We round up the latest gear news from the European and PGA Tours...
Tour Gear Round Up: Rose Using TaylorMade SIM Driver
Honda Classic and Oman Open -
Justin Rose has switched out his Honma TR20 driver for the TaylorMade SIM, per the image above from the Honda Classic this week.
We also noticed that the Englishman was still using a Cobra Speedzone fairway wood in his last start at the Genesis Open.
The former World No.1's Honma TR20 Prototypes are still in the bag along with Honma wedges, a Titleist lob wedge, his Axis1 putter and the TaylorMade TP5 ball.
Rose left TaylorMade at the start of 2019, having been with the company since turning pro in 1999.
He signed a 10-club deal with Honma.
Rickie Fowler
Rickie also has a new driver in the bag, in the form of an old trusty.
The American has gone back to his Cobra King F9 Speedback, having previously used the new Speedzone Xtreme.
He has lead tape on toe to help promote a fade shape.
Koepka still has the Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero driver in the bag, having used different TaylorMade models since Nike left the equipment market in August 2016.
Victor Dubuisson
Victor Dubuisson is playing in the Oman Open this week on the European Tour and we noticed him using an older driver model.
The Frenchman still has the TaylorMade M1 in the bag from 2016.
Billy Horschel
The American has recently put a new PXG driver into play, which we believe to be the new 0811X.
We've also seen him in two different caps this week at the Honda and neither have the PXG logo on...plus he is no longer listed on the PXG website.
Have they split? Quite possibly.
Update:
Our suspicions were correct as Golf.com's Jonathan Wall confirmed the split on Twitter.
"We are pleased and proud to have had him on staff and wish him nothing but the best in his new chapter," a PXG representative told Wall.
The American won the WGC-Mexico Championship after birdieing three of his final four holes.
He is still using his Grindworks Patrick Reed blades along with very mixed bag featuring a Ping G400 driver, Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero 3 wood, Callaway Apex hybrid, Titleist wedges and Titleist ball.
His putter was the Scotty Cameron Tour Rat, as seen below in Scotty Cameron's Instagram post -
Related: Patrick Reed What's in the bag?
Genesis Invitational -
adidas Palace
adidas Golf and London skateboard company Palace have collaborated, with details on products coming soon.
'adidas Golf by Palace is coming soon,' it says on adidas Golf's website.
At the Genesis Invitational, both Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia were wearing adidas Golf by Palace apparel, with Rahm sporting a collarless shirt.
Palace, formed in the 90s, has previously teamed up with adidas Originals, adidas Tennis and with Juventus FC, who wear adidas kits.
Players honour Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant, the world-famous basketball player who tragically died in a helicopter accident last month, spent his entire career playing for the LA Lakers, and with this week's event in LA there is plenty going on to honour the legend -
JT is wearing a pair of custom FootJoy Icons with Kobe on as well as the NBA logo with Mamba Mentality and Kobe's numbers 24 and 8.
They were put together by Nomad Customs, the man behind Rickie Fowler's Arnold Palmer hi-tops, many of Brooks Koepka's designs and other high profile athletes.
Brooks Koepka
The World No.2 is also wearing a pair of shoes in honour of Kobe Bryant this week at the Genesis.
Koepka, who is still using the Mavrik driver and his new Scotty Cameron as reported further down on this page, also has LA Lakers headcovers on show at Riviera with the words 'Mamba Forever' on.
Another man honouring Kobe Bryant this week is World No.1 Rory McIlroy who also has some special headcovers on his clubs.
Tiger Woods
The tournament host at Riviera hasn't made any noticeable equipment changes this week but we've seen a couple of close-up pictures of his shoes and putter.
His Nike shoes are STILL fitted with metal spikes.
There can't be many players on the PGA Tour still wearing spikes.
Also marvel at this great close-up of his classic Scotty, which has been in the bag for 14 of his 15 Majors wins.
Justin Rose
The former World No.1 hasn't had a shoe deal since he split with adidas at the beginning of 2019 so has tested various models including Nike, FootJoy and Skechers.
We've spotted him with a new pair at Riviera this week, however we're not sure what they are just yet.
More details to follow!
Schauffele, seen here using Callaway's Triple Track ball, has put a new putter in the bag in the form of the Odyssey O-Works Red 7 CH.
Nick Taylor
The Pebble Beach Pro-Am winner is a TaylorMade ambassador and had a couple of interesting clubs in the bag during his victory.
We noticed that the Canadian is still using the M2 driver from 2017 and also had a TaylorMade SIM Max 4 iron - a club aimed at higher handicaps/game improvers.
Related: Nick Taylor What's in the bag?
Saudi International
Brooks Koepka
The four-time Major winner and free agent was spotted using a Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero 'Triple Diamond' driver during the third round of the Saudi International.
The Triple-Diamond version is a tour-only head, with Callaway saying that the Epic Flash's Triple Diamond version was "inspired by feedback from our Tour players to create a new Fade Biased head shape, optimised CG for increased control, and more face progression in a design that better players prefer."
Koepka was using the TaylorMade M5 during the opening two rounds, which he also had in the bag for the 2019 season, after using the new TaylorMade SIM Max during the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
He also switched putters last week in Saudi, putting in stunning a Scotty Cameron T22 Teryllium Newport blade.
That was fitted with a Super Stroke grip, something new for him too.
The current World No.1, for this week only, has also taken out his Nike Vapor Fly 3 iron and replaced it with a TaylorMade P790, as seen below...
Thomas Pieters
We've also noticed that Thomas Pieters has a new Scotty Cameron in the bag, changing from the various Odyssey models he used in 2019.
As well as that, we've noticed a few other things that lead us to believe he may now be an equipment free agent.
- He appears to have switched to a Titleist ball.
- He is using last year's Epic Flash Tour Bag - he hasn't changed to the new Mavrik one
- The Callaway logo has disappeared from his cap
Pieters is still using the Rogue driver and Callaway irons and wedges.
Haotong Li
Last month we reported that Li was using Titleist irons and wedges, and we now know that he has a Ping G410 Plus driver and two Callaway Mavrik fairway woods - one regular, one Sub Zero.
Li was a TaylorMade staffer last year but quite clearly appears to have entered the world of free agency this year.
He was also a Bettinardi ambassador but now looks to be putting with an Odyssey.
The two-time European Tour plays a Titleist Pro V1.
Graeme McDowell
G-Mac added in a Callaway Mavrik fairway wood during his win at the Saudi International.
Related: Graeme McDowell What's in the bag?
Charl Schwartzel
A quite incredible story, via Golf.com's Jonathan Wall, involves Charl Schwartzel's new Miura MB-001 forged blades.
He bought the clubs himself online and then drilled holes in them himself to reduce the weight.
The 2011 Masters champion also signed with Clear Golf last month to use the company’s ball.
“I’m truly excited to be playing the Clear ball this season,” he said.
“The ball is extremely precise and performs beyond expectations. I feel a remarkable competitive advantage with the Clear ball. I’m thrilled to be joining the Clear team and look forward to many successful years playing Clear.”
New TaylorMade Truss Putters
TaylorMade's new Truss putters made their PGA Tour debuts at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, with Ben An putting one into play.
The word 'Truss' refers to the triangular shape that is used in construction to provide stability.
We'll be updating this page throughout February so make sure to check back in throughout the month
Last Month: Tour Gear Round Up - January Transfer Window
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