Rory McIlroy’s TaylorMade setup has had yet another tweak as he gets ready for Oakmont’s toughest test.
Rory McIlroy has made a significant change to his equipment setup as he plans his assault on winning a long overdue second US Open title.
The Northern Irishman has put the brand’s Qi35 driver and 3-wood back in play having trialled them briefly at the Arnold Palmer Invitational before opting to keep the Qi10 models in the bag for the Augusta showpiece.
But now he has returned to TaylorMade’s newest version, just three weeks after the drama at the PGA Championship which led to McIlroy having to take his gamer out of play after the USGA ruled it to be non-conforming.
But he teed up at the RBC Canadian Open – the World No.2’s final preparation before heading to Oakmont – with the tour-only ‘Dot’ version of the Qi35, which features the new Ventus Black VeloCore+ 6x shaft.
What’s interesting, though, is that his shaft measures 44⅝ inches – almost an inch shorter than his previous setup.
After the first round at TPC Toronto, McIlroy said: “It was my first outing with my new driver, and I felt like it went pretty well.
“I hit some drives that I like, so that was encouraging. Overall I’m still trying to work on some things, but I’m OK with where everything is.”
He added: “It’s hard with the driver. The one I had been playing with previously, when I missed with it, I was a little bit left. Then my miss with this one is a little bit right. It’s just trying to figure that out and manage it a little bit.
“It’s a nice feeling to get up the middle of the fairway and fully release it and know it’s not going to go left on you.”
Rory McIlroy uses a TaylorMade Qi35 driver with a Fujikura Ventus VeloCore+ Black 6X shaft
McIlroy – who currently averages 319.3 yards to sit third in Driving Distance on the PGA Tour so far this season, but is 170th in Driving Accuracy – will be hoping for an impact as immediate as when he changed his ball in January.
The four-time major champion opened his season at Pebble Beach for the Pro-Am, and the campaign could not have got off to a better start when he aced the par-3 15th at Spyglass Hill during the first round.
That switch all came about when he was “messing around at The Grove”. (That’s NBA legend Michael Jordan’s golf course in Florida, by the way, not the fancy resort near London.)
“I just started to hit some chips with the TP5 instead of the TP5x and I really loved how I felt,” McIlroy said at the time.
“I hadn’t really tested the 2024 TP5, and I loved how it was reacting around the greens. And then I started hitting some 60, 70-yard shots with it, and it was coming off [with] much lower launch, but spinnier.”
A self-confessed equipment geek, this sent McIlroy into a testing spiral.
“I just did some testing with [the 2024 TP5] and compared it to the TP5x,” he explained. “I used a 2019 TP5, and the difference between a 2019 TP5 and a 2019 TP5x was a lot in terms of the spin rates and the launch angles.
“[The 2024 TP5] seems to launch probably a degree lower for me, but the spin rate’s very, very similar, which I really like.”
As for why he change his gear in such a high-profile event, he explained: “I thought, I’ve got four rounds this week, no cut, may as well give it a go and see how it goes.
“I played 18 at Pebble on Tuesday, played 18 at Cypress [Point on Wednesday] with it and obviously played [at Spyglass Hill on Thursday].
“It’s been really, really good.”
TaylorMade’s premium golf balls that exhibit outstanding short-game spin and control
Best short-game performance TaylorMade golf balls
Pros & Cons Specs Features
Pros Excellent short-game spin and controlExtremely soft feel and incredibly responsiveLower and more penetrating ball flight than the previous modelTour approval being in the bags of some of the biggest stars in golf Cons Not the most durable urethane cover Construction 5-piece Cover Urethane Dimples 322 Feel Soft Flight High Long game spin Low Short game spin High Colour options Alternative models TP5 Pix; TP5 Stripe; TP5 MySymbol New seamless tour flight dimple patternSpeed-layer systemHigh-flex material
McIlroy will head to Oakmont on the back of six straight top-10 finishes at the US Open, including being runner-up both last year and in 2023.
About the author
News editor and writer. Probably entertainer third.
He is a keen golfer who claims to play off 12 and enjoys traveling the world to try new courses. His three favorites are Royal North Devon, the Old Course at St Andrews, and Royal Portrush – with special mentions for Okehampton and Bude & North Cornwall, where he first fell in love with the game.
He uses a combination of Ping, TaylorMade and Callaway gear, and once bought the Nike SQ driver which he absolutely did not immediately regret.
