This Gear-Swap Helped Xander Win Two Majors

Xander Schauffele is back up to a career-high of number two in the world following his Open victory, a move that sees him nudge Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut at Royal Troon, down into third. Schauffele hasn’t been outside the top 20 in the world since July 2018, and he’s been an established top-10 player for over two years.
The number one spot remains out of reach at present though - Scottie Scheffler’s six victories in 2024, which includes a second Masters title is enough to keep him No 1 for months to come.
Elsewhere, Justin Rose and Billy Horschel, who shared second at The Open, both made significant jumps - Rose moved from 67th to 34th while Horschel jumped 29 spots from 62nd to 33rd.
Of all the gear changes Schauffele made at the beginning of the season, switching from a prototype version of Callaway’s Chrome Soft X into Chrome Tour appeared to be uncomplicated.
Since the switch, Schauffele has won the Open Championship and PGA Championship. Schauffele’s trust in his Chrome Tour ball was on full display during the final round as he attacked Royal Troon with surgical precision.
Even the tough shots didn’t seem to bother the 30-year-old - like a 173-yard flyer on the par-4 11th. With the wind blowing off the left at 17 mph, Schauffele extracted the ball from the tall grass and watched as it cut through the wind and landed softly on the front edge before settling within a few feet of the hole for an improbable birdie.
📌 This Drill Improved Xander's Driving Stats: Schauffele currently ranks 12th in strokes gained: off the tee, 11th in total driving, 38th in driving distance at 305.7, and sits 71st in driving accuracy. In those same categories last year, he was 47th, 101st, 68th, and 131st, respectively.
The improvement is a result of a step drill. To execute the drill, simply stand one step behind the teed up ball. Next, at the same time as starting your backswing, take one step forward and swing through impact - which is the feeling of a baseball swing meeting the Happy Gilmore swing.

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Who? Soufflé