"Nothing against those guys" - PGA Tour star Matt Fitzpatrick explains surprising equipment switch
Matt Fitzpatrick revealed the face of his driver cracked in March at the Truist Championship.
Matt Fitzpatrick has won three times on the PGA Tour this season, so it's a little bit surprising to hear the Englishman has decided to change his driver at the Travelers Championship.
Fitzpatrick came into the final signature event of the season fresh off finishing 22nd at last week's U.S. Open.
The 31-year-old, third in the Official World Golf Ranking, struggled off the tee at Shinnecock Hills, particularly in the final round, where he ranked last in the field in strokes gained off the tee.
It prompted the European Ryder Cup star to replace his driver this week at TPC River Highlands, and the change immediately paid dividends.
After changing into a Ping G430 LST, Fitzpatrick missed just one fairway en route to a six-under 64.
He had been using Titleist GT3 and loved it until the face cracked the day before the opening round of the Truist Championship in May.
"If you look at my off the tee [stats] from then, it's quite telling that obviously there was something in that driver that was helping me out and I struggled to find one since," Fitzpatrick said.
"Through unbelievable effort from the staff at Titleist, you know, it's nothing against those guys, but just for whatever reason there hasn't been one that's kind of managed to suit my eye, I guess, and kind of match my swing intentions.
"I think swing may have changed a little bit from January to that time as well, so maybe I was kind of making the previous one work well for me and the new one's not having that affect
Ping G430 LST (9°, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 65TX) | |
TaylorMade Qi35 (3-wood, 15°, Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Orange 75 TX; 5-wood, 18°, Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 80TX) | |
Ping i210 (4i, Ping CFS X-Stiff); Ping S55 (5-PW, Ping CFS X-Stiff) | |
Titleist Vokey SM10 (46.10F, 52.12F, True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 X100; 56.08M, 60.08M, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400) | |
Bettinardi DASS BB1 Flow Fitz proto | |
Titleist Pro V1x | |
Skechers Blade Tour |
Fitzpatrick told reporters finding the right driver for his swing is important.
"It's not as straightforward as everyone thinks," he said.
"When you fit a golf club, everyone has tendencies, and not to bore everyone, but my tendency is like I like clubs or a driver with the CG (centre of gravity) closer to the heel.
"That's kind of where my, where I've lived for basically my whole career. And certain golf clubs are made without that.
"Just the box one, the one you buy off the rack might have it on the toe side, which if you gave that to me I would hit it 500 yards right or whatever it is.
"So the detail is really important and it's important to try and get that right as best as you can.
"Everyone is different, their habits, how they move the club, how they reacts to different clubs.
"I tried one in Canada where it was literally exactly... neutral, neutral, neutral and I hit it 50 yards right, and that's just the way I react.
"So I think people think that guys just get driver and it's just going to go straight and away you go and there's obviously a lot more to it than that."
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Ben Smith joined the GolfMagic team in September 2021, initially as a content executive.
These days, he assumes the position of content manager.
