I had one of my best competitive years in 2026. Here’s how my gear helped me | Gear | GOLF.com

This past year, I had perhaps my best competitive season since high school, and a big reason was the new trust I had in my equipment.

This season, I shot 71 twice, made an albatross, got my handicap index back below 1.0, and qualified for my first state amateur or mid-amateur in five years. The journey started, though, when we embarked on Fully Fit, a fitting bonanza that gave me the chance to get fit by six OEMs and decide what clubs would make it into my bag for the upcoming year. While I had been GOLF’s gear editor for about a year, I still had yet to take that kind of holistic look at my entire golf bag with each OEM. In fact, at that point, I had had a full bag fitting with just two of them.

It’s not so much that I had any gaping holes in my bag, but there was so much I hadn’t tried. While many of my fittings ended up in product that I would have expected, other spots I tried something new.

How my gear helped my game in 2026

For me, no change from this year ended up being as significant as my iron shaft change to the Nippon N.S.Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X paired with Cobra’s 3DP iron platform. Before TaylorMade’s Brandon Dooley and Cobra’s Andrew Lusty fit me into that unique and softer profile shaft, every fitting I had ever done resulted in the stout Project X 6.5.

What was the result? This summer, I had the best competitive run in my career, including shooting 71 twice in tournament rounds, making a solid run at match play in my club championship again and qualifying for my first state amateur, the Pennsylvania Mid-Amateur, in five years.

Having the slightly softer iron shaft introduced an element of feel that not only helped me drastically reduce my feared left miss, but it also allowed me to be more creative with my shot-making and even add a left-to-right ball flight I never had before.

The shaft combined with the remarkable forgiveness of Cobra’s 3DP platform allowed me to hit some incredible iron shots, including my first-ever albatross in June.

I also got in a position with my wedges that left me with absolutely no fear around the greens. Titleist TPI fitter Louis Raynard moved me into Vokey’s M-grind and eventually the WedgeWorks A+ grind in the lob wedge when it was released.

During my PA Mid-Am qualifier in August, for the first time in competition, I got up and down on each one of my five missed greens on my way to qualifying.

Ball: Titleist ’25 Pro V1 Enhanced Alignment
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D 9.0˚ (Fujikura Ventus TR Black+ 7-X)
Mini driver: TaylorMade R7 Quad Mini 13.5˚ (Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7-X)
Hybrid*: Ping G440 20˚ (Fujikura Ventus Blue HB+ 9-X)
7-wood*: Titleist GT1 4-Hybrid 20˚ (Fujikura Ventus Blue HB+ 9-X)
Utility Iron*: Titleist U505 20˚ (Project X HZRDUS 80 6.5)
Irons: Cobra 3DP Tour (4), 3DP MB (5-9) (Nippon N.S.Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM11 (46.10F, 50.12F, 54.14F @ 55, 60A+) (Nippon N.S.Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X, Project X Wedge 6.5)
Putter: Ping Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset
*Utility iron, hybrid and 7-wood based on course/conditions

What clubs helped me the most in 2026

7-wood (4-hybrid)

Head: Titleist GT1 20˚
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue HB+ 9-X
Loft: 20˚ @ 19˚
SureFit setting: D1
SureFit CG: 5g front, 11g rear
Length: 40.5″ EOG
Tipping: .5″
Swingweight: D3

Why it mattered: As someone who struggled to find a reliable and versatile third tee club for a long time, I never thought I’d find it in a game improvement hybrid, but it actually makes a lot of sense. The Titleist GT1 hybrid’s oversized profile made it perfect for me as a compact 7-wood option that gave me something I could dig out of rough and hit it high. It also proved useful off the tee on many of the short courses I played throughout the season in competition. The GT1 served a valuable role in my bag, alternating with my mid-flying hybrid and a utility iron.

I also would be remiss not to call out my shaft change to the Fujikura Ventus Blue HB+. I was using a much heavier shaft in my hybrid to help battle the left miss, but it was causing my spin to drop, which wasn’t helping my hybrid land with any sort of control. When I was fit for the GT1, I also made the switch in my G440 hybrid and both clubs.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore, Titleist

Irons

Set composition: Cobra 3DP Tour (4), 3DP MB (5-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S.Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X
Length: +.5″ (37.75″ 7-iron EOG)
Lie: 2˚ Flat (60˚ 7-iron)
Loft progression: 22.5/26/30/34/38/42
Swingweight: D2.5-D3

Why they mattered: What more can I say about my Cobra 3DP irons and Modus 120 X shafts? They never left my bag all year and gave me so much confidence to hit any shot between 160 and 220 yards.

