The five-foot area on the practice range surrounding Steve Pate’s golf bag looks like a triage unit for an equipment hospital. There are a handful of shafts as well as the heads for several drivers, placed and stacked nearby.
Pate takes out the magic wrench from his pocket, removes a head from the bag, spins it onto a shaft, checks the alignment and locks it in. Then he sticks a tee in the ground and bangs a couple of drives. It’s not quite right, so he repeats the process.
Like many of the competitors on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, Pate is an equipment tinkerer.
“I can’t stop myself,” Pate said with a laugh. “For one, it’s fun and you can always get better. They’ve got my picture on the wall of the (Tour’s equipment) trailer.”
While Pate may be on the extreme end of the tinkering scale, most players on the Champions tour are on the lookout for something newer and fresher that will produce better results. That’s why two-time major winner John Daly will be swinging the new Vertical Groove driver — so named because the grooves on the club face run vertical instead of horizontal — this week at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf.
When Fred Funk was asked whether he’s a tinkerer, his caddie replied with a snort.
“There’s your answer,” Funk said. “Non-verbal.”
There are different degrees of tinkering. In a sport where there’s a fine line between good and great, some players are constantly seeking an edge. Former PGA champion Mark Brooks likes to take his turn in the equipment truck, bending and breaking shafts until he gets it dialed in the way he likes.
“It’s really neat to watch,” Funk said.
Some, like Funk or former Masters champion Ian Woosnam, are looking for something better, but don’t need a 12-step program or a support group.
“There’s always so much new equipment now,” Woosnam said. “New balls, new drivers … you’re always looking for that five extra yards. It makes a difference.”
Others stick with what they’ve got. Guy Boros is said to be using the same set of irons he’s had for seven years. Funk is still playing with an original 4-iron hybrid he got when those clubs were first introduced. Bernard Langer is another major champion who doesn’t make many changes.
“Bernard may be finally trying to get a new set of irons,” Pate said. “That’s because the ones he’s been using probably don’t have any grooves left on them.”
This week Pate is trying to fine-tune a driver. After spending 30 minutes on the range Monday, he quickly took the club to the course to test it, using his brand of golf balls under real conditions.
“It’s like a constant hunt for a unicorn,” Pate said. “There are so many adjustments to be made with clubs these days — the loft, weight distribution, old-fashioned lead tape, you can plug shafts in and out. If you get one that’s close, it doesn’t have to be perfect. You can tinker with it until it is perfect … until three weeks later when you hate it.”
Woosnam said, “You’re always looking.”
Veteran Marco Dawson used to tinker with his equipment. But about 10 years ago he decided that constant changes were having an adverse effect on his game, so he quit cold turkey. Now he’s content to keep what he’s got.
“A lot of guys are looking for something a little bit better and it just doesn’t happen,” Dawson said. “Anytime I started hitting something good and switched, I didn’t realize it takes time to get used to the new thing. So I just said, ‘You know, I’m going to play with it a little bit longer and get comfortable with it.’ A lot can be said for playing with the same stuff. It’s like sleeping in your own bed. You know how it is.”
On Wednesday, 40 teams will compete in Wednesday’s pro-am, with 40 more scheduled on Thursday. Wednesday’s players include David Toms and Mark Calcavecchia in the morning and Tom Watson, John Daly, Larry Mize, Jerry Kelly and Kenny Perry in the afternoon.
