Will Maja Stark's New Putter Spark Solheim Cup Success?

Since turning pro in 2021, Swedish golfer Maja Stark has made a rapid rise in the world of women’s golf. She has already won six times in Europe, and in 2022 she won the ISPS Handa World Invitational, a co-sanctioned tournament between the LPGA and LET August, a victory that awarded her LPGA Tour status.

Stark is renowned for her fearless and aggressive play and on her Solheim debut in 2023 at Finca Cortesin in Spain, she showcased her match play skills and contributed crucial points to Europe’s success. 

Stark’s partnership with Linn Grant at the Solheim Cup highlighted their potential as one of Europe’s most exciting pairings. Their synergy and energy were key components of team Europe’s overall performance and they will be vital players at the 2024 match. 

So what's in Maja Stark's bag? We spoke to Jack Ulrich, PING's LPGA Development Manager to find out what clubs she uses and why...

What driver suits Maya best?

Maya plays the G430 Max 10K driver in 9 degrees, which gives her more stability than the G430 LST driver that Leona Maguire and Linn Grant use, and slightly less spin than the standard G430 Max driver. This driver has performed very well for Maja, she goes at it pretty hard. Any driver that can keep the dispersion tighter, but give her the confidence to swing hard is good for her.

What's the difference between Maja's fairway woods and hybrid?

Moving down the bag, she sometimes rotates between the G430 LST fairway and G430 Max fairway wood (15 degree) depending on the golf course she is playing. She'll play the G430 LST when she wants a little more distance, or as another option off the tee. With the G430 Max, she'll gain slightly more control and consistency, so uses this for coming into the greens.  

Maja also carries a Ping G430 hybrid in 22 degrees. Again, she'll rotate this club in and out of the bag. The G430 LST 3-wood and 4-hybrid have been consistently in her bag over the last couple of events.

Maja plays the Blueprint S irons and S159 wedges, so what is the feedback?

With the Blueprint S irons, she plays PING's AWT 2.0 stiff. She's been in love with those since we came out with them and has played great. For the wedges, she used to play the 60/S with the half moon grind, but after working with her over the last few weeks, we've built her a 60/H option as we already have the half moon grind in the line. We also added a bit of a heel grind to it as well, which allows Maja to open the club up more easily around the greens, to get underneath it, and be more versatile with certain shots. This wedge will be new in play at this week's Solheim Cup.

Is there a putter change in the pipeline?

Maya has played the 2021 Fetch putter for quite a while, and she recently went through a putter fitting when she was home in Sweden, so I believe she'll be playing with a new 2023 Anser 2 putter this week.