GEAR SHORTS: Lowry’s Masters ace ball sells for €5k

Shane Lowry has auctioned off the Srixon Z-Star XV golf ball he used for his amazing hole-in-one at the 16th on Masters Sunday.

Lowry holed out from the tee on the 170-yard par-3 and made the ball, now signed, available for bids on Friday.

Brendan O’Carroll – creator of Mrs Brown’s Boys – was the winning bidder, paying €5,000 for the ball, with all proceeds from the auction going towards Danny O’Carroll’s fundraiser for the Buncrana victims and Pieta House, a charity that aims to help prevent suicide and self harm.

Watch @shanelowrygolf make the sixteenth hole-in-one at No. 16 in #themasters history. https://t.co/YClo2d7xmW

— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 10, 2016

Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Lowry said: “I had kept the ball thinking I’d keep it myself, but I thought I’d probably get a good few quid for the charity in the auction. It’s only going to be sitting in my cabinet at home anyway.” Good on you Shane.

Delighted my bid for Shane Lowry’s hole in one plaque was a winner. Now I can put it beside minepic.twitter.com/namsYWymar
— Brendan O’Carroll (@brendanMrsBrown) 21 May 2016

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(pic via PGATour.com)

DJ switches in Edel, switches out Scotty Cameron

It’s fair to say Dustin Johnson has been having a hard time on the greens recently and he has now decided to do something about it.

Johnson first made the switch for the final round of the Players Championship, taking his 340g Scotty Cameron 009 putter out the bag and replacing with a 35-inch version of Edel Golf’s The Brick.

According to reports, it has a 21g weight in the heel and a round grip to promote consistent grip pressure and less face rotation during the stroke. It is the same putter used by Bryson DeChambeau.

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Callaway release Big Bertha Beta… in Japan only

After the Big Bertha Alpha, the next logical step would be the release of a Big Bertha Beta. Well, that’s exactly what Callaway has done, but it’s only available in Japan.

Priced at $800, there aren’t any more details available about it, but it certainly looks different to what is currently available in the UK and USA from the brand at present.

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Lee Westwood meets the Crossover

Clearly thinking ahead to the links golf that awaits at the Open Championship, Lee Westwood was spotted trying out the Ping G Crossover at the Irish Open.

Released at the start of this year, it is an long iron and hybrid alternative that could prove a key club at this year’s Open.

PING pro @WestwoodLee putting the G Crossover through its paces this afternoon. #DDFIrishOpen #NextGenG pic.twitter.com/zZMoZbVTto

— PING Golf Europe (@PINGTourEurope) May 18, 2016

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(Pic via Jonathan Wall (@jonathanrwall))

Cabrera joins iBlade crew

While Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen both made the switch to Ping’s new iBlade irons at the Players Championship, this week it was Angel Cabrera’s turn to put them in the bag.

Official confirmation is yet to be received by Ping, but the iBlade irons have been muted as being the replacements for the brand’s current S55 irons.

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(Pic via Jonathan Wall (@jonathanrwall))

But Points stays old school…

While Bubba, Oosthuizen and now Cabrera have switched to the new Ping iBlade irons, D.A. Points still has these retro Ping i5 irons (7-PW) in his bag.

Can you remember them? Released in late 2005, they boasted a lead edge and bounce angles engineered to ensure a smooth transition through the turf and from the rough. According to the Ping website, the i5 range has now been discontinued.