- yesterday
We take a look inside the bag of two time Masters Champion Bubba Watson! Now plying his trade on the LIV Golf Tour as Captain of the Range Goats, the left-hander was more than happy to chat through the clubs in his bag to staff writer Joe Ferguson at JCB Golf & Country Club for the LIV Golf UK event.
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00:00Right, we are here at JCB Golf & Country Club for the Live Golf UK event and I bumped into
00:05Bubba Watson.
00:06So we're going to do a little what's in the bag, if that's alright.
00:08Yeah, let's do it.
00:09Before we do, I want to know, as a former club fitter and PGA professional, what's it
00:14like to try and fit Bubba Watson for equipment?
00:17Oh man.
00:18We're always told to hit your normal stock shot and you're a guy who just moves the ball
00:22all over the place, all different variations of flights.
00:24How does that process of someone getting you into the right equipment look?
00:28For me, I know right away, like if you're building me a set of clubs, I know right away if I
00:33like it or I don't like it and the grips are really the hard part, right, because you're
00:38putting all the tape on there.
00:39We're going to get to your grips.
00:40Yeah, so that's, but, okay, so I'm not allowed to talk about that yet.
00:43Yeah, take that, go away, start away, fire away.
00:44But the grips is really the hard part.
00:46The clubs, the equipment, I trust the equipment, I trust the company, I know what they're making
00:51is better for all golfers, not just me.
00:54And so once you get it custom fit, that's when you're ready to play golf.
00:58So when you're looking at driving, we know your predominant shape is your fader of the
01:02ball generally?
01:03Yeah, when my driver's built just to cut, I don't want it to, I don't want it to, to
01:08draw at all.
01:09I want to take one side out.
01:10And when you say built to cut, so we're looking, we'll start, we'll get into it then.
01:12So we're looking at the G430 LS Tech with, we all know, your crazy pink finishes, which
01:17is great.
01:18When you say built to fade, are we talking with internal weighting, with hot melt, with face angle,
01:22with everything?
01:23Yeah, I call it goop, but yeah, hot melt, yeah.
01:26And so the hot melt, and then the shaft is stiffer, tipped one inch or so.
01:32And then the grip is set open a little bit, so that it, everything makes it feel like a
01:39cut.
01:40It's all fade bias.
01:41And so I have the reminder in there, and you can see that it's, see how it's a little.
01:44You just told me set open a little bit.
01:46A little bit.
01:47That's, looks about 25 degrees open to me.
01:49Well, that's just a little bit.
01:50That's a lot.
01:51Just wait till you get to the irons in the lob wedge, the lob wedge is way more.
01:55I'm looking forward to seeing that, so you've got hazardous RDX, smoked TX, 60 grams, and
01:59tipped an inch.
02:00Interesting.
02:01So into three wood.
02:02So it's basically so that I don't, I want to, I want to be able to under pressure, just move
02:06it one way.
02:07And just know that's going to happen.
02:08And most guys, most guys, they want to move it in different directions, but under pressure,
02:13you've got to have that go-to shot.
02:14And so that's why.
02:15Perfect.
02:16Thank you very much.
02:17Into three wood.
02:18So we've got the G430 max, 15 degrees, set on standard with a Fujikura speed.
02:24I take it this is a custom job.
02:25It certainly is.
02:26Bubba Watson designed custom job.
02:28Yep.
02:29Talk to me about this.
02:30Is this more of a tea club for you, fairway, or it has to be versatile?
02:32Yeah, it has to be versatile, but this one is, I want to move it all the different
02:37directions from the fairway, but also from the T. So yeah, so this one has a round grip
02:42on it so that I can, I can grip it different directions so that I can move it one way or
02:46the other.
02:47That's really interesting.
02:48So you go reminder in, is it the rest of the set or just drive a reminder?
02:50All the clubs except the three wood.
02:52Just rounding the three wood.
02:53So if I want to hit a low one, high one, slice it, hook it, I can hit all the shots
02:57with it.
02:58Get a round grip in there.
02:59That's the geeky stuff our audience want to know about those little nuggets there.
03:03That's really cool.
03:04Into the irons with 3-2 pitching wedge in the Blueprint S. How did you end up there?
03:09Because Ping have got so many great irons this year in particular.
03:12We've been talking about a lot on our podcast.
03:14What a great job Ping have done with their iron lineup this year.
03:16How did you end up in Blueprint S?
03:19I was used, I used the S-59s for 10 years.
03:22Yes.
03:23And then I used the S-55s for 10 years.
03:25And then when they came out with this, they told me that this was going to be geared similar
03:31to the S-55s.
03:33And so when they said that, then I was interested.
03:35And so, you know, they, they showed me a lot of the stuff that they're drawing up.
03:39I've been blessed enough to be able to be in there with the engineers to see what they're
03:42doing and, and be a part of it.
03:44So they, they explained to me what they were trying to do and accomplish and I love it.
03:50And so it feels just like the S-55s to me.
03:54Obviously the weighting is different.
03:56All the movement of the weight is different, but it gave me the feel that I was looking
04:00for in the clubs that I was already playing.
04:02And I felt like I hit it more.
04:04My pattern got tighter, which we're all trying to do, right?
04:07Great.
04:08And the two things that really stand out visually for me here.
04:10We've got the cool Bubba laser, laser etched logo in the back.
04:14That looks really cool.
04:15We've got some grind work done throughout the set.
04:17It looks like some heel relief, which you only generally see on wedges.
04:21So why do you feel like you need this extra heel relief in the irons?
04:23So with the irons, I'm trying to hit, you know, they're building irons to go straighter, right?
04:28Yeah.
