B BODY / EQUIPMENT
WHAT'S IN MY BAG : ROSE ZHANG
DRIVER
SPECS Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond, 9°; Fujikura Ventus Red 5S shaft.
AGE 20 LIVES Irvine, California STORY Won the 2020 US Women’s Amateur, the 2022 and 2023 NCAA individual titles and her pro debut at the Mizuho Americas Open. CLOSE-KNIT TEAM Being part of two winning Curtis Cup teams as an ama- teur was incredible. It’s hard to de- scribe how much it means to represent your country. I’ve been playing with a lot of players on that team since I was very young, so we were very close. – WITH E MICHAEL JOHNSON
This driver is set to plus one, meaning it’s really 10 degrees. Still, the ball doesn’t balloon and get knocked down in the wind. I usually hit a draw, and it minimises too much draw bias.
ONLY ONE FOR ME The Callaway Chrome Soft X is high-spinning around the greens but low off the longer clubs. I use only one ball a round, provided I don’t lose it.
FAIRWAY WOODS/HYBRID
SPECS Callaway Rogue ST LS, 13.5°, 18°; Fujikura Ventus Red 6R shaft; Callaway Paradym, 21°, KBS Tour hybrid shaft. I’ve had the Rogue ST fairway woods for two years. The R-flex shafts make getting the ball in the air easier, and a 4-hybrid is much easier to hit than a 4-iron, and it fills the yardage gap perfectly.
IRONS
SPECS Callaway Apex (5-iron through A-wedge); Nippon 850R shafts, Golf Pride Tour Velvet 60R grips. I’ve been using Apex irons for seven years. I enjoy these because they are so forgiving. Also, I’m not the longest player out here, so these give me a distance boost. I’ve tried other models, but these always win out.
CHALK TALK Some players use string to assess their putting line, but I prefer to use a chalk-line tool because it helps me to see how the ball is rolling.
CLUB
YARDS*
WEDGES
235
DRIVER
SPECS Callaway Jaws Raw (54°, 58°); True Temper XP95 R300 shafts.
215
3-WOOD
200
5-WOOD
I carry only two wedges. I like using bounce, but I don’t necessarily need a Phil Mickelson-like lob wedge to hit shots way up in the air. I’m not too particular about grind as long as it’s versatile enough to hit the shots I need to. I also want to hit low shots, and these allow that.
185
4-HYBRID
170
5-IRON
160
6-IRON
150
7-IRON
140
8-IRON
PUTTER
JUMP-START I carry a jump rope in my bag, and I always use it right before every round. I jump about 200 times before I start my warm-up. It really helps to get the blood moving.
125
9-IRON
SPECS Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K Double Wide; 34 inches, 3°, Odyssey Midsize Pistol grip.
113
PW
I like a wider-blade-style putter. I played an Odyssey O-Works blade for about seven years. Eventually the insert gave out, and I couldn’t use it anymore. This has been a great replacement. I began using it my freshman year of college about two years ago.
95
AW
80
54˚WEDGE
70
58˚WEDGE
* CARRY DISTANCE
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BEN WALTON
108 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MARCH/APRIL 2024
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