What’s in the bag: Matt McCarty explains his ‘butter fingers’ stamped wedges

After earning a Three-Victory Promotion earlier this year, Matt McCarty is making his PGA TOUR debut as a TOUR member this week at the 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship. On the Korn Ferry Tour, McCarty reeled off three wins in July and August of 2024. He’s also a mathematical lock to finish in first place on the Korn Ferry Tour’s Points List, which means he will have a one-year exemption on the PGA TOUR, including invites to the 2025 PLAYERS Championship and 2025 U.S. Open.

This week ahead of the Sanderson Farms Championship, GolfWRX.com and PGATOUR.COM caught up with McCarty, who’s a 26-year-old left-hander, to see what’s in his bag, and learn more about his mindset when it comes to equipment.

As McCarty admits, he’s not much of a tinkerer with his equipment – growing up as a lefty, he says he learned to play with whatever clubs were available to him. Now, he’s a Ping staffer, so the company helps him get exactly what he needs, and McCarty fills his bag with 14 Ping clubs.

For the big stick, McCarty uses a Ping G430 LST 10.5-degree driver, equipped with a Fujikura Ventus 6X shaft, and a bit of hot melt has been added behind the driver's face to help with spin reduction off the tee.

While McCarty uses the newest Ping technology available with his driver, he still opts to use Ping’s G410 3-wood, which was first made available to the public back in 2019. McCarty’s holding on tight to the club since left-handed supplies are low.

“I’ve had this thing for a while – it’s probably one of the last lefty 410s that we got, so hopefully this thing hangs on for a while,” McCarty told PGATOUR.COM. “I don’t like changing 3-woods too much. I feel like once you find something, I feel like it’s a unique club. Just kind of go with what you want.”

McCarty is also among the growing number of pros using a high-lofted fairway wood, rather than a hybrid, driving iron, or long iron. McCarty says he added the 7-wood to his bag over a year ago, and it’s been especially helpful on long par 3s and hitting into par 5s.

“This thing’s been pretty fun,” McCarty says of his 7-wood. “ It’s helpful on long par 3s, par 5s, especially when the greens are firm. Thing’s a weapon ... a little bit more versatile than like a 2- or 3-iron I think…it lands soft and you can be more aggressive with it.”

For his irons, McCarty uses Ping’s Blueprint S Forged model, which he equips with the slightly lighter-than-standard True Temper Dynamic 120 X100 shafts.

Getting down into the wedges, McCarty uses Ping’s Glide Forged Pro models (50-, 55- and 60-degrees). Most notably, McCarty’s 50-degree wedge is stamped with “Butter Fingers.”

Typically, Butter Fingers isn’t necessarily an endearing nickname, but McCarty has found the stamping to bring good vibes (and reduce penalty strokes).

“I got ‘Butter Fingers’ stamped on my 50-degree,” McCarty explains. “I dropped my club on the ball, got a shot penalty in a Korn Ferry event in Sarasota this summer, so my caddie [Devrath Das] thought it’d be funny to put ‘Butter Fingers’ on it, so that’s where we’re at…we haven’t dropped it since, I guess that’s good mojo.”

As for his putter, McCarty uses a custom Ping PLD Tyne center-shafted mallet, which has a character-enhancing amount of rust.

“Then the putter, this thing is nice,” McCarty said. “I’ve got a PLD… got some rust on it, adds some character. This has been great. Switched to center shaft probably a couple years ago, three years ago, have gone through some different putters, but the weight of this and the feel of the deep milled face is a little softer….got the rust on it, shows I actually practice I think.”