Sahith Theegala stated he has a “very bizarre” golf bag setup.
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Sahith Theegala has rapidly change into one of many extra well-liked gamers on the PGA Tour due to his candid nature with the media and his fan membership led by his household that follows him across the course.
However now you can add an endearing cause for making up what he described as a “very bizarre” golf bag for PGA Tour competitors.
Theegala was NBC’s Smylie Kaufman’s second visitor in the course of the “Comfortable Hour with Smylie” protection of the second spherical on the Sentry Friday afternoon in Hawaii and Kaufman began one phase asking Theegala about his bag setup.
“Sahith, once I noticed you on the Tour Championship on Sunday final yr, and I spotted that you just had two 8-irons — technically — in your bag,” Kaufman stated. “One was a 7-iron, name it the 8-iron-plus, it made me do some digging on perhaps probably the most distinctive golf baggage I believe I’ve ever seen on the PGA Tour.”
Final summer time, as beforehand reported by GOLF, Theegala advised Ping tour reps he was accomplished wanting on the “7” on the underside of his 7-iron and requested if they may make him a 7-iron that didn’t have the quantity 7 stamped on it. Thus, Theegala’s Ping Blueprint S “8-plus-iron” was born.
“7-iron was at all times my least favourite membership within the bag,” Theegala advised Kaufman Friday. “It’s simply been in my dome since I used to be a child. I swear, I by no means hit it on the vary. Each time I had a 7-iron to a par-3, I’m like, ‘Oh god, please. Simply discover land.’ Lastly, I used to be similar to screw it. I’m shaving down this 7-iron, making it an 8-iron.”
However Theegala’s distinctive setup doesn’t finish with simply his iron stamping.
For starters, Theegala doesn’t carry a 3-wood and as an alternative makes use of a 5-wood, which he simply up to date within the final month to Ping’s new unreleased G440 mannequin.
And for 5 or 6 occasions a season, he’ll additionally put in what he describes as a “actually sturdy” 2-hybrid he calls the “Frankenhybrid” or “Frank” for brief.
Theegala isn’t utilizing it this week in Kapalua however he’ll additionally take away his 4-iron and insert a 24-degree 9-wood and confirmed it might be again within the bag for a few of the upcoming West Coast swing. The 9-wood really took place as an “accident” Theegala stated when he requested one to check out, not considering he’d ever use it. He ended up gaming it at Augusta Nationwide final yr and the remainder of the majors.
Whereas the 9-wood isn’t fully remarkable on the PGA Tour, one other membership he’s contemplating is. Theegala stated he needs to get a 26-degree 5-hybrid within the bag in some unspecified time in the future this yr after seeing Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates play one.
Tour winner’s weird request — a faux 8-iron?! — is already paying off
So why is Theegala so set on breaking the mildew of the normal bag setup in professional golf? He says it’s all about having enjoyable.
“It began off with— I simply like to have enjoyable with golf,” Theegala stated. “Me and my buddies are at all times brainstorming. Me and [my caddie] Carl [Smith] are at all times brainstorming like what can I do to have extra enjoyable but in addition have or not it’s useable and environment friendly and one thing that might really assist me in my golf sport. So I’ve a really bizarre bag.”
And if Theegala was struggling to search out an official title for that “8-plus-iron,” he bought a star naming suggestion. Throughout a industrial break, Kaufman stated Lance Armstrong texted him (good flex!) suggesting that if Theegala is a fan of the 2004 cult basic “Dodgeball,” he ought to rename the 8-plus-iron “The Ocho.”
“I would attempt that out tomorrow,” Theegala mused. “It’s all going to depnd on that first shot. If ‘The Ocho’ pulls out, it’d stick.”
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