{"id":11540,"date":"2026-05-31T10:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T10:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/11540\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T10:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T10:00:19","slug":"why-rickie-fowlers-3rd-driver-of-the-year-isnt-cause-for-alarm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/11540\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Rickie Fowler’s 3rd driver of the year isn’t cause for alarm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Fully Equipped\u2019s\u00a0weekly Tour equipment report. Every Friday of PGA Tour weeks (plus other times, if news warrants),\u00a0GOLF equipment editor Jack Hirsh<\/a>\u00a0runs you through some of the biggest news surrounding golf clubs on Tour, including changes, tweaks and launches.<\/p>\n

Rickie Fowler is using his third different Cobra OPTM driver of the season this week at the RBC Heritage \u2014 but his driver switches are not because of poor performance.<\/p>\n

Coming into the week, the 37-year-old ranks 17th in accuracy, 18th in total driving and 18th in total driving efficiency, a combined measure of how far he is carrying it and his total yardage compared to his clubhead speed. He\u2019s positive in SG: Off-the-Tee at just under three-tenths of a shot.<\/p>\n

Got some more info from Cobra Tour Rep Ben Schomin, who told me Fowler has actually been fit for three of Cobra’s OPTM heads this season, here is him using the OPTM LS at the Players last month. He confirmed the driver Fowler is using this weekend is the same low lofted Max-K\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/7IzAwHfzpm<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/xGjx8v6dJ5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) April 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

So why is Fowler continuing to cycle through drivers? This week, he\u2019s using the OPTM MAX LS-K prototype driver<\/a>, which his good friend Gary Woodland won with last month<\/a>, but for most of the season, it\u2019s been the OPTM X, the driver most of Cobra\u2019s Tour players use. But he\u2019s also used the OPTM LS earlier this year at the Players.<\/p>\n

Turns out, Fowler and Ben Schomin had confident fits in all three of Cobra\u2019s OPTM heads used on Tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an interesting and good story,\u201d Schomin told GOLF. \u201cBy mid-December last year, we had him fit very well into OPTM LS, X, and Max K. I think that\u2019s a strong testament to our new lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had three distinct drivers and the biggest decision was trying to decide which worked best at that time. He\u2019s played the majority of the season with OPTM X, but has also played a couple of tourneys with OPTM LS. His overall driving stats have been good.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s not that he\u2019s lost and searching, but rather has confidence in all three and wants to test drive their performance on the track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland are close and they’re influencing each other’s bags for sure.<\/p>\n

First it was Woodland gaming a center-shafted GoLo and Cleveland Offset wedge after seeing Fowler do it.<\/p>\n

Now Fowler appears to be taking a page from Woodland’s book by playing his OPTM\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/GQEUXCOsqy<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) April 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Fowler also made a change in shaft length recently, going from a 44.125\u2033 \u2014 one of the shortest on Tour \u2014 shaft UST LinQ Powercore White to 45\u2033. The added length is potentially one of the reasons he wanted to consider the more forgiving Max-K head.<\/a><\/p>\n

So far, that\u2019s working well for Fowler as he opened with rounds of 65 and 69. He ranks 35th in SG: OTT, picking up nearly sevent-tenths of a stroke and has missed just seven of 28 fairways.<\/p>\n

It shouldn\u2019t be surprising either that Fowler is taking after Woodland. Woodland\u2019s Cleveland RTZ offset lob wedge and Scotty Cameron center-shafted GoLo putter only ended up in his bag after Fowler started the year with them.<\/p>\n

\"Cobra<\/p>\n

Cobra OPTM Max-K Custom Driver<\/p>\n

View Product<\/a><\/p>\n

ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore<\/a>, Cobra<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Kim broke his 3-wood. Then he stole\u2019 Max Homa\u2019s<\/p>\n

Perhaps the worst time at a PGA Tour event to have an equipment issue is Wednesday afternoon, but that\u2019s exactly the situation Michael Kim found himself in this week.<\/p>\n

