Pro's play a "backup" set when not playing professionally?

[Maverick]

I was curious to know if PGA pro's put their "gamer" set in the closet and use some backup set when they play with their friends/pro-am's/etc?

[nsherman2006]

I bet some do, some don't. A lot of pro's are very picky about clubs, and they dont mess with them. I bet these guys wouldnt want to have anything but their babies in their hands(with the way caddies take care of them, a round isnt going to put too much extra strain on the clubs). Somebody like Vijay who practices all the time and wears out clubs in months, probably just keeps switching them around. Some guys might put new clubs to try in bags for practice or w/e. I think it all depends on the player, but i bet there are some guys who are too attached to their clubs to touch anything else until its time to change it

[obagain]

Most of the guys I know use the same clubs no matter where they are playing. If they wear out a set, they just go get another one.
When Mark comes in with a new set the first thing he does is pulls the shafts. Then he will go thru 50-100 shafts to find the 8 he likes and then adds his grips.
The only set he doesn't play anymore are the ones he used to win his major. Although he did use them for a round a year ago.

[Big Brother Dunk]

I don't know if they have an extra set with them. However, from what I understand every major club manufacturer has a trailer set up at every event. If any pro wants his equipment tweaked it's done immediately and he can try it out at the range right away.

[VtDivot]

Originally Posted by obagain

Most of the guys I know use the same clubs no matter where they are playing. If they wear out a set, they just go get another one.
When Mark comes in with a new set the first thing he does is pulls the shafts. Then he will go thru 50-100 shafts to find the 8 he likes and then adds his grips.
The only set he doesn't play anymore are the ones he used to win his major. Although he did use them for a round a year ago.

So now I'm curious.... who is Mark?

[Slingblade61]

Mark Brooks I believe.

[obagain]

Yes. It is mark brooks. We also do club work for jj henry and ryan palmer.
In all we have 12 pga and lpga pro and about 30 nationwide guys that let us work on their clubs.

[VtDivot]

Ah forgot about Brooks (96 PGA)

I knew it wasn't O'Meara since you said his major, meaning there was only one.

[Augster]

Originally Posted by obagain

Yes. It is mark brooks. We also do club work for jj henry and ryan palmer.
In all we have 12 pga and lpga pro and about 30 nationwide guys that let us work on their clubs.

So, OB, in your opinion since you are pretty close to the source, is Ryan Palmer going to be huge or just a journeyman? Everything I've seen of him I like, but I don't know his work ethic, his goings-on, his schedule etc. etc.

If so, how huge? Top tier, Woods, Phil, Els? 2nd tier, Garcia, Scott, Donald?

If not, why not exactly?

Thanks!

[VtDivot]

Good question Aug - I'd like to see more of Palmer. There is a bunch of young not so splashy (like Sergio and Scott) talent out there like Palmer, O'Hair and Johnson, that people don't really talk about much.

[obagain]

Ryan is a great guy and you won't find many that work harder.
He is not as tall as the tiger, els and mickelson group so it is hard to say how long he will last but he is plenty long off the tee and has an incredible short game.
He could easily win a major or two in his career. And it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

[Maverick]

Originally Posted by VtDivot

So now I'm curious.... who is Mark?

[VtDivot]

LOL - yup.

Not too bad though, I've seen worse