Arnold Palmer was undoubtedly golf’s biggest gear head and club tinkerer ever, and he must have been smiling down upon Bay Hill this week, as some of golf’s biggest names were testing and switching into new equipment at the Elevated Event.

Names such as Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, and Justin Rose all made gear changes at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

We also spotted some new equipment on-site at Bay Hill, including Bettinardi irons, new Scotty Cameron and PXG putters, and new Golf Pride putter grips.

Just to add a little more gear intrigue in honor of Arnie, we also got a look into NFL quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s golf bag, including his unbelievable custom “No. 16” putter, as well as NBA legend Vince Carter’s current setup during the Wednesday Pro-Am.

Yeah, I know; too much talk, not enough photos. I hear you, so let’s get into this week’s equipment highlights from the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge.

Click here to see all of our photos from Bay Hill this week

1) Scottie Scheffler switches into a TaylorMade Spider Tour X prototype putter

It’s been a long road of putter testing for Scheffler as he continues to search for the one putter that will stick longterm. Maybe his new Spider Tour X prototype is the answer.

His 2-under-par 70 in round 1 is certainly a nice start.

While his former Tour X SS proto putter that we spotted in 2023 came equipped with a custom milled face, his new Arnold Palmer Invitational version uses TaylorMade’s stock Pure Roll face insert. The new putter also has a visibly short plumbers neck construction.

TaylorMade weighed in with some insight on the new design after the first round:

“Scottie Scheffler put Spider Tour X putter in play this week after doing some extensive work with the putter at home. The putter is half-inch longer than Scottie’s previous gamer with the L-neck hosel and True Path with a full-line sightline on top. Scottie switched to Spider Tour X for increased MOI and stability compared to a blade.

“Spec wise, Scottie’s Spider Tour X has 3 degrees of loft with a lie angle of 72 degrees, and an 80/20 Pure Roll insert. He is also using Golf Pride’s Pistol grip.”

See more photos of Scheffler’s new putter here, or click here to see his full WITB from this week.

2) Collin Morikawa switches into a Logan Olson putter

Right as Scheffler gets off the Logan Olson train, Morikawa hops aboard.

New in the bag this week, Morikawa is now playing a custom Logan Olson blade putter, equipped with his familiar Mitsubishi Diamana putter shaft, and a SuperStroke Zynergy Tour 2.0XL putter grip.

See more photos of Collin’s new Logan Olson putter here

3) Fowler switches into a Cobra Darkspeed X driver, with a new Project X Denali shaft

If you’re particularly interested in Fowler’s new driver, or new driver shaft, or in the reasons why he switched, I recommend reading our full write-up over on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, where Fowler went super in-depth on the change and new driver setup. Fowler is quite in-tune with his equipment, so he’s always interesting to speak with about his testing process.

Here’s a snippet of what Fowler had to say about it:

4) Justin Rose switches to Srixon Z Forged II irons

According to Rose’s caddie, Rose played his first 9 holes with the new Srixon X Forged II set on Tuesday, and as confirmed during the first round of competition on Thursday, he officially made the switch.

I guess he liked what he saw. Or felt.

As GolfWRX Forum user Drewhill44 pointed out in the forum thread, Rose has won on the PGA Tour twice on the week of an iron switch, so special things could be in store for Rose with the new Srixon irons this week.

We’ll catch with Rose next week at The Players to see why he made the change.

5) Arnold Palmer’s 2-iron, and “memorial” WITB

As mentioned earlier, Arnold Palmer was a true club tinkerer. Seriously, his club collection totals over 10,000.

That’s a lot of golf clubs.

On Wednesday, an umbrella-shaded Arnold Palmer staff bag was on display, and filled with clubs from his collection.

The 2-iron particularly caught my eye, as did the custom Odyssey Toulon Latrobe blade putter, crafted in his honor.

All of the clubs in The King’s memorial bag are worth checking out.

6) Trevor and Vince

Trevor Lawrence and Vince Carter played alongside Baron Corbin and Collin Morikawa during the Wednesday Pro-Am, and they each had some cool stuff in the bag.

Lawrence, who wears jersey number 16 while playing quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars, was using a Royal Payne/Rex Golf collab putter, and Carter, who’s a certified NBA legend, was using a Ping G430 7-wood.

Superstars always know how to wow the crowd.

