmade to spec and all specs are pretty much exact. The Kamui I have has a true loft of 11* and even with a high launching Motore Speeder VC3.0, I could probably use a tad more launch but the feel and forgiveness of this driver are tremendous. I am thinking of getting Kamui to produce a 12+* loft driver for me.  I play the 456 Silver at 44" and a C8 swing weight.  I feel at this length and balance that I have enough control and speed to load the shaft and produce results.

Fairway Woods: I am carrying a 17* PRGR egg Spoon and a 20* PRGR GN502 Hit. They are both very different clubs but both are amazing performers. I use the egg more than the GN502 because it is simply so long as you can read from my previous review on it. I am not a long hitter so I need the egg frequently as my second shot on par 5's or long par 4's.  I play both these clubs because of their forgiveness and performance. They are both very easy to hit. The 17* egg is shafted with a Griffin G53 at 42.5" though I may re-shaft it as the Griffin is best in a driver at longer lengths and is a mid launch shaft. The GN502 also has a G53 at 41.5". I am not looking at replacing either of these woods right now as they simply work.

Utility: I carry a 24* ONOFF Fairway arms utility. This in fact replaces my 5 iron (which is also 24*). I have found I can hit this utility far more consistently than a 5 iron or than most utilities I have tried in the past. My fairway arms UT was a special order from ONOFF and I had them build it to a shorter 38.5" and I use it as a 5 iron off the deck and off the tee with great success on long par 3's .  The shorter shaft makes it very easy to control and square at impact which is exactly what I wanted. The ONOFF gives a higher but very stable trajectory with a soft landing.

Irons: I'm playing the ONOFF 2008 Iron 6-PW. These irons replaced the PRGR GN502 and Epon AF-701 I had earlier this year. ONOFF is about to replace this model with a 2010 model but this iron is one of the reasons why ONOFF has made great progress as a brand to be reckoned with especially among average golfers. The maraging face feels amazing and forgiveness is on a whole new level. I personally find them more forgiving than any other mid sized cavity I have tried which is why I am playing them. Distance is amazing and with custom shaft options you can have them built the way you want. Mine are shafted with Roddio I-6 graphite built by ONOFF as a custom order.  These shafts play a big part in how the irons performs and are very stable but smooth feeling graphite shafts. I do play my irons at standard lengths with is a 38" 5 iron.

Wedges: The Sky Dream Jump DP-2010 are actually the newest edition in my bag. They replace what I consider to be the best wedges I have played in a long time the Royal Collection 6150TG Forged. DP-2010 have a mid to compact head, minimal offset and a wonderfully milled face. It is as I mentioned in previous blog posts, a very different wedge as it is made from a damp alloy material with high magnesium content. Sky Dream Jump says the actual material is 3 times stronger/harder than S25C steel but feels just as soft due to its absorption characteristics that really grabs the ball at impact creating major spin. I have these shafted with Roddio I-8 graphite to go along with the I-6. The verdict is yet to be decided on these new wedges but so far I like them a lot or they would already be gone from my bag!

Putter: I was playing the Gold's Factory Hearts proto for all of last year and I began the season playing a center shaft itsy bitsy Spider. By summer my putting was going very poorly as I had poor control with the Spider. The Spider is forgiving and the agsi+ face is soft but I was not getting enough feedback from the spider so I went back to a blade anser style putter.  I like a heavy head with a shorter length so I now have a Bettinardi Japan model 360TR cut to 33" and D1.3 swing weight. The firmer yet soft (does that make sense?) honeycomb face gives me the feel and roll I want and my putting has improved tremendously. Is another Gold's putter on the horizon for me? Maybe.

One of the best things about my bag is the bag itself. I got a ONOFF caddy bag figuring it looked different. It not only looks different it has turned out to be the most useful caddy bag I have ever owned. Storage is unparalleled with huge easily accessible pockets on all sides. I keep a sweater, rain gear, food, drinks, my shoes, lots of balls and accessories and still have lots of room to spare.

So there you have my bag at least until next year. Golf is all year round here in Japan so I hope the golf ho bug doesn't bite me especially with lots of great new gear coming out in 2010 from Epon, Tourstage, XXIO, ONOFF and others!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Jiyai Shin has been a contender on every tour she has ever been a part of, from dominating the Korean Tour to big money winnings on the Japanese Tour and now first place on the money list in the LPGA.  One great thing about Jiyai is she has a great bag of Japan market clubs along with her Ping clubs. Let's take a look at what's in her bag. When she was playing on the Japanese tour last year I had already noticed that she had a bag dominated by PRGR. This year on the LPGA its more of a mixed bag.

