Chris Kirk's Winning Clubs | 2024 Sentry
Chris Kirk outlasted Sahith Theegala by a stroke to take home the first Signature Event title of the season at The Sentry. Heading to the 71st hole, Kirk was tied with Theegala at -28, but had two holes left to win the tournament. After finding the fairway off the tee on 17, Kirk hit one of the shots of the tournament, putting his approach to within a few feet of the pin from 209 yards out. He'd tap that birdie in and then par 18 to secure his sixth career PGA Tour victory.
Kirk is a Callaway staffer and his bag features primarily Callaway clubs with a couple other manufacturers mixed in.
All WITB info courtesy GolfWRX.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond
Kirk games a Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond with a Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 TX shaft. Interestingly, he plays a 9 degree driver up at 10.7 degrees. Kirk isn't the longest player, finishing 40th out of 59 player in distance at The Sentry. He wasn't even all that accurate in his win, finding the fairway just over 58% of the time, good for 30th, but he does enough off the tee to let the stronger parts of his game shine. He finished 27th in Strokes Gained Off The Tee, pretty much the middle of the pack. But he prevents himself from getting into too much trouble, which is key for the rest of his bag.
Fairway Woods: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (3-Wood), TaylorMade Stealth 2 (5-Wood)
Kirk goes away from Callaway for both of his fairway woods, playing the TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus for his 3-Wood, and Stealth 2 for his 5-wood. The Stealth 2 5-Wood is high launching option with more forgiveness than the Stealth 2 Plus. The Stealth 2 Plus' primary objectives is increased ball speed and lower spin, giving him a longer option in the bag in addition to the higher launching, easier to control Stealth 2.
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (4), Callaway Apex CB (5-9)
Kirk isn't the longest player off the tee, but he doesn't have to be as his iron play helps makes up that ground. Playing with a Callaway Apex combo set, Kirk finished 14th in Strokes Gained Approach to Green. He also finished tied for 19th in greens in regulation, hitting 60 of a possible 72 greens throughout the tournament. Giving himself that many birdie opportunites was the catalyst behind his victory, as he tied for 3rd in total birdies made.
Wedges: Callaway Jaws MD5 (46 and 50 Degree), Vokey Design SM9 (56 Degree), Callaway Jaws Raw (60 Degree)
If Kirk's iron game helped make up the ground on his average length off the tee, his wedges pushed him over the top. Kirk was elite with a wedge in his hand. They helped in his greens in regulation percentage and set him up for 30 birdie opportunities during the tournament. But where his wedge play shined brightest was around the green. Kirk led the field in Strokes Gained Around the Green, and converted all but one of his scrambling opportunities, which also led the field.
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Six T CH
Complimenting his strong wedge game was a hot putter. Kirk finished with the fewest putts during the tournament, averaging less than 27 putts per round. He also finished 3rd in putts per GIR. So he was converting more birdie opportunities than not. Overall he finished 11th in Strokes Gained Putting, but with how many opportunities he gave himself, that was enough to secure the victory.