Click for the full story on Lawrence’s putter, or see more photos of his full bag.

7) Guess what company makes this putter…

What’s your guess? Here’s the answer.

8) Bettinardi’s first irons ever

This was quite a surprise drop from Bettinardi this week. Luckily, GolfWRX Gear Expert Brian Knudson already wrote an in-depth story about the irons here.

9) New Scotty Cameron putters and LD/Long Design grips

The Scotty Cameron putter launch train keeps rolling, and adds a new LD/Long Design grip to the passenger car, too.

See what GolfWRX members are saying about the putters and grips here

10) Golf Pride throws it in Reverse (Taper)

Speaking of new putter grips, Golf Pride launched three new Reverse Taper putter grip models that completely flip the thought process of tapered putting grips, in hopes of stabilizing the hands throughout the stroke.

You can read more about the new technology here.

I tried telling you, it was a wild week in golf equipment at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Cheers to a great weekend of golf watching, and we’ll see you next week at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

Pour up an Arnold Palmer to celebrate.

Click here to see all of our photos from Bay Hill this week

Ping Golf has today introduced its new G730 and i530 irons.

G730 irons

Per Ping, maximizing ball speed was the primary objective in the design of the G730 iron, in design to allow shots that launch higher and fly farther for golfers who struggle with consistent face contact.

By unlocking the strength properties of hyper 17-4 stainless steel through an advanced heat treatment, Ping engineers thinned the larger face to increase flexing and help lower the center of gravity, in an effort to add significant ball-speed gains and generate several more yards of distance with every iron in the set.

The larger face expands the hitting surface, in design to preserve ball speed and ensure forgiveness on mishits. The PurFlex cavity badge, with multiple flex zones, aims to help control face bending while enhancing feel and producing a powerful sound.

The larger head and wider sole in the investment-cast design increases the MOI in both axes, and a lower center of gravity bids to elevate forgiveness for improved accuracy and consistency. Golfers will also notice more offset in the cavity-back design which is designed to aid getting the ball airborne easier and more consistently. The performance-enhancing hydropearl chrome 2.0 finish seeks to help ensure consistent launch results from varying conditions.

With an eye toward increasing distance but also optimizing gaps to best fit the golfer, the standard lofts are custom engineered to ensure set configurations that are designed to maximize performance throughout the bag. The four wedges in the set feature machined faces and grooves for added control, while the option of power (stronger) and retro (weaker) spec lofts allows fitters to further optimize performance.

What Ping Are Saying

“The G730 irons are engineered for golfers who can benefit from more distance and a higher level of forgiveness and consistency to shoot lower scores. The new G730 brings them all that in an easy-to-hit, confidence-inspiring design. It’s the longest and most forgiving iron in our current lineup and is a great solution to help maximize the performance of a lot of golfers. We’re excited to bring them an iron that’s engineered to make the game easier and more enjoyable.” – John K. Solheim, PING CEO & President

Specs, Pricing & Availability

• Available: 5-9, PW, UW, 50°, 56°
• Loft options: Standard, Power Spec and Retro Spec
• Stock shafts: Dynamic Gold Mid 100 (R300, S300), Dynamic Gold Mid 115 (S300, X100), PING Alta CB Black graphite (SR, R, S)
• Optional stock shafts: PING AWT 2.0 (R, S, X), Dynamic Gold (S300, X100), Dynamic Gold 105 (R300, S300), Dynamic Gold 120 (S300, X100), KBS Tour (R, S, X), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 105 (R, S, X), Elevate MPH 95 (R, S), UST Recoil Dart 65 (A), 75 (R, S), PING Alta Quick 35/45
• Stock grip: Lamkin Crossline in four sizes (Red -1/32″, Aqua -1/64″;, White-Std, Gold +1/32″)
• U.S. MSRP: $185 per club with stock steel shaft; $200 per club with stock graphite shaft

i530 irons

Ping’s new i530 irons feature an internal weight pad that provides a deeper and thinner face-to-sole transition, ensuring more face flexing and pushing mass down to lower the center of gravity in design for more ball speed.

The forged, highly flexible maraging steel C300 face is precisely welded to a 17-4 stainless steel hollow body. A polymer applied inside the head on the back of the face bids to improve feel and sound while maximizing face bending.

