In this episode of the 2nd Swing Thoughts Podcast, Drew and master fitter Harrison Arnold break down a massive weekend in golf! We dive deep into Gary Woodland’s incredible comeback win at the Houston Open and dissect th equipment specs required to handle his tour-leading 130 mph swing speed.

Plus, the wait is over: we are officially revealing the 2026 Fitters’ Choice Award winners for the Iron categories! From Game Improvement to Pure Blades, find out which models our award-winning fitters are seeing the best results with in the bays this year.

00:00 – Welcome

01:43 – Houston Open: Gary Woodland's Return to the Winner's Circle

03:15 – Driving Distance Analysis: The Trend of Speed on Tour

04:55 – GIVEAWAY: Signed Gary Woodland Cobra/Puma Hats

08:17 – Fitters' Choice Recap: Fairway Wood, Hybrids & Utility Irons

09:42 – ANNOUNCEMENT: Massive Circle T Putter Collection Trade-In Reveal

10:19 – Gary Woodland’s Driver Build (7.8 Degrees!)

14:16 – Iron Shaft Shifts: KBS Tour 130x vs. Dynamic Gold

16:01 – Putter Prototype: The Scotty Cameron "Go Low" Mid-Mallet

18:00 – Tour Equipment Trends: Adam Scott & Denny McCarthy

19:45 – Why Pros are Bagging 7-Woods and 9-Woods

21:26 – Fitters Choice Irons of the Year

27:57 – The "Retrospec" Advantage: PING’s Custom Loft Strategy

29:57 – Turf Interaction: Why V-Sole is Changing Fittings

33:46 – LIVE Q&A

44:33 – Wrap

The 2nd Swing Thoughts podcast is now LIVE every Monday at 9am on the 2nd Swing Golf YouTube channel.

The 2nd Swing Thoughts podcast, presented by 2nd Swing Golf, covers anything and everything in golf equipment and club fitting. The 2nd Swing Thoughts will feature experts in the golf industry sharing insights and latest trends in golf clubs and club fittings. 2nd Swing Thoughts will also cover the latest in professional golf.

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In this episode of the 2nd Swing Thoughts podcast, Harrison Arnold and Jake Montgomery break down the weekend's golf action, including Matt Fitzpatrick’s gritty win at the Valspar Championship. They also dive into the 2026 Fitter’s Choice winners for fairway woods, hybrids, and utility irons, and answer listener questions about the latest gear from PING, TaylorMade, and Srixon.

Episode Chapters 00:00 Intro: Welcome back to the show with guest Jake Montgomery.

01:05 The Turn: Recapping Matt Fitzpatrick’s Valspar win and the difficult conditions at Copperhead.

003:07 New Gear: First impressions of the bladed L.A.B. Link 2.1 and 2.2 putters.

06:16 Fitter’s Choice Driver Recap: Revisiting the G440 Max, G440 K, and GT3 results.

13:00 What’s in the Bag: A deep dive into Matt Fitzpatrick’s unique iron and putter setup.

21:49 Driver Trends: Why Gary Woodland is opting for forgiveness over pure low spin.

25:12 Fitter's Choice Revealed: The winners for fairway woods (TaylorMade Qi40 Tour, PING G440 Max, G440 SFT).

28:29 Fitter's Choice Continued: Top picks for hybrids (PING G440) and utility irons (Srixon ZXi U).

35:10 Tech Talk: The "mirror" technology hidden on the Srixon ZXi U utility iron.

37:53 Q&A: Jake and the host answer listener questions on TaylorMade vs. PING hybrids and 2026 gear surprises.

43:32 Outro: Previewing next week’s iron reveal and March Major contest.

The 2nd Swing Thoughts podcast is now LIVE every Monday at 9am on the 2nd Swing Golf YouTube channel.

The 2nd Swing Thoughts podcast, presented by 2nd Swing Golf, covers anything and everything in golf equipment and club fitting. The 2nd Swing Thoughts will feature experts in the golf industry sharing insights and latest trends in golf clubs and club fittings. 2nd Swing Thoughts will also cover the latest in professional golf.

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/2bJFzfhoUmpHZF6fyFsjmX

LISTEN ON AMAZON: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f5e3b825-bae2-40d0-9ec4-722e96b99de6/2nd-swing-thoughts

LISTEN ON APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2nd-swing-thoughts/id1683899359

Schedule an award-winning 2nd Swing fitting: https://www.2ndswing.com/golf-club-fittings

SUBSCRIBE to the 2nd Swing YouTube channel today for more in-depth golf equipment reviews and club fitting insights.

FOLLOW 2ND SWING GOLF ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

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In this week's episode of the 2nd Swing Thoughts Podcast, Drew Mahowald and Sean Bower are live in the studio to break down a massive week in the world of golf. Fresh off a thrilling finish at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, the guys discuss Cam Young’s performance and the equipment that led him to the winner's circle.

The highlights of the show are the exclusive reveals for the early-season 2026 Fitters’ Choice Awards. Based on data from thousands of fittings, we crown the best-performing drivers, mini drivers and shafts on the market right now. Plus, we take a deep dive into the latest hardware from PING, including the i540 and G740 irons, and Titleist’s limited edition "Oil Can" T-Series launch.

• 00:00 – Intro: Live from the studio and recap of the Minnesota blizzard.

• 02:00 – The Players Championship Recap

• 07:23 – Ping’s Triple Launch: First impressions of the i540 (Players Distance), G740 (Super Game Improvement), and the G LE4 women’s line.

• 10:05 – Titleist News: The "Oil Can" finish on T-Series irons.

• 11:35 – WITB: Cam Young

• 20:40 – Tour Equipment Nuggets: Matt Fitzpatrick’s putter switch, Wyndham Clark’s "off-the-rack" Bettinardi, and Bryson’s new wedges.

• 26:29 – 2026 Fitters’ Choice Awards: Drivers & Shafts

  • Core Driver: Ping G440 Max

  • Low Spin Driver: Titleist GT3

  • Draw Bias: Ping G440 K

  • Lightweight: Ping G440 HL

  • Mini Driver: TaylorMade R7 Quad Mini

  • Shafts: High, Mid, and Low launch winners from the Fujikura Ventus Velocore+ line.

• 37:27 – Deep Dive: Ping i540 Irons: Interview with Ping Senior Engineer Travis Milleman

• 44:27 – Deep Dive: Ping G740 Irons: Maximizing forgiveness and height for the super game improvement category.

• 50:40 – Listener Q&A: Upgrading from Aerojet to DS-ADAPT, and why swing speed isn't the only factor in shaft flex.

• 54:50 – Looking Ahead: Next week’s preview (Fairway Woods & Hybrids) and the March Major Contest details.