NEW L.A.B. putters, Kirk talks Callaway PROTO Irons + A SURPRISE GUEST WITB | ITR: Rocket Classic

From the Rocket Mortgage, Tursky takes you behind the scenes for the hottest equipment stories on Tour this week. Chris Kirk talks new Callaway Prototype Irons, we get a look at brand new L.A.B. Golf heel shafted putter protos, SeeMore putters also shows off their own new prototypes, and we get a SURPRISE GUEST WITB from one of the biggest gear heads on the planet.

See thousands of WITB photos from PGA Pro Players on Tour, plus the hottest clubs and inside the ropes info only GolfWRX can deliver:
https://forums.golfwrx.com/forum/44-tour-and-pre-release-equipment/

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Welcome to the 2025 Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club, located just minutes from downtown Detroit, Michigan. After strolling the city sites, we headed onto the grounds of the historic Detroit Golf Club where we checked out the first tea. The ninth green, the 14th green, the 15th T and the 18th hole. Major renovations to the course will begin on Monday, so make sure to enjoy this footage now. But here at golfwx.com, we know what you’re really here for. You’re here for the gear. And for that, we got you covered with plenty of gear footage from on site at the Rocket Classic and a surprise special guest appearance from a certified club junkie. First up at the Rocket Classic, we got a great look at the upcoming RDER Cup Team USA golf bags made by Swag Golf. and some awesome patriotic putter covers made by the company, too. We then checked out the standag of Monday qualifier Auto Black on Tuesday and then the staff bag of Auto Black that he switched into on Wednesday. That’s the PGA tour treatment right there. We also checked out the bag of Joe Hooks, who won the Shipin Invitational to lock in a spot at the Rocket Classic event this week. In other news, we saw Jake Knap testing out a Scotty Cameron mallet putter. Seiwoo Kim testing out a giraffe beam jailbird putter. and Kevin Ker going through his putting drills utilizing an alignment stick. We also checked out Kizner’s bag, too. And speaking of swing aids, we also saw a pool noodle in Hayden Buckley’s bag. What do you think he uses the pool noodle for? Leave your answer down in the comments. All right, let’s get to some major news of the week. Ahead of the event, we got some great in-hand footage of Lab Golf’s new heel shafted Oz putter designs. This was a mysterious unveiling by the company since lab representatives stayed quiet on the new designs and they weren’t allowing tour players to use them yet this week. They were taking orders and allowing testing though. What we do know is they had several different colorways available. and topline designs. And we even gave the putters a test for ourselves. What do you think of Lab’s new heel shafted designs? In other news, after getting inhand footage of Chris Kirk’s Callaway MB Proto irons at the recent US Open, we caught up with the man himself to get his take on the new designs and what he likes about them,
how they feel, how they look, how they perform. Yeah, it’s something that’s been kind of in the works for a while now. Um, got the first prototypes heads last year and uh it was definitely something that I wanted an iron with that had more bounce, especially leading edge bounce. Um, but that the way that they structured that sole, it gives you nice leading edge bounce, but then you have kind of the relief on the back that helps the club to exit the ground faster. Um, it’s kind of what a lot of I would say a lot of guys are looking for. They want to feel like they can hit down on the ball and it not dig, but also that the club doesn’t really like skip off the turf either. Um, so the club kind of goes into the ground and out of the ground quickly is what it feels like. Anyways, that may be a complete illusion. I don’t know. But that’s the that’s the feel that they provide that um that I was looking for and and a lot of other guys as well.
I know you’re a connoisseur. How do you think they look from a dress? I think they’re perfect. Yeah. Um, definitely something that, you know, I don’t know how much they listen to me or don’t listen to me, but um, you know, I I think that I like a little bit square on the on the toe side. Um, and then the I feel like the eight iron is kind of the key for me. It’s always really hard to get an eight iron to look correct. Um, and so I like when an eight iron looks more like the seven and less like the nine, so you don’t have that kind of round uh look on top of it. And uh I think they did a really great job with these ones.
I love it. Thanks, Chris. Yeah, sure. We also checked out Minw’s new wedge stamping. Paul Peterson’s Nike irons, which are still going strong in the bag. Seymour’s new prototype putters. Mhm. Ruya Hosino’s iron covers. Harry Hall’s Bettonardy prototype putters KBS’s new custom shaft labels made special for certain PGA Tour players. Thomas Rosen Mueller’s Germinator wedge stamping. NFL legend Jerome Bettis’ golf swing ahead of the Wednesday prom. Now for a special surprise guest appearance from Brian Nudson, golfwx.com’s gear expert and host of the Club Junkie podcast. This Inside the Ropes narrator had the pleasure of playing golf with Nudson at the nearby Dearborn Country Club in Michigan. Give it a rip. We learned a lot about Nton’s golf game. How’s that lie?
