We take a look inside the bag of two time Masters Champion Bubba Watson! Now plying his trade on the LIV Golf Tour as Captain of the Range Goats, the left-hander was more than happy to chat through the clubs in his bag to staff writer Joe Ferguson at JCB Golf & Country Club for the LIV Golf UK event.
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00:00Right, we are here at JCB Golf and Country Club for the Live Golf UK event and I've bumped into Bubba Watson
00:05So we're gonna do a little what's in the bag if that's all right. Yeah, let's do it before we do
00:10I want to know as a former club fitter and PGA professional. Okay, what's it like to try and fit Bubba Watson for equipment?
00:17so you go to we're always told to
00:19Hit your normal stock shot and you're a guy who just moves the ball all over the place all different variations of flights
00:24How does that process of someone getting even to the right equipment look?
00:28For me I I know right away like if you're if you're building me a set of clubs
00:32I know right away if I like it or I don't like it and
00:35The grips are really the hard part right because you're putting all the tape on there. We're gonna get to your grips
00:40Yeah, so that's but okay, so I'm not gonna talk about that
00:43Yeah, take that go away start the grips is really the hard part the clubs the equipment. I trust the equipment
00:48I trust the company. I know what they're making is better for for all golfers
00:53Not just me and so once you get it custom fit
00:56That's when you're ready to play golf
00:58So when you're looking at driving, we know your predominant shape is your fader of the ball generally
01:03Yeah, when my drivers built just to cut yeah, I don't want it to I don't want it to
01:07To draw at all. I want to take one side out and when you say built to cut so we're looking we'll start
01:11We'll get into it then
01:12So we're looking at the g430 LS tech with we all know your crazy pink finishes, which is great
01:18Yeah, when you say built to fade are we talking with internal waiting with hot melt with face angle with everything?
01:23Yeah, I call it goop. But yeah
01:25Yeah, and so the hot melt and then the shaft is stiffer tipped one inch or so
01:31and then the grip is set open a little bit so that it
01:37Everything makes it feel like a cut. It's all fade bias
01:40Yeah
01:40And so I have the reminder in there and you can see that it's see how it's a little you just told me
01:45Set open a little bit a little bit. That's looks about 25 degrees open. Well, that's just a little bit
01:50That's a lot. Just wait till you get to the irons in the lob wedge. The lob wedge is way more
01:54I'm looking forward to seeing that so the hazardous RDX smoke TX 60 grams and tipped an inch interesting
02:00So into three word, so it's basically so that I don't I want to I want to be able to under pressure
02:06Just move it one way and just know that's gonna happen and most guys most guys
02:10They want to move it different directions, but under pressure you got to have that go-to shot. And so that's why
02:15Perfect. Thank you very much into three words
02:17So you got the g430 max 15 degrees set on standard with a Fujika speed. I take it
02:24This is a custom job. It certainly is bubble. What's the design job?
02:28Yeah, talk to me about this is it's more of a tea club for you fairway or has to be
02:32Yeah, it has to be versatile. But um, this one is I want to move it all the different directions from the fairway
02:38But also from the tea
02:40So yeah
02:41So this one has a round grip on it so that I can I can grip it different directions so that I can move it
02:46Really interesting. So you go reminder in is it the rest of the set or just driver of all the clubs except the three wood
02:52Just rounding. So if I want to hit a low one high one slice it hook it I can hit all the shots with it
02:57So that's why I wanted a round grip in there. That's the geeky stuff
03:00Oh audience want to know about those nuggets there. That's really cool into the irons with three to
03:06Pitching wedge in the blueprint s. How did you end up there?
03:09Cuz ping have got so many great irons this year in particular
03:12We've been talking about a lot on our podcast what a great job ping have done with their iron lineup this year
03:16How did you end up in blueprint s we um, we I was used I used the s 59s for 10 years
03:22Yes, and then I used the s 55s for 10 years and then when they came out with this
03:27They told me that this was going to be
03:30geared
03:31Similar to the s 55s and so when they said that then I was interested and so, you know
03:37They show me a lot of the stuff that they're drawing up
03:39I've been blessed enough to be able to be in there with the engineers to see what they're doing and and be a part of
03:43it and so
03:45They explained to me what they were trying to do and accomplish and I love it
03:50And and so it feels just like the s 55s to me
03:54Obviously the weight is different all the movement of the weight is different
03:58But it gave me the feel that I was looking for in the clubs that I was already playing and I felt like I'll hit
04:03It more
04:04My pattern got tighter which we're all trying to do right great
04:08Yeah, and the two things that really stand out visually for me here
04:10So we've got the cool Bubba laser laser etched logo in the back. That looks really cool
04:15We've got some grind work done throughout the set
04:18It looks like some heel relief, which you only generally see on wedges
04:21So why do you feel like you need this I hear relief in the irons?
