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When Rory McIlroy signed a multi-year contract extension with TaylorMade last year, he made sure that there was more flexibility in the brand of clubs he could play starting in 2023.
With the original deal, which dates to 2017, McIlroy was required to game a full bag of TaylorMade clubs. He now has the ability to add different brands into the mix.
McIlroy declined to say exactly how much freedom he has, but it is becoming more common for manufacturers to allow full staffers to use 1-3 clubs outside their line. Others in the TaylorMade stable have similar arrangements. Tiger Woods has a Scotty Cameron putter and Bridgestone ball, Scottie Scheffler uses two Srixon irons and Tommy Fleetwood utilizes a Titleist Vokey SM8 lob wedge.
In McIlroy’s case, the four-time major champion has added two Titleist Vokey wedges – a 54-degree SM9 and a 58-degree WedgeWorks – in place of his TaylorMade MG3 Raw wedges. Unlike many of his peers, McIlroy carries only three wedges in his bag.
“This is my first year of my new deal with TaylorMade, and they gave me just a little bit of flexibility with some of the clubs that I can play,” McIlroy said on Wednesday at the WM Phoenix Open. “So that was really it. … I see Justin Thomas all the time at home, and (I was) messing around with some of his wedges and some of the grinds he has. I got in touch (with Titleist) and ordered a couple, and they’ve worked really nicely.”
Though the new wedges debuted when McIlroy opened his year in the Middle East, he had more changes in store last week. He replaced his TaylorMade Rors Proto 3- and 4-irons with TaylorMade P760 3- and 4-irons, which he has used in the past.
“I feel by going back to that (TaylorMade P760) long iron in the 3- and the 4-iron, just to give me a bit more extra flight into the par-5s,” McIlroy said. “I feel like sometimes with the 3- and the 4-iron in the blades, they can come in a little flat at times, where the par-5 and the second shots into the par-5s specifically this week are very, very important, so I thought having a little bit more flight on those long irons could be helpful.”
The alteration catered to TPC Scottsdale, but we could see more of the P760 long irons from McIlroy.
“It’s a little bit of a shorter blade length,” he said. “Sometimes the newer models, whether it be the 770 or the 790, it’s a bit of a longer blade length, and I feel like the toe just wants to close over on me a little. Instead of having to mess around with weighting or different shafts or anything, I’ve played those 760s before, and they’ve worked really well. It was just an easy transition.”
Where McIlroy lands on his equipment could be an important storyline as the Masters approaches.
Sean Fairholm