Equipment

13 Revealing Photos from the 2016 WGC-Dell Match Play

Published

10 years ago

Mar 25, 2016

GolfWRX was live this week from the 2016 WGC-Dell Match Play at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. If you missed any of the photos form this week, make sure to browse the galleries below:

Monday’s photos
Tuesday’s photos

The bracket-style format of the WGC-Dell Match Play is reminiscent of the NCAA March Madness tournament, which is currently being played — the only difference being that most people understand how the format of March Madness works. If you want to read up on the rules for the Dell Match Play, check them out here.

My job isn’t to explain formatting groups and teams, however, it’s to reveal photos. So please, allow me do my job. As such, we begin Revealing Photos: Confusing Match Play Bracket Style Events.

All squared up

All you need to learn to putt well is two parallel alignment rods, 10 golf tees, and a putter with squares on it. See, golf is easy.

Don’t be such a square. Just try it.

I promise, it won’t be like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

I’ll see you on the practice green. Be there or be square.

How do you know you’re at a WORLD Golf Championship?

Yardage signs are also in metric.

Adam Scott settles (maybe) on a driver

It’s been a long road for Adam Scott and his driver. He’s gone from a Titleist 915D5 — a driver basically made specifically for him — to a D3, then to a D2. We may have a winner, since he won the Honda Classic and the WGC-Cadillac Championship back-to-back after making the switch to a D2, the most forgiving driver of the bunch.

Scott Piercy’s WITB is heavier than most

I won’t declare him the lead tape king as to offend Phil Mickelson, but he certainly uses a hefty amount of the stuff. Also, he has this Scotty Cameron Tour Only putter as his “backup.” How do I know it’s his backup? Well…

Check out Piercy’s full WITB from this week here.

Kevin Kisner’s “In-N-Out” Great Big Bertha

A fair share of Callaway Tour staffers have two weights in their Great Big Bertha drivers, opposed to the one sliding weight that’s offered in the stock versions. And according to this forum member, Tour reps have a code name for the additional-weight setups.

I’ll never be able to look at a Great Big Bertha driver again without getting hungry.

Rory puts a Nike Vapor Fly Pro 2-iron in the bag

He said he carries it “about 260 yards,” and generates more ball speed with it than some PGA Tour players do with their driver. Don’t ever change, Rory.

“Taking dead aim”

Of course, this sculpture quotes one of the most influential, storied and respected golf instructors ever, Harvey Penick, who also authored the Little Red Book. If you haven’t read it, drop everything and pick up a copy now.

Penick started his career in the golf world as a caddie at the age of 8 at none other than Austin Country Club. He later became the head professional at the club, and taught there for the rest of his life. His spirit stands strong on the premises.

Above is a life-size statue of Penick standing behind Tom Kite, one of his former students, who is now in the World Golf Hall of Fame (2004). Penick was also inducted into the hall-of-fame in 2002, seven years after his death.

And “taking dead aim” is no joke at Austin CC.

Where do you even aim?

Sorry, Harvey. I’m going with the “hit-and-hope” approach instead.

G-mac’s… uh… extension cord?

My best guess is that this is one of the brown extension cords taped together and being used as a training aid.

Maybe he’s working on his extension?

Wanna see a rumor start?

Bubba Watson is talking to Tour Reps from PXG in the photo above. Boom. Rumor started.

Hey, Michael. I have mac-n-cheese in the microwave…

Fork or spoon?

Jordan Spieth: Master of the greens and mac & cheese. #ThisIsSportsCenter https://t.co/nHmRivSYp0

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 16, 2016

Instant classic.

P. Reed’s lob wedge saga ends

Patrick Reed has been struggling to find a lob wedge. The last few weeks, he’s been spotted testing Bettinardi, Callaway and Titleist wedges. It appears the Titleist Vokey Prototype T-Grind has won out… for now.

Last week, I joked that Reed might be a WRX member due to his frequent equipment changes. But maybe I was right. Check out what’s in his bag this week.

A PXG 3-iron with a UST Mamiya ProForce V2 100X hybrid shaft.

What’s your forum name, P-Reed?

Shouts to Sweden

David Lingmerth’s putter pays homage to Sweden’s national Men’s Hockey team, also known as Tre Kronor, or “three crowns” in Swedish.

His putter also shows off a new logo from Ping, which we’ve also spotted on Bubba Watson’s putter. Keep a look out for what that’s all about.

Why is Edel’s new putter called “The Brick”?

Oh, nevermind.

Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

Published

14 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Prototype (50-SB09), TaylorMade MG5 (56-HB12, 60-LV07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400

Putter: TaylorMade TP Juno

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Christiaan Maas’ clubs here.

Equipment

TaylorMade MySpider Tour and Tour X: More customizable build options now available

Published

14 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

TaylorMade Golf’s MySpider program underwent a substantial overhaul over the last month. Firstly, the company launched the option to customize the Spider ZT model, and now the program has returned with the MySpider Tour and MySpider Tour X.

The revamped page now gives golfers complete control over every visual and functional detail of their putter on the popular Tour and Tour X head, with every cosmetic idea thought of. In MySpider Tour, golfers can choose from four head finishes, 16 paint fill colors, nine Surlyn face insert colors, three aluminum insert options, six sightline configurations, and four hosel options — L-neck, small slant, double bend, center shaft. Six sightline options are available in MySpider Tour, including the optically engineered True Path alignment system. MySpider Tour X gives builders the option of four head finishes, four hosel configurations, and five sightline options, also including True Path alignment.

One of the more interesting features of the new MySpider program is the availability of three distinct face insert options. Along with the usual Surlyn Pure Roll insert trusted by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, which can be customized from nine colors, golfers can now also select firmer options. Two are offered with the black aluminum Pure Roll insert, slightly firmer than the traditional insert, or for the firmest feel, golfers can choose from two colors of milled aluminum inserts.

Another fun addition to the MySpider Tour is the ability to use the “Tommy Sightline.” The custom alignment aid design, which was first drawn onto Tommy Fleetwood’s putter by PGA Tour Rep James Holley, is based on the milled sightline on his Spider ZT head. There are five shorter lines on the left and right of a longer central line serving as the traditional short line alignment aid.

See below for the full specifications sheet for MySpider Tour and Tour X:

MySpider Tour

MySpider Tour X

Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

17 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.