Winning at the Arnold Palmer Invitational is never easy. Winning it at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, where wind, thick rough, and brutally fast greens combine to humble even the best players in the world, is an entirely different challenge.
But that’s exactly what Akshay Bhatia pulled off in 2026.
The 23-year-old lefty Callaway man captured the biggest victory of his career with a dramatic playoff win over Daniel Berger, surviving one of the toughest Sunday tests on the PGA TOUR schedule. Bay Hill demands precision off the tee, creativity into greens, and nerves of steel on the putting surfaces. Bhatia delivered all three.
While the clutch shots and calm demeanor deserve most of the spotlight, the equipment behind the win is just as fascinating. Bhatia’s bag is a blend of trusted gamers, modern distance tech, and one of the most unconventional putting setups on Tour.
Let’s take a look at the gear that helped Bhatia slip on the red cardigan and take home one of golf’s most prestigious trophies.
Driver: A Trusted Gamer That Still Delivers
Bhatia’s driver of choice is the Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond Driver (9°) paired with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X shaft.
While many Tour players rotate through the newest driver models each season, Bhatia has stuck with a driver that’s a few product cycles old. And there’s a simple reason why: it works. His primary shot shape is a towering fade, and he can pull it off under pressure. But we’ve also seen him in person hit penetrating draws on tight holes. Unlike many of his peers on tour, he can work the ball both ways.
The Rogue ST Triple Diamond is known for producing low spin and a penetrating ball flight, traits that suit Bhatia’s aggressive swing. When the wind at Bay Hill started swirling across the property, he was able to keep his driver in play, even when he was missing the tight fairways.
Instead of chasing incremental gains with the latest release, Bhatia is leaning into something many amateurs overlook—confidence in a familiar club. When you know exactly what your driver is going to do, pulling it on a tight Sunday tee shot gets a lot easier. At some point, his sponsor will require him to upgrade to the newest model, but for now, winning with their logo on his bag and using any Callaway driver will be “ok.”
Fairway Wood: Mixing Brands for Performance
Next up is a TaylorMade Qi10 Fairway Wood (15°) equipped with a Ventus Black 8 X shaft.
The Qi10 might be the lone non-Callaway metalwood in Bhatia’s bag, but brand loyalty often takes a back seat to performance at the professional level.
Fairway woods are among the most difficult clubs to dial in. They need to launch high enough to hold greens from distance but remain stable enough for tee shots on tight holes.
For Bhatia, the Qi10 checks those boxes. And at Bay Hill, those options matter. Several holes reward strategic placement over brute force, and a dependable fairway wood can make the difference between playing offense or scrambling for par.
The Hybrid Replacement: Callaway Apex UW
Instead of a traditional hybrid, Bhatia relies on a Callaway Apex UW Prototype (19°) with a Ventus Black 10 X shaft.
The Apex UW—short for “Utility Wood”—has become something of a cult favorite among Tour players. It sits somewhere between a fairway wood and a hybrid, offering the best characteristics of both.
The club launches easily, carries long distances, and lands softly on greens. That combination makes it ideal for long par-4 approaches or attacking reachable par-5s.
At Bay Hill, where long irons are frequently required into elevated greens, the Apex UW gives Bhatia a versatile weapon that’s easier to launch than a traditional iron but more controllable than a hybrid.
In other words: it’s a problem solver.
Irons: Precision Tools for a Shotmaker
Bhatia’s iron setup is built around feel and workability.
At the top of the set is a Callaway X Forged UT Utility Iron (22°), which bridges the gap between his utility wood and his traditional irons.
From there, Bhatia transitions into a set of Callaway Apex TCB Irons (5-PW), paired with KBS $-Taper 125 shafts.
The Apex TCB irons are designed with elite ball strikers in mind. “TCB” stands for “Tour Cavity Back,” and they provide just enough forgiveness while still allowing precise control over trajectory and spin.
For a creative player like Bhatia, that’s the perfect recipe.
Need to flight a 6-iron under the wind?
These irons can do it.
Need to throw a high, soft approach into a tucked pin?
They can do that too.
Shotmaking is still a valuable skill on courses like Bay Hill, and Bhatia’s iron setup allows him to shape shots rather than simply aiming and firing. Do you know where else shot shaping is a must skillset to make a run on Sunday, Augusta National…
Wedges: Versatility Around the Greens
Akshay’s short-game precision comes from three Callaway Opus SP Wedges:
- 50° (10S)
- 54° (10S)
- 60° (08C)
Each wedge is paired with a KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 135 X shaft, designed to increase spin and control on scoring shots.
Bay Hill’s greens are famous for their shaved runoffs and tricky bunkering. Miss a green by just a few feet and you can find yourself facing a delicate pitch from tight Bermuda grass.
Bhatia’s setup gives him a full range of trajectories—from low-skipping spinners to high-floating flop shots—allowing him to recover from the course’s many short-game challenges.
Putter: The Broomstick That Got Hot
The most interesting club in Bhatia’s bag is his broomer. He’s been playing with a long putter since joining the tour a few years ago.
He uses a Odyssey Jailbird 380 Putter, configured in a broomstick setup with a SuperStroke Zenergy Split Grip.
Long putters and broomstick styles have made a quiet resurgence on Tour over the past few years. The anchored stroke many players used in the past is no longer legal, but the stability provided by longer putters can still help players maintain a smooth stroke.
For Bhatia, the setup clearly worked.
Throughout the tournament he poured in putts from everywhere, including several long-range bombs that electrified the gallery and helped him keep pace with the leaders.
When the pressure peaked on Sunday, his putting stroke never flinched.
Golf Ball: The Engine Behind It All
The Callaway Chrome Tour golf ball isn’t a popular model for ball free agents, but it works perfectly for Akshay, who likes to have control over apex height and shape for every shot he takes.
The Chrome Tour is designed to balance distance and control, producing low driver spin while maintaining plenty of greenside bite.
That combination is ideal for modern Tour setups. Players can launch tee shots with maximum speed while still having the ability to stop mid-irons and wedges quickly on firm greens.
For Bhatia, the ball ties the entire bag together.
Bhatia’s winning setup highlights an important truth about professional equipment: it’s not about playing the newest clubs. It’s about playing the right ones.
Put it all together and you have a setup capable of conquering one of the toughest venues on the PGA Tour.
More importantly, you have the gear behind a breakthrough Signature victory for one of golf’s rising stars.