Getty Image / Cliff Hawkins
Matthew Wolff is just 20-years-old, but his relationship with TaylorMade dates back to before he was even a teenager.
That’s correct, just like college coaches that scout and recruit young athletes, top golf manufacturers keep their eyes and ears glued to the junior golf game looking for that next kid that could one day take over the golf world while using their equipment later down the line.
For Wolff, it was TaylorMade’s manager of player development Ryan Ressa that first got a glimpse of his game and that unique swing that has now taken the golf world by storm.
Wolff was an All-American at Oklahoma State, won a national championship as an individual in 2019 and went on to win the 3M Open in July of 2019 becoming just the seventh player all-time to pick up a PGA Tour win before the age of 21.
Things have worked out pretty well thus far for both Wolff and TaylorMade.
We got a chance to sit down with Wolff and Ressa in the TaylorMade tour truck ahead of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and learned more about their relationship that already dates back so many years.
“We got in this amateur game around 2011, with his junior game, Ressa explained. “In 2013 we had him out to The Kingdom and just started our relationship with him. We started working together every couple of months on product. As he was growing so much, we were able to tweak it pretty often which is a nice perk for these young guys. He obviously took off when he got to school and the rest is history.”
When it comes to Wolff’s side of the equipment equation, TaylorMade has been a part of his game for practically his entire career. He’s had 14 TaylorMade clubs in the bag for quite some time.
“I’ve played 14 [TaylorMade] clubs since I was literally 12. I felt like I could always find exactly what I wanted for every single club in the bag,” Wolff told us. “From wedges to putter to driver, woods, everything. I feel like that wasn’t a lacking spot, I’ve really enjoyed using their stuff from day one. I feel like that’s kind of what made it such an easy transition going from junior golf to college golf to pro because I’ve always been trusting the same equipment.”
With Wolff’s unique swing, however, you may think that the fitting process for him is a bit different, maybe even trickier when it comes to finding the right fit for him. At the end of the day, though, the downswing and impact area of Wolff’s swing gets to a ‘traditional’ spot despite his unique takeaway and backswing. In that respect, plus the fact that Wolff isn’t finicky when it comes to equipment, the fitting process is rather simple for Wolff and the TaylorMade team.
I feel like my swing doesn’t really have much to do with the fitting process,” Wolff said. “It’s more about impact, how the ball flies, controlling spin. I’m not really finicky if I like something I try to stick with it, but I feel like they’ve improved every year.
They’ve always been able to get the shafts that I need for the feel and height. I’ve always been able to work patterns with them and they’ve been able to do everything that I’ve asked for clubs wise and I really don’t feel like we’ve had much difficulty. With junior golf and college golf they’re not out there every week, but we can now tweak some things and they can build me things. It’s a nice caveat to have, but I feel like my swing doesn’t vary that much in the sense of fitting clubs.”
Staying on topic with the fitting process, TaylorMade has recently released their newest line of products headlined by the SIM drivers. It’s always an interesting time of the year when players put a new driver in the bag with distance off the tee being such a major factor in today’s game. Maybe for some players, they don’t necessarily want to change to a new big stick after getting accustomed to the previous year’s driver, but for Wolff, he was pumped to get his hands on the new SIM driver and is always excited for the newest TaylorMade products.
“I’m always excited for the new stuff. They wouldn’t make it if there weren’t improvements with it. It’s definitely cool to see each year them coming out with a new thing and it’s definitely an advantage with something new each year because you’re never going to be behind with technology,” he explained.
“The SIM, definitely, I control my spin a lot better with it. I feel like with the M5 I hit some knucklers and some balloon balls. The SIM is really consistent, not only height wise but spin wise. I feel like no matter what angle I lanch it at, it always comes out with the spin I want it to, especially back in Maui when it’s blowing 30mph it’s nice to control the spin. Taylormade has always done a really good job of not trying to put too many things in a new driver, but definitely improving each year. The SIM has been really good. “
Wolff averaged 309.1 yards off the tee a year ago and certainly hasn’t skipped a beat since putting the new SIM driver in the bag as he’s averaging 315 yards off the tee this week at Torrey Pines. It’s safe to say that the newest product from TaylorMade and the long relationship the two have had has worked out pretty well thus far.
Be sure to check out what’s in the bag for Wolff this week at the Farmers Insurance Open as well as the rest of Team TaylorMade including the likes of Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm and Jason Day here.
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A special thanks to TaylorMade for the great hospitality and experience at TaylorMade HQ and The Kingdom in Carlsbad as well as on-site at Torrey Pines.