Equipment
Sergio Garcia re-joins TaylorMade; 2021 PGA Championship WITB
Two days before the year’s second major, Sergio Garcia has announced that he is re-joining TaylorMade four years after the Spaniard parted ways with the company.
Garcia left TaylorMade for Callaway in a partnership that lasted two years before becoming a free agent until this week.
The new multi-year agreement with TaylorMade will see the 41-year-old use the brand’s clubs, golf ball, staff bag and represent the company with a logo on the side of his hat.
On his social media accounts, Garcia announced the news by saying:
“Excited to re-join TaylorMade Golf. I’ve always been comfortable with their team, their approach to the game and their equipment, especially their TP5X golf ball. Happy to be back.”
View this post on Instagram
Though he is reportedly testing TaylorMade’s SIM2 Max driver and a new Spider Ex putter, Garcia will play the original SIM and a Scotty Cameron flat-stick at Kiawah Island.
Sergio Garcia 2021 PGA Championship WITB
Driver: TaylorMade SIM (9.0 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Rocket 3 (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
5-wood: TaylorMade SIM (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
Irons: TaylorMade P750 (3-PW)
Shaft: Nippon NS Pro Modus 3 Tour 130 X
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (52), Vokey Wedge Works BV Proto 2020 (58-T)
Shafts: Nippon NS Pro Modus 3 Tour 130 X
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11.5
Ball: TaylorMade 2021 TP5x (#85)
- LIKE100
- LEGIT7
- WOW5
- LOL5
- IDHT1
- FLOP8
- OB2
- SHANK12
Equipment
Inside Collin Morikawa’s recent golf ball, driver, 3-wood, and “Proto” iron changes
As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.
The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.
On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.
Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.
At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.
“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.
Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.
“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.
“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.”
In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.
On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.
According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.
“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.”
See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here.
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
View this post on Instagram
According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
- LIKE21
- LEGIT1
- WOW0
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB1
- SHANK3
Equipment
Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron
It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
- LIKE13
- LEGIT1
- WOW3
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP1
- OB0
- SHANK1
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Things got heated at the Houston Open between Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. Here’s why
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Report: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
-
19th Hole4 days ago
Two star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
-
19th Hole3 days ago
Neal Shipley presser ends in awkward fashion after reporter claims Tiger handed him note on 8th fairway
-
19th Hole2 days ago
Report: LIV Golf identifies latest star name they hope to sign to breakaway tour
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Addiction, spinal fusion, and scam artists – Everything Anthony Kim revealed in candid interview with David Feherty
ericsokp
May 19, 2021 at 4:51 pm
Glad to see somebody being paid by an equipment company actually using that company’s product all the way through the bag … can’t stand seeing tour pro’s touting a company’s products in commercials or on their website, but then they pull the head-covers off their woods to reveal another company’s products. Has always seemed rather dishonest to me (and yes, I know they all do it).
Gdb99
May 19, 2021 at 11:28 pm
Except wedges and putter…
jgpl001
May 19, 2021 at 6:54 am
He never seemed comfortable with anything else
Good to see some love for the P750’s, a really good and underrated iron
Leonardo De Capprio
May 19, 2021 at 1:25 am
Great call Gunter!
Brandon
May 18, 2021 at 10:06 pm
Does anyone on their tour staff play the P7MC?
Tim
May 18, 2021 at 10:28 pm
Matthew Wolfe, Colin Morakowa is using them on the low end of his bag.
Bubbert
May 18, 2021 at 11:20 am
Driver is SIM 2 Max, according to picture.
Gunter Eisenberg
May 18, 2021 at 9:33 am
Facts…Garcia essentially got laid off from TM just after Adidas sold them to a private equity company in 2017. Not he essentially got rehired when TM is sold to another owner (with probably deeper pockets). Coincidence?!!??!
BJ
May 18, 2021 at 8:41 pm
Or just better for him
jojogunne
May 19, 2021 at 4:11 am
Sergio left Taylormade shortly after he won the Masters. I suspect his agent demanded a bigger contract due to the win, and Taylormade balked.