Equipment

2020 GolfWRX Holiday Gift Guide: Golf gifts for the Gearhead

Published

6 years ago

Nov 25, 2020

It’s that time of year again, GolfWRX members, the moment we start filling our wish lists with the golf gear we want this holiday season.

The GolfWRX Holiday Gift Guide was created to ensure that our readers give (and hopefully receive) the very best golf gifts on the planet. These gift ideas will suit any budget, and each item was hand-picked by our staff.

In an effort to provide more value and tailored recommendations, we’re presenting our guide as a series this year, targeting “the purist,” “the gearhead,” “the value seeker,” “the golfer looking to get better,” and “the big spender.”

You know the gearhead by his/her tired eyes from scouring the GolfWRX forums late into the night and his penchant for bringing two bags to the course—the gamer set and a bag full of demo clubs and shafts.

Here are our best recommendations for “the gearhead” in your life.

GolfWRX Holiday Essential: Perfect Practice Perfect Putting Mat: $169

In COVID-19 times, more new golfers are taking up the game, more casual players are spending more time on the fairways, and avid golfers, of course, are playing as avidly as ever.

As we all know, practicing putting at home is an important step in honing one’s stroke and distance control. The Perfect Practice Mat’s alignment lines and slope leading to the cup cater to both these needs. And from a feel standpoint, the surface itself feels as good as anything you could roll the rock next to your sofa on. We’re not sure exactly what Crystal Velvet TrueRoll Technology is, but it’s darn nice to putt on.

The other two essential elements of this GolfWRX Essential are the ball return track and the Perfect Putting Mat’s ability to be rolled up for easy storage.

Really, these things check all the boxes, so trade in the carpet and a high-ball glass for something that looks and feels better, and is much more likely to actually improve your putting.

The standard edition, which will run you $169.99, is our recommendation for most spaces, and it will fit comfortably in your living room, office, or man cave.

Buy here.

GolfWRX Holiday Essential: Pinned Golf BlackJack: $199

In the now-competitive market of range finders, a new young company has come onto the scene driven by something we all love: VALUE. Quincy, Massachusetts-based Pinned Golf took the often complicated (and expensive) decision to buy a rangefinder and made it quite easy. The Pinned BlackJack RangeFinder simply does its job. Quick read yardages, slope, yardage lock vibration, and a long charge—the best part is its price point: under $200. In this category, it’s as close to a no-brainer as you’ll find.

This direct-to-consumer idea was cooked up by three young golfers who simply wanted to offer something to the golfing masses that made sense.

Now it must be said that the big companies in this space do it VERY well. Its not a knock on them at all. However, for the player who wants something reliable that won’t break the bank, something that doesn’t require a, “Do I get this now or wait?” decision. John Rowell and his partners at Pinned delivered.

Buy here.

Titleist TSi3 driver: $549

It’s the best driver Titleist has made in 20-plus years. Period. Not only is it long, but it’s also stable and optically pleasing. TSi3 is an impressive driver that’s been met with rave reviews, and one that will hold up for a lot longer than one season. (See our launch piece for more info)

Buy here.

TaylorMade P770 irons: $1,225

The combination of distance, forgiveness, and spin make this iron a must-have for tour players all the way up to your 15 handicap. And if you really wanna go nuts, integrate the P7MC and P7MB into a combo set.

Buy here.

Vokey SM8 WedgeWorks edition

If you want to get the full tour treatment, building an SM8 wedge on WedgeWorks puts Bob Vokey and Aaron Dill at your fingertips. Doesn’t get much better than that for a gearhead.

Buy here.

Fujikura Ventus hybrid shaft: $200

It’s easy to say at this point that the Fujikura Ventus shaft was the go-to shaft on tour and in the hitting bay in 2020. Putting Velocore technology into a hybrid shaft gets that speed and stability even further into your bag.

Buy here.

MEVO+ launch monitor: $1,999

If you want tour data at the tip of your fingers, and you don’t want to mortgage your house to get it, the MEVO+ is a no brainer. Just ask Bubba and Bryson, who utilize the technology every day.

Buy here.

Mitsubishi Chemical MMT iron shafts: $65

OEMs have been trying to get graphite iron shafts right for a long time, but the MMT is the first offering that will truly insert graphite into the conversation for all players. It’s smooth, stable, and with offerings for better players at 105 TX and 125 TX, there are plenty of options to combo them up and build a perfect flighted set.

Buy here.

Wedge fitting with Artisan Golf

Wanna know where Tiger gets his wedges? You can schedule a visit to work with the man himself, Mike Taylor, who not only did all the grinding but has worked with Tiger for the past two decades. Bucket list stuff, don’t you think?

Buy here.

Custom FootJoy Icon shoes

If you really want to walk on the course like a player, then there is no better way than to go to FootJoy.com and build your own custom one-of-a-kind FootJoy Icon. It’s a rabbit hole of leather soles, alligator skin, and a rainbow of colors to really dial you in. There should be a strokes gained stat for just showing up with these.

Buy here.

Logan Olson custom putter

He’s the next Scotty Cameron—Not only is his work impeccable, but in 10 years a Logan Original will carry with it a huge price tag.

Buy here.

TXG fitting with Ian Fraser

Arguably the hottest and fastest-growing fitter in North America, a fitting with Ian Fraser—one of the best fitters in the world and a man who as fit the best pros in the game— at TXG HQ in Toronto will turn your whole bag from good into something singular and irreplaceable.

Buy here.

Equipment

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

Published

2 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.

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Titleist Vokey Proto Wedges 54M, 60T

Published

5 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @Putt4Dough is selling some prototype wedges from Vokey Wedgeworks. These include a 54 degree wedge with the M grind and a 60 degree wedge with a T grind.

From the listing:

(1) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 54M with a Tour Issue DGS400 shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet (logo down). Standard length, lie, and loft. BB&F ferrule. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

(2) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 60T with a KBS Tour 130X shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet. Standard length, lie, and loft. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules.