Join Shane Lowry at the BMW Championship for an exclusive conversation about his performance this season, equipment adjustments, playing Srixon clubs, and much more!
Don’t forget to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more exclusive Srixon content
00:00 Introduction
00:37 Season Recap & Summer in Ireland
01:12 Preparing for Long Courses
01:31 Equipment Changes & Tournament Prep
02:00 Consistency & Major Season Reflections
03:05 Season Satisfaction & Tour Championship Goals
04:10 Getting Better with Age & Tour Schedule
05:15 Favorite Events & Maturity in Approach
06:21 2019 Open Championship at Portrush
07:44 Golf Courses in Ireland
08:18 Ryder Cup Team Thoughts
09:09 Playing with Sep Straka & Team Dynamics
10:34 Golf Ball Choices & Foursomes
11:13 Favorite Club in the Bag
12:16 Iron Game & Equipment Evolution
14:10 Approach to Pin High & Conservative Play
15:19 Wedge Setup & Adjustments
17:43 Chipping Techniques & Full Face Wedges
19:23 Closing Thoughts & Ryder Cup Hopes
How often do you think about getting to Beth Paige and and uh and running it back with a similar theme? How often do I think about I probably think about it every day. The best golf club I got this year was the I got a utility build with a different shaft in it. You just have to look at what people are using on tour and I think they’re the best irons out there. All right guys, welcome back to another episode of Man on the Inside. We’re in the Stricks Tour truck today alongside tour player Shane Lowry. Shane, we’re at the BMW Championship side of Caves Valley. Uh why don’t you just give us a little bit of a feel of where your game is at here as we end uh this PJ Tour calendar season. I sort of I I had a really like great period sort of up to the truest. Probably should have won there and then, you know, I haven’t been amazing since then, but also haven’t played a lot since then. I played, you know, uh I had a bit of time off in the summer, went home to Ireland. I only played the Open. Uh, I had a great great time back home with all my family and friends and um and then I came back from the playoffs. So like playing good at the start of the year gave me the opportunity to go and like take a few few extra weeks off um and do what I want to do in the summer. So h I wasn’t great last week in Memphis. Um but you know one week doesn’t make an a year. Uh, and then coming here to Caves Valley, obviously I’m hopeful that my game’s going to click and going to get something going for this week and next week. Um, this golf course is uh long. Uh, it’s probably going to be long and soft and play into the longer hitters hands, but then when you kind of go through the Fed Cup, there’s not like, you know, you take Rory and a couple of other guys out, there’s not like bombers everywhere. So if you go through the top 50 here. Um so I think uh yeah, but my mid and long iron is just going to have to be good this week. But that’s when I’m good. That’s what the part of my game that’s good. So yeah. So when you get to a super long golf course like this and you go around play practice rounds and and you figure out all right uh maybe I have more shots between that 220 yard to 240 yard area and you start to figure out how that golf ball lands on the green. Are you a player that will ever make a change, you know, kind of on a Tuesday, Wednesday, feeling like, can I build a club to fit a shot that I’m going to see multiple times throughout the week, or do you keep the bag pretty similar? I don’t like making changes going into tournaments. Like, I don’t like uh, you know, especially the week of a tournament. I think to put a new club in play, I think, is is like a ballsy move the week of a tournament because, you know, it’s not tried and tested. It’s not like, you know, some people do it and some people have success doing it, but I I just think, you know, the equipment I have, um, I can hit all the shots with all the clubs I have and it’s just, um, you know, hitting the right shots at the right time. So, I would never really do that. I I travel with like, see, I probably travel with like I travel with like an extra 7wood that I’ve never used in a tournament, but it’s always there or, you know, a stronger 3-wood and stuff. I travel with stuff, but I never never put them in. I like to keep my bag the same and h go with it from there. Uh what have you been most proud of this season? Uh is there a specific aspect of your game that you feel like you’ve improved this year maybe in years past that you feel like it’s been much more of a strength? I think my cons like look you could look at the last sort of two months my consistency levels were not have not been great but I think my consistency levels from I would say from the last RDER Cup to now have been quite strong. I’ve been quite good. um consistently pretty solid. Um I’m disappointed in my major season to be honest. Um that’s probably the worst major run in a season I’ve had in a while. So that’s disappoints me, but gives me something to work on towards next year. Um but um you know, I played played well in a lot of the big elevator events in in here in the States and uh you know, gave it a run for a while at Bay Hill, give it a run at the truest. Um, so yeah, I’m pretty happy the way my season is in my ranking and all, but you know, as a golfer, you know, you always want more. I haven’t won yet. I’d like to win. Um, so yeah, but it’s uh, you know, I I think when I sit back, you know, after the tour championship, the week after, and have a look at my 2025 PJ tour season, um, will I be happy with it? Yes, I’ll be satisfied, but obviously a lot depends on the next two weeks as well. If I can play okay in the next two weeks, I think I’ll be pretty happy with my season. You know, I think a lot of people