Has Brooks Koepka put the questions surrounding his putting woes to bed by switching putters again at The CJ Cup at The Byron Nelson? Well, with a Scotty Cameron Fastback 1.5 in play, Koepka opened with an 8-under 63 around TPC Craig Ranch to sit one off the first-round lead in Dallas.
It’s the fourth different putter Koepka has played since his return to the PGA Tour. After leaving LIV Golf to start the season, only seven players on the circuit have hit the ball better from tee to green than the five-time major champion. Once getting onto the putting surfaces, Koepka ranks 141st in SG: Putting, losing almost half a shot to the field on the greens.
MCKINNEY, TEXAS – MAY 20: Brooks Koepka of the United States and his caddie talk on the first green during a practice round prior to THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson 2026 at TPC Craig Ranch on May 20, 2026 in McKinney, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
But that changed with the latest flatstick in Koepka’s hands, which he believes can create better rotation in the stroke than the previous options he’s played.
“Switched putters again this week for something I feel like released on its own, something I’ve been trying to – been fighting a little bit, and I feel like it definitely releases a little bit,” Koepka explained.
The current Fastback 1.5 setup Koepka is using is equipped with a short-slant neck, one that will produce considerably more toe hang than his previous TaylorMade Tour V, which he played for just one tournament – the PGA Championship. That setup featured an extended L-Neck (plumbers) hosel, something that is used to try to reduce face rotation, but the one-week trial ended at Aronimink, with Koepka 63rd in SG: Putting out of 82 players to make the cut. The Fastback 1.5 has been in Kopeka’s hands before; he played it at last year’s Irish Open, but missed the cut. He found a spark with the returning wand during his first round in Dallas, ranking 10th on the greens.
“Finally, I felt good with the putter,” Koepka said after Round 1 of the Byron Nelson. “I felt good the last few days with it when I was working in my studio. Then, when I got here, it felt very comfortable. Rick said the same thing from watching. Which also kind of helps build a little confidence, what you feel versus the reality of it. Just happy with the way everything went today.”
Initially starting the season in his usual Scotty Cameron Teryllium Tour Newport 2, Koepka made his first change of the season at the WM Phoenix Open, where he switched to a TaylorMade Spider Tour X. He may well have still been playing that putter if he hadn’t broken it during a T11 finish at the Myrtle Beach Classic.
Koepka was spotted testing out a couple of Scotty Cameron heads, similar to Cameron Young’s Phantom 9.5R at Aronimink Golf Club ahead of the PGA Championship. One even had a custom Teryllium insert, but ultimately Koepka decided on the winged mallet-style TalyorMade.
Sneak peek at Callaway’s new Apex irons
GolfWRX’s Tour Photographer Greg Moore caught the first look at Callaway’s new Apex Ti Fusion (triple diamond?) iron lineup. While getting the usual What’s in the Bag content for the forums, we found the new iron in the bag of South African Erik van Rooyen.
Although there is no information on the iron, it will most likely feature the titanium face and forged-steel body like the previous lineup. This one, however, looks to have the triple diamond insignia, which could mean a sleeker design than the previous Callaway Apex Ti Fusion plated irons.
We’ll just have to wait to hear more about the design and see if other golfers will look to add it to their bags.
Si Woo Kim’s custom 3T
Kim is 11th in Total Strokes Gained on the PGA Tour this season. A pretty impressive feat considering he’s 121st on Tour with the putter, losing on average 0.301 strokes to the field each round.
But things may have changed for the former Players champion, who discovered something on the greens in Dallas. During the first round at TPC Craig Ranch, he gained 1.888 strokes putting during an opening 7-under 64. What was the change? A custom 1-of-1 Odyssey 3T.
It’s not the first time Kim has used the half-moon mallet putter head before; in fact, at last week’s PGA, he was spotted using an original Odyssey O-Works Black 3T. Now at the Byron Nelson, his custom version is in the copper PVD finish, which he’s used before when he played the Giraffe Beam Jailbird last summer.
The most interesting aspect of Kim’s custom putter is the absence of an insert. His original O-Works Black 3T featured the Microhinge Insert Technology, but the new putter appears to have a one-piece milled face.
Kim is playing a single-bend shaft along with what looks SuperStroke Zenergy Claw 1.0 Putter Grip.
Graphite Design’s new Tour AD line
Graphite Design’s new Tour AD shaft, our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, captured three versions of the shaft’s new look: LL Silver, ML Blue, and HL Red.
According to Graphite Design’s Tour Promotions Manager, Simon Wood, each shaft features a brand-new construction and an updated, modern Tour AD logo and stripes. We’ll wait to hear more on the construction, but from the eye, each color determines a launch characteristic of the shaft.
The LL Silver seems to be the lowest-launching, with ML Red a mid-launch option, and the Red HL the highest of the three. With the shafts out on the PGA Tour, they likely sit on the lower end of the spin range. On display were both the X and Tour X stiffness levels.
Of those on-site at TPC Craig Ranch, Adam Svensson, Keita Nakajima, Neal Shipley, and Max McGreevy will all likely test the shaft according to Wood.
L.A.B. Golf officially tour launches VZN.1i
After spotting the first L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i in the wild, being used by Adrien Saddier at the PGA Championship, the zero-torque putter company displayed plenty of color options at the Byron Nelson.
The VZN.1 is the latest L.A.B. putter to be spotted, and the company returns to a center-shafted style, after the traditional blade-style LINK.2.1 and LINK.2.2 were released on Tour, which feature a heel-shaft.
More importantly, though, L.A.B. let forum members know that the VZN.1i can be used to scoop or pick up a golf ball.
Check out all the offerings from TPC Craig Ranch here.
Odds and ends
Luke Clanton added TaylorMade’s P7CBs for his 5- and 6-irons. It means he’s back to using three different iron styles, with P7MB short irons and a P760 4-iron. Pontus Nyholm and Tom Hoge became the latest on Tour to add the new TaylorMade Spider Tour F. Chris Kirk added in a Damascus Rossie (the same week that I produced a video saying it was one of the best putters not to be played in competition this year), while Noah Goodwin moved into the currently Tour-only TrTL, which Min Woo Lee has played most of the season.