A ton of players on the PGA Tour will catch your eye on a driving range. Some for pure beauty of the action, some because they are just cool looking and some that are not only unique but absolutely flush it. When I say unique, I mean the overall action of his golf swing. Homemade? Yes. But athletic and efficient? Hell yes.
This week in Mexico, Andrew Novak put on an absolute ball-striking and putting clinic. When a true ball hitter gets hot with the blade, well, 25-under and a five-shot spread is what you get.
Let’s dig into the stats before we get to the sticks.
Novak is known as a premier ball striker (his stats don’t reflect his actual striking ability), but the putter was the separator this week. Novak led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and total feet of putts made. From a ball-striking perspective, his iron play dominated the conversation, finishing second in SG: Approach.
It will be interesting to see how Novak carries on over the next few months. He’s definitely one of those players many on the PGA Tour expect to break loose.
Perhaps this was the first mark of bigger things to come. He definitely has the talent.
If you look closely at his bag, the interesting thing is it’s all very neutral in terms of setup. There’s no bias in the metal woods. He has a simple, clean ZXi5/7 setup and RTZ2 Mid (50) and 588 (54/60) across the wedges. Simple, clean, efficient.
I see a player who eliminates a ton of variables and takes most of the ball-flight ownership himself. Novak trusts the Srixon Z-Star XV as his preferred ball. Srixon is interesting because the XV and Z-Star Diamond have split success this year, with Novak and Ryan Fox (The Open) winning with the XV, and J.J. Spaun (Texas Open) and Nico Echavarria (Cognizant) winning with the spinner-profile Diamond.
Definitely something to take note of.
Andrew Novak’s winning WITB at the 2026 VidantaWorld Mexico Open
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9° set to 7.5° [Big –])
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 60TX (Tipped 1″) | 45″
Swingweight: D4+
Weighting: 32g CG Shifter (Neutral), 5g Toe, 5g Forward
The G440 driver family (MAX, LST, SFT) is optimized to deliver more ball speed through multiple advancements, including PING’s deepest CG in a driver to date and a shallower, thinner face, while continuing to ensure the game-changing forgiveness expected from a PING driver. The G440 LST (Low Spin) design appeals to players with faster swing speeds, providing lower spin and more control in 9° and 10.5° lofts with the three-position back weight. HIGHLY FORGIVING Lighter head weight allows for heavier back weight. FASTER FACE Shallow, thinner, face increases ball speed for more distance, higher launch. SOUND DESIGN New shaping, carbon crown and internal ribs produce muted impact experience. FREE-HOSEL DESIGN Saves weight to lower CG, increase forgiveness. Allows for more heel-side face flexing for consistent ball speed across face.
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3-Wood: Taylormade Qi4D (15° set to 14.75°, D4 swingweight, 58° lie)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Titan Black 80TX (Tipped 1.5″) | 43″ EOG
5-Wood: Ping G440 Max (19° set to 17.6° [Small –])
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS RDX Green 85 6.5 (Tipped 2″) | 43″
Specs: D3 | Neutral | 213g head weight
Irons: Srixon ZXi5 (4), Srixon ZXi7 (5–PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Specs: 1° Upright | D3
A players Iron with refined, tour-preferred looks, pro-level feel, and unmatched control—featuring newly refined toplines, narrow soles, shorter blade lengths, and minimal offset designed for precision workability.
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Wedges: Cleveland RTZ2 / (50° Mid, 54° 588, 60° 588)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Specs: 1° Upright | D4
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Putter: TP Mills Proto
Ball: Srixon XV
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet BCT 58 Round (1 wrap)
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