It’s horrible. Pretty sure somebody stepped on it. Pretty sure one of the kids here ran out, stepped on it, and just ran off.
It was me. was playing against stuck on my lot. Push that ball down.
Sorry about that one. I don’t think you’re that sorry. I don’t think you’re that sorry.
But in my mind, I’m going to hit this. It’s 98 to the flag. Going to hit 95 with a 56. Hopefully, it’s going to land, check up, and then just trickle down the hill. Bingo. It’s a great plan. Or I’m going to blade it into the bunker over the green. Whichever one I was going to sit up. Right at it. Oh, spun back a little bit. It went a little long. I didn’t think I could hit this that far. We’re 5610. I That went farther than I thought.
Nice shot though.
I’m amped up. Amped up. On my camera. I’m amped up. Can’t help it. What do you want me to say?
And preferred food choice at the turn.
Hot there.
We got a little little dog at the turn. Um, were they out of ketchup?
They weren’t. They actually had an abundance of ketchup and mustard available. And uh, not going to lie, I I passed on both.
So, this is purposeful. I am a no condiments guy. It is my serial killer trait. Um, I don’t put any condiments. I mean, I got to put onion on there, but that’s it.
You know, you’re going to have the comment section fired up. Oh, I’d be I’d be making death threats. So, this is a serious business out here. So, yeah. Straight just a little dog, little onion, little bun. That’s it. Absolutely insane.
It’s fire. So, good.
Okay.
And then we got a full breakdown of his current bag setup, which we hear he switches every single round. He tees it up.
That’s right. So, we got what’s in the bag for today’s round. Got to play with a bunch of pe uh our friends, our co-workers here at Golf the BX. Had a blast. Uh so, yeah, we got a bag. We’re going to start at the top cuz that’s where we always start. And I had two drivers in the bag. There’s another one in the cart, but the one I played the most was the Elite Callaway Elite Triple Diamond. So, this is kind of the lower spinning kind of more neutral bias head. Uh as you can see, all fit. So, I can use different shafts uh with all the different heads that I have. Uh, this is a 105 head set standard and it is shafted up with a Fujicuro Ventus Blue. This is the VO Core Plus, the 2024 shaft. Uh, so kind of mid-launch low spin, but good combo. Uh, actually I had two drivers out here. This one I hit more uh, fairways with today. Not that I hit a ton, but I hit more fairs with this combo today than anything else. So, all right. So, we got that one there, and then we move to 3-wood. Uh, I also have an extra shaft. Got a US uh, Link M40X, the TSPX version uh, in there in case I needed it. So, always got to have an extra driver shaft. Uh, you never know when you’re going to need one. So, that is in the bag ready to go in. What’s the grip on there?
Uh, this is a grip company called Ripet Grips uh, that uh, made some pretty cool funky grips. Uh, they sent me they’re nice enough to send me a few a while back and they’re kind of cool. Something different. They actually have pretty decent feel to them as well. So, then we move into 3-wood. And, uh, 3-wood is going to be the Callaway Elite Titanium. Uh, this is the 3-wood I’ve really started to like a lot. It’s easy to hit off the deck, a little bit bigger, tons of speed. Uh, the face is super hot on this thing, but, uh, a really good 3-wood. Hit it off the deck, hit it off the tea. Uh, just set to standard uh, on this one here, so nothing too crazy. And then this is shafted up with a KBS prototype. This is the actual current uh, PGW shaft. So, the one that’s out right now is the PGW. Uh, but this is the prototype version they kind of uh released a little bit before they released the shaft that’s out now. So, kind of cool white graphics, the Golfer BX logo and the KBS logo. Always cool when you got something that says prototype on there. But, uh, this has been a good 3-wood that again, I can hit it off the deck, hit it high enough, uh, cuz that’s always a struggle for me. Company man.
