What’s In My Bag

Will Zalatoris

Will Zalatoris.

WITH E. MICHAEL JOHNSON

driver

specs Titleist TSi3, 9°, Fujikura Speeder 757 TR X shaft, 44.5 inches. ▶ I got this driver the week before last fall’s U.S. Open and immediately had success with it. Minimising the effect of mis-hits is important to me, and off-centre strikes are much better with this driver. It also gives me the medium-flat trajectory I prefer.

fairway wood

specs Titleist TSi3, 16.5°, Fujikura Atmos 8 Red shaft, 42 inches. ▶ There’s a little more loft on my 3-wood for a couple of reasons. My old one was going too far, and I needed to bring it back about 20 yards, so we added loft and shortened the shaft. I’m also a low-spin player, so the extra loft helps keep the ball in the air.

irons

specs Titleist U500 (3), Nippon NS Pro Modus 3 shaft; Titleist T100 (4-PW), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts, Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord grips. ▶ These irons have been in the bag for about 18 months. I love that they have a little less offset. That’s a good look for me. At my swing speed I tend to get more flyers than most players, but the sole design with more camber helps minimise those.

wedges

specs Titleist Vokey SM8 (50°, 55°, 60°), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts. ▶ We square off the leading edge on the 50 and 55. It just looks better to me. On the 60, I like the wider sole for bunker shots, and the leading edge sits close to the ground. The stamping you see here is a quote from Butch Harmon about how thin I am.

putter

specs Odyssey White Hot Pro 7 Long, 5.5 degrees, SuperStroke grip. ▶ I’ve had this putter for a little more than two years. It has a double-bend shaft that looks better to me. I like how the outside lines frame the ball. For an armlock-style, it doesn’t have much loft, only 5.5 degrees. I cut the shaft down a little, so I use lead tape to keep the swing-weight I want.

hittin’ the books ▶ Wake Forest is very special to me. I attended on an Arnold Palmer Scholarship and was first-team AllAmerica in 2017. This yardage book is just a nice reminder of all those great memories.

open tradition ▶ They gave this valuables pouch to every player at last September’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot. I used one before that from the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock. I’ll just keep cycling through them from every U.S. Open I play.

my own spin ▶ A lot of guys on tour play the Titleist Pro V1, so I needed more than just a line. I put my initials and 99 on it. The 99 comes from a game at Dave & Buster’s where I always hit 99 by throwing a football.