Notebook: New TaylorMade Raylor hybrid debuts at Bethpage Black

By Jennifer Gardner
GPA Equipment Editor

With the wet conditions, the U.S. Open rough and the need to land shots on the greens at Bethpage Black's long par 3s, hybrids were popular with pros in the Open field.

"We had more requests than normal," said Paul Loegering, TaylorMade's PGA Tour manager. "Guys who normally only carry one hybrid asked for two; guys who like 5-woods instead of hybrids asked for hybrids."

Loegering said that many players were seeking a club to carry from 215 to 235 yards.

Kenny Perry even put a brand new hybrid prototype, known as the Raylor, in play at the U.S. Open.

"It was the first week we had it out and we only had five pieces. It's USGA legal, it's been approved, but when we bring out new products a lot of time it's just to get feedback and if it performs really well. It was just a coincidence that Bethpage turned out to be a wet, sloppy week," Loegering said.

The club looks like a traditional hybrid but has a center rail that forms a V-shape in the center of the sole. The rail gives the club more ability to slice through the thick rough.

Perry put a 19-degree version of the club in his bag. Fred Funk and Dustin Johnson tried the club but didn't use it in competition. TaylorMade plans to have more available for players to try at the Traveler's Championship this week.

ADAMS' A7 HYBRID GAINS MOMENTUM: Adams, who edged out TaylorMade to win the hybrid count 36 to 34, also saw more players pick up hybrids for U.S. Open week. In particular, the company's new A7 hybrid was in play by eight pros for the week.

"Starting Monday, I think we added 14 new clubs to our count this week. The majority of them were 3- and 4-iron replacements," said Adams' PGA Tour representative, Jason Williams.

"At any major championship, you have longer-than-normal par 3s, in the 220-230-240 range. So guys want the ability to hit them a little higher, bring it in a little softer, especially to attack pins that are tucked in corners or up front, just to get them to land a little softer," he said.

Adams has also been adding players who have the new A7 hybrid, due out to the market in late summer. Details on the club will be available soon.

"The addition of the new A7 hybrid has really helped us," Williams said. "It's been really well received."

CHANGING THE BIG STICK: Todd Hamilton didn't want to give up his driver.

"I'd been driving it pretty well. If I lost all my clubs on the plane or somewhere, but if you said I could have one club, I would take the driver," Hamilton said of his TaylorMade r7 425. "So it was odd to actually change drivers, knowing that in the U.S. Open you have to drive the ball well."

On Monday, when Hamilton played Bethpage Black for the first time, he was overwhelmed with the length. He decided that he needed to do whatever it took to add a bit of distance off the tee.

"I thought, 'Man, I don't care for this course at all.' It was playing very long, so long that I actually switched to a new ball that I thought goes further and a different driver which I think goes a little further," Hamilton said.

The new driver, a TaylorMade R9 460 with an Aldila VooDoo shaft, and the new ball, a Titleist Pro V1x rather than a Pro V1, gave Hamilton a few more yards and worked well enough to keep him in contention through three rounds. A final-round 79 dropped him to T36 for the tournament.

BITS AND PIECES: Anthony Kim put Nike Victory Red irons in his bag after playing in the Colonial and gave them a good test at Bethpage Black. ... Tiger Woods noted that he's now playing a 10.5-degree driver, compared to a 6.5-degree big stick when he first came out on Tour. "Technology has changed, the ball doesn't spin as much as it used to," he said. "YOu have to have more loft than you used to play." ... For the week, Padraig Harrington used a Callaway driver. Harrington, a Wilson staffer, has tried different drivers this season as he struggles off the tee.