Like most vacationers aboard an outbound plane to Maui, I had mid-flight visions of Mai Tais, white sandy beaches, and achieving inner peace in the tropics. Even in my pre-paradise dreams I couldn’t convince myself that I’d learn how to surf, but getting lei’d didn’t seem out of the question.

As I sit aboard the return flight to reality, however, my brain is spinning. Not from an overabundance of delicious, ice cold, pineapple-laden Mai Tais, unfortunately, but from the chaotic couple days of golf equipment news at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Truth be told, I knew I was heading directly into the eye of the gear storm at the Kapalua Plantation Course this week, but I didn’t realize just how hectic it would be.

Buckle in for my 10 gear takeaways below as I attempt to recap all that went on in the gear world ahead of the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua in Maui.

See all of the photos from this week in Hawaii here!

1) Rahm and Xander make a Paradym shift

Callaway officially launched its new family of Paradym golf clubs this week and revealed full tech and retail information to the public. Among the early adopters at Kapalua were two of the tournaments favorites: Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele.

Check out their new additions below:

Jon Rahm’s driver, 3-wood, and 5-wood

Jon Rahm’s mini WITB at Kapalua

Xander’s driver (and custom Odyssey Toulon putter)

Since they’re just Sharpie marker lines on the face, this is perfectly legal. Don’t worry, it’s not a Hideki situation here. Xander just prefers to see a bit more of the face.

More Xander photos here

2) Collin and Scottie go into Stealth 2 mode

Although TaylorMade hasn’t officially announced tech details, or the retail release of its new Stealth 2 products, that didn’t stop Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler from making a quick switch into the new products.

Check out their additions below:

Collin Morikawa’s new TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (and the Stealth 2 Plus fairway wood he was testing)

More Collin photos here

Scottie Scheffler’s new Stealth 2 Plus driver and Stealth 2 fairway wood

Read about Scottie’s switch here

3) Justin Thomas takes it all the way back to middle school

JT put us all through a spin cycle in 2022 when it came to his custom Scotty Cameron mallet prototype putters. It felt like he was debuting a new 1-of-1 every week there for a while.

Well, it seems 2023 is going to be another year of putter entertainment from Thomas, who switched back into a Scotty Cameron 303 SSS Circle T blade putter that he first starting using in middle school (as first reported by Dylan Dethier from golf.com).

Justin Thomas is making a fun putter change this week, going back to a Scotty Cameron blade he first gamed in middle school (!) and hasn’t used in competition since college.

“I like putting with it, so why fight it?”

more: https://t.co/ECncXV1XjT pic.twitter.com/kijYFo31MU

— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) January 4, 2023

I repeat, JUSTIN THOMAS IS USING A PUTTER AT THE 2023 SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS THAT HE STARTED USING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL.

Such a cool throwback addition to the bag and yet another fascinating chapter in JT’s putter saga.

4) Cantlay goes blank

Rumors have been swirling about Patrick Cantlay leaving the PGA Tour to LIV his best life, but he assured the media this week that he’s staying put on the PGA Tour. I have no reason not to believe him, as he seemed very candid in his Tuesday press conference.

“Yeah, I think it’s because I haven’t been too vocal one way or the other,” Cantlay said. “So, I think that’s probably where it is. Guys, for the most part, seem like they’re pretty polarized on this issue, and I view it as it’s been a competition for top talent, like any other business. But I have no plans to do that as of now, which has been my stance for, you know, basically since the whole time.”

Amidst the rumors, Cantlay showed up to Kapalua with a blacked-out Vessel staff bag – rather than his usual Titleist staff bag – and a missing Hugo Boss logo from his hat.

Cantlay remains on a glove/ball/shoe deal with Titleist, but he’s no longer a full-time equipment staffer. He does, however, seem to have the same Titleist gear setup in the bag this week.

I’m just going eat some popcorn and continue to watch the Cantlay show unfold. Actually, when Patrick is in Hawaii, is it Cant-lei?

5) Mullinax (and Kisner) sign with Wilson

This week, Wilson finally confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in golf: Kevin Kisner, and Trey Mullinax, have signed equipment deals with Wilson for 2023. Kisner isn’t in the field this week, but Mullinax is in Hawaii giving his new Wilson setup a test run.

Click here for more info on the Wilson signings

6) Luke enLists new PXG irons

We don’t know exactly what’s different about Luke List’s set of PXG “0317 CB” irons, but we do know that List confirmed they are new in the bag for him this week. They are definitely milled, and they’re definitely cavity backs, but I’ll leave the rest up for reader speculation for now.

7) SuperStroke, Ping, and…McLovin!

Second place to only the Masters, Hawaiian colors and themes make for nearly perfect artistic inspiration to make awesome custom headcovers.

Who do you think won the headcover battle this week in Kapalua?

SuperStroke…

Ping…

Or…Odyssey?

8) Check out Tom Kim’s new look, and putter grip

Tom Kim broke out as a budding superstar last year thanks to his two quick PGA Tour wins and electric Presidents Cup performance. This year, it seems that he cashed in on his early success by signing a deal with Nike apparel.

It also appears that he re-upped his equipment deal with Titleist, despite rumors he may have been bolting elsewhere for a bigger check.

9) Sungjae Im focuses his Zenergy

Im, and the aforementioned Tom Kim, both switched putter grips into SuperStroke’s new Zynergy models, which offer slightly more grip on the lower hand, and a less-pronounced seam on the undercarriage. Im switched into a Zenergy 1.0 PT and Kim switched into a Zenergy Tour 2.0.

Also, a quick reminder that Lee’s Scotty Cameron Tourtype F-5 mallet is a heater.

10) Odyssey’s new White Hot wave

As I was perusing the Odyssey putter staff bag on the putting green at Kapalua, I started realizing something: ALL of the putters resting up against the golf bag are brand new. This week, Odyssey unveiled new White Hot Versa and Tri-Hot 5K putter models, with a slew of different hosels and sightlines.

While we don’t know just yet exactly what makes the designs different than previous models, we have confirmed one thing for certain: former Odyssey putter rep Joe Toulon has been promoted to Callaway’s PGA Tour Manager. Now that’s some White Hot industry gear news for you.

And with that, we say Aloha to Maui this week for the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions. We’ll see you next week at the Sony Open on Oahu for more gear news.

See all of the photos from this week in Hawaii here!