Golf Digest South Africa - July/August 2024

B BODY / EQUIPMENT

WHAT'S IN MY BAG : PETER MALNATI

DRIVER

SPECS Titleist TSR3, 10°, Project X Denali Blue 60 TX shaft.

AGE 37 LIVES

The adjustable hosel is at the C2 setting. I don’t even know what that is. (Editor’s note: It’s .75 degrees less loft and more upright.) My driving has held me back the past few years, but it has really improved since going to that setting.

Knoxville, Tennessee STORY Has won two PGA Tour events, in- cluding 2024 Valspar Championship. I KNOW A GUY I have to brag on my guy, Titleist’s JJ Van Wezenbeeck, who works on my equip- ment. I tend to over- think everything in life, and I don’t want to do that with my clubs. JJ works with me once a quarter. We go through my bag and make the changes he feels are necessary. Our rela- tionship goes back to the Nationwide Tour. – WITH MICHAEL JOHNSON

YELLOW MELLOW Last year my son asked if I could play a yellow ball, so I did. I have enough contrarian in me to like being different, plus there’s no doubt which ball is mine.

FAIRWAY WOOD/HYBRID

SPECS Titleist TSi3, 15°, Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 70 X shaft; Titleist 818H2, 19°, Graphite Design Tour AD DI 95 X shaft. I’m so comfortable with this 3-wood off the tee. The hybrid is really old. I don’t need more speed. I just need to know what it’s going to do. It’s a fantastic weapon for me into the par 5s.

IRONS

SPECS Titleist T200 (4-iron), Titleist T150 (5-iron), Titleist T100 (6-9), all True Temper AMT Tour White S400 shafts, Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips. The T150 5-iron was a no-brainer. I can’t tell a difference in feel or spin, but it goes higher and has more forgiveness. It also transitions well to the T100s that make up the bulk of the set.

FAMILY MAN I keep this note and photo from my 4-year-old son, Hatcher, in my bag. It says, “I love you, so just go be great.” That’s why lifting him up after winning the Valspar was so special. It was a dream of mine.

CLUB 

YARDS*

290

DRIVER

WEDGES

260

3-WOOD

SPECS Titleist Vokey SM10 (48°, 52°, 56°, 62°), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts. My 60-degree wedge is actually bent to 62 degrees. We have so many pins tucked on edges that the added loft really helps when short-sided.

235

HYBRID

220

4-IRON

205

5-IRON

192

6-IRON

178

7-IRON

PUTTER

165

8-IRON

PRACTICE AID We have a lot of perks on tour, but sometimes the simplest ones are best, like this Bushnell X3+ range finder. You might not think a tour pro would get excited over a range finder, but it’s really good.

SPECS Scotty Cameron TourType Special Select Masterful 1.5 tour prototype, 34 inches, 3.5°. I’m not a guy who collects putters. I had one for close to 10 years, but then I had a putting slump. I started 2023 with a big mallet, but that didn’t work. I asked the Titleist guys to give me one that was the total opposite of that, and they came back with this putter. I wasn’t even fit for it, but I’ve putted great with it.

152

9-IRON

140

48˚ WEDGE

125

52˚ WEDGE

110

56˚ WEDGE

90

62˚ WEDGE

* CARRY DISTANCE

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN CONDER

102 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA

JULY/AUGUST 2024

Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator