Sepp Straka doesn’t usually swap his gear mid-season, but he did. The Austrian traded his reliable driver for a fresh model right before the BMW Championship. This isn’t a casual tweak; it’s a desperate push to crack the top 30 in the FedExCup standings. Straka sits at 39th and needs a solo 11th finish at Bellerive just to qualify for the Tour Championship. According to GolfWRX, he’s now swinging Srixon’s recently released ZXi RKT driver to fix his struggles off the tee.
He’d been playing an 8.5-degree Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max all season. Now he’s rocking a 9.0-degree Srixon head with an actual loft of 9.5 degrees. He paired that with a Fujikura Ventus Blue+ 6x shaft tipped one inch, running at a length of 45 1/8 inches. It’s a rough stat, but this season he ranks 99th in strokes gained off the tee—his first year losing strokes with the Ai Smoke driver. The timing lines up perfectly with Ryan Fox winning The Open Championship using that same new Srixon driver just weeks prior. GolfWRX noted Fox earned the first victory for the new model earlier this summer.
Woodland Chases Spin Control
Gary Woodland is making a high-stakes change, too. The long-hitter swapped his ball for the Titleist Pro V1x Double Dot. Woodland averages a massive 127 mph clubhead speed, yet he ranks as the second-highest spinner on Tour with 3,004.6 rpm. This new ball was once a Custom Performance Option for players like Bryson DeChambeau who needed lower launch and spin. Woodland visited the Titleist Performance Center to test options before settling on the Double Dot. According to GolfWRX, he considered the Double Dot the clubhouse leader following an extensive practice session.
Lead tape reports from the BMW Championship show Woodland using a 44.75-inch driver. Most pros swing a shaft that measures 45 or 45.5 inches in length. His backup driver features additional dots on the lead tape to mark it as the second string. He pairs this short length with a Fujikura Ventus Black 8X shaft. These equipment tweaks highlight how critical distance control is for a player with his speed profile. Woodland needs to manage his spin to improve approach shots and make the cut in Atlanta.
Other Players Tinker Too
Nico Echavarria is another Srixon staffer making moves for the playoffs. He switched to the next generation of ZXi5 and ZXi7 irons along with newly released RTZ2 wedges. Robert MacIntyre added equal additional weight distribution to his Titleist GTS2 driver. He also carries a new Titleist GTS 3-wood after dropping his long-tenured TaylorMade AeroBurner. MacIntyre applied strips of Titleist logo lead tape on his CB 5-iron and balanced his driver with tape on the toe and heel. Justin Rose is using a new True Temper Dynamic Gold “Flighted” Tour prototype shaft in his scoring irons. Rose utilizes this shaft within his Titleist Vokey SM10 56 Degree 08M grind and Titleist Vokey SM11 60-degree 04T grind.
Ryo Hisatsune is testing a combination of putters on the practice green. He has tried a Scotty Cameron Del Mar, an Odyssey Black Series 9, and a TaylorMade TP Collection Soto all at once. This putter combine is something many amateurs do when trying to find the perfect stick for a tournament. The BMW Championship serves as the final filter before the elite field heads to East Lake. Straka’s quote on his new driver sums up the risk these players are taking. “It’s allowing him to be more aggressive without overspinning it, and he doesn’t feel like he’s lost anything around the green compared to Pro V1,” GolfWRX reported. If these changes work, the Tour Championship field will look very different next week.
