Equipment

The biggest switch Justin Rose made this week…that no one will notice

Published

4 years ago

Mar 5, 2020

Gold medal and a 99. Justin Rose has been in a 2017 TaylorMade TP ball with that stamping (or version) for almost five years. In following this compelling equipment story closely, I started to realize that there are certain markers to look at when a player like Rose switches anything.

Let’s be really clear here, besides Tiger Woods, there is no one on tour as in-tune with his equipment as Rose. I have had conversations with those who work with Rose, and the stories are very Tiger-like. Noticing minor grip size differences, RPM rates in the minutia, wedge flight windows down to the foot. It’s nuts. The reps on tour earn every nickel of their pay when they get a club in Rosey’s bag.

So here we are, the rumors of the switch are all over the place, speculation of the why and how is running wild. Let’s forget about the business side and just deal with the gear for a minute.

Knowing Justin’s equipment as I do, I know that there are things to track when big changes happen. In this case, I noticed new iron shafts, significantly different iron shafts. KBS C-Taper 130X to a Project X 6.5 in 4-PW, 52, and 56.

This tells me two things: He is trying to find controllable spin, and a golf ball switch might be going down.

Being the golf junkie that I am, I watched intently this morning to see if there was a close up of his golf ball. Low and behold, BOOM. As he stood up to his 5-wood chip off of the green I saw exactly what I was looking for: A 2019 TaylorMade TP5 ball.

As I mentioned before, I know exactly how hard it is to get anything in and out of Rose’s bag, let alone his security blanket. The 2017 TP ball is one he ascended to No. 1 with, won a gold medal, and for a good while, was arguably the best iron player in the game (until TW checked back in).

Justin Rose is a player who narrows ball performance down to the difference between a 10-footer and a 6-footer. It’s not a distance thing or even a wind thing. It’s down to his ability to shape all of his shots into a 6-foot bucket. Point is, the ball he had was doing that for him, so to switch into the TP5 ‘19 suggests that it’s not only better, but this ball—in combo with the new irons, shafts, etc.—Rose has found something that feels like home…but only better.

In this case, beyond ball speed increases across the bag (by nature of the new tech), my hunch tells me that he is cutting spin on mishits to tighten dispersion.

We have yet to hear from anyone on the ground or involved with his testing, so stay tuned to see what transpires, but this is the biggest switch he is making in my opinion.

Justin Rose WITB

Driver: TaylorMade SIM (10.5 degrees @ 8.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XTS 70 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XTS 80 TX

5-wood: Cobra SpeedZone Tour (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 X

Irons: TaylorMade P730 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X 6.5

Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 (52, 56 degrees), Titleist Vokey Design Prototype K Grind (60 degrees)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (52, 56), Proto Hi-Rev 135X (60)

Putter: Axis1 Rose
Grip: Flat Cat Svelte

Ball: TaylorMade TP5 ‘19 (No. 1)

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13 Comments

Pw

Mar 7, 2020 at 10:22 pm

Decent article until you said he was arguably the best player in the world until TW checked back in…. that’s hilarious.

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Benny

Mar 7, 2020 at 7:40 am

Mr Coz is onto something. Peter Kostas tweeted PXG and Honma let go their players due to poor results. Not sure if this is true but when these outside OEM’s want to grow they need hungry players ready to fight tooth and nail. Maybe JR was let go from bad play after the first year?

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Petercybulskipp

Mar 6, 2020 at 1:12 pm

Is this not just another TM fluff piece?

Reply Report comment
Matt

Mar 6, 2020 at 10:43 am

If he’s this particular about his equipment it makes one wonder why he would sign a big multi-club contract with a company like Honma that would seem to lack the resources necessary to meet his expectations. I’m honestly shocked there aren’t a lot more equipment free agents on tour, especially those who have plenty of money made and are particular about their equipment.

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Tom Newsted

Mar 6, 2020 at 7:16 am

I do find it interesting that Honma got kicked out so quickly. This is clearly not a sponsorship issue but an issue of Justin wanting the absolute best tools for his game. I just wish I could be as exacting as he is and be able to tell the difference between spin rates and feel. Then again that is one of the reasons he gets paid to play and I still pay to play. The only thing I can say about his gear is those Project X shafts are the same shafts I play and they are fantastic.

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bobbygolf

Mar 6, 2020 at 5:32 am

The difference is so minute it’s more about confidence and what’s going on in his head. I’d like to see a placebo test where the new ball is marked as the old one and vice versa and due to the many factors involved during play, he wouldn’t know the difference.

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Kerk

Mar 6, 2020 at 2:06 am

Honma bits the dust…overpriced anyway….

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Nate

Mar 5, 2020 at 7:13 pm

My hunch, project x spin a little more than c-taper for me = 2019 tp5 spin less and he is just trying to keep the same.

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Curious

Mar 5, 2020 at 3:57 pm

Why does he have a 15 degree 3 wood and a 16 degree 5 wood?

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James

Mar 5, 2020 at 3:32 pm

When is Adam Scott’s 2015 Pro V1 going to be talked about?

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Jafar

Mar 5, 2020 at 2:14 pm

Nice to see the KuroKages, they work really well in fairways

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William Boulton

Mar 5, 2020 at 1:42 pm

What happened to his contract with Honma?
Was it 1 or 2 years?

Reply Report comment
- M.Coz
  
  Mar 6, 2020 at 4:10 am
  
  It is believed that he broke the contract as in mot complying with the agreement which likely just severed him from any monies that he was supposed to be paid. He may have to pay some back if he was paid in advance in some way. Sergio did something similar with Callaway. His problem started with the Callaway ball which went thru some very bad problems with inconsistencies in it’s manufacture some of which became public. As a producer they couldn’t deny the issue and Sergio was able to move on from the ball he was originally hired to promote. how his club deal disappeared could have had something to do with that. Apparently Callaway let me leave without any fighting. Interestingly these two guys 10 years ago was the backbone to the TaylorMade staff and they have both left within a short time of each other and then both backed out of the their next equipment deals in less than 6 months of each other.
  
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Whats in the Bag

Xander Schauffele WITB 2024 (May)

Published

22 hours ago

May 17, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Xander Schauffele what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship.

Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees @10.1)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 70 TX (45.5 inches)

3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80 TX

Check out more in-hand photos of Xander Schauffele’s clubs in the forums.

Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX

Irons: Mizuno MP-20 (3), Callaway Apex TCB ’24 (4-10)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid X100 (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-10)

Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-10S @57), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-K @61)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100