If you’re surprised to learn that John Daly is playing Sub 70 irons and wedges on the PGA TOUR Champions circuit, you’re not alone.

The news came as a big surprise to Sub 70 owner Jason Hiland.

“It was at the Champions Tour event at TPC Sugarloaf last spring,” Hiland tells MyGolfSpy. “It’s on Golf Channel and, all of a sudden, my phone starts blowing up. He has our stuff in his bag. I had no idea.”

The story of how Sub 70 irons and wedges made it into Daly’s bag starts with a knee replacement and a chance encounter at the driving range. Maybe the most remarkable aspect of this story is that zero money is changing hands.

That’s right. Daly doesn’t have a contract with Sub 70 and isn’t angling for one. He’s playing Hiland’s gear for one reason and one reason only.

He wants to.

Why John Daly Is Playing Sub 70

There is a logical connection between Daly and Sub 70, and it’s in the form of Tommy Armour III. Armour and Hiland co-designed Sub 70’s forged TA III blades and wedges, and Armour counts Daly as one of his good friends.

“We’re at the driving range at the Houston Champions Tour event last April,” says Hiland. “And Daly is looking into Tommy’s bag and says he’s looking for a forged cavity-back. I got all his specs and we built everything except the grips. John uses a big, oversized grip that has to be done a certain way.”

Specifically, Hiland set Daly up with the Sub 70 659 CB Forged irons. That in and of itself isn’t unusual. Hiland says he makes clubs for Tour pros all the time for them to try and to give feedback, but with no expectations they’ll ever go in the bag.

Then Sugarloaf happened.

“They went in the bag and stayed there all year,” says Hiland. “When I went to the Open Championship last year to watch Zack Fischer (Sub 70’s only sponsored Tour player), John had them in the bag there.”

Daly gamed Sub 70 irons and wedges all last season.

“He was still coming off knee replacement surgery and it took him a while to get his speed back,” explains Hiland. “He’s getting healthier now so we built him a set of the Sub 70 TA III blades. We have an open line of communication with him but, like I said, we’re not paying him anything, and he owes us nothing.”

One Of A Kind

Most golf fans know the John Daly story. Born in California, Daly spent his formative years in Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri. He attended the University of Arkansas on a golf scholarship but left before graduating. He found early success on the Southern African and Ben Hogan (now Korn Ferry) tours before earning his PGA Tour card in 1991.

Daly was the ninth and final alternate for the 1991 PGA Championship at Crooked Stick near Indianapolis. Just days before the tournament began, Nick Price dropped out as his wife was about to give birth, opening a last-minute slot for Daly. The 25-year-old would win the PGA and be named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

He’d win his second major four years later at St Andrews.

“It’s impossible not to like John Daly,” says Hiland. “For as big of a star as he is, he’s a good old southern boy. And I mean that in the most positive way. As big of a star as he is, he’s as normal as you can imagine.”

When it comes to his equipment, Hiland says Daly takes an “old school” approach.

“I’m guessing here but I’d say there’s less Trackman or GC Quad and more John just hitting shots,” says Hiland. “He’s working the ball and wants to make sure he has control over the trajectory and that the ball is going through the window he wants.”

“You Don’t Win Two Majors Without Putting In The Work”

With his persona, it’s easy to forget just how good Daly was in his prime. Hiland says that, according to Armour, a 43-year PGA Tour veteran, Daly was the most-talented golfer he ever played with.

“Tommy says Daly had the best hands and most raw talent of anyone he’s ever seen,” Hiland says. “He’d never seen anyone with that level of short game combined with that level of distance.”

Daly’s life circumstances limited him to “only” 19 professional wins in his career. He’s battled alcohol and cancer and now a knee replacement, but he’s still out there grinding. And it’s doubtful there’s any other pro who has lived life on his own terms more fully than Daly.

“There’s a little bit of an urban legend that he never practiced or anything,” says Hiland, “but I call bullshit. I’ll bet you there were a lot of 10- and 12-hour days when there were no cameras around that he was out working. You don’t win two majors without putting in the work when no one’s around.”

John Daly Is Playing Sub 70. Anyone Else?

As mentioned, Zack Fischer is Sub 70’s only paid Tour player (he’s playing PGA Tour Americas this year). Other pros are gaming Sub 70 without contracts, including Eric Flores on the Challenge Tour in Europe and Tag Ridings on the Champions Tour.

“We’ve always said a great-looking French guy with a nice sense of humor and great hair would be good for the European Tour,” says Hiland with a laugh. “But I don’t know if our brand needs like 12 Tour players. If a player comes to us organically, we’re happy and honored to help but we’re really not pushing hard on Tour players.”

Sub 70 isn’t pursuing LPGA players, either, although the company has worked with a handful of players on the Epson (formerly Symetra) Tour.

“We’ve built some irons and wedges for a few players, free of charge,” says Hiland. “But it’s the same thing as the men’s tours. We’re not pushing anything. But if it happens organically, it happens. We’ll roll with it.”

The Perfect Sub 70 Vibe

Upon further review, Daly playing Sub 70 really shouldn’t come as a surprise. He’s made a life of marching to the beat of a different drummer and Sub 70 certainly has its own drum beat as well.

“I think that’s why he resonates with people – he’s a completely genuine person,” says Hiland. “Just to work with him is an honor. Like I said, we’re not paying him and he doesn’t owe us anything.”

To this day, Daly remains one of golf’s most colorful and misunderstood characters. For every story you hear about his hard-living lifestyle, there are a dozen more stories about his genuine personality that you don’t hear about.

A Tour fitter for a major OEM tells of meeting Daly on the range in the late ’90s. He says he was an aimless kid looking for direction in life at the time and had a growing fascination with golf. He randomly struck up a conversation with Daly and within days, Daly made a call to his contacts at that OEM and got the kid a job. A quarter of a century later, he’s that company’s Tour fitter and fondly refers to Daly as “an American treasure.”

Hiland has been working with Daly for less than a year but he can certainly back up that sentiment.

“You can just see that he’s a good soul, just a kind human being. To be able to work with a John Daly and see one of your heroes playing your golf clubs? I mean, it’s validation.

“And it’s really cool.”

Editor’s Note: This article was written in partnership with Sub 70

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