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GOLF.com first told you about the five-piece TaylorMade Penta TP golf ball in August. In this video from TaylorMade, Dean Snell, senior director of ball research, explains how he got the company's staff pros—including Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose and Retief Goosen—to try it.
Retief Goosen made a switch to TaylorMade's new R9 TP irons before the start of the Presidents Cup in San Francisco in September. Now two more high-profile TaylorMade players have made the switch to the company's newest better-player irons.
Sergio Garcia put a set of R9 TP irons in his bag before the start of the Madrid Masters in early October, and has them in the bag again this week at the Castello Masters in Castellon, Spain.
Garcia started the 2009 season using TaylorMade's Tour Preferred irons and switched during the summer to a set TaylorMade RAC MB blades that he'd played in previous seasons.
According to the company, Garcia's R9 TP irons are fitted with Project X 6.5 shafts and Golf Pride New Decade 60 grips with four to five layers of tape under the grips.
This week Garcia is also playing new TaylorMade RAC wedges that feature grooves that conform to the new 2010 regulations.
Meanwhile, Paula Creamer, who is playing a Japanese LPGA Tour event this week, has been Twittering about her new irons:
Thurs. 5:55PM Eastern: I am using new TaylorMade irons this week. They are the new R9 TP irons and are awesome. I haven't changed my irons in almost 3 years!
Thurs. 6:05PM Eastern: These R9 TP irons are the new groves. I loved my r7 irons but it was time for a change. Plus in January I have to change to the new groves.
Fri. 5:26AM Eastern: The new irons worked well today. I missed 4 greens. Still trying to figure out how far I hit them. That is the hard part for me right now.
Here is what GOLF Magazine had to say about the game-improving R9 irons in its November issue.
(Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen plan to use TaylorMade's new five-piece golf ball, the Penta TP, at next week's PGA Championship at Hazeltine.
The ball, which took three years to develop, won't be available to the public until Dec. 1. It is golf’s first five-piece ball, and according to TaylorMade officials, was added to the USGA’s conforming ball list on Wednesday.
The goal for the Penta was to optimize its performance in five key areas: with the driver, long-irons, middle irons, short irons and partial wedge shots. (Get it? "Penta," five.)
The cover of the Penta TP is made of a soft urethane material to promote a high-spin rate, but lower trajectory on wedge shots and pitches for more control. The outer mantle layer, which can be found directly under the white cover, is the most-easily compressed. Of the three mantle layers in the Penta TP, it's the fastest, and TaylorMade says it is designed to create optimal spin and flight conditions when ball speeds are below 120 mph (short irons for tour pros).
The middle mantle layer is semi-firm, and TaylorMade designed it to be compressible on shots with a ball speed between 120 and 140 mph (mid-irons). According to a TaylorMade memo, the inner mantle is designed to create high-launching, low-spinning shots with a ball speed between 140 and 160 mph (long irons).
Encased under all those layers is the core, which is made from an extremely fast, low-compression material that only the fastest swingers will be able to activate. However, TaylorMade says those who do can expect more ball speed and less spin on drives for increased distance.
TaylorMade expects the Penta TP to be widely used by its Tour staff players, and the ball has not only been tested by Garcia and Goosen, but also by Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Justin Rose. But TaylorMade says the ball should also appeal to slower-swinging players and a wide range of amateurs because it has been designed to increase ball speed (for more distance) and provide feel around the greens.
Sergio Garcia's biggest win came last year at the Players Championship. Although he led the field that week in driving accuracy and greens in regulation, he kissed his putter after defeating Paul Goydos in a one-hole playoff on the famous 17th at TPC Sawgrass.
Garcia went on to tie for second at the PGA Championship last year and won the European Tour's Castello Masters in Spain and the HSBC Champions in Shanghai. In fact, Garcia rose to No. 2 in the world rankings using that putter, a Scotty Cameron Newport.
But this season has been rough for Garcia on the greens. He's still one of the best ballstrikers around—hitting 67% of the greens in regulation—but poor putting has sent his scoring average up 2.56 strokes per round, to 71.68. Garcia ranks 173rd in average number of putts per round (30.17) and 155th in putts per green in regulation (1.812)
"I obviously am not feeling 100 percent with my game at the moment, and it shows," Garcia said in his press conference Tuesday. "I'm just not having a great time on the course."
At the Masters, Garcia arrived wielding a 44-inch TaylorMade Spider belly putter. He tied for 38th that week and was never a factor in the tournament. In fact, he made more news with his derogatory remarks about the course and subsequent retraction.
