What Are Patrick Reed’s New Irons?

The 2018 Masters champion has a new set of irons in the bag made by a Japanese company...

What Are Patrick Reed's New Irons?

Since leaving Callaway two years ago, Patrick Reed has had one of the most eclectic bags in professional golf.

His equipment set-up really is like no other, with the Texan regularly changing clubs and mixing and matching different brands.

Because he is an equipment free agent, he has the freedom to choose and use whichever clubs he likes, and he currently has a Ping driver, a TaylorMade fairway wood, a Titleist long iron, a Titleist wedge, wedges made by a Texan company known as 'Artisan' and a Scotty Cameron putter.

Since leaving Callaway he has continued to use his Callaway MB1 irons as well as RAZR MB blades too, although he briefly used a set of old Nikes that he would have used from his time with the brand in his early pro days.

Reed has also used a Honma club, Titleist, Mizuno and even a Nike 3 wood from early in the last decade.

The 2018 Masters champion made another big equipment move late last year by putting in a new set of irons with an unrecognised logo and his name stamped on them.

The irons got their first outing at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas where Reed told the PGA Tour that he had been working with a company for 12-14 months on their development.

“The awesome thing about it is that it clarifies my swing a little better, so when I feel like I make a good golf swing, the ball does what it’s supposed to do,” Reed told PGATour.com.

“There’s no questioning if I make a good swing and seeing the ball go left or right… I feel like where we’ve been able to get the CG…when I make a swing that I feel is supposed to be a 5-yard draw, I look up and the ball is starting where it’s supposed to, and it’s a 5-yard draw.

"I feel like recently [with other clubs] I’ve been making some golf swings where I hit it, and I feel I’ve made a good golf swing, and the ball isn’t going where it’s supposed to. So I’ve had to manipulate in order to get the golf ball to go where I’m trying to look.”

Reed couldn't say who made the irons but the PGA Tour discovered that the company behind them is called Grindworks, and it is headed up by Japanese forging experts Kiyonari Niimi and Kenji Kobiyashi.

When it comes to forging Japanese steel irons, Kiyonari and Kenji know exactly what they're doing.

Kiyonari has over 40 years experience and was admitted to the International Clubmakers Guild (IGC) Hall of Fame in 2014.

“About one year ago, Patrick contacted me asking to try one of our products, but I preferred to offer him an original designed iron set. His iron lie angle is very flat, which would change the total design concept of the iron if we bent an existing head 4 degrees more flat!” Kiyonari Niimi told PGATour.com.

“He also wanted a head with CG at the exact centre of the head for every iron. It was a hard job, hence we have to spend a lot of time and make a lot of prototypes.”

Kenji Kobiyashi is known as the “father of forged Titanium drivers” and has spent over 40 years designing and manufacturing premium forged clubs.

He has also spent over 30 years working for the world’s largest and most premium forging house in Niigata, Japan, and was the President there for over 10 years.

"He has worked with every major American and Japanese golf brand who has produced forged golf clubs, many of which he played a part in designing," the Grindworks website says.

Grindworks' Lead Designer Tario Cham has also spent over a decade in the golf industry, working with "many top Japanese golf brands and industry experts."

Whilst Reed hasn't made any public announcement on signing with the company yet, we may hear something in the future.

If not, he'll continue to remain a free agent as the tale of his eclectic golf bag continues.

For all the latest golf news, check the Golf Monthly website and follow our social media channels @golfmonthlymagazine on Facebook and @golfmonthly on Twitter and Instagram