Mixed bag: Day’s equipment changes ahead of Torrey Pines return - PGA of Australia

Mixed bag: Day’s equipment changes ahead of Torrey Pines return


Jason Day’s equipment set-up for his 2021 debut is the very definition of a mixed bag as the 33-year-old Australian starts the new year without an equipment contract in place.

Day will begin his year at Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open next week, a course where he has had an association going back to his 2004 Callaway World Junior Championship victory and has won PGA TOUR events twice previously.

Like his first look as a 16-year-old kid from Queensland, Day will arrive at Torrey Pines with an assortment of equipment manufacturers represented in his bag and a belief that he has exactly what he needs to be successful.

A TaylorMade staff player since 2006, Day won the 2015 US PGA Championship and reached No.1 in the world while on TaylorMade’s books yet whispers began circling the golf world of an imminent change when he and Jon Rahm were absent from the company’s Christmas card late last year.

Rahm has since linked with Callaway but Day will begin the year un-signed and with a golf bag holding a range of the game’s biggest manufacturers.

“I’ve got an assortment of all different clubs in the bag, and it’s been a bit of a process,” Day revealed in a teleconference call with Australian media.

“PING driver, TaylorMade 3-wood, Mizuno irons, Artisan wedges and currently right now I have a White Hot 2-ball Odyssey putter.

“Through the last half of the season, I kind of was talking to some of the guys out on TOUR on what they liked, how they liked certain drivers, how they liked certain irons. I had a couple of buddies that already played certain wedges that they liked.

“I’m happy with my clubs. All I have to do is just go out and play.

“Sometimes there can be an excuse in regards to, ‘I wasn’t playing good because I just couldn’t find the right driver, I couldn’t find the right wedge,’ whatever it is. This time I have no excuses in regards to that.

“I know that I’m playing a good set of golf clubs. I’ve tested them out. Everything is working tremendous. I’m very happy with it.  I’ve just got to go out and play golf now.”

Having parted ways with long-time coach Col Swatton shortly after the resumption of the PGA TOUR post the COVID-19 suspension last year, another change for Day in 2021 is that he is working with Tiger Woods’ former swing coach Chris Como.

Determined that injury won’t disrupt another year, Day said that the pair have been working on ways to improve his swing path in a way that will be sustainable given his previous issues with his hips and back.

“We’re not trying to change the makeup that I had beforehand, just trying to fine-tune it,” explained Day, who starts his 2021 campaign ranked 43 in the world.

“We’re trying to get better hip movement, we’re going to get a little bit deeper on the backswing in regards to the hip motion, and I’m trying to get a little bit more turn in the upper body.

“The big thing right now is that last year I was kind of coming over the top of it just to kind of alleviate some of the back pain.  My plan is to try and get more inside with the actual path, but if I do it straight away, it usually flares my back up.

“I’ve just got to incrementally change my hips, my top position in regards to my back, my upper body, how that moves, and then hopefully overall just get the hips on the way through moving a little bit better to try and alleviate some of the pain.

“It’s kind of complicated in regards to what we’re working on, but I feel like we’re moving in the right direction.”


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