Austin Smotherman's Winning Bag Includes a 7-Year-Old Hybrid
By Staff Writer
2 min read
LoopGolf
Key takeaways
- Austin Smotherman's winning bag at the Bank of Utah Championship included a nearly seven-year-old TaylorMade SIM Max 3-hybrid.
- He is just the fourth player on the PGA Tour this season to win with a hybrid in the bag.
- Smotherman is under contract with Titleist for his ball and L.A.B. Golf for his putter, but is otherwise a free agent on equipment.
- He switched to L.A.B. Golf's new VZN.1i putter this summer after signing with the brand earlier in the year.
Austin Smotherman won his first PGA Tour title at the Bank of Utah Championship with a bag built mostly on free-agent choices, headlined by a TaylorMade SIM Max 3-hybrid that is nearly seven years old.
What is in Austin Smotherman's winning bag?
| Club | Model | Specs |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Titleist GT3 | 10°, Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Black TX 60g shaft |
| 3-wood | TaylorMade Qi10 | 15°, Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7 X shaft |
| 3-hybrid | TaylorMade SIM Max Rescue | 19°, Graphite Design Tour AD DI Hybrid shaft |
| Irons (4-9) | Titleist T100 | KBS Tour 125 S+ shafts |
| Wedges | Titleist Vokey SM10 | 46°, 50°, 54°, 59.5° (WedgeWorks) |
| Putter | L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i | Flymill steel insert, SuperStroke grip |
| Ball | Titleist Pro V1x | — |
Why does Smotherman's hybrid stand out?
Hybrids were a common sight in tour bags in the early 2010s but have grown rare by 2026, making Smotherman's SIM Max Rescue an outlier. The club carries some tour history of its own: it was the first hybrid Rory McIlroy put into play on the PGA Tour, and he used it at times across the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
"I picked this thing up and it was unbelievable," McIlroy told Irish Golfer in 2020.
Dustin Johnson also carried a SIM Max hybrid during the 2020 season. Smotherman's win made him just the fourth player to capture a PGA Tour title this season with a hybrid in the bag.
What equipment deals does Smotherman have?
Smotherman signed with L.A.B. Golf earlier this year, becoming just the second pro to join the putter brand, after a T2 finish at the Cognizant Classic. He initially played the company's OZ.1 mallet before switching to the VZN.1i, released this summer. He also has a ball deal with Titleist, playing the Pro V1x, but is otherwise free to choose his own equipment outside those two arrangements.
- Austin Smotherman
- TaylorMade SIM Max
- L.A.B. Golf
- Titleist
- WITB
- Bank of Utah Championship
- Rory McIlroy