The body design contributes to distance by accentuating face bending. The lower CG is more aligned with where impact occurs, and distance-optimized lofts bids to help ensure more distance and higher max height for green-holding results. Three loft configurations (Standard, Power and
Retro) are available to optimize a golfer’s launch conditions during the custom fitting process.

The i530 irons feature a new machining technique that thins the back wall of the hollow-body design, saving weight in a bid to increase forgiveness and tighten dispersion for greater accuracy along with the added distance. In addition, precision-milled MicroMax grooves combine with the hydropearl chrome 2.0 finish in design to provide consistent launch and spin from all conditions.

What Ping Are Saying

“We’re seeing significant distance gains with the i530 iron mainly due to its higher face flexing and bending. It’s a great fit for the golfer whose top priority is more distance, including someone who may have lost yards with their current irons over time. It also has a level of forgiveness not typically found in distance irons. It’s packed with performance. It looks great, feels great and more importantly, will lead to lower scores and more enjoyment on the course.” – John K. Solheim, PING CEO & President

Specs, Pricing & Availability

• Available: 4-9, PW, UW
• Loft options: Standard, Power Spec and Retro Spec
• Stock shafts: Dynamic Gold Mid 100 (R300, S300), Dynamic Gold Mid 115 (S300, X100), PING Alta CB Black graphite (SR, R, S)
• Optional stock shafts: PING AWT (R, S, X), Dynamic Gold (S300, X100), Dynamic Gold 105 (R300, S300), Dynamic Gold 120 (S300, X100), KBS Tour (R, S, X), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 105 (R, S, X), Elevate MPH 95 (R, S), UST Recoil Dart 65 (A), 75 (R, S), PING Alta Quick 35/45
• Stock grip: Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet in six sizes (Blue -1/16″;, Red -1/32″;, Aqua -1/64″;, White-Std, Gold +1/32″, Orange +1/16″)
• U.S. MSRP: $205 per club with stock steel shaft; $220 per club with stock graphite shaft

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from a piece we originally filed for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head on over there for the full story, which also includes more from Fowler on his shaft change. 

He started the season using his previous Cobra Aerojet LS driver, equipped with a unique Mitsubishi Diamana Whiteboard prototype shaft, then switched into a new Cobra Darkspeed LS (Low-Spin) driver for The American Express, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and WM Phoenix Open. He then switched back into his Aerojet LS at The Genesis Invitational, and he switched yet again into a new Cobra Darkspeed X model – equipped with a new Project X Denali Black 70 TX shaft – at last week’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.

The inconsistency with his driver choices has reflected in the stat sheet. For the season, he ranks just 167th on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 127th in Driving Accuracy.

Fowler has recognized the issue, and by putting the more forgiving Cobra Darkspeed X driver model into play, he’s aiming to hit more fairways.

“The LS head is really good; I was just struggling with it a little bit on dispersion and left-right,” Fowler said Tuesday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. “I felt like the misses, I thought they could be a little tighter, and it was still pretty similar to Aerojet. It wasn’t like the LS wasn’t as good (as the Aerojet) or anything. And I would say that it was probably a little faster, but, a big thing out here is hitting fairways. So hitting out of the middle (of the face) it’s very good. I was just struggling with mishits.

“Yes, we do mishit them. And I just thought I could get a little tighter dispersion. So, that was where the thought of going and trying the X head. Just trying to get, like I said, a tighter window on mishits. And so with that head, there’s obviously different shape, different weighting, probably starting out, it’s maybe a touch more – or can be – not draw-biased, but have a little bit more left versus the LS.

“But I was just looking for some stability, something that I was going to be able to hit and trust to hit at the fairway more often. So that was kind of the main idea behind it. It was pretty solid last week. Trying to validate a little bit more.”

Fowler also found more forgiveness in the Denali shaft, further inspiring him to make this adjustment.

“Obviously, I’m a big fan of the Whiteboard; always have been,” Fowler said. “(Cobra Tour rep Ben Schomin) sent this Denali over. It felt pretty similar, maybe a little more stable. And so I went with that … it just matched up as a good combo, good feel, felt stable, had the forgiveness. The spin window is good. Heel shots weren’t spinning off the charts. Toe balls that were drawing weren’t getting too low. You know, it felt like I was able to hit shots, as far as lower flight, get it up in the air if I wanted to.”

Read more here.