Adam Scott’s gear tinkering has him in rivalry on the U.S. Open

Two weeks in the past, I used to be on the vary on the Memorial late Monday afternoon as Adam Scott was going via a follow session.

There have been possibly half a dozen others across the vary at Muirfield Village that afternoon as the primary day was wrapping up, however those that stayed obtained to witness top-of-the-line swings in golf over the past quarter-century.

And as Scott obtained towards the highest finish of his bag, he began exhibiting his inside gear nerd. He was seemingly gawking as he pulled headcovers off his woods and plastic wrap off new golf equipment, and he was giddy to indicate them off to his caddie and different members of his entourage. It was like a bit boy exhibiting you his newest race automotive or toy truck.

He pulled the plastic off a brand-new Titleist T250U driving iron and took a swing.

“Wow!” he exclaimed. He remarked how he anticipated a low driving shot and as an alternative hit a strong moonball over 100 ft within the air.

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Scott’s limitless pursuit of drugs perfection

For us tools junkies, Scott represents the top of drugs nerdom. Ever since Scott turned an tools free agent in 2022, his bag has been a rotating treasure trove of goodies from not one, however two customized, built-for-him units of irons, to serving to lead the barrage of mini drivers, 9-woods and broomstick putters on the PGA Tour, it’s been enjoyable to observe.

So it ought to come as no shock that as Scott enters the ultimate spherical of this week’s U.S. Open inside one of many lead and in the hunt for his second main title, 12 years after his first, a fairly main gear tweak preceded his wonderful play.

Scott drew some eyebrow raises final month when, after three years out of the bag, he re-inserted his customized Titleist 681.AS Prototype irons into the bag in Philadelphia. These golf equipment had been constructed to be copies of the 680 blades Scott used when he first got here out on Tour within the early 2000s, with some refined tweaks to Scott’s preferences.

The hidden change this week

Nevertheless, this week, Scott is again to his different customized set, the Miura AS-1 blades he helped design with the legendary Japanese forging home in 2023, which he had been utilizing intermittently for the higher a part of the final two years.

However Scott made a key change to the irons. Since switching to the AS-1s for a interval final spring and summer season, Scott’s shaft of selection has been the Venture X LZ 6.5, switching from the Dynamic Gold Tour Problem X100. It was a shaft he used earlier than, profitable the 2016 Honda Traditional with a Tour-only prototype model.

“[The Project X LZ is] a unique profile and barely totally different weight,” Scott advised GOLF final summer season after the change. “What they encourage or promote within the swing is a bit totally different. If my tendency is to go to the appropriate, and if the shaft is selling extra proper, then you definately’re in a little bit of a combat. You’re going proper. After a whilst you begin preventing that, and it could actually throw your swing off a bit bit. So it’s form of balancing all of it out.”

However this week, in reinserting the AS-1s (with a Miura TC-202 4-iron), Scott hard-stepped the shafts, which suggests he makes use of the 5-iron shaft in his 4-iron, the 6-iron shaft within the 5-iron, and so forth. This makes the golf equipment play barely firmer.

Miura TC-202 Customized Irons

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There are in all probability a few the reason why Scott may have determined to hard-step the shafts, however three essential ones. He both wished to stabilize the face of the iron with the stouter profile, decrease ball flight and spin, or he was merely on the lookout for a stiffer really feel.

Extra gear modifications

Along with including the TC-202 for his 4-iron, Scott additionally changed his 9-wood with the brand new Titleist T250U he first tried on the Memorial. He’s one of many few gamers utilizing a driving iron this week instead of a high-lofted fairway wooden.

In his prime, Scott was one of many premier ball strikers on the PGA Tour, main the class of strokes gained: strategy in 2010 and 2016. However this season, after a resurgent finish to 2024 which noticed him end 4th on the Tour Championship, he’s dropping strokes on strategy and hasn’t had a top-10 all season.

He’s been worlds higher at Oakmont this week, gaining greater than 5.5 strokes on the sphere on strategy and rating sixth within the class. That goes nicely together with his driving, the place he’s additionally choosing up greater than 5.5 pictures and ranks second.

However with some diabolical pins set on Oakmont’s sloping greens for the ultimate spherical Sunday, it could possibly be these iron modifications that lead Scott to the U.S. Open title.

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