Daniel Berger WITB 2023 – What’s In The Bag – Club Breakdowns

Daniel Berger WITB 2023 – What’s In The Bag – Club Breakdowns

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was won in incredible style by Daniel Berger who eagled the 72nd hole to take the trophy. He fought off a resurgent Jordan Spieth and Maverick McNealy to take his 4th PGA Tour title of his career.

Today we will take a look at what was in his bag on the way to that final round 65 and the title. We’ll go through the bag and see what we can learn from his set-up. One theme you’ll see here is Berger using clubs that aren’t the latest from each brand.

Driver	TaylorMade SIM – 9 Degrees
3 Wood	TaylorMade M6 – 15 Degrees
Irons	Callaway Apex Forged 2016 3 Iron
	TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 4 Iron – Pitching Wedge
Wedges	Callaway Mack Daddy Forged – 50 and 56 degrees
	Callaway Mack Daddy 4 – 60 degrees
Putter	TaylorMade Spyder Tour
Ball	Titleist Pro V1

 

 

The Driver – TaylorMade SIM – 9 Degrees

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus 6 x

Selling Points

• Incredibly forgiving
• Low spin
• Market-leading aerodynamics

Key Features

Berger uses a 9 degree TaylorMade SIM with the Fujikura Ventus Black 6X shaft. This is a shaft that is taking the golfing world by storm and is also used by Dustin Johnson. This shaft and clubhead combination maximizes the distance that off-center hits travel.

Twist Face technology makes this club incredibly forgiving as does its aerodynamics. SIM actually stands for Stability in Motion, this driver kills spin and keeps the ball flying straight. It’s adjustability makes it easy to fine-tune your set-up.

Pros:

• Max forgiveness
• Endlessly customizable
• Low spin
• TaylorMade is played by the world number one

Cons:

• Not for slower swing speeds
• Not the prettiest driver you’ll ever see

Overall Score: 97/100

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TaylorMade M6 3-wood – 15 Degrees

Shaft: UST Mamiya Elements Chrome 8F5

Selling Points

• Incredibly forgiving
• Fast clubface
• Great value

Key Features

When you find a 3-wood that works, you hold onto it! Daniel Berger is using a TaylorMade M6 3-wood with 15 degrees of loft and a UST Mamiya Elements Chrome 8F5 shaft. Berger is going back through the TaylorMade back catalogue on this one!

Twist Face™ technology helps straighten out the off-center hits and the SpeedPocket helps increase ball speed. This is a great club and is great value given it is slightly older. Some may dislike that it isn’t the current SIM 2 model.

Pros:

• Incredibly tight dispersion
• Incredibly forgiving
• Impressive distance

Cons:

• Not adjustable
• Not ideal for slower swing speeds

Overall Score: 96/100

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3 – Iron – Callaway Apex 16 Pro Forged

Shaft: Project X 6.5

Selling Points

• Great soft feel
• Huge distance
• Progressive offset for added playability

Key Features

Like many golfers on tour now, Daniel Berger isn’t tied to a particular brand and so uses purely what he thinks is best. Whilst his woods and most of his irons are TaylorMade, he currently has the Callaway Apex Forged 2016 3 iron.

This is the first iron that Callaway fitted with a “face cup”. This makes the face more active at impact which adds distance. The 1025 mild carbon steel makes this iron feel great at impact. Blade-like playability with cavity-back forgiveness.

 Pros:

• Soft-feel
• Great distance
• Enhanced playability

Cons:

• Not as forgiving as hybrids
• Can be difficult to get into the air

Overall Score: 95/100

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4 – Iron – Pitching Wedge – TaylorMade TP MC ’11

Shaft: Project X 6.5

Selling Points

• Incredible feel
• Optimized to minimize turf interaction
• Grooves designed for added spin in the rough

Key Features

The rest of Berger’s irons are TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC from 2011. These clubs took the tour by storm in 2011 and but aren’t easy to get your hands on anymore. The six-step forging process creates incredibly well made and performing irons.

The iron is designed with a smaller head so as not to dig into the turf at impact. They also boast incredibly precise weighting thanks to an optimized weighting port. Finally, advanced grooves increase the spin control gained when playing from the rough.

 

Pros:

• Incredibly precise swing-weighting
• Great looks and feel
• Impressive spin

Cons:

• Difficult to buy now due to age
• Not as forgiving as some irons

Overall Score: 94/100

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Gap And Sand Wedges – Callaway Mack Daddy Forged

Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Selling Points

• Designed by Roger Cleveland
• Heel and toe relief for extra playability
• Fine-tuned spin performance

Key Features

Having had great success with the cast version, Callaway created a forged version for added precision and feel. Layer of copper under the chrome finish creates incredibly soft feel at the strike.

One really nice feature is an added groove right at the leading edge which is great for added spin and alignment. The sole grind also makes these clubs incredibly playable but can also make it more difficult for less-skilled players.

 

Pros:

• Superior spin control
• Extremely versatile playability
• Amazing looks

Cons:

• Can be tricky to hit for less skilled golfers
• The copper can come through on more worn clubs

Overall Score: 95/100

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Lob Wedge – Callaway Mack Daddy 4

Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Selling Points

• Extra grooves for incredible spin
• Classic bladed wedge looks
• Improved center of gravity

Key Features

Callaway added “micro-grooves” to this wedge which they claim takes the number of grooves from 16 to 84. They also claim to be able to generate up to 1000 rpm extra using this design.

The aggressive grind on this wedge allows you to open the face up thanks to the toe relief. It also has great heel relief for incredible versatility.

 

Pros:

• Mind-blowing spin
• Extremely versatile playability
• Amazing looks

Cons:

• Can be tricky to hit for less skilled golfers
• The copper can come through on more worn clubs

Overall Score: 96/100

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Putter – TaylorMade Spider Tour (Chalk)

Selling Points

• Ultimate stability
• Enhance alignment
• Number one putter on the PGA Tour

Key Features

This putter is used by some of the best players of our generation including world number 1 Dustin Johnson. The TaylorMade Spider Tour is a phenomenal putter, it feels beautiful, it rolls the ball better than anything and basically makes putting easier than ever.

The Pure Roll insert creates great roll characteristics, added topspin and feel. The weighting makes this putter incredibly stable whilst the design looks great behind the ball.

Pros:

• Improved roll
• Maximum stability and forgiveness
• Loads of colour and set-up options

Cons:

• Not ideal for those who prefer a bladed putter
• Some may prefer the feel of one-piece milled putters

Overall Score: 98/100

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Ball – Titleist Pro V1

Selling Points

• Extra-distance in the long game
• Maximum control in the short game
• Number one ball in golf

Key Features

A golf ball that needs no introduction, this is simply the best there is. The Titleist Pro V1 gives you serious distance on full shots whilst added spin on shortgame thanks to the Drop and Stop technology. This is the golf ball that re-invented the golf ball.

Pros:

• Drop and stop control on approach shots
• Low spin and maximum distance on full shots
• Market-leading Titleist golf ball heritage

Cons:

• Some may find them pricey
• Mid-handicap and up golfers may not so much performance benefit from these balls

Overall Score: 96/100

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Caddy – Josh Cassell

Cassell is a veteran in the caddying game and has brought great benefit to Berger’s game. Having worked on the bags of Jason Dufner and Billy Horschel among others, he has plenty of experience. He has helped many golfers to victory, including, now, Berger.