After spending part of his Christmas holidays testing a wide range of new equipment, following Nike Golf’s recent exit from the equipment business, Rory McIlroy has unveiled a whole new set of clubs for the new year, which includes no fewer that three different brands.
McIlroy said that he had no plans to sign a new equipment contract with one particular brand, and he looks to have kept his word, according to a report from NoLayingUp.com, which said that the world No.3 will be using Callaway woods (the new GBB Epic Sub Zero) and Callaway irons (Apex MB), an Odyssey putter, and Titleist wedges (Vokey SM6) when he tees it up at the BMW South African Open on January 12. And in a surprise move, he will also put Titleist’s new Pro V1x into play.
While the club changes are not a surprise – McIlroy had experimented with TaylorMade’s M2 driver and a Titleist putter in events towards the end of the season – the switch to a Titleist ball caught some observers on the hop, as McIlroy had hinted that he was keen to continue using Nike’s RZN Tour Platinum, as he had a three-year supply at home and was happy with its performance. However, the switch of driver led to a change of heart.
Explaining his desision, McIlroy said: “I want to play the new ProV1x ball and I know the Callaway Epic driver works the best with it,” McIlroy said. “I also know my Nike irons don’t work as well with the Titleist ball because of the groove format. Too spinny, and a loss of distance.”