Equipment
Jimmy Walker on using a 42-inch Titleist driver at the SBS Tournament of Champions
Update: Jimmy Walker’s driver and 3-wood specs added.
Driver: Titleist 917D2 (8.5 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver Limited Edition 80X (42 inches, tipped 1.5 inches), D1 Swing Weight
3 Wood: Titleist 917F2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver Limited Edition 80X (41.5 inches)
—
Jimmy Walker had Titleist make him the 42-inch driver that’s in his bag this week at the SBS Tournament of Champions. But before there was that one, there was, well, the “fun” one, as Walker explained at his post-round press conference on Thursday.
“I took it over to my buddy’s house and he wrapped duct tape around it and he hand-sawed it off with a hacksaw,” Walker told the press. “And then we stripped all the tape off it. We didn’t have a shaft cutter. So you’ve got to — with the grip still on — we did it with the grip on, so it doesn’t splinter the shaft. I mean, it was a process. It was actually pretty fun, we just started sawing away on it.
“He goes, ‘How long do you want it?’”
“I said, ‘I want you to cut right here.’ I didn’t know how long it was. I just said, ‘Let’s try this,’ and we went from there. And it was hard to get the weight up. I had to put a lot of lead tape on it to get the weight back up.
“And I built up the grip just a little bit, because you’re a little further down on the shaft. And I have a swing weight machine at home. I lead taped it up and went out and started hitting it.”
Crunching Numbers and Feeling “On”
Walker — who’s leading the tournament after a first-round, bogey-free 65 — shed some interesting light on the way good old-fashioned “feel” and new-fangled number-crunching can shape a pro golfer’s performance these days.
Walker began by talking about his switch to a cut-down, 42-inch driver.
“More fairways is what I’m looking for,” he explained. “And I just feel like I’ve got more control. I feel like the golf swing is better at that length for me, and that’s where I’ve always struggled, the longer the club got.”
Walker’s quest for “more fairways” grew out of a productive consultation he had with Tour stats-guru Mark Broadie.
“You don’t know anything is happening until you get a set of data to look at,” Walker said. “Broadie broke down the year and what he thought, where the anomalies were in the year compared to the first two, three years.”
Walker hadn’t previously worked with Broadie, and his takeway from the “good hour talk” was two-fold: be more aggressive with the flat stick, and get it in the fairway just a little more often.
“If you can hit one more fairway every other round, it’s going to help you out immensely through the course of the year on the strokes gained deal.”
Then Walker turned from hard-headed stat analysis to the crucial intangible of “being on.”
“When you play good, golf feels real easy. I mean, it just does. ‘God, why can’t I do that all the time?’ But you don’t and you can’t. It’s hard.
“But when you’re on and you’re playing well, and your body feels good, you’re in a good frame of mind; you’re there for a reason. It’s because you’re on, and I think you really need to relish that when you’re in that situation and enjoy it. It doesn’t happen a whole lot. I’ve always tried to embrace that and enjoy it. That’s what you’re out here trying to do, is have those chances, and you’ve really got to enjoy it.
“It’s rare you go out and hack it and win a golf tournament. Everybody is too good. You have to be on. I don’t care what anybody says. When you win out here, you’re on.”
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.
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
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.
What’s the story behind Webb Simpson’s custom-stamped irons?
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black...
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Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament. Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura...
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Driver: Titleist GTS3 (10 degrees, D4 SureFit setting) Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana RB 53 S 3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees,...
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Jonah Mytro
Jan 30, 2017 at 9:21 am
I used to his my 3-wood/Mini Driver off the tee for years, never felt 100% confident with the driver..2-years ago, i had a shop cut 2 inches off my driver shaft (JETSPEED) from 44.5 to 42.50″…completely changed my control with no distance loss at all. feel 100% confident with driver at 42.50 length. Told a few of my buddies about it and they did it as well and had the same positive results..I would recommend this to anyone who has issues controlling their driver off the tee…
Luke
Jan 10, 2017 at 12:58 am
I play my driver at 43″ d7. there is no distance loss for me a 8 capper. I can still get it past 260 no worries and my miss hits are defiantly closer to the fairway. I don’t notice the lighter weight after a round or two either
Iambac
Jan 9, 2017 at 5:24 pm
I played a cobra bio cell at 43.5 with a diamana white 70+ gram, I wish I still had it. I’m 6’1″ so it looked goofy as hell, but I was much more accurate, 260-270 yds, which was longer. Contact improved dramatically. I just order a Cobra King f6 with a additional weight, going to play weights in both ports and cut it down to 43″.
