Equipment

Inside Viktor Hovland’s driver testing: Why the Ping G440 LST isn’t in his bag…just yet

Published

2 months ago

Apr 15, 2026

Viktor Hovland is back in action at this week’s RBC Heritage, looking to build on a final-round 67 at Augusta National that carried him to a top-20 finish.

The Norwegian has been testing between drivers for the last few months, and the work continued this week at Harbour Town. GolfWRX’s Alistair Cameron caught up with Ping tour rep Spencer Rothluebber to get the details on where the testing stands between his current Ping G425 driver and a G440 LST.

According to Rothluebber, the tight layout at Harbour Town means the 425 is likely staying in the bag this week, but the 440 LST could be making its way in sooner rather than later. Here’s what the Ping rep told us on Wednesday:

On the 425 vs 440 LST decision:

“He’s definitely attached to his 425. It got too close to the starting line for him to make the change (at last week’s Masters), and the spin being up was even more reason to stay with his gamer.”

“He saw the strengths of the 440 with the forgiveness, the straightness – just needed to dial in the numbers a little bit.”

On the adjustments to the 440:

“We ended up doing a half degree less loft than the head we did last week, with a little more hot melt forward just to help reduce the launch and the spin. Tested it earlier today and last night and numbers were much improved. Spin rate was anywhere from 21[00] to 24[00] on good hits. The one or two misses he had were up around 27[00], nothing near 30[00]. Slightly faster than his gamer 425.

On why the 440 isn’t in play this week:

“I don’t think he’ll change this week due to the fact that there aren’t too many driver holes on this golf course. It’s tight, he wants to keep it flighted down. The 425 definitely flights just a touch lower.”

“If we get to a bigger golf course, something where he’s going to actually see the distance gain and understand he doesn’t have to steer it around, I think the 440 could be in play.”

On the center of gravity work on the new 440:

“With the extra spin he was getting, we knew we needed to go a little further and lighten the back weight a little bit, get that center of gravity moved just a touch forward to help reduce the spin. It’s something we’ve done with a lot of players, but in this case we had to go a little further. To both get the trajectory down, as well as the spin.”

On the visual differences between the two heads:

“The new one is slightly shallower with more of a rounded crown. The overall face is just a little less from top to bottom, which is an adjustment. Tee height is always unique for guys. For him he may feel like he may need to tee it a little lower just to achieve the look at address. Even at that level they get a little spooky about hitting one high off the face and launching too high.”

On Hovland’s spin preferences:

“He likes to live right around 23[00] 24[00] spin. Launch angle wise, maybe a touch low – he kind of lives in that 10 or 11 range. He definitely wants it to start left, but does not want to see it go left.”

On face angle and setup:

“You can’t look open for him. The club can’t be sitting open because then he feels like he has to increase that over-the-top move. We have the hosel sleeve on the flip side of the circle, which sets him up neutral and gets the lie angle where he needs to be.”

Hovland gets his RBC Heritage week underway on Thursday at 9.55 a.m E.T.

Equipment

Slab city on the Korn Ferry Tour — Lead Tape Report

Published

6 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

7 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

7 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.”