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McIlroy to make equipment tweaks for U.S. Open

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This year’s U.S. Open could be one of the most intriguing of the USGA’s championships this decade, with Pinehurst’s redesigned No. 2 course playing nearly 7600 yards.

No. 2 will play very different than it did when it last held the U.S. Open nine years ago, however, with wider fairways and very little rough around its fairway and greens. That plays into the hands of U.S. Open favorite Rory McIlroy (8-to-1 at the time of publication), and will force many players including McIlroy to rethink their equipment makeups to best navigate one of famed course architect Donald Ross’ signature designs.

While McIlroy initially struggled with his transition to a Nike driver in 2013, he’s driving the ball as long and straight as he ever has since his change to the company’s Covert 2.0 Tour driver in late 2013, which GolfWRX selected as one of the best drivers of 2014 in its Gear Trials: Best Driver list. Throughout the year, he’s expressed how happy he is with the combination of that driver and Nike’s new RZN Black golf ball, calling it the best driver-ball combination that he’s ever used in his career, and his numbers back up those claims.

McIlroy is currently averaging 304.8 yards off the tee — 8th best on the PGA Tour — and is hitting more fairways than he did in his career-best season of 2012 in which he won four times on the PGA Tour including his second major championship title, the 2012 PGA Championship. With the Covert 2.0 Tour, his launch monitor statistics have also improved, as he’s launching the new driver almost a full degree higher and with more than 300 rpm less spin than he did in 2013, according to the PGA Tour’s statistics.

McIlroy told GolfWRX that he plans to play Pinehurst No. 2 more conservatively than he has majors in the past, however, to contend with the course’s firm and fast turtle-backed fairways and greens, which will funnel even the slightest mishits out of position and create awkward angles and touchy pitch shots that will test the field’s precision.

“I’m probably not going to go at a pin all week and hit it at the middle of the green every time,” McIlroy said. “Birdies will be at a premium, so you have to keep the big numbers off the card.”

To better combat the course’s length, McIlroy said he will change his iron and wedge composition. He’ll use his normal pitching wedge, a 47-degree Nike VR Forged, but remove his 52- and 56-degree wedges for a Nike VR Forged 54-degree. That gives him room in his bag to include a VR Pro Blade 3 iron in addition to the VR Pro Blade 4-through-9 irons that he’s used throughout the year.

McIlroy said he plans to use the 3 iron off the tee on a few of Pinehurst’s shorter par 4’s and might need to it reach the green on Pinehurst’s three longest par-3 holes, Nos. 6, 15 and 17, which will play between 202 and 219 yards, depending on how the USGA sets up the course.

When McIlroy won the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth two weeks ago, he made another significant change to his bag, swapping his 59-degree VR Forged Dual Sole wedge for Nike’s radical-looking X3X Toe Sweep wedge, a design that removes nearly the entire heel portion of the wedge’s sole to make open-faced shots with the club easier to play. The club’s biggest advantage, McIlroy said, is that the grind limits the amount of friction on shots from the deep rough, allowing him to make cleaner, more predictable contact.

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Above: Rory McIlroy’s Nike X3X Toe Sweep wedge, photographed at the 2014 Memorial Tournament. 

“I knew going into Wentworth that any time I missed the green I was probably going to be in that deep rough,” McIlroy said. “And two weeks ago at Memorial, although I didn’t play as well as I would have liked, the Toe Sweep wedge was really helpful. It’s going to be a great tool for me on courses with deep rough going forward.”

Since there’s very little rough at Pinehurst No. 2, McIlroy will revert to his 59-degree Nike VR Pro Dual Sole wedge, which he said gives him a little more versatility on straight-faced shots on tight pitching surfaces, but even that wedge is slightly different than the model he used to win major championships in 2011 and 2012.

McIlroy played low-bounce wedges early in his professional career, but the time he has spent working with Nike’s wedge experts at the company’s R&D facility, The Oven, convinced him that he could get more performance from a model with more bounce, especially from the sand.

“I always stayed away from bounce, because I thought I didn’t need it,” McIlroy said. “But the [Nike wedge] has been much better out of bunkers.”

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Click here to see photos of the clubs McIlroy has used throughout the 2014 PGA Tour season.

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11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Ronald Montesano

    Jun 11, 2014 at 7:42 am

    Not all of the greens are turtle-backed. Some are, especially the one John Daly twelve-putts. Ross blended a number of green types into this labor of love. Hopefully the viewing public will pay attention over the next two weeks.

  2. Ben

    Jun 9, 2014 at 4:28 pm

    This article brought to you by Nike Golf Inc.

  3. Ken

    Jun 9, 2014 at 1:30 pm

    Nice article from the Nike marketing team!

  4. MHendon

    Jun 9, 2014 at 11:40 am

    I wouldn’t think a single one of those par 3 lengths would be a 3 iron for Rory unless they’re into a strong wind and if he’s looking for a club to hold those Pinehurst greens from well over 200yds then why not consider a hybrid.

    • steve

      Jun 9, 2014 at 11:57 am

      Rory hits his long irons very high. Also he is not going to put a hybrid in the bag that he hasn’t had serious time with

    • Rep

      Jun 9, 2014 at 1:15 pm

      He’ saying he’s going to be play conservative. So I’m assuming that he’s going to be swinging smoother and easier rather than pummeling his irons. So, may be on a normal course he would use his 5 or 4 iron to the Par 3 distances here, but obviously he wants to hit more controlled shots in there smoothly.

