Hey Team Titleist! 

With May comes the first true taste of summer, a sea of green spreading coast to coast as the northern parts of the country come out of their winter slumber.

 
While this week’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill may have started with a two-hour frost delay Thursday morning, there’s nothing stopping the danger that lurks in every corner of these historic 355 acres in Pittsford, N.Y. 

Since 1926, Oak Hill has played a pivotal part in golf history, being the only course in America that has hosted a Ryder Cup, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Senior U.S. Open, Senior PGA and U.S. Amateur.  

From start to finish, the Donald Ross design – with holes carrying names like “Little Poison” (No. 5) and “Double Trouble” (No. 6) – invites trouble and requires precise shotmaking. 

But #TeamTitleist is ready for the challenge. 

• First things first, we went inside the ropes with defending champion Justin Thomas and his caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay for a look at how he’s prepping for Oak Hill’s difficult finishing hole, the par-4 18th. 

• We got to spend time with Justin (along with D.J. Piehowski of No Laying Up) a few weeks back as well, to talk all about his win at Southern Hills last year… along with a special guest appearance. 

• As for equipment trends?

We spoke to J.J. Wezenbeeck, Titleist’s Director of Player Promotion, who said to be on the lookout for an uptick in hybrids this week. 

“When you get rough this length, the ball's either going to sit on top or go down and if it's on top and you get too shallow of a club, you're going right underneath it. So a hybrid that is going to have some launch that they can get down on it more like an iron seems to be working out.”  

Of course, it also wouldn’t be a major week without checking in with our resident wedge expert Aaron Dill of Vokey Wedges. AD took us out to the short, uphill, dangerous par-4 14th hole to talk about this week’s formidable short game test.  

“This firm surface and these elevated greens are really requiring a little bit more lift,” Dill said. “That’s why some of these low bounce options that allow you to slide under the ball easier are really more common out here at a venue like this, at a major. We’re seeing a lot of 60’s, 61’s even 62’s and a couple 64’s, actually helping players get this golf ball to rise quickly and stop a little softer.” 

• We caught up with recent PGA Tour winner Wyndham Clark, where he took us through some of the precise shot making that will be necessary around Oak Hill.    

• What’s going to be a key to wedge play this week? According to Dill, four separate elements. 

“There are four elements we’re paying attention to to help these guys play better,” said Dill. “That is this rough, how do we find wedges that go fast. This bunkering, which is very very deep. If you get me inside this bunker, you probably wouldn’t see me I’d be below everything. One of the key things I think players will be looking for is how do we create elevation around the greens. We need something quick out of this rough, but we need something that can pop out of these bunkers quickly and easily. So loft is one of those big things. It’s very common at a major that we see golf courses firm up. This place is very firm right now, so less bounce is a very common option. The last little element is this tightly mown run off area. If you miss a green it’s gonna roll off and you’re gonna land in these little collection spots. These are super tough so you want a wedge that’s very low bounce and cut tight. That way when you’re resting it on this firm surface it looks like its really close and you can slide it under the ball with some ease and produce a great shot on some of these firm greens.” 

We caught up with Scotty Cameron Player Representative Brad Cloke inside the Tour Truck, for a special look at the new GOLO 6 and 6.5 putters Scotty has in shops on May 19th. 

There’s plenty of action to keep an eye on this week in Rochester, so be sure to follow along on our social channels to keep up with #TeamTitleist at the PGA Championship.