think of, you know, when when we see the name Shane Lowry, we just expect that you’ve been in, you know, so many different tour championships, but last year was your first one. So, still even for you, you’ve played plenty of uh golf rounds on the PJ tour um in your in your career, but it seems like you’ve gotten better later on in your career, at least understanding on how to close out golf tournaments or just getting contention a little bit more. Is there something about your game that’s clicked later on in your life that you feel like you’ve been able to kind of take it to that next level? Well, I actually I actually think there’s a couple of things. I think if you actually just look at the the changes they’ve made and the January to August season, I think suits a European better because we don’t lose points cuz we don’t fall a European always we always play in Europe in the fall. Um and we don’t lose points then to the American players. So starting everyone starting on zero in January helps us. And then you always play the the Florida swing so well. Yeah. And I like the Florida swing is normally my first stretch of golf on the PJ tour season or has been in the past. And um yeah, so I normally play well in Florida. So I’m normally up there in the FedEx early on in the season now. The last two years I have been. So um but yeah, I I think as you get older, you just get a little bit wiser as to the tournaments you want to play and you feel like you can do well in. I think I’ve realized that I I’ve not been afraid to take tournaments off and I’ I’ve backed myself to play well when I play. I think that’s what you have to do. I think um you know there’s certain events that I haven’t played that maybe I should have played or and there’s also certain events that maybe, you know, I’ve played a fourth or fifth week in a row, but I’m like I really like playing this event and I feel like I can win this. Like I love going to Tampa every year. The the golf course. Yeah, I I think the golf course is probably one of the most underrated courses on tour, but it always falls in a weird place in our schedule, but I just like going there, so I go there now. You know what I mean? So, like it’s uh yeah, just being yourself and go out and kind of I’ve just been become a little bit more mature about how to do things, I think. And of course, uh you won poor rush back in 2019 at the Open Championship. Uh we just we just did in 2025. I had a chance to walk with your group a couple different times and just see the support that you got throughout the week. Uh do you still pinch yourself even though the the week didn’t quite end the way you did? I know you had some issues uh stomach overnight on Friday, the weird ruling that kind of happened. Uh how would you kind of sum up the week in Port Rush? Yeah, I was disappointed leaving there sort of from Friday afternoon to that that 24 hours didn’t really go to plan at all. Like it was like the weirdest 24 hours. Did it go by too quick? Yeah. and and then but then you know when I when I came back out Sunday morning and I seen the ovation I got in the first tea and the whole way around the golf course and I managed to shoot five under on Sunday and just kind of give them something to shout about. I that was one of the that was probably if I if I look back at my whole season and go what was the best day I had in the golf course probably the best day I’ve had in the golf course this year. So um I think Port Rush looked spectacular on TV and just amazing. Well, what other golf course did you play on that trip when you went over to Ireland? I played the island actually is a golf course in Dublin. Love that. Yeah. So, I I only played there like three or four times and hadn’t played there for a few years and I couldn’t couldn’t believe how spectacular it was. So good. It’s just framed perfectly in the dunes and uh good mix of holes. Um I played Waterville. I played Baltree. Have you played Baltray? It can be loud. That’s where you won the Irish Open. Is that right? Is that right? won the Irish AM or the Irish the Irish Open. I won there. You were an amer. Yeah, that’s right. I won there in09. So, I I played that. So, yeah, I I played a lot of great golf with my friends this summer. Enjoyed my uh That’s pretty fun. Enjoyed my summer. Yeah. Yeah. Good. Good for you. Well, uh you obviously played in the RDER Cup back in Rome, so I know that’s a huge goal of yours to make that team again. Uh it appears that it’s going to be a fairly similar team just based off of what the points look like for that European team. Uh, of course we’re not assuming quite yet that you’re on the team. The pick’s still got to be made and of course you have an opportunity this week to get inside that top six, but how often do you think about getting to Beth Paige and and uh and running it back with a similar team? How often do I think about it? I probably think about it every day. Um, yeah, I I obviously want to be there. I want to contribute to the team. I want to be going in there playing good golf. Um, I feel like I have a lot to offer. So, uh, you know, I’m I’m hopeful that I can play well the next two weeks and make my way and play my way onto the team. And if not, I hope to get a good phone call off Luke. Um, but yeah, it’s going to be an amazing RDER Cup. Obviously, the Americans are going to be quite strong. Um, you know, even you look at the likes of JJs Spawn, what he’s done this year, I think, you know, uh, players like him. Um, yeah, but it’s going to make for some great viewing and I just hope to be a part of it. Well, there’s another strix on ambassador that that looks to be on the team as well. We’re talking about Seph Straa and you two both were paired together in the Foresomes pairing and it seemed