This gear constant has propelled Scottie Scheffler to new heights

Scottie Scheffler has six victories this season, together with a second green jacket. It ought to come as no shock that his tools setup has remained static because the win in March at Bay Hill. Shaking up the setup isn’t an possibility once you’re on a heater.

For those who want proof, simply evaluate the setup from Arnie’s place to the setup he used to log title quantity six on Sunday on the Travelers Championship. It’s copy and paste when Scheffler hits paydirt.

Enjoying tools favorites is an unimaginable process once you’re streaking, even when recency bias tells us Scheffler’s swap to a TaylorMade Spider Tour X mallet — a change that went down at Bay Hill — was crucial gear shakeup of the 12 months. (You’ll be able to learn in regards to the putter transfer in a recent deep dive.)

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However let’s overlook in regards to the putter for the second and shift the main target to a different early-season transfer that turned out to be equally vital for Scheffler’s driving.

Again in February, Scheffler moved away from TaylorMade’s Stealth 2 driver into Qi10 after going by way of intensive testing classes courting again to only earlier than the Ryder Cup. Scheffler discovered Qi10 to be an intriguing possibility, however it wasn’t till the WM Phoenix Open that he determined to drag the set off and make the change official.

“There was no manner he was contemplating switching out of the Stealth 2 for even the identical efficiency,” TaylorMade Tour rep Adrian Rietveld instructed GOLF.com. “He noticed slightly little bit of ball pace, however that didn’t matter to him in any respect. He values accuracy a lot, which is why he hardly appears at a ball pace quantity. His vary of spin is wider than different gamers as a result of he hits so many alternative pictures and trajectories. He’s hitting pictures at 6 and 12 levels of launch.”

The “core” head, higher often called TaylorMade’s middle-of-the-road providing, is an intriguing beast. Throughout GOLF’s 2024 robotic testing, Qi10 introduced a decrease spin fee and launch angle than a majority of the drivers examined, two issues higher gamers with pace are inclined to gravitate in direction of. One other factor that intrigued Scheffler was the ball pace retention and constant spin charges he noticed on off-center strikes.

With every testing session, Scheffler may sense they had been getting nearer. In the course of the closing meetup at TPC Scottsdale, Scheffler pounded drivers with Qi10 on the TPC Scottsdale driving vary as caddie Ted Scott and Rietveld noticed the outcomes.

The launch and spin numbers had been dialed. The one factor that remained was eliminating the left facet of the course with inner modifications and a small loft adjustment, one thing Rietveld was capable of obtain with a closing loft sleeve adjustment.

“It’s getting darkish and we’ve simply made the ultimate adjustment, shifting the top one click on greater again to plain upright, which is what he usually performs the 8-degree head,” Rietveld recalled. “Launch didn’t change, spin didn’t change, however the factor that modified for him is that he felt like there was zero left. There wasn’t even a straight shot. He actually felt like he may decide to his begin line. He was making an attempt to take the entire left facet of the golf course out.”

Scheffler received the primary week out with Qi10 and hasn’t seemed again. For somebody who lives within the fairway, Scheffler has gotten even higher this season — a scary realization, to make sure. He’s gone from discovering the golf green 62 p.c of the time final season to virtually 72 p.c this 12 months.

The spectacular enchancment in accuracy highlights the main target TaylorMade positioned on decreasing the efficiency delta on mishits throughout product creation. Cut back the penalty for a miss and every part begins wanting up.

In Scheffler’s case, modifications to the driving force have coincided with a season that rivals Tiger Woods’ incredible 2000 campaign. One change didn’t fully alter the trajectory of Scheffler’s season, however there’s no query it performed a task in making the 28-year-old almost unbeatable on the course.

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Jonathan Wall

Golf.com Editor

Jonathan Wall is GOLF Journal and GOLF.com’s Managing Editor for Tools. Previous to becoming a member of the workers on the finish of 2018, he spent 6 years overlaying tools for the PGA Tour. He will be reached at jonathan.wall@golf.com.