Tag: Rickie Fowler’s golf equipment

Rickie Fowler arrives at Sanderson Farms with new equipment in the bag

On Tuesday, Fowler commented on a new putter he is preparing to use this week.

Rickie Fowler is making his first appearance in a PGA Tour event since the 2024 British Open this week at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. As one of the field’s headliners, he spoke with the media on Tuesday.

After discussing the course and his plans to play a few more PGA Tour events in 2024, Fowler was asked about some new equipment that was spotted in his bag.

“Yeah, got a few things. From irons, they’re just a black version of the same Cobra King Tours that I was playing, just a different color. I thought they looked a little bit better. Put those straight in.”

The King Tour is a compact, forged iron with a thermoplastic insert in the back that softens feel and enhances sound. Fowler started using the standard chrome version in 2023, nearly winning the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club with them before finally winding up in the winner’s circle at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

On Tuesday, Fowler commented on a new putter he is preparing to use this week.

“I had a little extra time to be able to do some more testing with a L.A.B. putter and saw a lot of good things from it. Like I said, liked what I’ve seen at home, so giving that a test run this week. Hopefully, we continue to see good things.”

LAB Golf DF3 putter
L.A.B Golf DF3 putter (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The putter Fowler is using is a L.A.B. DF3. After you sole it behind the ball, the DF3’s weighting encourages the face of the putter to remain square to the arc you establish in the address position, creating what L.A.B. refers to as Lie Angle Balance.

Fowler also sounds like he is making a switch at the top of his bag too.

“Outside of that, added a mini driver from TaylorMade, so basically a replacement for 3-wood.” Fowler said. “Feel like it’s something very beneficial off the tee, especially at a golf course like this, so I’ve seen, again, a lot of good benefits from it.”

Mini drivers and extra-large 2-woods are gaining popularity among elite players who do not use their 3-wood off the turf and instead only use it off the tee. Tommy Fleetwood has been carrying a mini driver for a few seasons and last year Cameron Young and Max Homa also used a mini driver in several PGA Tour events.

Dude Perfect, Rickie Fowler take Ben Hogan’s circa 1950’s clubs for a spin around Colonial’s Horrible Horseshoe

Fowler estimated that Hogan’s persimmon driver flew 20 yards shorter than his Cobra gamer.

Technology has come a long way since the days of Ben Hogan.

On Tuesday, ahead of this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, Rickie Fowler and three members of the crew from Dude Perfect, the sports and comedy group, played Colonial Country Club’s famed “Horrible Horseshoe,” the nickname for hole Nos. 3-5, with Hogan’s clubs from the 1950s.

Fowler estimated that Hogan’s persimmon driver flew 20 yards shorter than his Cobra gamer.

“With the current ball, it isn’t as much as you would think if you hit it out of the middle,” he said. “Irons are still irons but it’s the mishits where the difference is most noticeable.”

He noted, “The amount of precision it took with the old ball and old equipment is very different compared to today.”

Throwback equipment has developed a niche following in recent years and Fowler is a fan of teeing it up with equipment from another era.

“I still love going back and playing with some old stuff I have,” Fowler said. “It makes hitting current stuff especially driver feel a lot more inviting.”

As for Tyler Toney, Garrett Hilbert and Coby Cotton of Dude Perfect – whose YouTube channel has more than 60 million subscribers – Fowler said they held their own.

“They did not embarrass themselves,” Fowler said. “Ty is the best of the group but Garrett and Colby hit some solid shots considering their handicaps.”

Fowler noted a couple shots were not so great but he cut them some slack as they weren’t given a chance to warm-up with the Hogan relics. Dude Perfect also played in the Wednesday pro-am with Keegan Bradley and K.H. Lee.

The Hogan clubs also made their way to the range at Colonial, where Rafa Campos and Justin Rose put them through their paces.

“They look small, no doubt. No room for error, and yeah, very sharp. Everything is very straight-edged,” Rose said of the irons.

“Why can’t we go back to this?” Campos said after hitting a driver.

Rose took one look at Hogan’s short stick and said, “I mean, no wonder he didn’t enjoy putting.”

Equipment spotted at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club

Check out the golf equipment being used by the pros at the 2024 PGA Championship.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The driving range and practice area at Valhalla Golf Club are filled with golf’s best players as they prepare for the season’s second major, the 2024 PGA Championship, and Golfweek’s David Dusek has been on-site all week taking notes on what clubs players are using.

Conditions in the fairways are soft and the sand around the greens is clumpy, so players are testing wedges to ensure they have the ideal blend of bounce and loft.

Check out the gallery of in-hand and close-up images below to see some of the most interesting gear Dusek has seen this week from players such as Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Scottie Scheffler and more.