Garcia, still trying to break out of his putting funk, has now switched to a unique new putter. It is 42 inches long, and the head is from an extended-length TaylorMade Rossa Monza Corza.
The standard-length version of the Corza has slots cut out of the frame (top right), but the extended-length model is solid to add weight (bottom right). TaylorMade reps say that Kia Ma, the company's putter guru, ground the sides to make the shape more pleasing to Garcia's eye.
The grip on the putter also extends farther down the shaft than normal, making it look a little like Angel Cabrera's extended-length i Series 1/2 Craz-E B.
"It's similar in a way, I guess," he said Tuesday. "I saw his last week, and I think it's a little bit different because he grips it pretty much from the top. I grip it pretty much normal and kind of let a little bit of the putter stick out."
Garcia also said, "By the grip being a little longer, it's harder for me to make the top part of the grip move, so I'm working with the clubface instead of that. So that's usually what happens to me when I start putting badly. So I'm just trying to see if I can get some confidence and feel good with something."
While Garcia is hopeful that this putter will provide the spark he's looking for, it's clearly on a short leash.
"Unfortunately I can't predict the future," Garcia said. "So I don't know. At the moment I'm staying with it. We'll see how it goes."
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Photos - Garcia: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images; Putter: GlobalGolf (top), TaylorMade (bottom)
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Sergio Garcia has gone back to using a belly putter this week. This time it's a TaylorMade Rossa Monza Spider.
Garcia nearly won his first major championship using a TaylorMade Rossa Corzina belly putter at Carnoustie in 2007. Even though his ball lipped out on the 72nd hole, forcing a playoff that he eventually lost to Padraig Harrington, Garcia putted well that week and many people suspected he might stick with the belly putter.
Ten months later in Ponte Vedra, Fla., the belly putter was gone, replaced by a standard length Scotty Cameron Newport blade. Garcia used that putter to win the Players Championship.
As we reported, Garcia pulled the Cameron putter out of his bag late last season in favor of a putter that he helped to design with Kia Ma, TaylorMade's putter guru.
While the Spider is a high-MOI mallet, it is designed to be swung on the same inside-square-inside arc as Garcia's blade putter. The advantage of a belly putter is it helps players release the putter head more easily, which produces a smoother roll.
On Thursday at the Masters, Garcia needed 29 putts during his opening round and shot a 1-over 73.
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
If you weren't a fan of Sergio Garcia before today, you now have a good reason to join his fan club.
According to Advertising Age, anyone who buys a TaylorMade R7, R9 or Burner driver from Golfsmith by April 11 will get a full refund if -- and that's a big if -- Garcia wins the Masters.
The good news? Garcia played great in several big events last year, and he won the Players Championship. But he has yet to win a major, and his record at Augusta isn't stellar -- he's missed the cut three of the last four years. Still, according to the article, Golfsmith isn't taking any chances:
(Golfsmith) purchased an insurance policy against the odds of Mr. Garcia winning The
Masters and so will not be giving away millions.
For complete details on the promotion, click here.
Ernest, a Shop Blog reader, recently posted a comment about Sergio Garcia's putter.
If you look up Sergio Garcia's Winning Clubs you will notice that he is, according to Golf Magazine, playing a Taylor Made putter. Everyone knows that Sergio has gone back to a Scotty Cameron Prototype that he used many years ago.
That was true Ernest, but not any longer.
After getting some putting advice from Stan Utley, a newly-named GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher, Garcia switched to a vintage Scotty Cameron Newport 2 to win the 2008 Players. In fact, it was the same putter he'd used in the late 90s, including at Medinah during the 1999 PGA Championship.
Garcia continued to use that putter until last November, when he took a TaylorMade Rossa Daytona putter and ground areas of the heel and toe in a TaylorMade truck. He sent that putter to TaylorMade and the company made Garcia a Daytona to his exact specifications (right down to the stainless steel finish).
The image on the right is of Garcia's clubs and was taken two weeks ago in Dubai. I've enlarged the putter in the photo. If you click on the image you'll get a closer look.
It shows just how fast the world of golf equipment changes. If you look closely at the photo, you might also notice that Garcia has switched to TaylorMade's new R9 driver, having played last season with the Tour Burner. He said this week, "Not only do I feel like I can shape this driver [the R9] both ways but I have easily gained 10 yards."