      • Bean

        Jun 9, 2014 at 2:33 pm

        Conservative on club and shot selection, not swing mechanics. Less drivers, centers of greens, etc…

        • Andrew

          Jun 9, 2014 at 10:56 pm

          this. he even said a few years ago that he swings 100% on everything but wedges.

          • EZ

            Jun 10, 2014 at 3:29 am

            Obviously, he’s been advised against swinging 100% on everything, on account of his left knee being almost broken! So, the obvious choice to go for long clubs and swinging easy.

  5. ND Hickman

    Jun 9, 2014 at 10:43 am

    Should be interesting to see how well these changes work for him.

  6. Matt

    Jun 9, 2014 at 10:37 am

    I’d guess most guys will be tweaking their bag for Pinehurst. It’s going to be an interesting test. Can’t wait to watch it.

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Equipment

New Level launches new 480-DB irons, blending performance and forgiveness

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New Level has been making some really good golf equipment since the company started up in 2018. Offering irons that are more geared towards the better player, precision has been a fundamental philosophy for New Level in creating irons and wedges.

The 480 line of irons has been the flagship of the brand, and the newest member of that team is the 480-DB iron that is now open to pre-orders. A new cavity design is what the whole 480 line is about, and the 480-DB takes advantage of that with added ball speed and a larger sweet spot.

For players who require their irons to offer the best feel, rest assured the DB is a fully forged (from 1020 carbon steel) one-piece golf club. No multi-piece, hollow design with this iron.

While the 480-DB is the next generation of the popular 902-OS, New Level didn’t follow the current trend in golf by chasing distance with the new iron. They actually weakened the lofts on the 480-DB with the spec sheet showing a 33-degree 7-iron and 45-degree pitching wedge. These lofts allow the DB to have less offset while still offering consistent distance off the face.

A traditional design was also at the forefront of the new irons to make sure that golfers with an eye for detail can look down at them with confidence that they will perform under any condition.

 

A weight low in the back cavity will allow their master club builders to dial in the perfect weight for the golfer, no matter the length or shaft being used. New Level believes that the new 480-DB is one of the most forgiving one-piece forged irons on the market today. A pre-worn leading edge on the sole should get through the turf quickly and with reduced digging for better turf interaction.

You can pre-order the New Level 480-DB right now on the New Level website.

Pricing specs availability

  • Irons: 4-PW
  • Price: $149/oron
  • Availability: Pre-order

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Snell Golf launches new 2024 Prime lineup of golf balls offering ‘performance for all’

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Snell Golf has today introduced its new 2024 Prime golf ball lineup.

Per Snell, the new lineup focuses on offering urethane technology at an affordable price, while optimizing the golf ball performance based on player swing speed, or a more frequently known data point, 7-iron distance.

Regarding the new release, Dean Snell, owner and CEO, said

“As our company has evolved over the last 9 years we continue to learn more about our customers and what we can do to make golf ball selection easy for the amateur golfer. Sometimes there is just too much data, described as ‘paralysis by analysis,’ leaving many golfers feeling overwhelmed. The new lineup is positioned to make it easy for our players to choose their model based on swing speed, or an even simpler metric of their 7-iron distance. Each model is designed to give those player profiles total overall performance and do so at a price point that makes sense for their game and their wallet.”

Prime 2.0, Prime 3.0, and Prime 4.0 offer three performance levels and three price points to fit golfers of different capabilities.

Prime 2.0

A new, two-piece urethane golf ball ball designed for slower swing speed golfer. A high-speed core is designed to offer players higher spin and higher launch to promote overall carry distance. This works with the urethane cover for higher short-game spin than other two-piece balls on the market, according to the company. The new XV3 Urethane cover aims to provide very soft feel, excellent durability, and superior greenside control.

Price: $24.99 per dozen.

Prime 3.0

Total performance for a wide range of golfers, this is a three-piece urethane golf ball that evolves from the previous “MTB PRIME” and “MTB BLACK” models, designed to provide high ball speed and low long game spin that most players desire. The mantle layer is designed for controlling iron spin to mid-high levels needed to execute every shot in the bag, while the brand’s NEW XV3 Urethane cover aims to provide softer feel, ultimate greenside control, and improved durability.

Price: $32.99 per dozen.

Prime 4.0

Designed for mid to high-swing speed players, this model is a four-piece urethane golf ball designed to provide golfers with leading performance. An ultra fast core and low spin aims to offer superior distance, while the mantle layers work to offer higher short iron spin and optimal launch for long irons. The XV3 Urethane cover provides ultimate greenside control, excellent durability, and a slightly firmer feel on this model.

Price: $34.99 per dozen.

The 2024 Prime 2.0 and Prime 3.0 golf ball models will be offered in a high visibility white and optic yellow immediately, shipping April 22n on SnellGolf.com. The Prime 4.0 will also be on pre-sale in white on April 22, shipping May 1. Yellow 4.0 model expected to be available June 1.

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/22/24): Nike Method Origin Putter “Rors”

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Nike Method Origin Putter “Rors”.

From the seller: (@dlovage): “Nike Method Origin Putter “Rors” NEW 35”: mint in box. Traded it for another putter on here and never even took it out but making space for some new putters. $900 OBO –> $875 OBO.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Nike Method Origin Putter “Rors”

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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