Years removed from his days at Nike and working with Mike Taylor at The Oven, Patrick Reed still credits the legendary club designer for showing him what the possibilities are with golf clubs.
Taylor was Nike’s master wedge and iron craftsman, most notably shaping Tiger Woods’ irons for years.
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On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, Reed reflected on his time working with Taylor at Nike and called it an “unbelievable” and “eye-opening” experience that showed him what can be done to a golf club.
“Being in Houston, you know, being when I was with Nike and Mike was up in Dallas, kind of be able to go up there and watch the process of not just the clubs being built, but also what he can do to kind of personalize wedges, irons and things for the players on staff, was unbelievable and fantastic,” Reed said. “I’m obviously a gearhead, so seeing how it’s done and seeing the background is awesome.
“Like they’d send us clubs in junior and college golf. You’d get a set of clubs and all right, you might change the shaft and grip and that’s about it. But then now all of a sudden you see what all can be done.”
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The 2018 Masters champion said he use to rely on his short game a lot, so he and Taylor would spend hours perfecting his wedges to get the right sound and feel.
“We’ll take off some, grind some off here, grind some off there,” Reed said. “I go back out there and test it. He’s like, that doesn’t sound right.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, it seems like it’s clicking here.’ And so he would sit there, we just, you know, for hours, just kind of fine tune one. And then once we got it, I was like, all right, that feels great.”
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Patrick Reed of the United States hits on the range as his caddie Kessler Karain looks on during a practice round prior to the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Once that happened, Reed said Taylor would go create a mold of the shape they settled on so next time he needed a new wedge, they didn’t have to go through the whole testing process again.
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For more from Reed and GOLF’s Fully Equipped co-host Johnny Wunder, listen to the full episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped here, or watch it below.
Want to overhaul your bag for 2025? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
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