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 purpose 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 through the “Completely satisfied Hour with Smylie” protection of the second spherical on the Sentry Friday afternoon in Hawaii and Kaufman began one section asking Theegala about his bag setup.
“Sahith, after I noticed you on the Tour Championship on Sunday final 12 months, and I noticed that you simply 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 possibly probably the most distinctive golf luggage I believe I’ve ever seen on the PGA Tour.”
Final summer season, as beforehand reported by GOLF, Theegala informed Ping tour reps he was performed 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 all the time my least favourite membership within the bag,” Theegala informed 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 identical 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 robust” 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 will 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 pondering he’d ever use it. He ended up gaming it at Augusta Nationwide final 12 months and the remainder of the majors.
Whereas the 9-wood isn’t utterly unparalleled 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 sooner or later this 12 months after seeing Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates play one.
Tour winner’s weird request — a pretend 8-iron?! — is already paying off
So why is Theegala so set on breaking the mould 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 all the time brainstorming. Me and [my caddie] Carl [Smith] are all the time brainstorming like what can I do to have extra enjoyable but in addition have it’s useable and environment friendly and one thing that may really assist me in my golf sport. So I’ve a really bizarre bag.”
And if Theegala was struggling to seek out an official identify for that “8-plus-iron,” he acquired a celeb naming suggestion. Throughout a business 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 strive that out tomorrow,” Theegala mused. “It’s all going to depnd on that first shot. If ‘The Ocho’ pulls out, it would stick.”
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