We heard on the TV broadcast this weekend that journeyman and Houston Open champion Stephan Jaegar as recently as a couple of seasons ago ranked 100+ in driving distance on tour. Now, the minion maestro from Germany sits in 8th position in driving distance and 6th in total driving. And this past week he drove the heck out of the ball on Memorial Park’s tight and firm track. His driver of choice: the vaunted Ping G430 LST. One of the most popular drivers for equipment free agents on tour. And that’s just what Jaegar is — not beholden to any one manufacturer. Whether by choice or by popularity (couldn’t earn an OWM contract), he plays with what he wants to play with, and in Houston, his driver was a Ping, his 3-wood a Callaway, his 5-wood a Ping, irons Ping, wedges Vokey (oh, hell yeah!), and he stroked it with an Odyssey (Callaway). Just for fun and to make his share of greenbacks, he rolled Titleist pellets.
Key Takeaways:
- From the info we have handy, Jaegar’s driver set-up is pretty standard. If you haven’t hit a Ping G430 model, and you want to hit it better off the tee, try out the club. Magical for many.
- His 5-wood has a ton of loft compared to his peers. 7-wood loft. The low-ball hitter knows what he needs in a 5-wood to hit it high enough to hold firm greens. From what we saw on TV, his 21-degree flies more like an 18-degree fairway metal.
- His highest lofted wedge is a 56-degree Vokey SM10, bent to 57-degrees. That’s the lowest lofted highest lofted wedge in the bag of a winner since we launched B&B nearly 3-years ago.
Jaeger’s Golf Gear:
DRIVER: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees), with Project X HZRDUS Black 6 TX shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft, Ping G425 Max (21 degrees), with Project X HZRDUS Yellow 83 TX shaft
IRONS: Ping S55 (4-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Golf X100 shafts
WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50 degrees bent to 49, 54, 56 degrees bent to 57), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey Ai ONE 2-Ball
BALL: Titleist Pro V1
GRIPS: Golf Pride Z Grip (full swing) / SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol 1.0 (putter)
Check out our Best Golf Drivers 2024 edition.