Driver: Ping Rapture V2 9*
Fairway Woods: Royal Collection Pro TP  3W, 5W and 7W
Utilities: Ping Rapture V2 23*, PRGR Zoom 220i Driving 4 Iron
Irons: PRGR is3 501 Forged CB 5-PW
Wedges: Fourteen MT-278 V4 Black 52*, 56*, 60*
Putter: Ping Redwood Piper
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x 2009

The Rapture V2 driver gives here the forgiveness she needs to really go after the ball and match distance with the longer drivers on the LPGA tour vs the Asian Tour. Jiyai is a very consistent driver of the ball with this club. The RC Pro TP woods are very compact player's woods with a focus on accuracy and workability. Royal Collection designed these solid woods for the pro player and many in Asia bag them. As you may have noticed what's listed in her bag and in the photos is in fact 16 clubs. She alternates between the 7 wood, Ping Rapture Utility and PRGR Zoom 220i driving iron depending on the course and conditions. The PRGR is3 501 Forged is a fantastic compact players cavity back with wonderful feel and playbility and has long been a favorite also of PRGR Japan pro Azuma Yano. She has been using these irons for the better part of two seasons now.  The wedges are the very good and versatile Fourteen MT-28 V4 in black which provide wonderful feel and spin around the greens.  She putts the ball in the whole with the very good Ping Redwwod Piper S mallet style putter. A great all around bag for a great all around player!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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We all know what David used when he took down Goliath as it has been well documented and reported throughout history.  David used a sling and a rock, yes a single rock, to take down the giant.  Perhaps many years down the road, when people asked what Y.E. Yang used to take down the giant that is Tiger Woods, people will turn here to find out exactly what weapons he used to pull off the impossible improbable defeat in the PGA Championship over the man that had never, up til that point, been beat in this way.

TaylorMade & Odyssey Get Big Win

When they do turn here for that answer, they'll find that it was TaylorMade that provided the weapons of mass Tiger destruction, and Odyssey that provided the putter that rolled in the final putt to upset golf's greatest.  Once again, TaylorMade is showing strong this entire golf season, they've picked up numerous big time wins and a few majors scattered throughout this season, proving that their latest and greatest line of sticks might just be at the top of the pile when it comes to quality and consistency.

Yang's Winning Weaponry

Nevertheless, here is the full set of clubs Y.E. Yang used to notch his amazing upset victory over Tiger Woods:

Driver: TaylorMade r7 Limited (8.5°) with Aldila NV 75X shaft
Fairway woods: TaylorMade Burner (13°), TaylorMade V Steel (18°) with Honma ARMRQ shafts
Hybrid: TaylorMade Rescue TP (19°, 21°) Alida NVS 105 hybrid shaft
Irons:  TaylorMade r7 TP (5-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade rac (48°), Nike SV (58°)
Putter: Odyssey White Hot Two-Ball
Ball:  TaylorMade TP Red LDP

There you have it.  The TaylorMade/Odyssey combination has been potent this year.  When the entire season is over, it will be interesting to see the full list of wins by manufacturer.  TaylorMade has to be right there at the top, they've been racking up the wins this year with great play by their sponsored players.

Congrats Yang, Congrats TaylorMade

Congrats go out to Y.E. Yang for his great play and his impressive finish despite all the odds being stacked against him.  Congrats also go out to TaylorMade and Odyssey for

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Some say he's back, some say he never left.  Others don't care, they just love watching Tiger Woods play, and they love watching him win.  Trust us on this one, however, no one, NO ONE likes winning more than Tiger Woods likes winning, and so I'm sure it felt great to catapult himself back to the top of the FedEx Cup Leaderboard, as well as capturing his third Buick Open title in his well-documented and amazing career.