like heading into the week. Well, all that you did know is that you played the same golf ball, but it seemed like the relationship uh during that week really started to blossom. Uh you know, before I’m sure you all knew each other, but not to the level of course when you go into war with somebody. Yeah, I I didn’t really I knew Seth obviously, but I didn’t really know him at all. But we were told 2 weeks before that we were going to play together the first morning. So I knew that and we kind of got to know each other. Uh we all played in Wentworth and we hung out on the practice trip and stuff and we got to know each other pretty well and yeah me and have a great relationship now. Um he’s a great fellow like he’s one of the best and uh we’re both obsessed with Diet Cokes. Who drinks more Diet Coke? That’s all that’s all we do. We sit there and drink Diet Cokes and go play some golf. So, it’s like um yeah, uh obviously Seph’s going to be on the team as well and I hope to be alongside him. We never know, we might get to play again together this time. And h yeah, we obviously play the same ball, so that’s that’s great for like Forsomes. Um which ball do you play? Uh the XV Zstar XV, the new one. We both play that. Actually, the last time we didn’t play the same ball, but Seph ended up using my ball. Uh I played an older XV than he played. So, um, but we both play the same ball this year, so that that would make it easy, but it’s kind of comforting, right? Like knowing that you’re going to be hitting your ball, I think. So, look, I I I don’t know what like Luke’s plans are, but I think it does help. And I think it does have a little bit of a um it does help because, you know, it’s when you’re under pressure, you want to have the right ball or you want to know what you’re doing, especially when you have wedge shots that are that you need to hit close, chips around the green, you know how they react. There’s going to be a little bit of wind or something and getting your distance control right. I think um so you want to have something that you’re comfortable with. So um yeah. All right. What’s uh favorite golf club in your bag right now? The best golf club I got this year was the I got a utility build with a different shaft in it. So one of the new utilities and it’s incredible. Like it was one of those where I can use it in this type of golf and then I didn’t have to change anything going into the open that I could still hit it. Yeah. Uh it’s been an amazing asset to the bag and uh it’s worked really well. So it is it is it as simple as if you want to hit it high, you put it up in your stance and you throw it up there. If you want to hit it low, you throw it back and it just gives you all the right trajectories. Yeah, it gives me exactly what you said. Like if I want to hit a high one, I can hit a high cut and hit it like I can it’s probably a 240 club. Yeah. Uh but I can hit a 230 high cut and I can drill it like low and further if I if I need to as well. So it’s It sounds like you need to put that uh club in the microwave this week. It sounds like it’s going to get I’m going to use it this week. this week. Yeah. I don’t need a microwave. I just put it outside. That’s right. It’s hot enough. What do you like about the feel of that golf club? Just when you set it down and and just knowing that it just from a consistency standpoint, do you feel like you’re always the strike is going to be What I like about it is I think the m hits are good. I think the best thing about a good golf club or the one thing about you need with a good golf club is we all know if we hit it out of the middle, we’re going to hit a good shot. But like the mis hits on clubs are important and I think um I think that’s what’s good about that club. I I think that’s what’s good about like a lot of the a lot of the stuff I use the tricks on stuff like even like I have the long irons the X ZXI5s like that you know the four and the five iron like the misses are good um because I actually say I think professional golf is everyone can hit good shots and it’s like you know it’s not about your good shots it’s about how good your bad shots are. So, um, yeah, that’s that’s what I like about them. And your iron set. So, you you play a combo set, it sounds like. So, you have the the fives and the four and the five iron. Four and a five and then the six. Six through wedge. Yeah. Six through wedge through. Okay. So, you have pitching wedge that’s in the set. Yeah. Set pitching wedge. I like that. That’s one of my get a little bit more out of it. Is that No, I’m actually really good at taking like I have a really good 125 shot with that club. Really? A lot of people would think that the softer metal with the, you know, a Cleveland wedge, that would be something that would be easier to do, but the set one always felt like it would come off a little hotter, but for you, you feel like you still can control. No, I really feel like I’ve got a really good soft shot with that. And it’s it’s one of my favorite shots to to play is like if you give me 125 to 135, I’m I’m dialed in with that club. And now, how do you hit it? Do you just change your speed like your arm speed to hit it to hit it a little bit softer? Yeah, I just hit it softer. Yeah. As simple as that. You hear that, guys? If you’re trying to just hit a little cut and take a bit off it and hit it softer. Depends what type of shot I’m trying to hit or where the pin is. Like if if the pins at the back, I’ll put it back my stance and I’ll hit it softer, but like lower with less spin. Yeah. And then if the pins at the front, I’ll hit like I’ll put it up and hit it like higher, more more cuddy. Well, you your stats are incredible with your irons. Like if you go and look at, you know, throughout the