Tom Kim What's In The Bag?

Tom Kim What's In The Bag?

South Korean professional Tom Kim is unquestionably a rising star in the world of men's golf, working his way up to the PGA Tour and winning his first PGA Tour event at the 2022 Wyndham Championship in dominant fashion. He has gone on to win two more PGA Tour events, the 2022 and 2023 Shriners Children's Open.

Driver

What Driver Does Tom Kim Use?

Kim is a Titleist staff player and uses nearly a full bag of clubs from the brand, starting with a Titleist TSR3 driver which we found to be one of the best drivers in testing. One of many Titleist players to put this model in the bag, the TSR range was launched in 2022 and the TSR3 head is the most adjustable of the three new models, with a moveable weight in the back of the head. He plays it with nine degrees of loft and it is fitted with a Graphite Design Tour AD VF 6 X shaft, which replaced his previous Fujikura Atmos Black 6 X. 

“I had been playing the TSi3 for the longest time and I thought I wasn’t going to change it, but after trying it at TPI (in the summer of 2022), it was just so good that I had to put it in the bag, and it’s been working out really well,” Kim said. 

“My percentage in the fairway has gone up and, yeah, it’s a keeper. Missed hits, solid hits, it just stays in the wind so well for me - that’s what I’ve had trouble with before. I thought I was going to use the ‘i’ for the rest of the season, but I put it right in the bag because I gained ball speed, gained swing speed, smash factor went up and holds it really well into the wind. So it was great.” 

Fairway Wood

What Fairway Wood Does Tom Kim Use?

Kim then uses a Titleist TSi3 three-wood with 15 degrees of loft and a Fujikura Atmos Tour Spec Black  7 X shaft. Although an older model, the TSi3 remains one of the best fairway woods. 

He was also carrying a five-wood which was a newer Titleist TSR2 model with 18 degrees of loft, however, this appears to have come out for a hybrid. 

Hybrid

What Hybrid Does Tom Kim Use?

He then has a Titleist TSR3 hybrid which has 19 degrees of loft. Delivering a lower-pitched sound and more powerful feel, the stand-out feature in our testing was definitely the moveable weight system in the sole. It is sleek and easy to use and, when we changed it about, it definitely had an effect on the ball flight, which was very consistent, making it one of the best hybrids on the market.

Kim has a Graphite Design Tour AD Prototype shaft in his hybrid.

Irons

What Irons Does Tom Kim Use?

Moving to the irons, Kim uses the 2023 Titleist T200 model in his two and three-irons, while the rest of his irons from four-iron to nine-iron are 2023 Titleist T100s. From our testing, we thought for any low handicapper who isn’t the best ball striker, or a keen golfer in the low teen handicap range, the T200 would seem to offer the ideal blend of performance attributes in terms of forgiveness where needed and control. 

The T100 is an iron for the low handicapper seeking a classic compact shape while still benefiting from a degree of forgiveness. They feature traditional players’ iron lofts in a forged cavity construction. The face is thin and responsive, while the use of tungsten weighting in the 3-7 irons boosts off-center strike forgiveness. Our testing revealed to us it is a good, compact iron for better players looking for a blend of control and consistency.

“The feel was just so much better,” said Kim on his first impressions of the new models. “And to be honest, I’ve gone through three sets of T100s, and every time I hit the new ones, I kind of question, ‘Man, can it get any better?’ And for some reason it does.” 

Wedges

What Wedges Does Tom Kim Use?

Moving on, Kim has three Titleist Vokey wedges at the moment, two of which are SM10 models but we don't know the exact specification as Kim has the loft, bounce and grind identification ground off the sole and replaced with the letters P, G and L, presumably for Pitching, Gap and Lob. His 'L' wedge is a Vopkey WedgeWorks prototype.

We do know, however, that he uses True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts in all his wedges.

Putter

What Putter Does Tom Kim Use?

His final club in the bag is a Scotty Cameron TourType GSS Prototype. “I play a GSS TT (TourType) blade,” Kim said this week via PGA TOUR social channels. 

“I have a dot on the top and a line on the bottom. I’ve played this putter for more than a year now. I think my first week with this putter was at the Presidents Cup last year, worked pretty well so it’s been in the bag for a long time, and it doesn’t plan to leave any time soon.” 

He has a very interesting Scotty Cameron Prototype by UST Mamiya shaft fitted, along with a SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0 grip.

Ball

What Ball Does Tom Kim Use?

Kim is one of many Titleist professionals to use the Titleist Pro V1x golf ball. It features the same reformulated 2.0 ZG Process Core and softer cover as the Pro V1 for enhanced distance plus improved feel and control. What separates the two is the Pro V1x is the lower-spin model which makes sense given the importance of distance out on Tour at the moment. Finally, Kim now uses Nike apparel and golf shoes having turned up to the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions wearing the brand's apparel and footwear.

Tom Kim WITB: Full Specs

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, A1) with Graphite Design Tour AD VF 6 X shaft

3-wood: Titleist TSi3 (15 degrees) with Fujikura Atmos Black 7 X shaft

Hybrid: Titleist TSR3 (19 degrees) with Graphite Design Tour AD Prototype shaft

Irons: Titleist T200 (2-3), Titleist T100 (4-9) with Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 TX (2), Project X 5.5 (3), Project X 6.0 (4-9) shafts

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (P and G), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (L) all with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts

Putter: Scotty Cameron TourType GSS Prototype (Scotty Cameron Prototype by UST Mamiya shaft and SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0 grip)

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x