Aside from his contractual relationship with ball manufacturer Bridgestone, Kurt Kitayama is an equipment-free agent. We’re openly big fans of his 3M Open-winning gear set-up: Titleist woods, TaylorMade irons, Vokey wedges. And his Bridgestone Tour B X ball was flying, spinning, and snaking perfectly fine last week in Minnesota.
Recognized as one of the better ball strikers on the PGA TOUR, Kurt’s putting and short game skills have always lagged behind his long game. This week, his Vokeys and Scotty stepped up and delivered.
Key takeaways from Kurt’s set-up:
- He plays with an 11-degree GT3 Titleist model driver – the 2nd most popular driver model on tour.
- He carried two fairway metals at the 3M: a strong 14.5-degree GT1 and a 21-degree GT1 5-wood. 5/7 woods are in 80% of the bags on tour for a reason. They’re easier to flight and have less dispersion than utility irons and hybrids.
- He used to be paid to play TaylorMade, and his set-up still features their irons: a P-7CB 4-iron and P-7MB 5-PW. This speaks volumes about what he’s comfortable with, and given his exceptional ball striking, it works well for his game.
- Vokey SM10 52, 56, 60-degree wedges. We are surprised that with these wedges in his bag, he doesn’t win more often.
- The Bridgestone Tour B X ball is sneaky good. It’s not as consistent a ball for regular Joes as a Pro V1, but it’s a solid and more affordable alternative.
DRIVER: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees), with Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX shaft
FAIRWAY WOODS:Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees), with Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX shaft, Titleist GT1 (21 degrees), with Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX shaft – Order Kurt Kitayama’s fairway wood
IRONS: TaylorMade P·7CB (4), TaylorMade P·7MB (5-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts – Shop Kurt Kitayama’s irons
WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52, 56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts
PUTTER: Scotty Cameron Newport 2
BALL: Bridgestone Tour B X