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Mickelson brings 8-year-old Callaway prototype hybrid to Memphis

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Update (June 9): Mickelson did not use the prototype hybrid in Round 1 of the FedEx St. Jude Classic. 

We spotted Phil Mickelson with a prototype Callaway hybrid in the bag at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. How do we know it’s a prototype? Well, that’s what it says on the sole.

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The hybrid is one of the most nondescript clubs we’ve seen on the PGA Tour from Callaway this year, at least in terms of graphics and features. The logos are old-school and so are the colors: black and silver. There’s also no adjustable hosel, moveable weights, and no carbon fiber as there is in Callaway’s new Epic hybrids.

According to a Callaway representative, there’s a reason for that. The hybrid is a prototype that “played a part in helping (Callaway) develop the shape of (its) current Steelhead XR Hybrid.”

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Maybe the most interesting feature of the club is its extremely rounded sole, which is also reminiscent of Callaway’s X Hot Pro hybrid that was released in 2012 garnered a cult-like following. Its added offset and curvaceous sole made it an incredible performer from the rough for many golfers.

Callaway told GolfWRX in 2012 was that the shape of the X Hot Pro was inspired by a hybrid Mickelson helped design for the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black to combat the deep rough. Based on the graphics on this hybrid, it appears this is that hybrid.

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The loft (22 degrees) is also significantly higher than the loft Mickelson generally uses in a hybrid (he’s often in the 17-19 degree range).

Related: See what GolfWRX Members are saying about Mickelson’s new hybrid. 

In other Mickelson news, the golfer announced earlier this week that he plans to skip the U.S. Open to attend his daughter’s high school graduation, where his daughter, the class president, is scheduled to speak. Golf fans have reacted with a petition to have the high school move its graduation day so Mickelson can play in the only major championship he’s yet to win.

13 Comments

13 Comments

  1. tadlehmann

    Jun 7, 2017 at 9:48 pm

    is it just a weird angle, or is this club as hooded as it appears? The address pic makes me feel like you’d have to lay that wide open just to hit it straight

  2. Blake

    Jun 7, 2017 at 5:20 pm

    Better looking club than most they have put out in the last 4-5 yrs

  3. Xav

    Jun 7, 2017 at 11:32 am

    If it works bag it! We should all aspire to put family ahead of golf. Way to go Phil!

  4. Ty Webb

    Jun 7, 2017 at 8:47 am

    That club is old he put it in play at the 2009 us open at bethpage.

    It’s a us open only club funny he is using it in Memphis if he is not playing in the us open??

    My guess he is and is waiting for an early tee time so he can fly back for the graduation.

    • xjohnx

      Jun 7, 2017 at 9:20 am

      Everything about it definitely fits in that era. Callaway has not used their logo without “golf” for many years.

      • xjohnx

        Jun 7, 2017 at 9:21 am

        I guess I should have said without “golf” or without the chevron below it.

  5. ooffa

    Jun 7, 2017 at 8:19 am

    Phil at a golf tournament. Interesting. He didn’t have to be at movie night with the Family?

    • Charlie

      Jun 7, 2017 at 9:47 am

      This is one of the dumbest comments I have ever seen on GolfWRX

    • Ckplus1

      Jun 7, 2017 at 10:01 am

      Yes , cause being a family man, supporting, proud father is so uncool?!? Ooffa, a little jealous??

      • V

        Jun 7, 2017 at 11:44 am

        No, ooffa just dumb

        • ooffa

          Jun 7, 2017 at 2:46 pm

          I thought you guys would be smart enough to recognize sarcasm. I was wrong, you’re not!

          • Mike

            Jun 8, 2017 at 5:15 pm

            There needs to be a sarcasm font that is universally accepted on this website

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Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

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Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Prototype (50-SB09), TaylorMade MG5 (56-HB12, 60-LV07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400

Putter: TaylorMade TP Juno

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Christiaan Maas’ clubs here.

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Equipment

TaylorMade MySpider Tour and Tour X: More customizable build options now available

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TaylorMade Golf’s MySpider program underwent a substantial overhaul over the last month. Firstly, the company launched the option to customize the Spider ZT model, and now the program has returned with the MySpider Tour and MySpider Tour X.

The revamped page now gives golfers complete control over every visual and functional detail of their putter on the popular Tour and Tour X head, with every cosmetic idea thought of. In MySpider Tour, golfers can choose from four head finishes, 16 paint fill colors, nine Surlyn face insert colors, three aluminum insert options, six sightline configurations, and four hosel options — L-neck, small slant, double bend, center shaft. Six sightline options are available in MySpider Tour, including the optically engineered True Path alignment system. MySpider Tour X gives builders the option of four head finishes, four hosel configurations, and five sightline options, also including True Path alignment.

One of the more interesting features of the new MySpider program is the availability of three distinct face insert options. Along with the usual Surlyn Pure Roll insert trusted by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, which can be customized from nine colors, golfers can now also select firmer options. Two are offered with the black aluminum Pure Roll insert, slightly firmer than the traditional insert, or for the firmest feel, golfers can choose from two colors of milled aluminum inserts.

Another fun addition to the MySpider Tour is the ability to use the “Tommy Sightline.” The custom alignment aid design, which was first drawn onto Tommy Fleetwood’s putter by PGA Tour Rep James Holley, is based on the milled sightline on his Spider ZT head. There are five shorter lines on the left and right of a longer central line serving as the traditional short line alignment aid.

See below for the full specifications sheet for MySpider Tour and Tour X:

MySpider Tour

MySpider Tour X

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Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

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In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.

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