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Gary Woodland put a stranglehold on the lead at the Texas Children’s Houston Open and cruised to his first PGA Tour win since the 2019 U.S. Open. A change in iron shafts played a critical role.

Accordiing to Ben Schomin, PGA Tour rep for Cobra, Woodland recently switched from True Temper’s Dynamic Gold X100 to KBS C-Taper 130 shafts. The reason: As Woodland’s swing speed has picked up, the X100s weren’t quite keeping up. According to Schomin, Woodland hits a lot of three-quarter iron shots and likes to flight them. For shots into the wind the combination of the shafts and Cobra Forged MB irons Woodland plays gave him the predictability and control he was seeking.

Indeed. For the week Woodland ranked third in strokes gained/approach the green, picking up six-plus shots on the field.

“I've got a lot of confidence in those shafts,” Woodland said earlier in the week. “With my speed the way it is right now, I need that extra stiff, that extra boardy feel. It's allowing me to work the golf ball again and control it more than anything, control the spin, so it's been really good.”

falseCobraOPTM Max-K$600|Golf Galaxy 5.0 GD SCOREGD HOT LIST SCOREHot List Gold$600The most forgiving model in the OPTM lineup uses a broad address profile to deepen the center of gravity for maximum forgiveness and high launch.It ranks among the top 10 in total moment of inertia on this year’s Hot List.The large size uses a rear skirt section to provide a lower and deeper center of gravity for easier and higher launch.Like others in the OPTM family, this model uses balanced internal weighting to minimize the way the head might wobble on a mis-hit to increase consistency in ball trajectory and spin.The extra boost of stability aims to produce greater forgiveness.Thin-ply carbon-composite panels (about one-third the density of titanium) save weight in the crown and sole to improve perimeter weighting and lower the center of gravity.The variable-thickness face features 15 zones from heel to toe and high to low for better flexing on off-center locations.A 33-way adjustable hosel, the most diverse in the game, accommodates tweaks to ball flight from low to high and left to right.MOI rating: Extreme9, 10.5, 12 degrees (with 33-way adjustable hosel)BUY NOW DETAILS

Woodland’s work on the greens was really good, too. He ranked first in strokes gained/putting, bettering the field average by nearly eight shots, while averaging more than 90 feet of putts made per round—aided by a pair of plus-20-foot birdie putts Sunday. Woodland’s putter is a center-shafted Scotty Cameron by Titleist GoLo tour prototype mallet with a long, single black sightline in the rear cavity.

Expect that putter—and those iron shafts—to stay in the bag a while.

Here are the clubs Woodland had in the bag at the 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Driver: Cobra OPTM Max-K (Fujikura Ventus Black 8X), 9 degrees

3-wood: Ping G440 Max, 15 degrees

Irons (4): Cobra King Forged Tour; (5-9): Cobra King Forged MB

Wedges: Cobra King (48 degrees); Cobra Snakebite (52, 56 degrees); Cleveland RTZ (60 degrees)

Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist GoLo Tour prototype

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