Don’t mess with the Viking on Hovland’s Ping putter cowl.
Jonathan Wall
The gear crew at GOLF.com spends lots of time at Tour occasions snapping pictures of the instruments utilized by the perfect gamers on the earth. Posting membership pictures with out context works in some instances, however it doesn’t assist the weekend golfer perceive the why behind a professional’s setup.
In this GOLF.com collection, equipment editors Jonathan Wall and Ryan Barath reply these questions by highlighting attention-grabbing golf equipment in gamers’ baggage, distinctive weighting, loft sleeve settings and extra. Welcome to “Bay Spy.”
The Viking
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
Very little in Hovland’s bag has modified lately — outdoors of some objects. The most evident is a customized putter cowl — some would possibly name it a stretch to connect a gear change to a canopy, however that’s OK — that made its debut final yr when Ping formally rolled out the “Hovi” Signature PLD Limited putter.
For years, Hovland protected his Ping PLD DS72 putter with a easy white masking bearing the Norwegian flag. The latest protector of the wand is something however easy with a menacing Viking staring straight into your soul. It’s a glance we’ve seen from Hovland on just a few events.
Look nearer and also you’ll see just a few extra Easter eggs dotting the edges which might be symbolic of his life and pursuits. The orange and black stitching is little doubt a nod to his time spent at Oklahoma State University. And by the best way, he nonetheless resides in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
It’s a enjoyable cowl that brings collectively his Norwegian roots, love for dying metallic music and life in “Stilly.”
Quiet transition
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
It began with the lob wedge in 2023 and has quietly unfold to the opposite scoring instruments within the bag. I’m speaking about Hovland’s determination to maneuver away from the all-KBS shaft setup he used within the irons and wedges for years and embrace True Temper’s Dynamic Gold Tour Issue.
True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Iron Shaft
$44.99
The True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue is ideal for the player looking for a low launch, low spin shaft designed for optimum control and accuracy. You can buy the True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue built to your required specifications.
The True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue is the Gold Standard by which all other irons shafts are measured. It is the most successful shaft in the history of golf and still continues to dominate on professional tours each and every year. The Tour Issue shafts hold the industries tightest weight tolerances for exacting performance demanded by the best players. You can purchase the True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue in the following flexes: S400, and X100.
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Arguably the most well-liked wedge shaft on Tour, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue marked the primary time Hovland deviated from utilizing an extra-stiff flex in his wedges since turning professional. The S400 affords a barely softer really feel than KBS’s Tour V however with the same weight profile (132 grams vs. 130 grams). Opting for a heavier weight within the wedges can add a bit extra management and really feel across the inexperienced.
In Hovland’s case, going to a softer flex and including weight can ship extra really feel across the inexperienced for these tough contact photographs.
Follow my lead
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
Hovland’s Ping i210 irons are an excellent reminder that top-of-the-line gamers on the planet wields a set with a profile that deftly toes the road between higher participant and sport enchancment. With a thicker topline and wider sole than Ping’s better-player choices (Blueprint S and Blueprint T), i210 is geared for a variety of gamers — from scratch to mid-handicappers.
If something, Hovland’s setup, one he’s been utilizing since turning professional in 2019, highlights the significance of attempting different choices earlier than defaulting to the compact profiles littering skilled circuits.
In Hovland’s case, he discovered the i210 to be a very good match within the mid to brief irons due to the decrease, extra managed flight they produced. In the 4- by way of 6-iron, the huge sole retains the top from needlessly digging into the turf. It’s a setup extra golfers ought to embrace.
Hiding in plain sight
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
Back in 2023, Ping launched a video of Hovland hitting flop photographs with Tour rep Kenton Oates by his aspect. It’s a enjoyable video meant to spotlight the large short-game enchancment Hovland made with coach Joe Mayo that culminated in a torrid end to the season. Not to say a PGA Tour file for one-year earnings with $34.5 million. It was a very good yr for Hovland.
Hovland has transitioned into two Ping’s s159 wedges (50 and 56 levels) for the reason that dream season, however the Glide 2.0 lob wedge stays. As for why Hovland nonetheless performs 2.0, Oates advised GOLF.com final season that it got here down to non-public preferences.
“The sole of [the 2.0] was always perfect for him,” stated Oates. “The heel and back were perfect. Now if he wanted to go into the 4.0 lob wedge with the same characteristics, we’d probably have to do slightly different things to match it up.”