04:29Every company is trying to go straighter for the, for the average golfer.
04:31But for me, I wanted to move all different directions.
04:34So I did the heel relief so that it digs through the ground the way I want it to for certain shots or for all the shots.
04:40So that's just a turf interaction thing?
04:42Yeah, it's just for, it's just for, so I can leave the face open for cuts or I can turn it over for the draws.
04:49And so that hitting the ground, it just makes it easier to move it through the ground.
04:52Perfect.
04:53And then into the wedges, we've got kind of a, well, we've got the Range Goats logo, which is really, really cool.
04:57But we've got some older wedges here.
04:58So we've got the Glide 2.0 in 52, 56 and 60.
05:02We'll talk about those grinds in a moment.
05:05Why are you still in the Glide 2.0?
05:07Just a feel thing, a familiarity thing?
05:09So when they, they, they started doing the, um, the bottom groove on the new wedges and it doesn't go all the way across.
05:15Yes.
05:16And so now mine, when they make mine, they go all the way across.
05:18But I, um, I keep going back to these because of the, the turf interaction and the way I can shape it and do all the shots.
05:25For some reason, um, it just feels better in my hands.
05:28Um, and so they bless me where I can still, they still make them for me and I still have some where I can play with them.
05:34And how many wedges do you go through a year?
05:36Um, I, I usually say the same ones all year.
05:39Okay.
05:40And I don't practice as much as all the other people.
05:41Okay.
05:42I play a lot of golf.
05:43So I don't, I'm not on the range hitting balls all the time.
05:45One after the other.
05:46So it's not, so it's not wearing out the grooves as much as some of the other guys.
05:48Okay.
05:49That's really interesting.
05:50One last question on the wedges.
05:51So have you always been 52, 56, 60?
05:53Is that kind of?
05:54Yeah.
05:55So, so it's, it's 56, 52.
05:56And then this is 63.
05:57Oh wow.
05:58It says 60, but it's bent to, to 63.
06:00Let's take a look at that.
06:01That's a lot of extra bending.
06:02So you've got quite a low bounce to start with at six.
06:04Yeah.
06:05When you're adding three degrees of loft to that, we're going up to probably near a nine or 10 bounce.
06:08Yep.
06:09Yeah.
06:10There's loft there, isn't there?
06:11Yeah, exactly.
06:12And the grip feels like it's almost on sideways.
06:13Yep.
06:14That's really, really interesting.
06:15And then there's tons of wrap under there.
06:16So it's a little bit bigger.
06:17It's a mid size grip.
06:18Yeah.
06:19Let's touch on that now in terms of the wraps that you have under these mid size grips.
06:22What's the setup?
06:23I've heard all sorts of mythical things about your grips.
06:26How many is it?
06:27It's, it's 11.
06:28I, if it's a, if I remember correctly, the, the lob wedge has one more than all the other
06:33stuff.
06:34Okay.
06:35So, as you know, the rubber grips, they change, right?
06:37Cause it's manufacturing, you know, little, little variances here and there.
06:41Um, and then we try not to stretch the grips on, so it keeps them fatter.
06:44Um, so you stretch them on too much.
06:46It gets too thin.
06:47So we have 11 wraps all the way down and then we have two extra wraps, um, for the bottom
06:52hand.
06:53Just to take that taper out.
06:54You can't make it completely round from the rules of golf.
06:57So you can get it as close as you can get it.
06:59Um, and that's what we're trying to do.
07:01Cool.
07:02Interesting.
07:03I bet.
07:04Head covers I've ever seen.
07:05Talk me through that.
07:06Yeah.
07:07So ping, ping made those a few years ago, um, because of the, the gold putter vault.
07:11And so they made that for like, for like champions, like club champions and all that.
07:15So that's like their gold, your gold putter.
07:18Right.
07:19And so, um, so I loved it.
07:20I love the way it shines.
07:21And so that's why I use it.
07:22It's a nice flex.
07:23Yeah.
07:24And then the PLD putter here.
07:25So we've got the answer and to start.
07:26So a lot of people go into more higher MOI putters nowadays with, um, sort of mallet styles
07:31with a bit more, what does that mean?
07:32Higher MOI Bubba means more forgiving.
07:34So more stable on miss hit.
07:36So generally a bit more weight back.
07:37That's why I use it.
07:38There you go.
07:39So Bubba doesn't know what high MOI means.
07:40So that's why we're in this putter.
07:42So let's skip over that then.
07:43Okay.
07:44Raw finish.
07:45What do you like about it, Ruston?
07:46Is that just an age thing?
07:47I just like the, I just like the look of it.
07:48Um, for some reason, the contrast of the white paint on the line and then the white ball,
07:53the change of color, um, for some reason on my eyesight, it just feels better right now,
07:58looks better.
07:59Um, and when I won a lot of my tournaments, I had the, uh, I had the Dimascus and I had,
08:05um, a color change red, kind of like a multicolor putter.
08:08So the silver to me somehow reflects the sun a little differently.
08:12So I wanted something with a more, um, less shine to it.
08:15Brilliant.
08:16And what ball are we in?
08:17I am in the X, Tideless Pro VX.
08:20Okay.
08:21Perfect.
08:22Well, that is fantastic.
08:23Bubba Watson.
08:24He doesn't know what MOI is, but he's certainly got some cool gear and he's a lovely man.
08:27I do now though.
08:28You told me.
08:29You're more than welcome.
08:30What was it again?
08:31Forgiveness.
08:32We'll talk about it off camera.
08:33Thanks a lot.
08:34My putter needs forgiveness.
08:35Thank you very much, Bubba Watson.
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