Bubba’s driver specs
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Grips
Bubba uses a phenomenal 22 layers of tape under his grips – 10 on the top half, 12 below. This of course makes the handle much thicker, placing the club more into his palms than his fingers. Bubba can’t abide hooking the ball: holding the club in his palms by increasing the thickness of his grips helps to limit hand rotation through impact, and thus keeps the clubface squarer for longer.
Shaft
Standard shaft length is 45-46in. Many seeking extra distance opt for a slightly longer shaft, but Bubba’s is just 44.5in, as he is seeking to boost his accuracy. In the last five years he has finished 1st or 2nd in driving distance on the PGA Tour every year. His average accuracy position is 164. “I could hit further with a longer shaft,” he says. “But I’ve actually got shorter in an attempt to find more fairways.”
Clubhead
Bubba switched from Ping’s G20 driver to the brand’s new G25 late last year, and is currently averaging slightly over 300 yards from 18 official drives (following the WGC Accenture Matchplay). He plays the 8.5 degree model but, with a little tweaking by Matt Rollins, its actual loft is 8.2 degrees. The now-famous pink draws attention to the ongoing work Bubba puts in for various charitable causes.
A word from Ted Scott, Bubba’s caddie
“He doesn’t practise at all. I’m shocked at how little he practises. He hits short putts, but that’s about it. He used to go to the range and hit balls because he thought he should, out of obligation. I can remember only two or three times when he’s hit balls after a round.
“My first tournament with him was the Deutsche Bank in 2006. I’d heard he was kind of different, unconventional, and he just hit all these crazy shots like hooking sand wedges. I could see he had some serious talent.
“He doesn’t decide everything by himself. He consults me a lot. He likes to know what I think and he wants to feel comfortable we agree on the shot he’s taking on.
“It’s very difficult to think like Bubba. He’s not analytical at all, more of an artist. Sometimes I ask what he’s thinking and he can’t really put it into words.
“I think he knows enough about the swing to instruct people. But he would probably tell them to stop being so analytical and just swing the club hard.”