I’m a company man. That’s right. So, uh, then we move into 7wood. And, uh, 7wood is going to be the tailorade Qi35 Tour. Uh, so yes, this is the titanium headed 7wood, which is pretty cool. It goes a long way. It’s super hot. Uh, but it actually elevates, gets the ball up in the air pretty easily. Like I actually slid the the the weight all the way forward, uh, just to bring it down a little bit, add a little bit of distance to it for the gapping. Um, but this one here, same thing. Set uh I think one click lower. Uh, so I’m taking it down like, you know, 75° there. Uh, just to add a little bit of distance on it for the gapping. But this thing’s been a really good three uh, 7wood. Again, deeper face, hit easy to hit off the deck. Uh, and as well as hit it off the tea, tell it didn’t clean it off that well. Um, and then this is shafted up with a Fujicura Ventus TR Blue. So, this is the TR Blue, which again, kind of mid-launch, low spin. This is an eight stiff, so 80 g range. I really like the TR because it’s got that uh uh reinforced handle section that just makes it a little bit stiffer. So, just a little bit more control with the uh the TR blue. So, big fan of this setup. And I’ve played the shaft in 7woods before, so it’s kind of my go-to when it comes to the old 7wood.
How long you been a 7wood guy for?
A few years now. Uh I added a 7wood uh a little while back and I’ve gone through a couple different versions, but I love the 7wood. I’m not a highball hitter, so 7wood is welcome into the bag. Uh and then we move into irons and we go hybrid first. So four hybrid and this is going to be the new Ping G440. And this one here, still kind of working on the setup uh as we’re early in the year still, I guess. Uh, but this one here, the 4 hybrid, it is set, I believe, down one and flat. So, it’s 23° set to 22 uh in the flat setting. And this thing is just, man, it’s easy to hit high. Uh, it goes a long way and it’s really forgiving. It’s just easy to hit. Um, shafted up with a Ping Tour 2.0 chrome uh 85 stiff. So, this is just kind of their stock shaft, which again, if you’re not familiar with the Ping tour shafts, these things are really, really good for just stock shafts. So 85 stiff in here, which matches up well. All the hybrids I typically throw in here are usually 85 grams. But um yeah, really easy to hit off the deck. Uh and it goes uh you know the right distance and it’s easy to hit in the green. So that is hybrid. And then we move into iron set. And irons are going to be the Cobra 3DP tours. These are the brand new ones that just came out. These are the 3D printed irons. So hollow body, kind of a lattice structure inside. Uh tons of tungsten weight. And the thing I love about these is that they are super compact. They’re small, but they’re super forgiving. I mean, for the size, they shouldn’t be as easy to hit as they are. Uh they just they feel good, they sound good, and they’re just playable. So, for a guy like me who loves a little cheater club, this bad boy is a little bit of a cheater. Uh but I like these things a lot. I played them. Uh these are kind of the gamers at the moment. I’ve been playing them a decent amount this year. And these are shafted up with the True Temper Dynamic Gold uh mid 115s. So, this is the higher launching version of the dynamic gold. 115 grams, a little bit lighter, but still has that kind of dynamic gold feel. Uh, but really a a solid setup to kind of launch the ball a little bit higher while still uh, you know, maintaining good control on it. So, these have been great. I play these five through pitching wedge and I’ve been a big fan of these irons ever since they came out. So, hit them back in the day when they first came out. Have loved them since. And then we move into wedges. And wedges are going to be we’ll go the first two are going to be 5056. And these going to be the PXG Sugar Daddy 3es. Uh these things, I mean, are crazy forge mil wedges. And they feel soft. Uh the S grind has enough bounce where they get through the turf well here. They work well. And then uh you know, they uh they spin really well, especially out of the rough. They spin really, really well. So for me, I’m not a high spin player. So anything that kind of helps add a little spin, get a little bit more control, big fan of it. So, I played these wedges actually all through the second half of last year as well moving into this year. So, it’s uh two of the clubs that actually moved over from last year into this year, which is pretty rare for me.
Actually, unbelievable.
Very rare. Uh who knows, the year’s not done, so they could be gone. You never know. And then these are shafted up with the Project X 6.0 wedge shafts. These are the wedge specific versions. So, they weigh the same amount uh as the standard Project XR shafts. They are just a little bit softer in terms of flex. So, when you’re not hitting full shots, it’s got a little better feel, a little more touch to them. Uh, and then the final wedge in the bag is going to be the Titalist Voki Wedge Works A+ Grind. So, this is a wedge that I started playing when it first came out, really liked it, and then I kind of let it go for the V grind. I was playing a lot of the V Grind, uh, but then went back to it recently, just trying it out, and I’ve kind of fallen back in love with it. It just it’s got enough balance where it, uh, it floats well through all the conditions we have here. Uh, but it also, you know, is versatile enough you can kind of open the face a little bit. The leading edge doesn’t come too high off the ground, but it’s basically an M grind with the the grind line taken down. So, really versatile. Uh, good 60°. Of course, it’s raw. I love rusty stuff. Uh, and this one is shaft the same Project X 6.0 wedge shaft. So, um, same shaft again. Great stuff in uh, in the wedges.
