A strange week across the board for Rory McIlroy — including with his gear — ended with his second Players Championship title and 28th PGA Tour victory.
After finishing 72 holes of regulation tied at 12 under, McIlroy defeated J.J. Spaun in a three-hole aggregate playoff Monday morning at TPC Sawgrass.
McIlroy did so with a full bag of TaylorMade equipment but made a high-profile switch back to his Qi10 metalwood setup he used last year after briefly switching to the new Qi35 driver and fairway woods for the first three rounds last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After singing the praises of his new setup for the early part of the week, McIlroy made the about-face Sunday at Bay Hill after losing strokes off the tee on Saturday.
“Sort of going back to what I’m comfortable with,” he said last Sunday. “I tried new woods for the first three days, didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to. So, yeah, I went back to my old stuff today. I led strokes gained off the tee in both Pebble and Torrey, so it was a really good idea to change [laughs]. And then, like yesterday, I lost strokes off the tee, which is the first time I’ve done that in a long time.
The ‘awkward’ reason Rory McIlroy has been tinkering with equipment setup
“I probably just didn’t give myself enough time. And it’s totally different, you know, it can look good on the Trackman and it can look good on the range at home at the Bear’s Club or on the golf course, but once you get out here in these conditions that’s where it really shows itself and it just wasn’t quite ready.”
McIlroy’s accuracy didn’t improve much at TPC Sawgrass as he hit just four fairways during the first round and finished toward the bottom of the field in driving accuracy for the week, finding less than 50 percent of his fairways.
But he was dialed with his TaylorMade RORS Proto irons that he has played since signing with TaylorMade in 2017. He finished fifth in the field in strokes gained: approach.
McIlroy also added a new wedge at the start of the season, adding loft to his lob wedge by going to 61 degrees.
“Rory has played a MG4 60° LB wedge in the past and loved the transition and leading edge of that model,” said TaylorMade VP of Tour Operations Keith Sbarbaro. “When he came up with the idea of going to a 61° wedge, this model with this shape, sole and leading edge worked best. Rory wants to stick with one wedge and this model was by far the most versatile. It doesn’t catch in the grain, and has low enough bounce to perform well on tight grass like at The Masters. It produces a lot of spin, including the incredible chip on 17 at the Ryder Cup he hit with a similar version. The 61° also makes hitting the 40-70 yard shots much easier. He can put more of a hit on it to get the lower launch and spin than he could at 59°.”
Keep reading below for McIlroy’s full specs.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (DOT) 9 degrees, Fujikura Ventus Black 6-X (45″ EOG, Tipped 1″, D5)
$599.99
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3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 15 degrees (bonded), Fujikura Ventus Black 8-X (42.5″ EOG, Tipped 1.5″, D4)
$349.99
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Driving iron: TaylorMade P770 Proto 3-iron (20 degrees), Project X HZRDUS Black 105 HY TX
$185.71
for a design that is fast,flexible and forgiving even in a compact head shape.
FLTD CG
FLTD CG strategically positions the center of gravity (CG) the lowest in the long ironsand progressively shifts higher throughout the set. Using up to 46g of tungsten, FLTDCG is designed to provide players with improved launch and playability in long irons and increase spin in the scoring irons.
SPEEDFOAM AIR
All new SpeedFoam Air is 69% less dense than its predecessor, creating mass savingsthat is redistributed to improve performance. SpeedFoam Air dampens vibrations forexquisite sound and feel while delivering a fast, flexible face.
TOUR-INSPIRED SHAPING
Featuring elegant refinements, including less offset in the long irons, the new P•770is designed to fit the eye of a more discerning player with visual cues including a thintopline, less offset, and shorter blade length when compared to the P•790.
THRU-SLOT SPEED POCKET
The Thru-Slot Speed Pocket provides increased face flexibility while preserving ballspeed and distance on low face strikes.View Product
Irons: TaylorMade P760 (4), RORS PROTO MB (5-9), Project X 7.0 (Length: +.25″, Lie: 1˚ Flat)
Loft Progression: 23/26/30/34/38/42
$175
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Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 Raw (46/09SB, 50/09SB, 54/11SB, 60/08LB), Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)
$179.99
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Putter: Spider Tour X (Loft 3, Lie 69.5), Short Slant, Full Line, Pure Roll insert, Black Stepless shaft, 34 1/2″ EOG, E0
$349.99
ALIGNMENT The patented alignment system provides visual clarity and helps golfers better envision the line to the hole.
WHITE TPU PURE ROLL INSERTMade from a combination of Surlyn and aluminum, the white TPU Pure Roll insert creates a softer feel.Grooves are angled at 45° to encourage optimal forward roll as well as better sound, feel and overall roll characteristics. The white insert also creates better symmetry with the white True Path alignment.
THIN WALL UNDERCUT CONSTRUCTION We’ve engineered a super stable structure by removing excess weight to create high MOI and legendary Spider performance.
HYBRAR ECHO®DAMPENER HYBRAR is behind the face to dampen unwanted vibrations, delivering premium sound and feelon every putt with the best possible sensation.
TSS WEIGHTING TSS weights provide balanced weighting and help optimize performance for all various putter lengths.
STEEL WIREFRAME Allows engineers to better control weight distribution and CG location.View Product
Grip: Golf Pride MCC Black/White 60 Rib, +2 Wraps
$11.99
(New Decade® MultiCompound) is an innovative hybrid grip that fuses the positive performance of rubber and cord. The MCC boasts the Golf Pride® exclusive Brushed Cotton Cord in the upper hand area for firm all-weather control, and a performance rubber material in the lower hand for ultimate feel and responsiveness.View Product
Ball: TaylorMade 2024 TP5
$54.99
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Want to overhaul your bag for 2025? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
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