Nike & Titleist...No Hybrid

That said, did the equipment he used to do the job change from his last victory, or did he stick with what worked?  What sticks did he trust to make his title run and come back from 8 strokes back and capture his third Buick?  Glad you asked, and here, golf.com has your answer:

Driver:  Nike SQ Dymo (10°) with a Mitsubishi Diamana White Board 83x shaft
Fairway woods:  Nike SasQuatch Sumo (15°, 19°) with Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 103g shafts
Irons:   Nike Forged Blades (3-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts
Wedges:  Nike Victory Red (56°), SV (60°) with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts
Putter:  Titleist by Scotty Cameron Newport 2
Ball:  Nike One Tour

Obviously Nike dominates his bag once again, it's interesting to note he went with just fairway woods and long irons, opting to drop any hybrids from his bag for this tournament.  While is driving is still leaving a little to be desired for as far as accuracy goes, he's striking the ball better.

Will Equipment Change for PGA Championship?

Nevertheless, great victory for Tiger, and it will be interesting to see how this sets him up for this weekends tournament, as well as the PGA Championships next week.  Will his equipment change, or will he stay with what worked at the Buick?  I guess we'll see.

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We've taken a look into some pretty interesting golf bags on this blog, some of the biggest and best names in all of golf.  We've gotten to see what clubs they play, the lofts, the putters, the different golf balls and even their sponsorships coming out in flying colors.  Thanks to Tom Watson's amazing play at the British Open last week, however, we're now going to get the unique opportunity to look into the bag of one of golf's greatest golfers, and the golf bag of a 59-year-old professional that otherwise, we might never know what clubs he was carrying.

Interesting on Many Levels

It's interesting to see what Watson played at the British for a few reasons...first, because he played so well, second because he is almost sixty years old, and third because its a direct comparison to the younger players that we're so used to seeing.  It is clear at first glance that he's obviously still sponsored by, and loves the way Adams clubs play.  His bag is filled with Adams with the only exception being his putter, which so infamously failed him on his final 8 foot putt.

The Full Quiver

That said, here are the clubs he used, according to golf.com:

DRIVER: Adams Speedline (9.5°) with Aldila Voodoo SVS6 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Adams Insight (14.5°) with Aldila Voodoo SVS7 shaft
HYBRID: Adams Idea Pro Gold (18°, 20°) with Grafalloy Hybrid We Trust shafts
IRONS: Adams Idea Pro (4-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts
WEDGES: Adams Puglielli (52°), Tom Watson (56°)
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot XG #7
BALL: Titleist Pro V1

Tom Watson Plays YOUNG!

Now, at first glance we can't tell the shaft flexes and all of that, but nevertheless, we are struck by just how amazingly fit and, well, YOUNG, Tom Watson's bag makes him look.  No huge lofted driver, he's playing hybrids, and he's still getting almost 300 yard drives.  Impressive and it says a whole lot about the caliber of golfer Tom Watson really is.  Ordinarily, we only show the bags of those winning golfers, but today we had an opportunity to look inside a very unique bag.  Why not?

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With one victory, Steve Stricker launched himself into second place in the Fed Ex Cup Standings.  One Victory and you're sitting proudly right behind Tiger Woods.  Not bad, now is it?  With his impressive play at the John Deere, play that lead to a victory, you've gotta be wondering what clubs he used to do it, don't you?  I know we are.

Titleist & Stricker a Winning Combo

That said, we've got our hands on the winning clubs Stricker used to dominate the field at the John Deere.  It looks like his Titleist sponsorship runs extremely strong throughout his entire bag, only deviating for a moment when it comes to his putter, which is the Odyssey White Hot #2.  Once again, Titleist claims another PGA Victory and continues to prove why it's the ball of choice of so many pros.  Nevertheless, here is the full set of clubs Steve Stricker used to win the John Deere and get securely into second place for the Fed Ex Cup:

DRIVER:  Titleist 909 D3 (8.5°)  with UST Proforce V2 86 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD:  Titleist 906 F2 (13°)  with UST Proforce V2 95 shaft
HYBRID: Titleist 585H (17°) with Fujikura Hybrid Speeder 904 shaft
IRONS: Titleist 755 (3-PW) with Royal Precision Project X shafts
WEDGES:  Titleist Vokey Design (54°, 60°) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Sensicore shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot #2
BALL: Titleist Pro V1

Same Setup For British?

Some great golf was played this weekend and it will be interesting to see how these clubs carry Stricker's game into the British Open coming up on Thursday.  Will he stick with the same lineup or will he switch it up and opt for long-irons instead of hybrids?

I guess we'll see, stay tuned!