It was all systems go in Texas with the Houston Open serving up a perfect spot for big-name brands to launch new products for Tour validation, most notably Titleist’s all-new GTS driver (and surprisingly fairway) lineup.

We’ve had plenty of coverage across channels about the launch, but check out this week’s Inside the Ropes action for feedback and analysis from Tour players about their first impressions of the lineup.

Let’s dive into some other changes that happened this week, along with more gear launches.

Aldrich Potgieter just got longer

Did Aldrich Potgieter really need more distance? He’s currently second on the PGA Tour in driving distance and ball speed, so potentially, there is margin for him to make up.

At the 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open, he may just have found it, and some forgiveness to go with it.

Heading into the first of two stops in Texas before the season’s opening major championship, Pogeiter is looking to make some hefty changes to his driver setup. One of a few big-name stars to join the PXG ranks in the offseason, Potgieter started out 2026 playing the Lightning Tour head. At Memorial Park Golf Course for the Houston Open, things have changed as he’s looking to use an unreleased Tour Max prototype.

“I hit it yesterday for the first time and it’s really good,” Potgieter said in Houston. “Picked up probably about 2 or 3 miles an hour ball speed, which is huge. So we’ll hopefully keep that out on the course. But no, it’s looking good.

“I feel like some of the miss-strikes are straightening up, I think it has a bit more bulge and rolls as well,” Potgieter said. “So yeah, we’re definitely looking forward to it. It’s been great on the range, so this is a big driving week for us as well on the golf course. So if we can hit a lot more fairways, it’ll be good.

Hear more from Potgeiter about the swap and also another change in his setup before his second Masters appearance next month.

More on Potgieter here.

Fujikura’s strongest shaft

Along with the driver head switch, Potgeiter’s new setup also saw him add the latest Fujikura shaft release. Both the Red and Black Ventus TR VeloCore+ shafts hit the Tour for the first time in Houston. The South African added a Black 7x, which helps contribute to the increased ball speeds.

“The Black is one of the stiffest shafts we’ve ever created,” said Andrew Haong, Fujikura Tour rep. “… We got a lot of feedback from Tour players, that we want to see something that’s extremely stable and extremely stout.

“The one thing that we didn’t want to sacrifice, though, is feel and that’s where I feel like VeloCore+ has been a great addition to this line, where we have a beautiful blend of a lot of stability without sacrificing feel. You’re going to find a lot of players out here that will find something that will keep up with their swing speed, keep up with their tempo, but they’re not going to have something that just feels like a 2×4.”

Neal Shipley also tested a Ventus Black shaft, tipped 2 inches, and Haong mentioned that a previous shaft setup like Shipley’s had hit almost 320 CPM (Cycles Per Minute) during the testing to determine its true stiffness. It’s beefy!

More on the new Ventus shaft here.

Denny McCarthy’s Spider putter switch

Since 2018, Denny McCarthy has been in the top five in Strokes Gained: Putting all but once. In his bad season in 2021, he ranked 22nd, still gaining half a shot a round, nearly on the greens. So when he makes a putter change, it’s a pretty big deal.

The 33-year-old pro from the University of Virginia has pretty consistently gamed a Scotty Cameron GoLo putter for most of his career. He’s one of the first names that pops into the head of many when thinking of the specific putter. Even Michael Brennan, who recently switched to a GoLo at the Valspar, joked that by changing to the model, he hoped to putt like McCarthy.

But in Houston, McCarthy is the latest to succumb to Spider fever. He changed into a blacked-out, double-bend TaylorMade Spider Tour X, to hopefully improve his putting woes, which sees him 106th in Strokes Gained on the greens.

Fowler’s custom kicks

Rickie Fowler has had some interesting outfits in the past. Ones that spring to mind are the hunting attire he wore during the WM Phoenix Open in 2025, or the Knickers he donned at the 2014 U.S. Open. But in Houston, Fowler has a special pair of custom kicks designed by patients at Texas Children’s Hospital.

The sky-blue pair of Puma Ignite Elevate 2 golf shoes features custom-painted sections, including a space rocket, the Houston skyline, Houston sports teams, and Memorial Park Golf Course.

 

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Club of the week

We might have to switch this to “clubs” of the week, because again, I have two.

Firstly, Jason Day added a custom Avoda W3 lob wedge to his bag in Houston. According to Avoda, the W3 wedge is a high-bounce, high-leading-edge-height design built for softer conditions.

Looking at Day’s first-hand, there seems to be more fall off in the trailing-edge release, especially in the heel of the head.

Finally, Davis Chatfield has an interesting insert added to his TaylorMade Spider Tour X. The story behind it? Well, Chatfield played a Scotty Cameron GoLo during the second half of his promotion-clinching Korn Ferry Tour season last year. The team at TaylorMade created a beautiful milled insert to match the feel of that putter in a Spider head for this year, without the Pure Roll grooves.

More photos of Davis Chattfield’s WITB here.

For more from Houston, check out the latest episode of Inside the Ropes below.