Dustin Johnson wins Tournament of Champions with new TaylorMade M4 driver
First week out and the TaylorMade M4 driver is already a winner.
Dustin Johnson got his 2018 off to a flying start by the trouncing the field at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii by eight shots.
Johnson carded a final-round 8-under 65 to finish 24-under and eight strokes clear of fellow TaylorMade staff player Jon Rahm.
The victory marks the 11th consecutive season since Johnson has been on Tour that he has won at least once during the season.
The world number one used his prodigious length off the tee combined with TaylorMade's new Twist Face technology to find more than 73% of fairways, highlighted by a near hole-in-one on the 433-yard par-4 12th.
Johnson put TaylorMade's new M4 driver into the bag at Kapalua after extensive testing with both that and the M3. He opted for the M4 at 9.5° in standard position.
He preferred the M4 due to the flatter flight and felt it would be better suited for his trajectory in Kapalua's winds. It is likely he will continue working with both models moving forward.
REVIEW: TAYLORMADE M4 DRIVER
- Johnson's +4.09 SG off the tee is the best measured round ever at Kapalua.
- Johnson also added a new M4 fairway (16.5°HL) to his setup this week after testing with TaylorMade's Tour staff at the Kingdom earlier this month; it's equipped with Project X's HZRDUS Black 6.5 95X shaft; the same shaft he carried in his fairway(s) last season.
- DJ is a big fan of the P790 iron, and continues to use the #3 (21°) in place of a high lofted fairway wood. He carries it 260 (old MB was 250), plus give him higher trajectory.
- In addition to his P790, he's added a full set of P730 irons to his arsenal, having done extensive work with them over the off-season. Similar to his previous irons, he has them equipped with True Temper's Dynamic Golf X100 shafts.
- Johnson has now won at least one PGA TOUR event in 11 consecutive seasons, dating back to his rookie season in 2008, the longest active streak on the PGA TOUR.
- DJ found much success with the Spider Tour putter last season, using it to escalate to #1 in the World, where he's remained for 46 weeks. This week, he used it to card 26 birdies (or better) en route to an 8-shot margin of victory.
- Johnson's TaylorMade stablemate and World #4 Jon Rahm finished 2nd, and is expected to move up to #3 in the OWGR.
- Dustin's preferred golf ball is the TP5x, stamped #1. He used this ball throughout the 2017 campaign as well.
M4 Driver | 9.5° (standard) | Fujikura Speeder Evolution 661 X Tour Spec 2.0
M4 Fairway | 3HL 16.5° | Project X HZRDUS Black 6.5 95 X
P790 Iron | 3 | Dynamic Gold X100
P730 Irons | 4-PW | Dynamic Gold X100
Milled Grind Wedges | 52° & 60° | KBS Tour Black 130 X
Milled Grind Hi-Toe Wedge | 64° | KBS Tour Black 130 X
Spider Tour Black Putter
TP5x Golf Ball (#1)
Tour Preferred Glove
Andy first joined the brand on a month's work experience back in April 2011, and he now assumes the Editor role. When Andy joined GolfMagic it was a small site with potential.