Kim took to Twitter Wednesday evening, as he so often does, as one of golf\u2019s best personalities on the platform, to reveal he discovered a crack in his TaylorMade Qi10 3-wood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was getting ready to hit my tee shot on 18 with my 3 wd and noticed a decent-sized crack on the face,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAll the trucks are gone so the rep is trying to get it shipped overnight. My head pro from home is also shipping my backup from my locker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tour Trucks leave Tour sites Wednesday around noon to get to next week\u2019s event on time. <\/p>\n

Have something happen after then, and you\u2019re kinda at the mercy of FedEx or the local golf shop. <\/p>\n

Michael tees off at 11:00 tomorrow, so it seems like he\u2019ll be using Max Homa\u2019s 4-wood for\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/kN1s1ZUPgO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) April 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier in the week, this would have been a non-issue as the Tour trucks from each OEM that follow the PGA Tour week-to-week could have easily built him a new one. But the Tour trucks typically leave events on Wednesdays around noon each week to have enough time to make it to the next event.<\/p>\n

With the trucks already bound for New Orleans and next week\u2019s Zurich Classic, Kim found an interesting solution. He intended to play with a borrowed Qi4D 3HL-wood<\/a> from Max Homa.<\/p>\n

In fact, Kim later wrote that several other pros offered their backup 3-woods to him, but Homa\u2019s seemed to work the best, despite having a wildly different shaft, a Ventus Black 8-X with Velocore+ compared to his usual Graphite Design Tour AD UB-7 X.<\/p>\n

\u201cDef different profile, but it worked pretty well on the range,\u201d Kim later told GOLF. He also added that he was expecting to get his backup 3-wood from his home course in time for his 11:00 a.m. tee time Thursday.<\/p>\n

Luckily, it did arrive in time, but Kim said he remembered that he had flattened his gamer earlier this year, but not his backup, which has been sitting in his locker at his home course. Every shot overdrew on the range, he wrote. Again, no trucks around capable of making the lie adjustment to a fairway wood.<\/p>\n

So Kim ended up gaming Homa\u2019s 4-wood and despite the difference in shaft, he said he really liked it, enough to even ask TaylorMade to build him one. He hit 3\/4 fairways with the club and gained .32 shots when playing it off the tee.<\/p>\n

Titleist, TaylorMade begin seeding new lines<\/p>\n

The week after the Masters was a big one for seeding of new products as both TaylorMade and Titleist launched new gear at Harbour Town.<\/p>\n

TaylorMade had three players using its new 2026 Spider putters, including Tommy Fleetwood and Jacob Bridgeman, who are both using new versions of the Spider Tour.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the second putter change in three weeks for Fleetwood, who changed the alignment aid on his Spider Tour Black<\/a> the week before the Masters. TaylorMade Tour Rep James Holley said the new model is identical to his old putter but with a different finish and wider \u201cPilot\u2019s Eye\u201d alignment aid.<\/p>\n

Pierceson Coody is using the Spider Tour F he first put into play four weeks ago at the Valspar Championship. TaylorMade <\/p>\n

TaylorMade also tied for the overall putter count after the first round with 21, but then pushed ahead in the second round after Ryo Hisatsune switched to a TaylorMade blade. Last year, TaylorMade had just 12 putters in play at this same event.<\/p>\n

Tommy Fleetwood (first two pictures), Jacob Bridgeman (third picture, both Spider Tours) and Pierceson Coody (fourth, Spider Tour F) all are using TaylorMade’s new 2026 Spider putters at Harbour Town this week.<\/p>\n

Fleetwood’s putter is essentially identical to the one he started\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/T9DZQopkOQ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) April 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Titleist officially launched its GTS fairway woods at the RBC Heritage. <\/p>\n

Cameron Young and Johnny Keefer both previously added the GTS3 7-wood at the Valero and the Masters, respectively, but four more GTS fairway metals were in play as well.<\/p>\n

Bud Cauley (GTS3 15.0), Joe Highsmith (GTS2 13.5) and Jordan Smith (GTS2 13.5, GTS3 18.0) all added new GTS fairway metals for Harbour Town.<\/p>\n

As with the drivers, there are few technical details out there right now, but from images, we do know both the GTS2 and GTS3 feature adjustable heel-toe weighting in addition to a silver face that was seen as a prototype on Young\u2019s GT1 3-wood.<\/p>\n

Titleist also had six GTS fairways in play at Harbour Town after they officially launched on Tour this week. <\/p>\n

Cameron Young (pictured) and Johnny Keefer played the GTS3 7-wood at the Masters. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s who else played them:
Bud Cauley: GTS3 15.0
Joe Highsmith GTS2 13.5
Jordan\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Cx4jjCIF7D<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) April 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

GTS2 also appears significantly shallower than the GTS3.<\/p>\n

There was, however, no mention of the GTS fairway wood that GolfWRX spotted Michael Brennan testing at the Houston Open three weeks ago at the GTS driver launch.<\/p>\n

Check this out<\/p>\n

This section is dedicated to cool photos we\u2019ve snapped recently on Tour, but haven\u2019t had a reason to share yet. For this week, check out Harris English\u2019s 15-year-old Ping Scottsdale Hohum mallet.<\/p>\n

\"Harris
\n Harris English has been using this putter since his senior year of college.<\/p>\n

Jack Hirsh\/GOLF<\/p>\n

Odds and Ends<\/p>\n

Some other gear changes and notes we\u2019re tracking this week.<\/p>\n

Karl Vilips is playing without a driver this week<\/a>, going with an R7 Quad Mini, 3-wood and a 7-wood \u2026 Patrick Cantlay became the first player to add Titleist\u2019s GTS4 driver<\/a> and three others also added a GTS driver this week \u2026 Jhonattan Vegas is the latest player to move into Callaway\u2019s *still* unreleased Apex MB \u201926s<\/a> \u2026 Jason Day added Ping\u2019s prototype mini driver \u2026 TaylorMade had 72 fairway woods in play with the next competitor at 24 \u2026 Denny McCarthy added an R7 Quad 11.5 \u2026 Chris Gotterup is playing his TaylorMade P770 3-iron \u2026 Jordan Smith is the latest player to get \u2018Spidered\u2019, adding Spider tour X \u2026 J.T. Poston has a new Qi4D 7-wood \u2026 Tommy Fleetwood switched to a Titleist SM11 T-Grind lob wedge \u2026 Garrick Higgo switched from a 9.0 to 10.5 Ping G440 K.<\/p>\n

3 things you should read\/watch<\/p>\n

A selection of GOLF content from the past week that may interest you.<\/p>\n

Meet the man behind Rory McIlroy\u2019s Masters-winning Spider putter<\/a>. The PGA Tour\u2019s Spider-fever got another shot of momentum with Rory McIlroy\u2019s second green jacket. Meet the man who is responsible for building and fitting all of the new ones out there.<\/p>\n

\"TaylorMade<\/p>\n

TaylorMade Spider Tour X Custom Putter<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

THIN WALL UNDERCUT CONSTRUCTION<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve engineered a super stable structure by removing excess weight to create high MOI and legendary Spider performance.
\nSTEEL WIREFRAME
\nAllows engineers to better control weight distribution and CG location.
\nHYBRAR ECHO\u00ae DAMPENER
\nHYBRAR is behind the face to dampen unwanted vibrations, delivering premium sound and feel on every putt with the best possible sensation.
\nDIFFERENT CG LOCATION
\nEach Spider Tour model features different CG locations for optimal putter fitting.
\nTSS WEIGHTING
\nTSS weights provide balanced weighting and help optimize performance for all various putter lengths.
\nGUNMETAL PVD FINISH
\nThe durable PVD coating creates a beautiful high-quality finish.
\nTRUE PATH\u2122 ALIGNMENT
\nThe patented alignment system provides visual clarity and helps golfers better envision the line to the hole.
\nWHITE TPU PURE ROLL\u2122 INSERT
\nMade from a combination of Surlyn and aluminum, the white TPU Pure Roll\u2122 insert creates a softer feel. Grooves are angled at 45\u00b0 to encourage optimal forward roll as well as better sound, feel and overall roll characteristics. The white insert also creates better symmetry with the white True Path alignment.
\nREFINED HOSEL DESIGNS
\nSpider Tour Series includes two different hosel shapes and designs. The small slant produces toe hang, and the double bend produces a face balanced design.<\/p>\n