Fyearoldgolfer
Jan 9, 2017 at 4:37 pm
Also, if you keep your 44.5 or 45 inch shaft, build up the lower part of your grip to reduce the taper, then grip down for 1/2 of your drives, (7) grip all the way down for maximum control (41 inches) and if you want to let the shaft out, you have 2+ inches to grip up with, (4 par 5’s).
Fyearoldgolfer
Jan 9, 2017 at 4:30 pm
3 inches is about 5 swing weight points, add counter weight for 4 layers of buildup tape, now the club swing weights 9 points light. Keep in mind the head weight is the same to flex the shaft, it will react as a stiffer flex. Most Tour Pro drivers are D3 – D4, he reweighed the head to D1 with lead tape, about 5 swing weights at 42 inches, about 4 – 2 inch lengths of lead tape, unless he used ‘high density’ lead tape, then 3 lengths. More control, higher launch, spin depends on where the weight was added. My self, I prefer to place it on the top of the head, as close to the face as possible, to reduce spin with a higher, more forward CG.
emb
Jan 10, 2017 at 5:17 pm
Cutting down 3″ actually changes swingweight roughly 18 points
http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/44071-swing-weight-factors-in-relation-to-parts/
Aaron Wettstein
Jan 9, 2017 at 3:02 pm
good info here, however, one fact to be discussed, most golfers, non-professionals are playing white and blue tees. 250-260 drive in the fairway is all you need to score, really well. Trust me, i use my 3 wood more than my driver. I have cut my driver down to 43 inches added a bunch of lead tape and hit it well maybe 280. but lead tape falls off all the time. thoughts?
Yep
Jan 9, 2017 at 4:01 pm
Lead tape then duct tape. Jimmys one of the smartest guys out there, I’m sure he’s capable of understanding the physics and science of it. So if he’s doing it, it must be beneficial. I cut two inches off a driver once, just needs a real stiff shaft not to be whippy as all heck, but it’s nice to hit it straight.
Joey5Picks
Jan 17, 2017 at 3:53 pm
Cutting 2″ off makes the shaft play stiffer, not “whippier”.
SoCalSlicer
May 12, 2018 at 6:23 pm
No, you’re cutting 2″ off the butt, which is the strong part of the shaft. You’re losing stiffness.
Steve S
Jan 9, 2017 at 2:58 pm
I’ve tried different lengths..44, 45, 46 and 48. Found that there is no appreciable accuracy difference between 44-46, so I use the 46 since it seems to get me about 5-7 more yards than the 44. The 48 did not help in distance or accuracy. I actually found myself slowing down to make sure I hit the ball. May also be because the head was so light that I lost some “feel” for it during the swing.
Mr. Wedge
Jan 9, 2017 at 11:46 am
Unless you are hitting 8/10 fairways consistently, no amateur should be playing anything longer than 43.5″, period.
Progolfer
Jan 8, 2017 at 5:12 pm
I think having a shorter driver is a great idea, but it should only be in play at events where accuracy is a premium. Kapalua is a course where accuracy off the tee isn’t as important, and right now he’s actually losing strokes in the “Strokes Gained: Off The Tee” category.
Matt
Jan 8, 2017 at 3:10 am
Great article. This bogey golfer is happy with a 910 d2 at 43″ & 13 deg. Drive for show putt for dough.
Emb
Jan 7, 2017 at 8:06 pm
Walker averaging a little over 10
Yards shorter off the tee this week at 290 compared to his average of 301 off the tee last year, and that’s at kapalua where the fairways are wide and ball goes miles. Think he will find the 10 yard loss off the tee will negate any accuracy advantage re: strokes gained driving and we’ll see him back to a 44-45″ driver shortly. Good event to experiment though.
Scott
Jan 7, 2017 at 7:36 pm
This is a really great read. Great posts
Golfbuddy
Jan 7, 2017 at 5:19 pm
Now that’s the kind of innovation that can make a substantial difference. Manufacturers please take note.
NHR
Jan 7, 2017 at 2:15 pm
I have tried this several times. I’m a 53 year old 3 hdcp, and love shorter drivers….until I see how much distance I lose. At 45″ compared to 46 I lose 3-4 mph swing speed, at least 10 yards, and I may hit one more solidly with the shorter driver. Off center hits go farther with the 46″, and accuracy is about the same. It is not the typical response, and it is true only with my driver, an Adams F11 that has a lighter head – 196gm. With an M2 46″ for example I hit it all over the map and shorter than I do with an M1 at 45.5″
Chuck
Jan 7, 2017 at 1:47 pm
GolfWRX readers have been hearing the same thing — a moderated version — from Tom Wishon for years. People who want to hit fairways should be playing 43.5 inch drivers. At least recreational players should be. On Tom’s suggestion, I did just that; built a 43.5 inch TM Jetspeed with a DGLite X100. In fact, for the last ten years, my 3-wood has been a TM 200 Tour “Smoothie” with a DGLite X100. I adore the 3 wood. The driver is a work in progress. Thanks to interchangeable hosel sleeves and lead tape, nothing needs to be permanent. (And there are a lot of quality older-model heads for $25-50.)
