NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
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Earlier this year, Range Rat reported that Rory McIlroy recently added flexibility in his new TaylorMade contract. He took advantage of that freedom by inserting two Titleist Vokey wedges (54 and 58 degrees) near the end of last year, his decision being influenced by the SM9 wedges of friend Justin Thomas.
It was one of many gear moves McIlroy has made in the past several months. He also implemented a Scotty Cameron Newport GSS putter, moved into a TaylorMade Stealth Plus 2 driver – with a shorter, softer Fujikura shaft to add necessary spin – and went back to TaylorMade P760 long irons for extra height when attacking par-5s.
Figuring out what is in McIlroy’s bag certainly has been a moving target throughout the year, and his results have mirrored the inconsistent lineup. He won the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and notched top-3 finishes in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, but he also missed the cut at the Players Championship and the Masters before another forgettable performance at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship. The trouble has centered around a balky putter, as McIlroy came into the week ranked No. 174 in strokes gained putting – a precipitous fall from last season when he ranked No. 16.
Not satisfied with his play, McIlroy had more equipment changes in store at Quail Hollow.
The Scotty Cameron putter that he used at the Masters was quickly benched in favor of a TaylorMade Spider Tour Hydro Blast, the same flatstick used before switching. There was also a new SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour grip on the putter. McIlroy was middle-of-the-pack in putting stats at the Wells Fargo, aided by a 72-foot eagle putt that found the bottom of the cup on Sunday morning.
And despite the fact that he is having his best chipping and pitching year (No. 32 in strokes gained around the greens coming into last week) since the 2018-19 season, the Ulsterman was seen testing a variety of TaylorMade MG3 wedges on Tuesday before the competition. Ultimately, he switched to 54- and 60-degree MG3 wedges for the tournament, kicking the Vokey wedges out of the starting lineup. (McIlroy uses only three wedges, which puts him in the minority on the PGA Tour.)
What came to light was that McIlroy has been working with TaylorMade on a custom “RM Grind†over the past seven months. During his three-tournament absence following the Masters, McIlroy spent ample time getting comfortable with the new wedges so he could use them in tournament play this week.
McIlroy described the new wedges as being inspired by his old Nike wedges. Certain elements of this new wedge, such as the sole, are familiar to McIlroy, so he doesn’t anticipate much trouble acclimating to these MG3s.
Noted clubmaker Mike Taylor – who developed McIlroy’s old Nike wedges – came up with the type of grind that McIlroy is now using in his TaylorMade wedges. The grind is known for its versatility in different conditions.
“I think that Mike Taylor grind is good for all conditions,†McIlroy told a few media members at Quail Hollow. “It’s sort of one where, if you go to the British Open it could be good, and if you go somewhere like Oak Hill in a couple weeks – it could be soft (conditions) – it could be good there, too. It’s quite a versatile (grind), where some of the other soles are more specialized for real tight (grass), or the wide one that’s better for Bermuda, or whatever it is. It’s nice to have options.â€
McIlroy enjoyed a nice week around the greens as he gained more than two strokes on the field.
It’s interesting to see McIlroy now go back to a full TaylorMade bag, even with the ability to add a few non-TaylorMade clubs to the mix. This is a substantial amount of gear tinkering for any player, let alone for a man who finished 2022 as the No. 1 player in the world. He ended last year with a string of seven consecutive top-eight finishes, including two wins, and he played well in all four majors. From the outside, it’s reasonable to question why his setup has become so unsettled since then.
Are these changes building toward a turnaround, or is this going to be a lost year of sorts?
Either way, the answer will be a major storyline throughout the summer.
Sean Fairholm