View Product<\/a><\/p>\n

ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore<\/a>, TaylorMade<\/a><\/p>\n

Cobra\u2019s R&D was asked to think outside the box. Now they\u2019re 3D printing golf clubs<\/a>. Jake Morrow takes you inside the process of bringing Cobra\u2019s first 3DP irons to market and what the technology enables for the future.<\/p>\n

“><\/p>\n

\"Cobra<\/p>\n

Cobra 3DP Tour Custom Irons<\/p>\n

The KING 3D Printed TOUR irons utilize 3D printing technology to unlock a new\u00a0realm of performance. Their one of a kind design features the most forgiving\u00a0blade shape on the market, delivering the forgiveness that aspirational players\u00a0need, and the sleek looks and soft feel that better players desire.
\n3D PRINTED STEEL CONSTRUCTION
\nEach iron is fully 3D printed from 316 stainless steel. 3D printing provides significant\u00a0advantages over traditional methods of casting and forging, unlocking more design\u00a0freedom and significant performance improvements.
\nFORGIVING PLAYERS BLADE SHAPE
\n3D printing has unlocked new design possibilities, enabling COBRA engineers to create a\u00a0compact blade shape with the mass properties (high MOI, low CG) of a game improvement\u00a0iron without sacrificing looks and soft feel that better players demand.
\nINTERNAL LATTICE STRUCTURE
\nCOBRA took a muscle-back blade shape (similar in size and shape to the KING TOUR iron),\u00a0and transformed the inside of the blade into a complex internal lattice structure to reduce\u00a0the weight of the club by 33%. That discretionary weight was repositioned to optimize feel,\u00a0CG position, and MOI.<\/p>\n

View Product<\/a><\/p>\n

ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore<\/a>, Cobra<\/a><\/p>\n

This rising star has a golf bag built for the modern bomber | Bag Spy<\/a>. For this week\u2019s Bag Spy, we dive into the bag of Michael Thorbjornsen and what he\u2019s changed to adapt to PGA Tour golf.<\/p>\n

\"TaylorMade<\/p>\n

TaylorMade R7 Quad Custom Mini Driver<\/p>\n

PERFORMANCE FOR THE MODERN PLAYER
\nInspired by one of the most iconic models in TaylorMade history, the R7\u00a0Quad Mini Driver pays homage to what\u2019s come before, while creating its\u00a0own modern identity in the same breath. It\u2019s that very modern design\u00a0that incorporates proven TaylorMade technologies to give golfers\u00a0versatility and playability.
\nR7 QUAD WEIGHTING SYSTEM
\nThe new quad weighting system features four movable weights (13g\u00a0x2, 4g x2) that provide the ultimate in spin management and shot\u00a0shape control. Forward CG creates a penetrating flight best suited for\u00a0maximizing distance whereas rear CG helps prioritize control and ease\u00a0of use from the deck. Shot shape can also be fine-tuned helping create\u00a0the most optimal flight. Additional weights can be purchased for a wider\u00a0range of adjustability.
\nINFINITY CARBON CROWN
\nA new satin Infinity Carbon Crown has been added to the R7 Quad\u00a0Mini Driver chassis creating a stunning look while saving weight for\u00a0better mass optimization. The cosmetic package is clean, elegant, and\u00a0confidence-inspiring.<\/p>\n

View Product<\/a><\/p>\n

ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore<\/a>, TaylorMade<\/a><\/p>\n

The author welcomes your comments at\u00a0Jack.Hirsh@golf.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Want to overhaul your bag in 2026?\u00a0Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“><\/p>\n