Rory McIlroy makes surprise equipment U-turn

Rory McIlroy made some rather curious alterations to his bag last week. 

The Northern Irishman, who topped the field in strokes gained off the tee at last month’s victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and at the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, decided change was in order ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

McIlroy drastically swapped out all of his woods and reconfigured his wedge set up as he aimed to strike a balance that would allow him more choice of club selection off the tee.

But by the time Sunday came, the mission was aborted and McIlroy reverted back to the formula that had provided him such a promising start to his PGA Tour season.

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“I led strokes gained: off the tee in both Pebble and Torrey, so it was a really good idea to change,” the frustrated Northern Irishman quipped after finishing in a tie for 15th at Bay Hill.

What changes did Rory McIlroy make to his golf bag?

McIlroy swapped his TaylorMade Qi10 Driver, three-wood and five-wood for the brand new TaylorMade Qi35 iterations. During the first three rounds at Bay Hill, he used the Qi35 driver, a 15-degree wood and an 18-degree ‘four wood’, as well as a P770 three-iron.

He also trialled the new MG4 TaylorMade pitching wedge, dropping a wedge in his bag to accommodate the new P770 three-iron. The wholesale changes came after McIlroy changed golf ball in January from the TaylorMade TP5X to the TP5.

“It just sort of gives me more options off the tee,” he said at the start of the week. “Especially with being so comfortable at the other end of the bag with the wedges and hitting those three-quarter shots, that it’s nice to have those options up at the top end of the bag.”

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Yet after a wayward week off the tee at Bay Hill, McIlroy has seen enough already. The 35-year-old reverted back to his old setup for the final round after losing shots to the field in the strokes gained metric off the tee in Orlando.

“[Saturday], I lost strokes off the tee, which is the first time I’ve done that in a long time,” he conceded on Sunday. “Yeah, just went back to what was familiar and what’s comfortable.

“There’s pros and cons to (making changes), and it’s a blessing and a curse at the same time that we sort of have to go through these 12-month club cycles.

“I probably just didn’t give myself enough time. It’s totally different, you know, it can look good on the Trackman and it can look good on the range at home 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.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.