What's in the bag - Carnoustie special

Golf Monthly's equipment editor takes a crafty look inside one or two players’ bags on the course and practice ground at Carnoustie

Ping?s new G10 range will be hitting the shelves in September and is already seeing plenty of action out on tour. I?ve spotted a 9 degree driver in Angel Cabrera?s bag and understand Chris DiMarco, Mark Calcavecchia and Mark Hensby have all been trying the club and could be putting it into play this week. Meanwhile Lee Westwood has switched to a new 14 degree G10 3-wood after just a few hits. Sergio Garcia has created a few headlines following his switch to a belly putter in the ongoing effort to send his putting stats tumbling. He wielded a belly version of TaylorMade?s Rossa Corzina in his top-20 finish at Loch Lomond last week, averaging just 28 putts a round and ending up 4th for putts per green in regulation. So maybe a corner has been turned?. At Callaway?s pre-tournament get-together, I spotted an interesting-looking utility iron in Nick Dougherty?s bag. The 18 degree club looked like a chunkier version of the X-Tour model and was marked up with a distinctive U on the sole. Whether this prototype long iron will eventually make it into production remains to be seen, but the concept would, in theory, mirror the progression you can make in Mizuno?s MP ranges by moving to the wider-soled Fli-Hi 2, 3 and 4-irons. Justin Leonard has also been seen using an iron-style Nike utility with a low profile face in an attempt to master the links and recapture some of his former Open glory this week. He?s been using it quite a lot off both tee and fairway in his warm-up rounds, using it as a kind of go-to club for shots of around 240 or so yards. But I?ve been unable to find out anything more about this particular club just yet.

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf

Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Srixon ZX, EvenFlow Riptide 6.0 S 50g shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3- to 8-iron: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Irons 9-iron and PW: Honma TWorld TW747Vx, Nippon NS Pro regular shaft

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Kramski HPP 325

Ball: Any premium ball I can find in a charity shop or similar (or out on the course!)