What’s that? To the zoo.
And we’re going to the zoo, baby. We’re going to uh, look up high. look up real high because we have the AI1 giraffe beam putter uh in the bag today from Odyssey. And if you’re not familiar with giraffe beam, it basically means long neck. And this is a long plumbers’s neck as you can see here. Definitely long, definitely tall, probably about twice as long as most plumbers’s necks out there. And basically what that does is it makes the it takes some of the tow hang out of the putter. So this actually makes this Odyssey number seven face balanced. And usually with face balanced Odysseies like a number seven, it’s got a double bend shaft. This one here gives you the look of the plumber’s neck, which some people really like. Some people use it for alignment. Depends on your preference. But I absolutely love the finish on this putter. The kind of copperish gold color. Reminds me of the old butane tour issue Odyssey number sevens they used to make back in the day that like Stenson and Poulter and a bunch of guys had. Uh reminds me of that. But yeah, face balance. Haven’t used a face balance butter in a long time. Uh so something definitely different, unique. uh AI1 face, which I honestly I think it actually works. I think it’s really good at at keeping ball speed consistent when you hit it. Uh whether you hit it uh dead flush or you miss it, I think ball speed stays really really consistent on it. So that one there and then this is shafted up with a Fujicura MC putter 115 extra firm. So the extra firm, this is probably the stiffest putter shaft that I’ve ever puted with. Uh it’s extremely rigid, super stable. Uh the head is not moving anywhere with this putter shaft. So, uh, super ste, but it also softens up the feel just a touch like that graphite definitely does. And grip on this one is going to be the Garson Quad Tour. So, little different, uh, shapes. It’s kind of more trapezoidal. Uh, it’s not as like a triangular shape on the bottom. More a little bit trapezoidal. Fits well in the hands. It’s comfortable. Uh, I like it. I just kind of put it on here. Built it up the other day and uh, I like the feel of it. It feels good. So, uh, it was a decent putting day today. Wouldn’t say it was making everything, but it was a pretty solid day. So,
that sticker you got on there.
So, the uh my little Club Junkie uh shaft sticker. So, anything I build in my own little shop, I throw a little Club Junkie uh shaft label on there to kind of show that I built it. And uh that way, you know, I don’t know, something kind of cool. Also, I guess prove that I built it if it was good. And if it wasn’t very good, well, then that’s a bummer cuz people are going to know it’s me. So, but that is my what’s in the bag for today’s round here out at Deer One Country Club. We had a total blast. And uh yeah, this stuff will all change for probably next week, but this is what made it out today. One question that we’ve been asking everyone, what are some of your favorite golf clubs of all time?
You know, it’s funny. I I don’t I I’ve got a few, but I really don’t dwell on the past clubs that much cuz I’m always looking towards the next thing. And I know people say it’s cliche or whatever, but like I literally do. Like I don’t hold on to much. I I absolutely love the original Callaway Xour forged. uh that set of irons. I still have them. Uh my set, I love those. They were kind of ahead of their time in terms of being a multi-piece forged cavity back. I was a huge fan of those. Um I’m trying to think what else. And there’s a couple old Scotty Camerons. Like I have a Catalina 2, the old oil can Catalina 2. Absolutely love that. I would love to get an old milspec 350 again. Uh so a few pieces here and there that have some sentimental value, but other than that, like let’s see what 26 brings. I’m ready for next year’s gear. So, uh, you know, the old stuff doesn’t, uh, inspire me or grab me any longer.
A true gear head
for sure.
Thank you for the time, Mr. Club Junkie. A huge thank you to Nudson for the time showing off his awesome bag setup. Sorry for stepping on your ball in the rough. Back at the Rocket Classic on Friday, Colin Morawa made a surprise mid-event switch into a custom tailor-made putter. And a big thank you to Tailor Made for the photos. According to the company, the putter was built back in April, and it was inspired by Colin and his desire to test a head that was similar to the designs he used back in college. It’s a two-part head design with a steel body and hoszle and an aluminum sole plate. And with that, unfortunately, we say goodbye to Detroit, to Detroit Golf Club, to Dearborn Country Club, and the Rocket Classic. We’ll see you next time on golfwx.com’s video series, Inside the Ropes. Hint, we’re going to need a passport to film our next couple of videos. Cheers. Till next time.