A thrilling Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship ended with Aaron Rai claiming the title via a birdie at the first playoff hole, with the Englishman defeating fellow countryman Tommy Fleetwood in the process.
Picking up the $1.5 million first prize, Rai also saw his ranking jump considerably in the Race to Dubai, as the 30-year-old added yet another title to his growing CV.
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Going from strength to strength, Rai’s golf bag has remained largely the same since his maiden PGA Tour title at the Wyndham Championship in 2024, with his set-up a unique one on the professional circuit.
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Firstly, Rai wears two golf gloves instead of the usual one, due to the fact that, as a kid, he would wear two to keep his hands warm in winter conditions. He did experiment with one, but the inconsistent grip on the club meant he returned to two.
What’s more, Rai also opts to use iron headcovers, something that none of the professionals on the circuits do. His reasoning is because he wants to “appreciate the value” of what he has and ensure he never forgets where he came from.
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There’s plenty to unpack within his set-up, which you can check out the full specs of below…
Driver
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(Image credit: Getty Images)
The first club in Rai’s bag just so happens to be the oldest, with the three-time DP World Tour winner using the TaylorMade M6, a driver that was released to the market back in 2019.
Ranked as the most accurate driver on the PGA Tour, hitting 73.85% of his fairways throughout the 2025 season, Rai has had the M6 in the bag since its release, but did previously switch it out for a TaylorMade SIM2 Max and Titleist GT model on occasions.
Using a Mitsubishi Diamana BB 73 TX shaft, the M6 is a 9° head and, regarding his tees, you can find Rai using a castle tee instead of a usual wooden/plastic one.
Fairway Woods
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TaylorMade produce some of the best fairway woods on the market and, in terms of their most used models, the Qi10 is still wielded by a number of the world’s best players.
The Qi10 fairway wood claimed a 60% win rate on the PGA Tour in 2025 and Rai is one of the many professionals to use the model, with the Englishman having it in a 3-wood and 5-wood configuration in his set-up.
Both Qi10s have Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X shafts, with Rai putting them in the bag since their release early last year.
Hybrid
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Hybrids are becoming less and less popular on Tour, but Rai is one of the players still using a hybrid model, specifically the Titleist GT2 in a 24° head and the D1 SureFit setting.
It’s regarded as one of the best golf hybrids money can buy, and is a recent addition to Rai’s set-up, with the PGA Tour winner using it throughout the majority of 2025.
One of the few non-TaylorMade clubs in his bag, Rai completes the set-up of the GT2 hybrid with a Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White Hybrid 90 TX shaft.
Irons
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The TaylorMade P7TW irons are in the bag of Scottie Scheffler and Fleetwood, who are regarded as two of the best ball strikers on the planet.
Certainly, Rai can put himself into that category, especially as, in Abu Dhabi, he hit 92% of greens in regulation over 72 holes, highlighted by a perfect 18-of-18 on Saturday.
Because of his wood-heavy set-up, Rai has his P7TWs from 5-iron to 9-iron and with True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 shafts.
As mentioned, Rai protects his irons with headcovers, which is rare to see in the professional game. He explains that: “When we (Rai and his dad) used to go out and practice, he used to clean every single groove afterwards with a pin and baby oil, and then to protect the golf clubs he thought it would be good to put iron covers on them.
“I’ve pretty much had iron covers on all my sets ever since, just to kind of appreciate the value of what I have.”
Wedges
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Moving to the scoring section of the bag, with Rai using the older Titleist Vokey SM9s, which still rank as some of the best Titleist wedges on the market.
In terms of the clubs, Rai has a pitching wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge, which are set in 46º, 54º and 60º. They all feature True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 shafts, which are slightly different to those in his irons.
Putter
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The final club in Rai’s bag is his putter, specifically a TaylorMade Spider Tour V, which is ranked among the best TaylorMade putters on the market.
Collin Morikawa put the Tour V in play recently and, in terms of Rai, he made the switch around the time of the British Masters in August, where he was previously using the TaylorMade HydroBlast TP DuPage.
Like his TP DuPage, it has a SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 1.0P grip on it and, at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Rai didn’t rank outside the top 30 for Putting Average the whole week.
Golf Ball
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Away from the clubs, with Rai using the Titleist Pro V1, a model he has had in play since he was around 10-years-old.
Speaking to Titleist about why he uses the Pro V1, he stated: “A lot of the golf courses that we play week in, week out, the margin between hitting great shots and being in bad spots is so, so small. There’s a lot of variables that go into hitting the ball, but certainly when I do my job well, it’s paramount that the ball is in the area that I want it to be.
“I don’t think I’ve hit a shot where the ball hasn’t been where I’ve wanted it to be when I feel like I’ve done my part. Again, the ball plays a massive role in that and that’s the reason that I’ve used the Titleist ball for pretty much the whole time that I’ve played golf and that’s the reason why I’m still using it now.”
Marking the ball, Rai has a black line running around the whole of the circumference, with a black mark next to the Titleist logo. He then finishes it off with four initials, which are his family members. They are L, O, N and S.
Aaron Rai Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship Winning WITBDriver: TaylorMade M6 set at 9° with a Mitsubishi Diamana BB 73 TX shaftFairway Woods: TaylorMade Qi10 3-wood (15°) and 5-wood (18°) with Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X shaftsHybrid: Titleist GT2 set at 24° with a Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White Hybrid 90 TX shaftIrons: TaylorMade P7TW (5-9) with True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 shaftsWedges: Titleist Vokey SM9 (46°, 54°, 60°) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 shaftsPutter: TaylorMade Spider Tour VBall: Titleist Pro V1
