3.28.2011
�gamechanger;TaylorMade’s white r11 driver has been
an attention-getter in the season’s early going, but Martin
Laird proved the company’s “other” white big stick is plenty
useful, too. Laird used TM’s Burner SuperFast 2.0 in winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, ranking fifth in driving
distance and T- 22 in accuracy. Interestingly, the stock version of the SuperFast 2.0 is made with a 48-gram shaft to
promote a faster swing speed. Laird, however, used a shaft
35 grams heavier—an 83-gram Mitsubishi Diamana Kai’li.
�hall;of;fame;hands Last
night Jack Wulkotte was inducted
into the Palm Beach County Sports
of Hall of Fame. Although Wulkotte’s name may not be well known
among everyday golfers, he is an
integral part of pro golf history as
Jack Nicklaus’ personal clubmaker.
Wulkotte, 81, joined MacGregor in
1947 and became Nicklaus’ main
equipment man thanks to a 6-iron.
Nicklaus broke the club during the
Jacksonville Open in 1963. The
club was flown to MacGregor’s
shop in Cincinnati—but the shop
was closed. Wulkotte, however,
hadn’t left the building and used his
leverage to negotiate a whopping
$32 for the repair—approximately
eight times his hourly wage. Wulkotte’s true talent, however, was
with woods. “There are 125 steps
to making a persimmon club,” said
Wulkotte. “I used to make 25 drivers
for Jack, and he might find one he
liked.” Nicklaus found enough he
liked to become a hall of famer. Now
his club man has become one, too.
�lofty;idea ryan Moore used
a putter from a company called
SIK at Bay Hill. SIK putters are the
brainchild of former PGA Tour pro
Kenny Knox and feature a face with
a descending loft, where the top
half of the face has four degrees of
loft and decreases to three degrees,
then two degrees. The bottom half
has just one degree of loft, with the
idea being the descending loft helps
those with a forward press in their
stroke. Moore finished T- 12 at Bay
Hill, ranking third in putts per GIr.
�perfect;fit The number of ball
models used at the Arnold Palmer
Invitational (there were 22, including eight versions of the Titleist Pro
V1/V1x) shows how important it
is to the pros to match their ball to
their game. Don’t know how to ball
fit? Some companies, notably Titleist and Bridgestone, offer fittings,
but if you decide to do it yourself,
take a few different models you
think might match your game
and hit some shots, working from
around the green back to the tee.
equipment// e.;michael;johnson
jack’s;clubmaker,;moore’s;putter,;ball-fitting;tips
arnold palmer invitational// winner’s bag
�in;the;bag
(Martin Laird’s lineup)
ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: TaylorMade Burner SuperFast 2.0 (Mistubishi Diama Kai’li
83), 10. 5 degrees
4-wooD: TaylorMade R11, 17
degrees
5-wooD: TaylorMade R9, 19
degrees
irons ( 3-4): TaylorMade Tour
Preferred; (5-PW): TaylorMade R9
Forged
weDges: Titleist Vokey Spin Milled
C-C TVD (54, 60 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Rossa
Daytona Tour Mid
JIM HErI Ty, SAM GrEEN WOOD/GE T Ty IMAGES
COVEr // CON TEN TS // 10 THINGS // PGA TOur // LPGA TOur // EurOPEAN TOur // equipment // TIM rOSAFOr TE