04:24So with the irons, I'm trying to hit you know, they're building irons to go straighter, right?
04:28Yeah, every company's trying to go straighter for that for the average golfer
04:32But for me, I wanted to move all different directions
04:34So I did the heel relief so that I digs through the ground the way I want it to for certain shots
04:39Or for all the shots, so that's just a turf interaction thing. You just yeah
04:43it's just for it's just for so I can leave them the face open for cuts or I can
04:48Turn it over for the draws and so that hitting the ground it just makes it easier to move it through the ground
04:53Perfect. And then it's the wedges. We've got kind of a what we've got the range goats logo, which is really really cool
04:57But we've got some older wedges here. So we've got the glide 2.0 in 52, 56 and 60
05:03We'll talk about those grinds in a moment
05:06Why you still haven't got a 2.0 just a feel thing a familiarity thing. So when they they they started doing the
05:12The bottom groove on the new wedges and it doesn't go all the way across
05:15Yes
05:16and so now mine when they make mine they go all the way across but I
05:20I keep going back to these because of the the turf interaction and the way I can shape it and do all the shots
05:25For some reason it just feels better in my hands
05:29and so
05:30They bless me where I can still they still make them for me and I still have some where I can play with them
05:35And how many wedges you go through a year? I usually say the same ones all year
05:39I don't practice as much as all the other people I play a lot of golf
05:43So I'm not on the range hitting balls all the time one after the other so it's not wearing out the grooves as much as
05:48Some of the other guys. Okay, that's really interesting. One last question on the wedge is so have you always been 52 56 60?
05:53Yeah, so so it's it's 56 52 and then this is 63
05:57Oh, wow, 60, but it's bent to to 63. Let's take a look at that
06:01That's a lot of extra bending
06:02So you've got quite a low bounce to start with at six
06:04Yeah, when you're adding three degrees of loft to that we're going up to probably near a nine or ten bounce. Yep
06:09Yeah, there's loft there. Yeah, exactly and the grip feels like it's almost on sideways. Yep. That's really really and there's tons of wrap under there
06:17So it's a little bit bigger. It's a mid-sized grip. Yeah, let's touch on that now in terms of the wraps that you have under
06:21These mid-sized grips. What's the setup? I've heard all sorts of mythical things about how many is it? It's it's 11
06:29If it's a if I remember correctly that the lob wedge has one more than all the other stuff
06:34Okay, and then grips as you know, the rubber grips they change right because it's manufacturing, you know
06:39Little little variances here and there and we try not to stretch the grips on so it keeps them fatter
06:45So you stretch them on too much it gets too thin
06:47So we have 11 wraps all the way down and then we have two extra wraps
06:51For the bottom hand just to take that taper out
06:54You can't make it completely round but from the rules of golf so you can get it as close as you can get it
06:59And that's what we're trying to do. Cool. Interesting. Now one of the coolest head covers I've ever seen. Talk me through that
07:05Yeah, so Ping made those a few years ago
07:08Because of the the gold putter vault and so they made that for like for like champions like club champions and all that
07:15So that's like their gold your gold putter, right? And so so I loved it
07:19I love the way it shines and so that's why I use it. It's a nice flex. Yeah PLD putter here
07:24So we've got the answer and to start so a lot of people go into more higher MOI putters nowadays with
07:30Mallet styles with a bit more. What does that mean higher MOI bubble means more forgiving so more stable on miss hits
07:36So generally a bit more. That's why I use it. There you go
07:39So bubble doesn't know what high MOI means said that's why we're in this putter. So let's skip over that then
07:43Okay, rule finish. What do you like about it? Ruston? Is that just an age thing?
07:47I just like that
07:47I just like the look of it for some reason the contrast of the white paint on the line and then the white ball and
07:53Then the the change of color
07:56It's for some reason my eyesight. It just feels better right now looks better
08:00and when I won a lot of my tournaments I had the I had a
08:04Dimascus and I had a color change red kind of like a multicolor putter
08:09So the silver to me somehow reflects the Sun a little differently so I wanted something with a more
08:14Less shine to it brilliant and what ball are we in? I am in the X
08:19Tideless Pro V X. Okay, perfect. Well, but it's fantastic bubble Watson
08:24He doesn't know what MOI is, but he certainly got some cool gear and he's a lovely man
08:27I do now though. You told me you're more than welcome. What was it again forgiveness? We'll talk about our camera
08:33My butter needs forgiveness. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you