The Big Easy clipped Steve Stricker in a playoff yesterday to win the PGA TOUR Champions American Family Insurance Championship, his second victory on tour in a row. In 10 tourneys this season he’s only shot over par in two rounds and currently sits 3rd on the money list with $1,145,017 earned.
His entire career he’s had one of the most naturally strong and free-flowing swings in golf. Even though he’s known as a ball-striking maestro, throughout this season, the #1 strength in his bag is his putting. Look out old guard, Ernie’s on a heater, and his yellow ball is on fire!
Let’s take a look into his bag setup. Els has been a loyal XXIO/Srixon/Cleveland (all owned by Dunlop) player since he first joined the Champions Tour five seasons ago.
Key Takeaways:
- For those looking for well-made and forgiving gear and yet not familiar with the XXIO brand, you need to go demo Ernie’s woods. Smooth. Like his swing. Currently, he’s hitting the XXIO 13 Driver with 8.7 degrees loft.
- The toplines on his XX10 12X 14-degree 3-wood remind us of the omnipresent TaylorMade SIM2 metal wood you see the gear-free agents play on the PGA TOUR.
- His iron set-up looks very similar to recent PGA TOUR winner Shane Lowry – a split set featuring easier-to-hit ZX Mk II utility long irons and the super soft Srixon ZX7 Mk II mid-short irons.
- Vokey? Nope. His bag features Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore wedges.
- Golf ball. The Big Easy plays with a big yellow Srixon Z Star XV. For Ernie, yellow is the new white. And playing the new white means banking lots of the ol’ green.
DRIVER: XXIO 13 Driver, 8.7 degrees
FAIRWAY WOOD: XXIO X 3-wood, 14 degrees, EvenFlow Blue 6.5 85x shaft
IRONS: 2-5 – Srixon ZX Mk II utility irons with KBS S-taper 130X shaft | 6-9 – Srixon ZX7 Mk II irons with KBS S-taper 130X shaft
WEDGES: Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack wedges 52MB, 56MB, 60LB with KBS S taper 130X
PUTTER: Bloodline Golf
BALLS: Srixon Z Star XV (yellow)
Check out our Best Golf Drivers 2024 edition.