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Rory McIlroy is sticking with TaylorMade.
The Ulsterman has signed a “multi-year contract” with the equipment company, extending a relationship that formally began in May of 2017 when McIlroy joined TaylorMade as a full staff member. He has won seven PGA Tour events with a complete TaylorMade set and has finished inside the top 10 for strokes gained tee-to-green each of the past five seasons, so it’s no surprise to see him stay the course.
In a release, McIlroy stated that TaylorMade was the “best equipment company in golf” and confirmed that the brand’s clubs and ball will be in his arsenal “for many years to come.” TaylorMade continues to be aggressive with commitments to top players, having recently inked world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Four TaylorMade staff members are ranked in the top 10 of the world.
“Rory is undeniably one of the most captivating players in our game and truly one of the great human beings in the sports world,” said David Abeles, TaylorMade CEO and president.
Terms of the contract were not disclosed, although the 2017 arrangement was widely reported as being worth $100 million in total.
McIlroy’s equipment history can be divided into multiple eras. He signed with Titleist upon turning pro in 2007, a continuation of what he had been playing during the latter stages of his amateur career. His first two major victories – the 2011 U.S. Open and 2012 PGA Championship – were dominating performances with a full Titleist bag. He even kept an old-school 906F 3-wood in the bag throughout much of his late teens and early 20s.
In early 2013, McIlroy signed a lucrative equipment and apparel contract with Nike. The start of that relationship was awkward as McIlroy didn’t win in 2013 and finished 50th in the FedEx Cup standings, but he quickly adjusted en route to two major victories in 2014. Nike exited the hard-goods business in August of 2016, leading to an equipment change for McIlroy, but his apparel deal with the brand was extended through 2027.
McIlroy went through extensive gear testing in late 2016 – which apparently caused a rib injury that would plague him the following year – and started 2017 with a mixed bag that included Callaway Epic woods, Callaway Apex MB irons, Titleist Vokey SM6 wedges, an Odyssey putter and Pro V1x ball. That didn’t last long, however, as McIlroy would soon be in a full TaylorMade bag a few months later.
Switching to the TaylorMade TP5x ball was a catalyst behind the deal, McIlroy said at the time.
"I always had it in my head that the more spin I could get with a golf ball, the better," McIlroy said in 2017. "But obviously that was working against me. I didn't have anything in my head at that time, just sort of wanting to find the best equipment. So we got on the TrackMan and I started hitting this TP5x golf ball and I was like, 'Oh my goodness.' It's always windy down here, and I could just see from the flight that the ball was going through the wind and doing exactly what I wanted it to do. At that point I sort of felt like I probably should have given that ball more thought when I started testing new stuff at the beginning of the year."
That opened the door for testing more TaylorMade equipment, and eventually it led to the contract.
McIlroy has been unafraid to game new clubs throughout his career, and that has stayed true with TaylorMade. He is using a Stealth Plus driver and 5-wood, Stealth 3-wood, Rors Proto irons, MG3 wedges, a Spider X Hydro Blast putter and a TP5x ball.
Sean Fairholm