Equipment

Mizuno Golf selects GolfWRXer for new campaign

Published

13 years ago

Mar 11, 2013

Lee Baughman, who Mizuno described in a press release as an “absolutely average player” from Pittsburgh, has been named as the first member of Mizuno Golf’s “Play Famously” campaign team.

Baughman, 30, said he found out about the opportunity on a GolfWRX forum.

“I remember sitting there with my wife, on the laptop and actually showed her the contest,” he said. “Usually she doesn’t care too much about GolfWRX or golf in general, but I said ‘Look at this one. This would be a crazy contest to win,’ even though there wasn’t much information. So I entered on the site and didn’t expect to hear much out of it.”

When told of how Mizuno described him as an “absolutely average player,” Baughman chuckled. Baughman said he could be a better golfer if he had more time, but his job as a product manager in the mining industry and being a father of two children has limited the time he can play the game.

“The game is not very forgiving if you don’t give it a lot of time,” he said. “And I actually picked up the game very late. It was after college and I didn’t start taking it too seriously until a few years ago.”

Mizuno launched its Play Famously campaign to “champion the cause and determination of the ‘everyman’ golfer using Mizuno’s JPX-825 line of game-improvement irons.” To kick off the event, Luke Donald and the Mizuno Golf team hosted a press conference, introducing Baughman as the latest member of the team.

The JPX-825 was recently released by Mizuno to fit along with its Play Famously theme. Mizuno says the iron has an extra large sweet spot on its ultra-thin, ultra-hot face, which enhances the trampoline effect to create extra distance on shots.

“A lot of people still view Mizuno as a brand for only elite players, but that’s a misconception,” said Dick Lyons, vice president and general manager of Mizuno Golf, in a press release. “We know that we have the longest and most forgiving irons on the market in the JPX-825s, but we’re not asking golfers to take our word for it. We challenge any mid to high handicap players to put the JPX-825s up against anything they are playing now, and they will see for themselves.”

The JPX-825 will be just one of the clubs that Baughman and the rest of the yet-to-be-determined “average Joe” team will be using. The members will be outfitted with a number of Mizuno irons, drivers, woods and apparel. They will also receive instruction and tips from PGA Mastor Instructor Gary Wiren, and get a chance to compete in Mizuon’s inaugural JPX Invitational this September in Atlanta.

“The passion of amateur golfers is at the heart of our sport,” Donald said in a Mizuno press release. “It’s what drives our sport and it’s really special that Mizuno is going to these lengths to celebrate them with this campaign. Let’s be honest, I don’t think any of us pros are at risk of losing our jobs. For guys like Lee, consistently breaking 90 can be life-changing, and the right equipment makes all the difference.”

The rest of the team will not be announced until this summer. Golfers who want the opportunity to be selected for one of the other 11 spots available can do so via the Play Famously website.

Until May on the Play Famously website, players who have tested the JPX-825 can can to the website and leave feedback on the club. They will also be able to leave an essay, photos and/or videos demonstrating their passion and determination to the game, and why they should be selected to the team.

Equipment

Slab city on the Korn Ferry Tour — Lead Tape Report

Published

5 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.

Joel Thelen

Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.

First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.

Mitchell Meissner

Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.

Whats in the Bag

Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)

Published

5 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX

7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX

Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

See more in-hand photos of Bud Cauley’s clubs here.

Equipment

Name every set of irons you’ve owned – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

5 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.

@Lamosteve began:

Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine

Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6

Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”

Entire Thread: “Name every set of irons you’ve owned.”