Equipment

TOUR REPORT: Henrik Stenson goes DEEP on his Callaway Legacy Black irons from 2013

Published

4 years ago

Mar 18, 2022

If you love Florida golf, I have sad news to report: This week is the finale of the four-week long Florida Swing on the PGA Tour. What started in Palm Beach Gardens for the Honda Classic in February ends with the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor this week.

Now for the good news: We have an awesome Tour Report from the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort this week.

What makes it so great? Well, for one, I finally tracked down Henrik Stenson for a deep dive into his Callaway Legacy Black irons that he’s been playing since 2013. I had so many questions for him about the irons that needed answers, and I finally got them.

Also, world long driver Maurice Allen stunned us with some truly incredible irons and wedges, Zach Johnson revealed new unreleased irons, and Tommy “2 Gloves” Gainey thrills us with his unique putter.

Let’s get into this week’s Tour Report where we send off the Florida Swing in style.

Cam Smith speaks on his Players Championship winning gear

Before we get into the gear from this week, we have a bit of news about the winning gear from last week. Cam Smith, the 2022 Players Champion, joined our “Two Guys Talkin Golf” podcast to talk about his equipment, including his blacked-out T100 irons.

While I do suggest listening to the entire podcast, Smith’s appearance comes in the last 12 minutes of the episode (around the 45-minute mark). Check it out on SoundCloud below.

Zach Johnson reveals all new PXG irons

PXG staffer and two-time major champion Zach Johnson came to the 2022 Valspar Championship with brand new, unreleased PXG “Black Label Elite 0311T Gen5” irons. From the looks of things, it appears that the back cavity features a multi-material construction, presumably to raise forgiveness on off-center strikes based on the different-colored material on the toe and heel sections.

If I had to guess, I’d say the silver sections are made of heavier Tungsten to shift weight toward the perimeter, but since PXG hasn’t yet spoken publicly about the irons, that’s all just speculation.

To see what GolfWRX forum members are saying about the new irons, check out the comment thread here.

Tommy “2 Gloves” Gainey is using a rarely seen putter

Mr. Two Gloves doesn’t do things the way most pro golfers do. He doesn’t have a cookie cutter swing that hits perfect planes, he wears two gloves, and he also uses a putter that, if memory serves, no other PGA Tour player uses.

Since at least 2015, Gainey has employed an Odyssey Backstyrke Blade putter that was released to the public back in 2010. Being that the shaft enters the club head in a uniquely rearward position, the design helps put golfers’ hands into a forward press position that encourages hitting up on the golf ball. It also provides an unimpeded look at the club face for easier alignment.

Obviously, the Backstryke is far from traditional looking so most golfers haven’t given it a chance. 2 Gloves is not a traditional golfer, though, and the Backstryke has remained in his bag all these years.

Check out Tommy Gainey’s full 2022 WITB here.

Henrik Stenson speaks on his Callaway Legacy Black irons

Since 2013, Stenson has used Callaway Legacy Black irons that were a limited release in 2013 and were never available in North American markets. Stenson’s longtime affair with the irons, and their ultra-limited availability, has made the Legacy Black irons certified classics.

It’s fascinating to me that Stenson has used the same model irons for 9 years now, so I was excited to finally have the chance to speak with him in-depth about them.

Our full Q&A with Stenson is over on PGATOUR.com, but here’s a few interesting snippets from the talk:

“I came off the U.S. Open in 2013, and I hit too many fliers at Merion. My caddie Gareth [Lord] at the time walks into Callaway and asks them to give us some options that don’t fly too much out of the rough, and the boys in Europe built up the Legacy Black. When the irons showed up, they felt great and looked good, and I didn’t hit too many fliers with them. They’ve been in the bag ever since…

“Callaway comes out with some good looking irons every year. It’s just been, I guess I’m a little old school. I know what works for me and I like the look of that. We don’t really have much of an off-season. It’s not like we have two or three months at home to test new stuff. That’s probably the one thing in the bag that it’s like, OK that definitely stays. When they come out with new wedges, we put them in and test them, and new fairway woods even.”

Tommy Fleetwood’s bag tag

Honestly, not much needs to be said about Fleetwood’s TaylorMade bag tag. It’s simply glorious, and I wanted everyone to see it.

Although, he did recently shave his beard after being in a bad mood, so the bag tag may need an update unless he plans on growing it back out.

Sam lets the traditional gap wedge Burn

Valspar’s defending champion made a very interesting wedge switch in the off-season that could be part of a new wave of equipment choices on Tour.

Recently, we saw Dylan Frittelli start using a 1-of-1 Callaway Apex TCB iron for his sand wedge instead of using a traditional wedge shape like most golfers do.

Burns has prescribed to a similar tactic by replacing his Callaway Jaws MD5 50-degree wedge with an “Attack Wedge” that’s part of the Apex TCB set. After noticing his wedge game from 100-150 yards needed some improvement, Burns realized he needed a more forgiving option than his traditional blade wedge to clean up his distance control.

That leaves us normal golfers to answer the question, “Why do we use less-forgiving traditional wedges instead of wedges that are part of the iron set?”

I think it’s time for all of us to do some wedge testing to figure out that answer for ourselves.

For the full story on Burns’ wedge switch, check it out here on PGATOUR.com.

Are these the coolest irons and wedges you’ve ever seen?

World long driver Maurice Allen showed up to the Valspar Pro-Am with a set of absolute stunners for his irons and wedges.

The angular surface and copper rainbow finish gives these Itobori clubs a staggering level of bag appeal. For those who may not know, Itobori custom golf clubs are designed by Mayuki Takai, based in Nagoya, Japan.

Allen is bagging the company’s Cavity Irons, but there’s a slew of different models as per the Itobori website.

We haven’t spoken just yet, but my promise to you is that we will get Maurice Allen on the TG2 podcast to speak on how he got a hold of these gorgeous irons, how they feel, and how they perform. The world needs to know.

And with that, we close out the final Tour Report from the Florida Swing in 2022. We’ll be back next week in Austin, Texas for the 2022 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Get your match play brackets ready for golf’s version of March Madness.

Check out all of our photos from the 2022 Valspar Championship here.

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Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

2 Comments

Pingback: TOUR REPORT: Adam Scott’s latest club switch, and a 5-wood from 12 years ago – GolfWRX
HR Fernández

Mar 20, 2022 at 11:26 am

Reading Stenson’s irons story, among others of the same, only tells me that OEM’s and fitters are full of it. All they want is for you to buy new equipment every year, and in reality, it won’t be much different than your current setup.

Unless you are a tour player and you wear out your grooves chances are your clubs are going to outlive you.

Save your money, and if you buy a new set of clubs is because you want to, not because some jebroni is trying to get you to spend money on equipment which will do nothing for you.

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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.