As the wedge sport continued to enhance final season, Hovland got here to Oates on the 2023 Players Championship and requested for a real 60-degree Glide 2.0 TS. Before the swap, he was utilizing a low-bounce 58TS (Thin Sole) wedge bent two levels weak to a said loft of 60 levels to reap the advantages of much more versatility across the inexperienced.
Hovland hasn’t regarded again since that week.
PING s159 Custom Wedge
$179.99
With the addition of two grinds and new lofts, the tour-style s159 wedges are available in 25 loft/grind combinations to match a wedge to your playing conditions and technique while ensuring a properly gapped set. Extensive testing with top PING tour players helped create wedges that will appeal to golfers of all abilities. The new WebFit Wedge app provides a quick and easy way to determine the s159 grinds that best fit your game.
Tour-Proven Design
The tour-inspired 8620 carbon steel head features a soft feel and clean shape with a straighter lead edge for improved results on full shots. Two performance-enhancing finishes (Hybropearl 2.0 Chrome and Midnight) are available in all loft/grind combinations.
More Grooves. More Spin.
Wheel-cut grooves are precision-milled to varying dimensions, depending on loft. The 46-to-52-degree wedges are milled to maximize groove volume for greater control on full shots. The 54-to-62-degree options feature more tightly spaced MicroMax grooves to impart more spin, especially around the greens.
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“Now he’s playing a true 60-degree wedge that’s going to be more versatile,” stated Oates. “It’s going to sit lower to the ground due to having less bounce, but it’s also going to require more skill. Ever since he changed, his stats have slowly gotten better and he’s never asked to go back [to the 58-degree]. That shows the work he’s put in learning how to expose that bounce and hit those shots a little bit cleaner.”
And if you would like a little bit of inside baseball, Hovland’s lob wedge is definitely one of many earliest s159 prototypes. It says Glide 2.0 on the top, however the sole geometry and turf interplay is designed to imitate Ping’s newest scoring instruments. Talk about hiding in plain sight.
Steady as she goes
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
Hovland isn’t afraid to switch his favourite membership within the bag — offered the tweak produces outcomes. And when the outcomes bear fruit, the tinkering stops.
If you want proof, look no additional than Hovland’s G425 LST driver. In 2022, Ping reps labored with Hovland to extend launch and fight a lower-than-comfortable spin fee by eradicating the shaft tipping from his Fujikura Speeder 661 TR TX shaft to melt the general construct.
The head loft additionally elevated barely from 8.4 to eight.6 levels and sizzling soften (three grams) was positioned within the toe to maintain Hovland from overdrawing the ball since his path began shifting extra proper. In the tip, the modifications resulted in a constant launch round 11-12 levels with roughly 2,300 RPMs of spin.
The small tweaks present an all-important profit: Hovland didn’t have to fret about spin dropping to harmful ranges on the occasional mishit anymore.
The changes have been so good Hovland has saved the motive force construct frozen in time. That’s when you’re doing one thing proper as a Tour rep.
Keeping it constant
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
The membership grip is one other merchandise within the bag that hasn’t modified going again to Hovland’s time at Oklahoma State. Golf Pride’s New Decade MultiCompound (58R) is a well-liked possibility utilized by a myriad of execs, together with Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy. (It was McIlroy who helped put “MCC” on the map round 2011.)
Golf Pride New Decade MultiCompound Midsize
$11.99
The Golf Pride New Decade MultiCompound grip fuses the efficiency of rubber and rope for a brand new feel and look. It options Golf Pride’s unique black Velvet Cord within the higher hand space for agency, all-weather management, and a delicate, rubber materials within the decrease hand for final management and responsiveness.
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Designed with a brushed cotton twine within the higher hand for stability, and rubber within the decrease hand for management, MCC was one of many first grips to mix two feels and textures. For Hovland, the grip supplies a relentless really feel and reliability that turns out to be useful (no pun meant) when he’s testing totally different heads.
Leave it as-is
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
Concluding this version of “BagSpy” with back-to-back grip notes feels anticlimactic, however it’s onerous to not save house for Hovland’s 15-inch Winn grip. When Hovland and Ping began engaged on a brand new prototype mallet in 2020, the 26-year-old staffer made it clear he didn’t wish to mess with a distinct grip. The seen put on on the crimson deal with (the above photograph was taken on the Memorial Tournament) is additional affirmation that Hovland has no real interest in attempting the rest.
The 36-inch putter isn’t almost so long as the 38-inch counterbalanced construct Rickie Fowler popularized final season, however the addition of an extended grip permits Hovland to choke down a bit extra for added stability throughout the stroke.
Want to overtake your bag for 2022? Find a becoming location close to you at GOLF’s affiliate firm True Spec Golf.
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