Every year manufacturers release new products that proclaim to be the best or longest that have ever been made. With so much technology and research going into their development, it’s often difficult to recognise a clear ‘winner’ when it comes to testing and comparing them. So we thought we’d look at the statistics on the European Tour and see what clubs are in the hands of the players leading each category. To make it a fair contest, we’ve only used players who have played a minimum of 16 rounds this season.
DRIVING
Young Norwegian star Viktor Hovland is embarking on his rookie campaign on the European Tour this season and his driving statistics go to show that he is already a top talent. He leads the driving stats for the European Tour with 1.56 strokes gained: per round. Let’s have a look what he has in the bag:
HEAD: PING G410 LST (9 DEGREES)
SHAFT: PROJECT X HZRDUS BLACK 62 SHAFT.
HEADS: CALLAWAY X FORGED 18, 3-PW
SHAFTS: TRUE TEMPER PROJECT X 6.5 SHAFT
The Ping G410 certainly isn’t the longest driver on Tour, but from our previous tests this club proved to be one of the most consistent with the tightest dispersion out of all the drivers we have tested so far. Hovland has opted for the low-spin model with 9° loft, which enables him hit the ball on the up, with less spin. This allows for the maximum distance with greater dispersion, which has led him to the best driving stats on the European Tour so far this year.
IRON PLAY
Thomas Pieters’ iron play sets the standard high with 1.92 strokes gained per round, based on 22 of his last European Tour rounds. What irons are in his bag?
HEADS: CALLAWAY X FORGED 18, 3-PW
SHAFTS: TRUE TEMPER PROJECT X 6.5 SHAFT
The Callaway X forged irons have been a popular pick for Tour players, with exceptional feel and grooves that promote a high level of control and excellent spin out of any turf conditions. There’s no wonder Pieters is running away with the iron play stats on the European Tour.
CHIPPING
Sweden’s Joel Sjöholm is in the lead on the strokes gained: around the green category with a score of 1.44 strokes gained over a period of 16 rounds. Let’s have a look at the Swede’s tools for the job:
CLUB: SM8 VOKEY
Lofts: 50° 08 bounce F grind, 55° 10 bound S grind, 60° 06 bounce K grind – 60° 06 bounce M grind. Alternating
the 60° depending on what type of course.
SHAFTS: DYNAMIC GOLD TOUR ISSUE S300
What’s the secret to his success? “Well, I guess that I’m not hitting as many greens as I should, and because of that I need to be great around the greens to keep up with the other pros! In all fairness, I have always enjoyed getting up-and down in practice and I try to use my imagination as much as possible. While competing, the answer to an easy up-and-down is sometimes sitting under that putter head-cover, rather than a wedge, and I’m no stranger when it comes to using any club in my bag to get the best statistical result, such as using a putter or sometimes a 3-wood.”
PUTTING
The leading players in the putts-per-round category so far on the European Tour are South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout and England’s Chris Paisley. From 18 rounds, Paisley’s average usage of the flatstick is just 27.5 while Omega Dubai Desert Classic runner-up Bezuidenhout is on 27.6 from 20 rounds. Paisley has a secret weapon – his brother Andy is his putting coach, so there’s a rare sibling relationship which is working wonders!
BEZUIDENHOUT PUTTER: ODYSSEY WORKS BIG T #5
GRIP: TWO THUMB GRIP