If you told me that this year, I would not hit a drive more than 245 yards, but I would hit 90% of fairways, I’d accept it, just to see what my handicap was after a season.
Pingback: 1st-round leader Jimmy Walker finds less is more off the tee | #1 News Source For Teens
mhendon
Jan 7, 2017 at 12:55 pm
When I started playing golf all the way back in 1993 the standard length graphite shaft driver was 44 inches. I’ve experimented with 45″ a few times but keep going back to 44″. I feel like I’m not only more accurate but even a little longer at 44.
JR
Jan 7, 2017 at 9:04 am
Have always contended that drivers were too long and thus hard to control. Yes there was added distance with the length but at what cost to the avg. golfer–the pro’s not so much as they can usually gouge it out and come out ok, the avg. golfer on the other hand is hurt bigtime when in a rough(a real rough, not some of this 1/4″ longer stuff a lot of courses call rough) and has to get out—try some 3″ Bermuda for rough. Anyway, I think around 44 or 43 1/2 is a good length for the avg. player and will continue to build all sets at this length.
MB
Jan 6, 2017 at 9:53 pm
I was on my way to work listing to sirius & Hank Haney today. He went off on JW. saying was a huge mistake on JW cutting shaft length to 42″ he said JW was 26th in field with this setup Hawaii had a lot of wind on 1/5/16.I think Hank was drunk he would not let it go on why thought this was a mistake. Hank is obsessed with length comparing him to Jason day & Dustin Johnson. Jimmy is not short but JD & DJ are different animals Hank is loosing it. He said Short hitter can’t win majors or win on tour? well Jason Duffer is T4th & Fabian Gomez or Jim Herman are not winning long drive competitions.
MB
Jan 6, 2017 at 9:46 pm
I was on my way to work listing to sirius & Hank Haney today. He went off on JW. saying was a huge mistake on JW cutting shaft length to 42″ he said JW was 26th in field with this setup Hawaii had a lot of wind on 1/5/16.I think Hank was drunk he would not let it go on why thought this was a mistake. Hank is obsessed with length comparing him to Jason day & Dustin Johnson. Jimmy is not short but JD & DJ are different animals Hank is loosing it.
SteveID
Jan 6, 2017 at 11:21 pm
Losing*
Swingblade
Jan 7, 2017 at 2:35 pm
Completely agree. Haney likes himself a lot.
Bert
Jan 6, 2017 at 8:02 pm
I liked the read but wanted more information. Cut 4″ off and you lose 24 swing weights (I may be wrong but it’s allot). Now if Titleist made his new driver at 42″ with a standard head, how did they get the weight back. Rat glue, tip weights, or a heavier head; it would be interesting to know. Part of enjoying the game is enjoying tinkering with the tools!
OL
Jan 7, 2017 at 3:26 am
May be he should talk to Dechambeau, this driver must be close to what his 3 iron is lol
Hack
Jan 8, 2017 at 5:39 pm
OL, BBC’s 3 Iron would be 7 iron length so not even close.
Hans
Jan 6, 2017 at 7:19 pm
Not sure what’s the narrative here.
Could be guy goes w very short driver to gain consistency after reviewing stats. Interesting and potentially good.
Could also be guy wins his first major and makes a big equipment change. How many major winners have fallen down that rabbit hole?
mikee
Jan 6, 2017 at 3:52 pm
Last time I checked the game was all about fairways and greens. Zak….why don’t you do a comparison with yourself, and a 5 and 10H player using progressively shorter drivers….start at 46 then down by 1″ to 43″….. the data would be interesting…….just like a short hockey stick (for those of you who play or have played hockey) ….lots more control with the shorter stick.
Uhit
Jan 6, 2017 at 4:58 pm
That is a great idea!
I found, that I gain no additional distance beyond 45″ lenght.
The first time I experienced how important the suited shaft is,
was when I putted a 3 wood shaft (out of curiosity) into my driver, and
made my longest drive (at that time)…
…however, meanwhile I found, that it is very much depending on your swing and technique, what type and lenght of shaft is optimal.
Thus, a comparison would mainly help to get aware of the issue, but (as always) would not replace a individual fitting.
Bishop
Jan 6, 2017 at 3:23 pm
I wonder whether or not this “Experiment” was originally alcohol-induced… Jimmy Walker having a bit too much Johnny Walker..?
Al
Jan 6, 2017 at 8:27 pm
+1
Anthony
Jan 9, 2017 at 4:54 pm
He wouldn’t drink that rubbish, Glen Fiddick at worse case lol…