Padraig Harrington Masters exclusive

Honda Classic winner Padraig Harrington tells us why his Masters equipment set-up will be the same as any other week. 

Augusta’s aprons are notoriously tight. Do you change your wedge sole bounce and grind to accommodate that?
“No! The wedges I have in my bag are versatile enough to handle all situations. I have found in the past that changing wedges the week before the Masters, whether it’s loft or bounce, even though physically you may think there is a benefit to it, has a negative mental effect on my game as I’m always questioning the differences I’m not used to. You’re better off being comfortable with the intricacies of your own equipment that you use week in week out on Tour.”

Augusta is always talked of as a right-to-left course. Why don’t you change your driver spec to meet that challenge?
The notion of hitting shots right to left at Augusta nowadays is somewhat out of date. There are nearly the same number of tee shots that require a fade in comparison to those that demand a draw. Probably the most important tee shot on the course is from the 18^th and that lends itself to a fade. I think it’s more important in general to be long off the tee rather than which way you prefer to shape it.

Augusta has a series of reachable par 5s, though the greens are hard to hold. Does that not warrant a change towards hybrids over long-irons?
The only time I make changes here would be when playing in links conditions where strong winds are forecast. In those circumstances I would tend to remove the hybrids and replace them with long irons. Similarly, I may decrease the loft on my driver. However, for the week of Augusta, all my equipment will remain the same as it has been this season.

What’s in Padraig’s bag:

DRIVER: TaylorMade AeroBurner (9 degrees), with Mitsubishi Rayon Kuro Kage Silver TiNi 60 TX shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: TaylorMade SLDR S Mini Driver (12 degrees), with Project X Black shaft; TaylorMade SLDR (14.5 degrees), with Project X 7A3 shaft

HYBRID: Wilson Staff D100 (19 degrees), with Accra Tour Z Hybrid M5 shaft

IRONS: Wilson Staff FG Tour V4 Utility (4), with Accra Tour Z Hybrid M5 shaft; FG Tour V2 (5-PW), with KBS Tour-V 125 X shafts

WEDGES: Wilson FG Tour (52 degrees), Ping Eye2 Gorge (58 degrees), with KBS Tour-V 120S shafts

PUTTER: Wilson Infinite South Side

BALL: Titleist Pro V1x