Fitter explains why so many pros are turning to the 2-wood off the tee

Equipment
Max Homa

Max Homa has been among the better players on the PGA Tour over the last 18 months, but he is still striving for that little bit more.

Perhaps getting a new weapon right out of the gate will be the key to his breakthrough.

At the Wells Fargo Championship, he added a new Titleist TSR 2-wood prototype club to his bag, which is helping him shape the ball off the tee like never before.

Titleist’s new 2-wood prototype made its TOUR debut at the 2024 PLAYERS Championship in Cameron Young’s bag. Young and Titleist had been working on the concept since 2023.

Justin Thomas, Webb Simpson, Homas and other PGA TOUR players have also taken note of the product since its first introduction and Titleist Tour fitter J.J. Van Wezenbeeck has delved into why the pros are turning to the 2-wood off the tee.

“(Young) was looking for a certain ball speed and yardage gap from his driver,” Van Wezenbeeck said.

“One of the things for him with the 3-wood is he wanted something with a little more volume that he felt more confident off the tee with, so he was looking for a little bigger footprint and something that was a little bit more penetrating than some of the 3-woods he’s played in the past.

“This will be a club he’ll hit 90 percent off the tee, versus the ground, so for the golf courses that set up for that, that’s what he’s looking for … this may or may not ever come to retail. It’s a chance for us to learn and put it in future products that may not be exactly this.”

Homa is enjoying the shot-shaping ability the club has lent him.

The top-10 star believes the 2-wood will help him hit long and straight off the tee when compared to his standard driver.

“[The new 2-wood) helps me draw it a little bit better,” Homa told GolfWRX.com. “I don’t draw the ball well, so left-to-right winds it’s quite helpful.”

Simpson was another to give a positive review, saying: “It has grooves like a 3-wood, spin is perfect, and it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it.”

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