Equipment

McIlroy to make equipment tweaks for U.S. Open

Published

10 years ago

Jun 9, 2014

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.

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.”

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

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Whats in the Bag

Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)

Published

11 hours ago

May 3, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Kris Kim what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. More photos from the event here.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

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Equipment

Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons

Published

16 hours ago

May 3, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.

TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.

TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.

Can you see where this is going?

Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”

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TaylorMade PUDI

TaylorMade PUDI technology cutaway (via TaylorMade)

Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.

In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.

TaylorMade PDHY

TaylorMade PDHY tech cutaway (via TaylorMade).

Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.

Club Junkie’s take

Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.

For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.

PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?

TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:

PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family

Pricing, specs, and availability

Price: $249.99

At retail: Now

Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)

Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)

PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed

PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

Published

17 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Gianni Magliocco

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 Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

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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