2017 MAXWELL LEADERSHIP PRO-AM
Tee times
(Wednesday)
First tee, morning
7:25 AM
Amateur: Brad Jones, Jim Allen, Stephen Cobb, Trey Workman
Pro: Mark Calcavecchia
7:35 AM
Amateur: Hank Brigman, Roger Hoffman, Mike Sanok, Brinnon Williams
Pro: Phillip Price
7:45 AM
Amateur: Jeff Dykstra, Doug Romeo, Richard Stimac, Jeff Vida
Pro: Fran Quinn
7:55 AM
Amateur: Megan Allen, Joseph Cervantes, Jarrad Jones, Bradley Larsen
Pro: Rod Spittle
8:05 AM
Amateur: Les Bethune, Doug Keim, John Dyer, Janet Barnard
Pro: Michael Bradley
8:15 AM
Amateur: Steve OBrien, Atsuhiro Yabu, Ken Connell, Jeff Morgan
Pro: Brad Faxon
8:25 AM
Amateur: Rod Lynch, Vince O’Toole, John Piro, John Reynolds
Pro: Roger Chapman
8:35 AM
Amateur: Brian Phillips, Matt Prather, Myles Sills, Ben Hague
Pro: Jay Don Blake
8:45 AM
Amateur: Jerome Cifarelli, Michael Dixon, Kent Hora, Jerry Cifarelli Jr.
Pro: David Toms
8:55 AM
Amateur: James Brys, Sam Hoff, Matthew Miller, Ernest Newell
Pro: Dan Forsman
9:05 AM
Amateur: Tommy Thurmond, Fred Butler, Tim Floyd, Jacob Lord
Pro: Lee Janzen
First tee, afternoon
12:15 PM
Amateur: Joel Beezhold, Charles Oglesby, Norwood Davis, John Maxwell
Pro: Tom Watson
12:25 PM
Amateur: Sherwood McDuffie, Andy Monin, Mark Cole, Steve Bushong
Pro: Andy North
12:35 PM
Amateur: Steve Lisenby, Dan Spinetto, Ray Maxwell, Chad Waters
Pro: Scott Hoch
12:45 PM
Amateur: Brian Beckwith, Neil Pruitt, Teddy Russell, Adam Shaifer
Pro: Larry Mize
12:55 PM
Amateur: Bradley Keeter, Tyler Refling, Michael Keeter, Nathan Childers
Pro: John Daly
1:05 PM
Amateur: Verlin Reece, Warren Brown, Barry Thompson, Mark Lord
Pro: Tim Petrovic
1:15 PM
Amateur: Andrew Hellman, Rodney Tarrants, Jeff Koman, Alan Wiley
Pro: Jerry Kelly
1:25 PM
Amateur: Chris McCrary, Mike Anderson, Eric Johnson, TBD
Pro: Steve Lowery
1:35 PM
Amateur: Jerry Arehart, Ken Davis, Chad Jones, Dave Maddox
Pro: Skip Kendall
1:45 PM
Amateur: Patrick Baglien, David Schulte, Henry Laik, Eric Bruton
Pro: Kent Jones
10th tee, morning
7:25 AM
Amateur: Scott McFarlane, Jason Gorman, John Jassman
Pro: Steve Schneiter
7:35 AM
Amateur: Bob Douglas, Suzanne Wiltshire, Kevin Hehn, Brian Newport
Pro: Miguel Angel Martin
7:45 AM
Amateur: Bill Cornell, Bill Johnsa, Bruce Hedley, Steve Edwards
Pro: Bobby Gage
7:55 AM
Amateur: Greg Toler, Mike Smith, Guillermo Juvera, Jeremy Barnes
Pro: Jim Carter
8:05 AM
Amateur: Jared Baker, David Wadsworth, Chuck York, Akinori Yokosawa
Pro: Brian Henninger
8:15 AM
Amateur: Thomas Slechta, Steve Tsukui, Gary Werner, Mark Dunlap
Pro: Wes Short Jr.
8:25 AM
Amateur: Mark Goodson, Mike Ross, Bob Russo, Ward Jones
Pro: Bob Gilder
8:35 AM
Amateur: Bill Flynn, Randy Golgfein, Tom Hansch, Kevin Kelley
Bob Tway
8:45 AM
Amateur: Barry Danz, Jeff Taylor, Steve Ritchey, Scott Ritchey
Pro: Scott Verplank
8:55 AM
Amateur: Richard Tucker, Casey Cagle, Bill Russell, Jeff Mahaffey
Pro: Steve Pate
9:05 AM
Amateur: Chris Breier, Scott Bull, Rick Foster, William McNutt
Pro: Jim Thorpe
10th tee, afternoon
12:15 PM
Amateur: David Hajjar, Steve Higgs, David Smith, Wes Murrell
Pro: Kenny Perry
12:25 PM
Amateur: Tony Philo, DJ Shockley, Tameka Rish, Brian Finneran
Pro: Stephen Ames
12:35 PM
Amateur: Doug Jenkins, William Edwards, Dean Collins, Jack Jessen
Pro: Billy Mayfair
12:45 PM
Amateur: Bryce Busby, Sterling Busby, Neal York, Brad Ewing
Pro: Willie Wood
12:55 PM
Amateur: William Bell, Stan Sands, Andy Berg, Mark Shaw
Pro: Russ Cochran
1:05 PM
Amateur: Ned Brown, Jonathan Burnham, Johnson Bazzel, William Peeples
Pro: Gary Hallberg
1:15 PM
Amateur: Gary W Reed, David Gaylor, Brian Peterson, Becca Paulson
Pro: Todd Hamilton
1:25 PM
Amateur: Vince DeSilva, Terry Brantley, Bob Maples, Pat McDonough
Pro: Doug Garwood
1:35 PM
Amateur: Paul Ciaramello, Matt Riddleberger, Stephen Joost, Ted Yost
Pro: Scott Parel
1:45 PM
Amateur: Justin Tuggle, Justin Hoekstra, Preston Hobson, Tim Marzonie
Pro: Grant Waite
**
(THURSDAY)
First tee, morning
7:25 AM
Amateur: Silverio Colalancia, David Mueller, Tom Boney, Andy Kantor
Pro: Mark Brooks
7:35 AM
Amateur: Chris Breier, Rick Foster, Guillermo Juvera, Brett Sher
Pro: Jerry Smith
7:45 AM
Amateur: Dennis Cobb, Gino Frissora, Kevin McHugh, Edward Smith
Pro: Kevin Sutherland
7:55 AM
Amateur: John Schraudenbach, Steve Fisher, Les Bethune, Tripp Seitter
Pro: Jesper Parnevik
8:05 AM
Amateur: Scott Bull, Dean Datre, William McNutt, Mark Werthman
Pro: Kirk Triplett
8:15 AM
Amateur: Mike Dillard, Steve McCullers, Donald Benjamin, Ed Saxon
Pro: Scott Dunlap
8:25 AM
Amateur: Brian Batchelor, Dan Spinetto, Bobby Causey, Bo Causey
Pro: Scott McCarron
8:35 AM
Amateur: Thomas Slechta, Steve Tsukui, Gary Werner, Mark Dunlap
Pro: Jay Haas
8:45 AM
Amateur: Jeff Wessels, Chris Goede, Randy Beber, James Garvie
Pro: Mark O’Meara
8:55 AM
Amateur: Jerry Brown, John Maxwell, Corey Baker, Pete Peterson
Pro: Bernhard Langer
9:05 AM
Amateur: Kent Hora, John Mieras, Mike Robinson, Tammy Savoie
Pro: Miguel Angel Jimenez
First tee, afternoon
12:15 PM
Amateur: Reece Whitley, Mitch Whitley, Greg Cottrell, Ed Davis
Pro: Woody Austin
12:25 PM
Amateur: Pedro Cherry, Milfred McGirt, Eddie Meyers, Jerome Russell
Pro: Billy Andrade
12:35 PM
Amateur: Kazuhisa Nishikawa, Makoto Yoshizawa, Kazuyuki Hijimoto, TBD
Pro: Larry Nelson
12:45 PM
Amateur: Jimmy Britt, Ed Zipperer, Sammy Fowler, Peter Lambo