Cobra 3DP MB Custom Irons

The 3DP MB iron combines the looks and feel of a traditional forged muscle back with the forgiveness of a cavity back iron. The most forgiving blade on the market, the MB has captivated Tour players by checking all the boxes and exceeding expectations with its exceptional stability and feel. FORGIVING MUSCLE BACK BLADE SHAPE A slightly revised shape from the KING MB inspired by feedback from PGA Tour player Max Homa, the MB features a thinned topline and enhanced offset. The internal 3D printed lattice and heel, toe and hosel tungsten increases MOI for stability, and positions the CG perfectly centered and lower than the KING MB to promote higher launch. EXTREME FORGIVENESS MEETS SOFT FEEL The 3D printed internal lattice structure not only optimizes weight savings, but also provides the stiffness and strength to support the face and fine-tune the acoustics of each iron to produce the most appealing impact sound and feel. TUNGSTEN WEIGHTING The discretionary weight savings from the 3D printed lattice allowed for up to 55g of tungsten to be positioned low in the heel, toe and hosel resulting in the perfect blend of a compact blade shape with a low CG and high MOI that mirrors a game improvement iron.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Cobra

Lob wedge

Heads: Titleist Vokey SM11 WedgeWorks Raw
Lofts/grinds: 60A+
Shafts: Project X Wedge 6.5
Length: 35.5″
Lie: 62˚
Swingweight: D6.5

Why they mattered: When Fully Fit launched, the A+ Grind was not yet available, but Louis Raynard had a hunch this is where we’d end up. He was right. The A+ is a sibling of the M-Grind I was initially fit into, but with the ribbon on the sole ground off. This made it so my lob wedge glided through the bent grass I play in the Northeast much faster than the M. That’s not to say the M never sees my bag. I still use it whenever I head south to play off Bermuda. Raynard told me this how to do with the absence of the ribbon or the knuckle on the A+. In softer or dense turf, as I see in the Northeast, the smoother sole helps my wedge glide through the grass, but when the turf is firmer or less dense like Bermuda, the ribbon gives me some forgiveness to clip it.

Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks SM11 A+ Grind Custom Wedge

The A+ Grind is a mid-bounce wedge that originated from removing the grind lines from an M Grind — the same modification that turns an L Grind into an A. Because of this, the A+ moves faster through the turf than its related M Grind, but it features more bounce and a wider sole than the A. This helps the A+ Grind excel in firm to neutral conditions. “On tour over the years, we started seeing some loyal M Grind players who were finding that sole to be a little too bouncy for their liking,” said Dill. “Those players found the leading edge of the A+ sat a bit lower, and the wedge moved faster through the ground, unlocking a bit more versatility.” The 2013 Masters champion is one such player, regularly gaming a 58A+ on the PGA TOUR. 

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Titleist

Putter

Head: Ping Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset
Length: 35″ EOG
Loft: 2.5˚
Lie: 69˚
Hosel: Onset
Insert: PEBAX
Sightline: EyeQ
Total Weight: 551g
Grip: Golf Pride Reverse Taper Small Pistol

Why they mattered: Like the GT1 hybrid, the Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset was a huge surprise to me. I had the opportunity to test it during Fully Fit, but I didn’t get my hands on it until four months later in April when it actually came out. By then, I was at a point where I knew my experiement with low-torque putters was at an end, but the Ally Blue Onset was something different. The way this putter releases is exactly what I need to feel in order to hit short putts consistently. In fact, I probably made more putts inside of 15 feet with this putter than durring any other season of my golfing life.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore

Other changes

Driver: I made a move into the Ventus TR Black with VeloCore+ as soon as it was released after a really surprising testing session at home. The stability has really helped my start lines, but there are days where I do struggle with getting enough launch. Will look to remedy that this winter.

Mini Drivers: I love both my TaylorMade R7 Quad and my Titleist GTS300. The Quad saw my bag in every tournament until the Pennsylvania Mid-Am when I gave the GTS300 a shot because I’ve been struggling with low spin with the TaylorMade. I’m not ready to pick one or the other right now. The GTS was really good in practice, but the Quad has been in the bag for almost two years.

What I’m looking forward to in 2027

Some potential for new irons

If this year was a driver year, next year is setting up as a banger of an irons year. We’ve already seen Srixon’s second-generation ZXi irons as well as Mizuno’s Pro S-4 hit the market. Until I had this job, I was always playing Mizuno irons and I’ve just started vetting the latest entry and am liking what I’m seeing a lot.

Getting actually fit for a driver shaft and putter

None of my drivers have the same shaft in them that I was fit for. I wouldn’t advise anyone do that. I’m still not 100 percent sure I have it right, but I also know I have some issues with my setup that also contributed to an overall bad driving year for me. In 2026, I’m looking forward to finding the right driver shaft or just getting the confidence that I’m in the right one.

Same goes for putter. I had one of my best putting years with what was essentially a stock Ally Blue Onset. I look forward to dialing in that putter further when I get the next chance.

More competitive reps

The only tournament I qualified for, the PA Mid-Am, got cut short by rain. But after my performances this year, I can’t wait till my next qualifier and hope I can build on my successes this past year.

Ready to overhaul your bag in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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