Trend Tracker: Big Bombers Get Big Wins!

Beyond a few anomalies on the leaderboard this past week in Detroit at the Rocket Classic, it was all about speed coming down the stretch on Sunday. From Aldrich Potgieter to Jake Knapp, it was a who's who of mashers, with Aldrich ending up on top after a 3-way playoff with Chris Kirk and Max Greyserman. Not only that, but on the senior circuit, Padraig Harrington proved that distance is a weapon at any level by winning his second U.S. Senior Open, too.

Big Bombing Win For Aldrich Potgieter

Not only did Aldrich win his first PGA Tour event in a playoff against Max Greyserman, but he made his way into the playoff with some help from his off-the-tee game. He led the field in driving distance at a whopping 337 yards, 11 yards more than his 2025 PGA Tour average at 326 yards!

His driver of choice is a Titleist GT2 shafted with a Fujikura Ventus Black 8x. Now, yes, there are a lot of golfers on the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and just regular folks using a GT2… BUT, there sure aren’t a lot of them using an 80+ gram driver shaft at 45”.

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It wasn't all about the driver

Beyond the driver, Adrich had a few more new pieces of gear in the bag for his maiden victory in Detroit, including some new 2025 T-Series Irons T150 (4-5), T100 (6-9), and a prototype Titleist ProV1x+ golf ball.

This was the first event for the irons after spending two days at the Titleist Performance Center at Woburn working with Titleist’s Director of Tour Promotions Liam MacDougall to improve iron and approach play. Along with the ball, the new iron setup helped to add spin, height, and consistency (thanks to more forgiveness) compared to his previous mixed set which included 620MB blades.

Side bar...This is where I'm constantly torn because as a lover of golf and classic gear, I enjoy using various sets up blades from time to time, and to be blunt, don't ever notice a huge difference in final scoring. But, as a former club fitting that has worked with a lot of players I also understand the benefit tech packed irons offer over blades. Plus, I don't swing a driver anywhere near 130mph. So if Aldrich can find an advantage moving away from blades what the heck am I thinking?

Back to the regularly scheduled program...

Although its difficult to confirm the exact date this ball was introduced on tour, it’s always impressive to see a player win after adding a new ball to the bag. As for the ball as tool in his bag, the ProV1x+ is what Titleist calls a CPO (custom performance option) for those players at the highest level that fit at the far ends of the fitting bell curve.

In the case of Potgieter and his nearly 200mph ball speed, it's safe to say that he's a bit of an anomaly, and the ProV1x+ helped him achieve a higher window and better better peak heights.

I grew up in the wind in Australia, so I needed to bring the ball flight down a lot," Potgieter said. "And now where I'm playing in these firm surfaces with not a lot of wind, my flight has tended to be too low. So we want that Pro V1x(+) to spin up for me to help me around the greens and [with] approach shots in. So it's done the job to really get that high launch and spin to a front flag.

Last but not least, one more club of note is Aldrich’s putter, a Scotty Cameron 009. This shape has been out on tour for more than a decade and is based off the the Scotty Cameron Newport. It draw inspiration for the original PING Dalehead with its soft lines and rounded bumpers.

Here’s his full bag:

Driver: Titleist GT2

3-Wood: Ping G440 Max

Utility: Titleist T250

Irons: 2025 Titleist T-Series T150 (4,5), T100 (6-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM10 46, 50, 54, 60

Putter: Scotty Cameron 009

Padraig Wins U.S. Senior Open

Ok, I’ll admit, I don't generally cover the over-50 crowd, but someone else who bombed his way to a win this week was Padraig Harrington at the U.S. Senior Open. He averaged a smidge over 323 yards off the tee, placing himself in a tie for third off the tee with Stewart Cink (who also happened to come in runner-up for the event). Only Scott Hend and Stephen Gallacher outpaced Stew and Paddy, but both men finished outside the top 10.

This is Padraig's second U.S. Senior Open and his (if we count the other 3 he had on the under-50 circuit) 5th major overall. From an equipment perspective, Harrington is sponsored by Wilson and has one of the longest-standing gear relationships in professional golf, dating back to 1998. At this rate, I don’t expect Wilson to be letting Paddy go anytime soon.

With his good play and experience at the Open Championship (he did win the darn thing in back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008), plus the fact that it will be a home game for the Irishman, I have high hopes for a high finish at Royal Portrush in a couple of weeks!