I'm pointing this out to show that yes, I do read every comment posted in the blog. I encourage you to ask questions about any club or manufacturer you like in the comments section below the posts. Whenever I can, I'll do my best to get the answers and post them in The Shop.
Sergio Garcia recently said that one of his short-term goals was to supplant Phil Mickelson as No. 2 in the world rankings. He made the move with his victory at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai. To help him in his quest, Garcia enlisted the help of some new gear.
He recently switched from TaylorMade's Tour Burner driver to the company's new r7 Limited (9.5°). The Limited, which was released in August, has a more triangular shape and three adjustable weight ports (the Tour Burner does not have adjustable weight ports).
Having played TaylorMade's rac MB TP irons previously, he also seems to have switched to the new Tour Preferred irons (3-PW). His new clubs have a small, undercut cavity and allow the company to position weight patents in the heel and toe areas. The Tour Preferred irons also feature TaylorMade's Inverted Cone, which is designed to expand the sweet spot. Click on the image above for a better look.
But the most significant change is Sergio's flat stick. In the weeks leading up to his victory at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in May, Garcia had reverted to a vintage Scotty Cameron Newport 2 putter that he'd used in 1999. But after shaping and grinding a TaylorMade Rossa Daytona himself, he sent the putter to the company and had them make a special silver-colored version. Like the Cameron, it's a classic heel-toe weighted design with a plumber's neck and single alignment line. However, unlike off-the-rack Daytonas, Garcia's does not have a red-grooved AGSI+ insert.
No word on how the new putter tastes.
(Club photos provided by TaylorMade;
Garcia photo by Paul White/AP Photos)
Losing the 2008 PGA championship to Padraig Harrington won't hurt as much as losing the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie for Sergio Garcia. After all, Sergio didn't watch one of his putts lip out on the final hole that would have won the tournament. He played his heart out, but it still has to hurt.
Sergio did a fantastic job of using his driver to hit knockdown shots below the blustering winds at Oakland Hills on Sunday. It's a tricky shot, but when you've got some of the best hands in the game, it can useful.
The golf ball Garcia uses helped him pull it off. While most amateur golfers would be better served by a ball with a lot of spin, which helps maximize hang time and distance off the tee, Garcia uses the TaylorMade Red LDP. The LPD stands for Low-Drag Performance, and according to TaylorMade, it is especially good in windy conditions. By playing the ball back in his stance, and limiting his follow-through, Garcia was able to produce a lower trajectory on tee shots.
Garcia is a feel player, and his clubs are old-school. While more and more players are migrating to cavity-backed irons, Garcia is still swinging blades. And here's a little tidbit the guys in the TaylorMade van have told me: Sergio grinds his own wedges. That means he literally shapes the bounce to his liking using a sanding wheel. Talk about taking equipment matters into your own hands!
Here's a list of the clubs Sergio used at Oakland Hills during the 2008 PGA championship:
Driver TaylorMade Tour Burner TP (9°)
Fairway woods TaylorMade Burner TP (14.5°), r7 TP (17.5°)
Irons rac MB (3-PW)
Wedges rac Satin TP (54°, 58°)
Putter Titleist by Scotty Cameron Newport 2
Ball TaylorMade TP Red LDP
(Photo by Fred Vuich/SI)
Statistically speaking, Sergio Garcia did not putt especially well at TPC Sawgrass last week, and he missed a short birdie putt in the playoff against Paul Goydos. But his circa-2000 Scotty Cameron Newport 2 putter will be in the bag for a while. You just don't kiss a putter after winning the Players Championship and $1.71 million and then go look for a new one.
Don't look for any changes in his woods or irons either. In swirling winds, Garcia ranked first in both fairways hit and greens in regulation for the week.
El Nino has been one of TaylorMade's marquee players for years. According to the company, this is what the Spaniard had in his bag at the Players:
Driver TaylorMade Tour Burner TP (9˚)
Fairway Woods TaylorMade Burner TP (14.5˚) and r7 TP (17.5˚)
Irons rac MB TP (3-PW)
Wedges rac Z TP (54˚ and 58˚)
Putter Titleist by Scotty Cameron Newport 2
Ball TaylorMade Red LDP
Garcia's performance stats for the week (rank):
Average driving distance — 283 yards (41st)
Fairway percentage — 76.8% (1st)
Greens in regulation — 77.8% (1st)
Putts per round — 31 (tie for 69th)
Putts per green in regulation — 1.786% (tie for 39th)
(Photo: Andy Lyons/AP)
