Clarke - new clubs.
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Darren Clarke has revealed exclusively to Golfmagic what the new clubs are in his bag now that he has signed a contract to play TaylorMade.
Though weary from his 10-hour flight from South Africa after competing in the Dimension Data Pro-Am and practising with his new weapons, the Irishman declared himself delighted.
"I've only just signed my TaylorMade contract and the clubs are very new to me but I'm delighted with the way I practised with them," said Clarke.
"I've put a TaylorMade 510 Deep Face Tour driver in my bag but I haven't a clue what the shaft is. But it seems to work for me. It has 9.5 degree of loft - which is the loft I've always preferred.
"It depends what you want to do with the ball but I've always wanted to get height and keep the ball in the air. It's the modern way with modern technology - hit it up in the air and carry it along with no spin."
Though he admits he's no expert when it comes to the technicalities, Clarke knows what he likes. And he likes the TaylorMade irons he's using - and has split them up in similar style to Sergio Garcia.
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| TaylorMade 's new RAC LT iron.
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"The 2-iron through to the 6-iron are the RAC LT cavity backs (LT), the 7-iron to the 50-degree pitching wedge are RAC blades (MB).
"I will tend to use the 2-iron when it's windy, otherwise I have a Callaway 5-wood," says Clarke.
The other irons in his bag are a 51-degree sand wedge and 58-degree lob wedge made by Cleveland. He carries a Callaway 3-wood.
Clarke says he's also thrilled with the performance of the new Titleist Pro V1X ball.
"I've only just been able to get my hands on it and it suits me fine. Ernie Els has been using it for some time and it has given him extra yardage. I'd say it has given me an extra 20-30 yards off the tee and the kind of high ball flight I like."
I asked the Ryder Cup hero what advice he would pass on to amateurs in terms of equipment.
"I play with a lot of amateurs in pro-ams and they tend to carry clubs that aren't suited to them. For example most of them carry 3- and 4-irons and try to hit them up in the air like the pros. That's when they mishit them. I would advise handicap golfers to use utility clubs like a 5- and 7-wood.
Clarke revealed that he aims to up his commitment to the PGA Tour in the United States to 12 tournaments this year.
He will start with the Buick Invitational in San Diego on February 13 followed immediately by the Nissan Open in Los Angeles and the WGC Accenture World Matchplay in Carlsbad on February 27, the event where he beat Tiger Woods in the 2000 final.
"I have enjoy playing over and I have played well. Also it's an opportunity to play for a lot of world ranking points.
"All World Championship of Golf events are played in the US and I suppose the American-based players will have an advantage because they know the courses better than us.
"But if you're playing well enough as Europeans we should be good enough to win anywhere."
Clarke will be hoping his new clubs and ball, together with a new caddie - he has parted company with Billy Foster after nearly a decade together - will freshen his attack on the long-awaited major title he craves.