bag, your your iron game always seems to be what just stands, you know, at the top of the tour. it seems like every single year. Uh why do you think that is? Is that always been the case for you with your iron game? No, I I I’ve actually especially like like mid and long irons like I’m talking you know when I was on tour first my first five or six years on tour I would have had a big miss with like a long iron like you know uh and my I remember my old caddy used to say to me like we need to sort that out where you know I’d have a miss that would make a double whereas if you have a miss that makes a bogey it’s it’s a lot easier obviously honestly I think there’s it’s a lot to do with practice and time but also equipment wise I think that the generation of stricks on irons over the last since you know I I don’t know if you put years on it probably in the last seven eight years I think have been incredible. Um and then when they moved to the you know the ZX series like I think they’ve just been you just have to look at what people are using on tour and I think they’re the best irons out there. I I couldn’t agree more and so there’s a lot of hard work goes into it but it equipment helps. Well, how do you work on hitting it pin high? Do you use uh technology to help you with that or do you go off more off feel? I go I go more off feel um and practice and uh I just have my numbers dialed in and I just I just know and I I’m quite a conservative golfer when it comes to like you know going into greens and um you know I I try to hit a pin high a lot. I try to hit it like fat side of the green pin high a lot like I take very rarely take on pins. Um, and I think that’s why my iron numbers are good. Yeah, you hit a ton of greens. I mean, that’s like that’s the thing I notice every time I look at your stats. You just always seem to be putting for birdie. Yeah. And then but then, you know, on on the other side, then your putting stats are not great. So, you’re always trying to work on your putting and you feel like that’s not great. So, you can’t have everything, you know, good. So, it’s it’s uh it’s kind of like, you know, you you got to know your game, though. Yeah. But, I I I would be very much a fairways and greens type of player. I like I like playing conservative, you know, sensible golf and then, you know, make my birdies when I get my chances. And we’ll finish up here with talking about some Cleveland wedges. So, you added a I believe it was a 54 degree. Was that right? That was last year. So, but I’ve actually changed lofts on my wedges this year. Okay. So, what do you got now? What’s the lofts? So with with Augusta in mind at the start of this year, I I I’ve always used I’ve used four wedges the last couple of years and I sort of I was using pitching wedge 50 54 58. Mhm. And uh I sort of thought chipping around Augusta is pretty hard. So I sort of thought I’d like a a love wedge with more loft on it. Okay. So I was like I was like could I could I put So I g I just gapped them out more. I’ve gone for pitching wedge 51 5661. Okay. Yeah. So, I’ve got like quite a lot of loft on my lob wedge. So, I like playing a square chip face chip shot. So, there’s still a lot of loft there and it feels like the strike is just easier on it. So, was how big of a difference has that been for you this year? Uh not only I feel like guys can figure out how far their numbers are coming into greens. I feel like that’s an easier adjustment anytime. I would always change ws fractionally around the greens, especially with like going from a 56 uh to say a 54. It always felt like it took me a little while to kind of figure out how hard to hit it. How hard to hit. Yeah. You’ve got to when when you add more loft, like I add three like two or three degrees more loft wedge. You need to hit your chip shots a lot harder. So, you need to be more aggressive. Yeah. So, it it it it it didn’t take that long to be honest. Um like I did it I’d say I did it. I would say it was like start of a Florida swing. Yeah. And I played great for for a few weeks. So, um yeah, it was it was so going from the 58 to to a 61 degree. Uh have you struggled at all figuring out shots into the green with that club cuz you know when you add that much loft at some point you can’t really hit that club too hard cuz it can kind of go up and down. I hit a 90 like that’s my full shot with I I can hit it further but I don’t allow myself to hit further. So if I have 95 I hit my 56. And I’ve got a number that I hit with that. So, yeah. Is that a full face 61? Yeah, it is. And how much help has that been chipping out of the rough? Maybe. I just love it. Like, you know, especially get to a course like this, you can open it up and you can catch it out of toe and it’s cuz you do hit a lot of chip shots out of toe out of rough like this. And uh yeah, you don’t you don’t really have to worry about the strike at all. So, the feeling having the full face uh wedge is that if you were to hit it on top of the face, it wouldn’t come off feeling quite as dead. It feels like it comes off with a bit more spin. So, yeah, it’s uh it still comes off a little dead because obviously it’s not out of the middle, but yeah, it’s it’s definitely better, I think. I actually I just prefer the look of it as well. There you go, Shane Lowry, as we look ahead to the BMW Championship and then of course the RDER Cup. Uh best of luck to you, Shane. And uh hopefully you and maybe Seth can be maybe pouring some Diet Cokes in the RER Cup trophy at the end. Well, it might be something stronger than that. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, there you go. Well, thank you, Shane. Best luck. Thanks, buddy. [Music]
1 Comment
Shane is a top guy🙌
I've just moved to Srixon irons for the first time. So good!😲