They say that all good things must come to an end, but Henrik Stenson’s long-standing love affair with his beloved Callaway Diablo Octane Tour 3-wood lasted longer than most Hollywood marriages, in fact most marriages full stop.
The 43-year-old Swede has had his trusty Diablo in the bag since 2011, helping him to victory in numerous tournaments, including the FedEx Cup, the Race to Dubai title, and at his finest hour, the 2016 Open Championship, where his go-to driver replacement served him well in the battle against Phil Mickelson and Troon’s narrow fairways.
Stenson put Callaway’s Epic Flash Sub Zero 3-wood into the bag at Wentworth
But that relationship came to an abrupt end last month, when the face of his favourite fairway finder finally caved in after being worn out by thousands of centre strikes.
“It’s always sad when one of the trusties has to retire,” said Stenson, who had Callaway’s Epic Flash Sub Zero 3-wood in the bag for his tied 17th finish at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. “If you’re standing there on the 72nd hole, and you’ve got to hit a shot to position yourself to win the tournament, you don’t want to have something you picked up two days ago. You want to have something you hit 5,000 shots with.”
The Diablo 3-wood wasn’t as durable as it might sound, with Stenson calling on back-up versions in 2016 and 2017, but in the fast-changing world of equipment technology it is rare for a player to stick with the same model of a club for eight seasons.