Equipment

GolfWRX Early Look: New True Temper Project X IO, U, LS, and Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Spinner shafts

Published

6 years ago

Sep 11, 2020

It’s without question that True Temper Sports holds the No. 1 spot for steel shafts with a, well, steel grip. Whenever I do weekly WITBs, I type “Project X” and “True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue” to the point of arthritis.

Our resident tour photographer snapped some pics of True Temper’s latest offerings—the Project X LS, IO, U and Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 “Spinner” shafts.

For more information, and to add to what our Ryan Barath wrote about the PX LS back in June, I spoke with True Temper’s Product Marketing Coordinator Keenan Phillips, and this is the intel he shared.

Project X LS

“Low Spin” Yes, this shaft is for the player who generates a lot of spin and launch. Not for the faint of heart, it was designed to parallel the Tour Issue X7 but for the PX player.

Rival comparisons would KBS C-Taper, KBS $Taper, X7, and a few others. The point is, if you are looking to find some height, look to the LZ, if you want to knock it down, the LS is your whip.

From Project X

“Project X LS started as an engineering concept to create a shaft to best suit the increasingly stronger golfer. The new era of elite-level golfers are stronger, more athletic and faster than ever, and because of this, they naturally create more launch and spin. With this in mind, we tasked our engineers with one thing—to create the lowest launching and spinning steel golf shaft on the market. The result was a shaft that launched a degree lower and spun up to 500 rpm less than its predecessor.

“Project X LS (Low Spin) is the next evolution of the original Project X. It features an ultra-stable and stiff design that minimizes spin while providing a tight feel to keep up with even the strongest swingers on Tour. LS also features a unique brushed chrome finish that reduces glare and gives Project X LS a distinct look.”

Project X IO

If you read the info on the website, you may get the impression that the IO rivals Dynamic Gold’s AMT in certain aspects. Yes and no. From a performance standpoint, maybe, but the way in is a bit different. Instead of adjusting weight up and down the set to achieve performance, the IO dials in stiffness areas across the set to get what you want. The popular PXi shaft was the foundation for the IO which gave PX players a lighter option but still maintaining the preferred flight windows.

For example, if we were comparing this to the Fujikura Ventus line, the 5.5 (105 grams) IO plays like the Red, 6.0 (110 grams), like the Blue, and the 6.5 (115 grams) like the Black. Simple enough.

Another thing to note, this shaft wasn’t designed as a “Tour part.” You may see some a couple sneak out there but not many—not the spirit of the design.

From Project X:

“The new Project X IO was born from the concept that not all golfers need the same thing from a shaft. While the stronger players require launch and spin reduction to control their ball, many golfers need more launch and spin to help maximize their distances.”

“Project X IO takes the DNA of the popular PXi shaft and evolves it by having each shaft flex designed with a specific weight and trajectory progression in mind. As Project X IO increases in flex, it gets 5g heavier and is geometrically modified to launch lower…Project X IO is ideal for players who love the stability of Project X but need an easier to load shaft profile and are looking for a lighter weight option.”

Project X U

Yes, it’s a utility shaft, but for fitters and builders, it’s a breath of fresh air. With utility irons becoming more and more popular across the board, builders face difficulty finding a lighter weight steel option that gives players not only the flight they want but something that doesn’t feel like it comes from another planet.

Project X U was engineered to solve both of those issues. Now players can have a steel shaft in their utility iron that optimizes speed and maintains a penetrating ball flight. Once again, PXi was the way into this, and the engineers have taken it the next step to give every player an option.

From Project X:

“Utility irons and hybrids are designed to perform differently than a traditional iron but are often paired with shafts designed for traditional irons. The new Project X Utility (U) was specifically crafted to work with utility and hybrid heads.

“The Project X team of engineers looked at what specific characteristics were needed to optimize utility club performance. They started with a lightweight design in all flexes to maintain clubhead speed while still providing the consistency of steel. As shaft flex gets stiffer…U utilizes varying geometrics to lower launch—creating the optimized launch for each flex.”

Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Spinner

Before True Temper came out with wedge-specific S400 shafts, tour builders used to use 8-iron shafts for wedges to maintain weight and add some feel in the tip section, which in turn added spin. The longer tip section was a common sight in bags and will become more popular with this release. True Temper already dominates the wedge portion of bags, but having the familiar feel of the S400 with a bit more play at the bottom will get traction on tour quickly, especially in the 58- 64-degree neighborhood.

At 128 grams and a 37.5-inch raw point, the Spinner will fit right into the TT line up like its been there for 30 years. In a sense, it has, but now builders don’t have to steal 8-iron shafts to get it done.

Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

Published

4 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

4 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

7 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.