Equipment
GolfWRX Insider: Europe’s next star Sam Horsfield (WITB)
Sam Horsfield has risen to the top of every class he has played in. From a young standout in the UK system to a dominant player at the University of Florida, and now, after being on tour since 2017, finally catching fire on the European Tour with two wins over that last three weeks.
Yes, there are many young players in the game who have serious potential, but I believe this situation to be different.
Horsfield is not a big kid by any stretch, standing only 5’10” and weighing 170 pounds. As far as physical stature goes, he’s more Rory than Rahm or Bryson. However, he (like Rory) has ridiculous speed naturally and has a swagger about him much like a lot of the Euro players we see at the top today (namely Rory, Rahm, and Tommy Fleetwood).

NEWPORT, WALES – AUGUST 16: Sam Horsfield of England plays his tee shot on the sixth hole during Day four of the Celtic Classic at the Celtic Manor Resort on August 16, 2020 in Newport, Wales. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
The funny thing is, he’s actually two or three years behind schedule, which is odd to say. When he turned pro, Horsfield was a Nike athlete—and immediately they went out of the club business. He was full-bag Nike for his entire career, so he had to find his feet equipment-wise on day one of turning pro. That’s a huge challenge to add to an already stressful and massively difficult time for a young player.
His birdie and eagle counts on the European Tour are off the charts. Being a UK player raised in the U.S., he is already used to playing the bigger ballparks you see in the States—so that the adjustment period will be short.
To me, it’s a foregone conclusion that Sam gets into the top 10 in the OWGR sooner rather than later (currently No. 80). He has that presence about him. My needle these days is the tour reps. Every once in a while they will tell me about a player who just has it, and according to my sources, what Sam has is very special. This kid is the real deal.
Sam Horsfield WITB
Driver: TaylorMade SIM (8 degrees @8.75, 1-degree sleeve)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
- Sam has mega speed. He cruises in tournament play at around 184-185 mph, but in testing, it will get to 190 with little effort.
3-wood: TaylorMade M6 (15 degrees @15.5)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VR 8 X (42.75 inches, D2, tipped 1.5 inches)
5-wood: TaylorMade M6 (18 degrees @18.5)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VR 8 X (42.25 inches, D3, tipped 2 inches)
- As you can see in the metal woods, Sam likes adding loft to the woods to the desired face angle. Like Collin Morikawa, he prefers a look less open then the tour norm.
Irons: TaylorMade P750 (4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C Taper 130X (Std length, 3.5 degrees flat, D4.5 swing weight)
- Sam’s irons are VERY flat vs standard 57.5 degrees in the 5-iron. In regards to the P7TW, like Tommy Fleetwood, they have a similar look and feel to the Nike blades both played coming up and the spin and ball flight with those irons were spot on. Sam also prefers draw-biased clubs (lofted up metal woods) and with the long blade length of the P7TW, he feels the optics help him see that shot.
Wedges: TaylorMade MG Raw (52-9, 56-12 @55-11, 60-9 @59-8)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Black Onyx S400
Putter: Bettinardi Dass BBZero (@33.75 inches)

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

England’s Sam Horsfield on the 6th during day four of the Celtic Classic at Celtic Manor Resort. (Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
Whats in the Bag
Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)
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
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.
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190cc forever
Oct 9, 2020 at 6:20 am
The detail you provide Johnny is just what everyone wants on this site. The more detail the better. Its really interesting to know the specifics, not just the make and model, which seems all too common these days.
Adam
Aug 23, 2020 at 12:38 am
The analysis on different sections of his bag was great. Enjoyable read!