Nelly Korda: What's In My Bag

By Nelly Korda

December 06, 2021

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Photo By: Chloe Knott/R&A

AGE 23
LIVES Bradenton, Fla.
STORY Current World No. 1. Seven wins on the LPGA Tour, including the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Also won the 2021 Olympic Gold Medal.

SISTER ACT I’ve been swinging golf clubs since I started walking, using those cute plastic golf clubs at first. As I got older, I was never really lacking for golf equipment. I was always getting hand-me-down clubs from my older sister, Jess, and I would be very happy when I would get a full set. I was that annoying little sister who got everything. —WITH E. MICHAEL JOHNSON

(Photographs on the following screens: Steve Boyle)

Photo By: Chloe Knott/R&A

DRIVER

SPECS Titleist TSi1, 10°, Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 6S shaft.

▶ Ever since my rookie year, I’ve struggled to find a driver that suits me. I like to hit a draw, and when I tested this one, I fell in love with it. The slightly smaller look appeals to me, too. I won at Lake Nona the first week I put it in the bag.

FAIRWAY WOODS/HYBRID

SPECS Titleist TSi2, 16.5°, Fujikura Ventus Red 70S shaft; Titleist TSi2, 21°, Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 75S shaft; Ping G425, 19°, Fujikura Ventus 80S shaft

▶ I like that I can see the face on the 7-wood at address. I feel like I can hit it high, and that’s what I need because I tend to have a low trajectory.

IRONS

SPECS Titleist T100 (5-PW), Aerotech SteelFiber i80cw F4 shafts, Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips.

▶ I’ll take a look at the new T100s at some point, but the consistency of these will be tough to beat. I hit controlled shots at all times, a lot of 90 percenters. But when you hit controlled shots, you’re generating more speed. I’ve had irons in the past that got a little jumpy with that, but not these.

WEDGES

SPECS Titleist Vokey SM8 (50°, 54°, 58°), Aerotech SteelFiber i95cw S shafts.

▶ A four-degree gap has been my wedge setup since I was a junior. My bounces are pretty standard, and I don’t change them very often. My boyfriend’s favorite number is 22, so my 58-degree has 22s all over it. It reminds me of him while I’m playing.

PUTTER

SPECS Scotty Cameron by Titleist Special Select Squareback 2 tour prototype, 35 inches, 3.5 degrees, Scotty Cameron Pistolini grip.

▶ This putter has a longer flange than the putter I was using, and that longer alignment line works for me. As a junior I used a lot of mallets, but I had a choppy stroke back then. Going to a blade I could see and feel my stroke smoothing out.

FUN FLAIR

▶ I always raid the putter-cover stash when I go to Scotty Cameron’s studio. This one is fun. I’ve had it for a couple of years. I also have a U.S.A. one from the Solheim Cup. In all I probably have more than a dozen putter covers.

BY THE NUMBERS

▶ My ball superstition is using numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 on Thursday through Sunday. I was using the 2017 version of the Pro V1 until going to the 2021 model this year. I get more peak height and carry, and it feels great around the greens.

TRAVEL BUDDIES

▶ These tiny stuffed animals hang on my bag, and I travel around the world with them. My best friend gave me lions, and I have ones from my mom, caddie and from a Czech children’s show. It’s quite the group.