Pro: Fred Funk
12:55 PM
Amateur: Wayne Bartlett, Evan Bartlett, Joey Perry, Mark Papanicolaou
Pro: Joe Durant
1:05 PM
Amateur: Luther Brown, Gregg Brown, Moe Galante, Ron Griswold
Pro: Olin Browne
1:15 PM
Amateur: Michael Reiner, Clay Crumbliss, Russ Kiefer, Ben Harris
Pro: Jay Don Blake
1:25 PM
Amateur: Phil Wolfe, Charles Oglesby, Manfred Sandler, Dick Bishop
Pro: Tommy Armour III
1:35 PM
Amateur: Bradley Keeter, Norm Patterson, Eddie Fields, Patrick Burnette
Pro: Marco Dawson
1:45 PM
Amateur: David Weaver, Brad Nelson, Billy Horne, Shaun Rosemonod
Pro: Roger Chapman
1:55 PM
Amateur: Richard Drye, Terence Karshagen, Jeff Shaner, Mike Young
Pro: Brian Henninger
10th tee, morning
7:25 AM
Amateur: Brent Del Toro, Hugh Drumm, Bob Polito, Ron Young
Pro: Paul Goydos
7:35 AM
Amateur: Ryan Allen, Jarrad Jones, John Piro, John Reynolds
Pro: Tom Byrum
7:45 AM
Amateur: George Judd, Jason Joice, Scott Mello, Mike McGaugh
Pro: Mike Goodes
7:55 AM
Amateur: Steve Richards, Tom McGill, Buck Belue, Drew Taylor
Pro: Brandt Jobe
8:05 AM
Amateur: James Brys, Troy Griffith, Sam Hoff, Ernest Newell
Pro: Esteban Toledo
8:15 AM
Amateur: Allen Walker, Trey Gavin, Mark Gatlin, Arthur Gavin
Pro: Tom Pernice Jr.
8:25 AM
Amateur: Scott Graham, Thomas Lynott, Kyle Steffen, Naofumi Hara
Pro: Gene Sauers
8:35 AM
Amateur: Bob Douglas, David Feldman, Jeff Paikin, Suzanne Wiltshire
Pro: Jeff Sluman
8:45 AM
Amateur: David Reed, Barry Danz, Dennis Y’Barbo, Tom Porter
Pro: Jose Maria Olazábal
8:55 AM
Amateur: Joseph Cervantes, Bradley Larsen, Rod Lynch, Vince O’Toole
Pro: Andy North
9:05 AM
Amateur: Jeff Beyer, Scott Boxer, Tom Dowling, Atsuhiro Yabu
Pro: Tom Watson
10th tee, afternoon
12:15 PM
Amateur: Tim Arnold, Richard Keene, Shawn Tokanel, Scott Maness
Pro: Jeff Maggert
12:25 PM
Amateur: Jason Chandler, Clyde Strickland, Ken Strickland, Mike Strickland
Pro: Joey Sindelar
12:35 PM
Amateur: Michael Kidney, Charlie Collat, Jerry Hayes, Justin Gallagher
Pro: Steve Pate
12:45 PM
Amateur: Edries Rahman, Shane Slocum, Michael Slocum, Mike Slocum
Pro: David Frost
12:55 PM
Amateur: Jake Powell, Wendell Wright, Kyle Branch, Chris Fitzgerald
Pro: Sandy Lyle
1:05 PM
Amateur: Mike Hughes, Kevin Kester, Michael Stainback, Adam Wheeler
Pro: Duffy Waldorf
1:15 PM
Amateur: Kevin O’Brien, Eric Thomas, Grant Thomas, James Hauer
Pro: Carlos Franco
1:25 PM
Amateur: Jeremy Hainline, Steve Willy, Ben Schmidt, Whitney Crouse
Pro: Ian Woosnam
1:35 PM
Amateur: Victor Ragland, James Ryan, Larry Holmes, Ricardo McMillian
Pro: Paul Broadhurst
1:45 PM
Amateur: Dan Spinetto, Richard Herring, Pat Mooney, Kenneth Underwood
Pro: Glen Day
1:55 PM
Amateur: John Rasper, Heather Farag, Mark Goodson, Jim Pope
Pro: Rod Spittle
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