Borrowing the Game

Friday at the final stage of DP World Tour Q-school, Switzerland’s Benjamin Rusch shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 at the Hills Course at Infinitum. It was the best round of the day on the Hills Course, one of the two courses being used, and he sits T3. How he made it to this moment might be more impressive: last week, Rusch advanced through the second stage of Q-school with a borrowed set of clubs. 

When Rusch arrived in Spain from Zurich with fellow Swiss pro Jeremy Freiburghaus,  neither of their clubs arrived with them. Multiple calls to Air Swiss provided little information, so Rusch attempted other ways to get clubs. Rusch called Ping in hopes of getting a new set but given the short notice, it was impossible. A local rep had a set that Rusch tried, but the specs were too far from Rusch’s own. 

Just before the start of the first round, Freiburghaus received a call that his clubs had arrived but Rusch was still out of luck. Rusch continued to call Air Swiss but there were still no answers. The only option was to use a local pro’s set. The irons were Ping but not the same type that Rusch played. The driver and 3-wood were the same heads but with different shafts, and the wedges were bent much differently than his. 

"I spent a lot of time on the Trackman," Rusch told me when I asked how he got used to the new clubs. He said the irons in the borrowed set had a hotter face and therefore the ball jumped a little bit more. In order to learn the new yardages of each club he hit as many balls as possible on the range with his Trackman, trying to dial in the yardages.

In one last desperate attempt to find his clubs, he spent hours on the phone with Air Swiss, but again to no avail. He would play the most important tournament of the year with borrowed clubs. 

Rusch opened with a very solid 68 and although most of the clubs had worked well, the wedge specs were so different from his that he searched for a store to get them bent. The good news was he found a place. The bad news was it was nearly an hour away. He made the drive and was able to get the clubs worked on. Although not perfect, the clubs were much improved. 

Calls each night to the airline went without any satisfying answers. For the next three rounds, Rusch was able to shoot under par, finishing at 12-under, and sneaking through to this week's final stage.

I have heard of pros playing a tournament round or an event with borrowed clubs, but I've never heard of a player getting through Q-school with borrowed clubs. 

Luckily, a few days after the second stage, Air Swiss called with great news: Rusch’s clubs had been located. Although they took 36 more hours to get delivered, Rusch and his clubs were reunited prior to the start of the final stage.

Now he’s 8-under after Round 1. Five more rounds to go. 

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