Equipment

TOUR REPORT: Maverick McNealy explains his “11-iron,” and a 12-year-old 5-wood finally gets replaced

Published

4 years ago

May 27, 2022

Welcome to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas for the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge.

As always, this week’s Tour Report will highlight the most interesting equipment that we spotted on the grounds this week ahead of the event. But first, a quick history lesson…or rather, a quick historical debate.

You may have heard that Colonial Country Club is nicknamed “Hogan’s Alley,” due to his five professional wins at the event (1946, 1947, 1952, 1953 and 1959). The “Hogan’s Alley” name, however, has also been applied to Riviera Country Club, because he won three times on the course in less than 18 months (he won the L.A. Open twice at Riviera in 1947 and 1948, then he won the U.S. Open at Riviera in 1948). There’s a third “Hogan’s Alley,” too. On the 6th hole at Carnoustie, Hogan reportedly split the out of bounds line on the left and the fairway bunker on the right for 4 straight days en route to winning the 1953 Open Championship. That small strip of fairway then became known as “Hogan’s Alley.”

Which one is the real Hogan’s Alley? Unfortunately, that’s not my call to make, so I’ll leave that debate up to the GolfWRX Forum Thread regarding the topic.

Nickname debates aside, let’s get into this week’s Tour Report from Colonial Country Club (a.k.a. Hogan’s Alley?!).

Click here to see all of our photos from the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge.

Ben Hogan’s unbelievable prototypes revealed

Apparently, Ben Hogan wasn’t just a legendary golfer and ball striker, but he was a golf club visionary, too.

On Tuesday at the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge, the Ben Hogan Foundation brought out a number of Hogan’s old personal clubs for PGA Tour players to try on the range. It’s always cool to see the modern players test out clubs that were made well before they were born.

Thanks to Robert Stennett, CEO of the Ben Hogan Foundation, GolfWRX was also granted the opportunity to check out a collection of Hogan’s personal prototypes from the early 1960’s that were previously locked away in a safe.

Hogan’s prototypes reveal that he was well ahead of his time as a club inventor. The five clubs that Stennett showed to GolfWRX included:

A driver made of metal (remember, TaylorMade didn’t come out with their first metalwood until 1979, and Hogan’s prototype was estimated to be made in the early 1960’s!)
A hybrid made of metal (the first “hybrid” as we know it today was released by Cobra in 1998)
A wooden driver with a bore-thru shaft and modern head shape
An extremely lightweight iron with an aluminum head and wave-like grooves
A putter with the shaft entering into the toe section of the putter rather than the heel

These golf clubs are truly one of a kind, and a huge THANK YOU goes out to the Ben Hogan Foundation for the opportunity to see the clubs and share their stories. You can check out our full feature story on the golf clubs over at PGATOUR.com, or click here for the all of the photos in our GolfWRX Forums.

Also, head over to the Ben Hogan Foundation’s website to learn more and get involved.

JT’s dad has an awesome Vokey wedge

Mike Thomas – Justin Thomas’ father and swing coach – can usually be seen walking alongside his son at PGA Tour events carrying around a Titleist Vokey SM6 wedge, which doubles as a walking stick.

In case you haven’t seen up-close photos of the wedge, it’s stamped with notable memories and events that Mike and Justin have shared together over the past few years. Each of the stampings is done by Vokey wedge rep and stamper extraordinaire Aaron Dill.

Dill has another stamp to add: the “2022 PGA Championship,” where JT won his second major championship in a playoff against Will Zalatoris last week.

The wedge is running out of room for stampings, so maybe for the upcoming Father’s Day, JT can gift his dad a fresh Vokey SM9 wedge to act as a blank canvas for future stamps.

Check out all our photos of the wedge here.

Maverick McNealy puts prototype 10 and 11 irons in play

In case you haven’t been following along to this ongoing gear story, Maverick McNealy revealed new Callaway Apex MB prototype irons at the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson a few weeks ago. McNealy and the Callaway team had been working on the prototypes for over a year, and he put the 4-7 irons in play at the Byron Nelson.

He spoke in-depth on the designs with GolfWRX here.

Well, at the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge, we caught up with McNealy, and he’s since filled out the set. Not only did he put the 8 and 9 iron prototypes into the bag, but he’s also using 10 and 11 irons this week.

Unlike the 4-9 irons, which have 17 narrowly spaced grooves, the 10 and 11 irons have 14 grooves that are more widely spaced for lower launch and additional spin/control.

“The 10 and 11 iron is a fun project for us because I almost never chip with a pitching wedge or gap wedge, and if I do it’s a bump and run, so I just want something that’s going to flow straight through from my short irons to my approach irons, or however you want to call them,” McNealy told GolfWRX. “I’ve seen them launch lower with a little bit more spin, which is great for distance control, and they feel just like my irons, which is a pretty exciting project.”

Our full story on the new full bag of Callaway prototypes is over on PGATOUR.com.

Pure bag appeal

Thanks to his copper Cobra King MIM Tour irons and rusted Titleist Vokey SM9 raw wedges, Erik Compton’s bag is one of those that you walk by and just have to do a double take. The irons, specifically, show that even pro golfers use designs with modern cavity back technology through the set; not all of them use blades or ultra-compact CB options.

To figure out which iron style and model may work best for your particular game and preferences, check out GolfWRX’s Best Irons for 2022.

Interestingly, Compton also bags an Axis1 Rose proto putter that was designed for Justin Rose. Speaking with Phil Long from Axis1 on Tuesday, GolfWRX learned that Justin Rose has 44.094 Strokes Gained: Putting in his last 34 measured major championship rounds since switching to his Axis1 Rose putter in 2019. Yeah, that’s pretty strong. No wonder the putter has also caught Compton’s eye.

Erik Compton’s full 2022 WITB at the Charles Schwab Challenge

An update on one of the most interesting WITBs on Tour

In our Tour Report from the 2022 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in March, we highlighted Richard Bland’s especially noteworthy WITB, which included Honma “Rose Proto” short irons with the “Rose” scratched out, and a TaylorMade Burner SuperFast 5-wood (released to retail in 2010).

At the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge this week, we got an update on his setup. Apparently, Bland has finally switched out his 12-year-old 5 wood for a new 21-degree TaylorMade Stealth 7 wood, which he’s equipping with a Fujikura Ventus Red.

And with that, we say goodbye to Fort Worth and the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge. We’ll see you next week at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio for the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.

Click here to see all of our photos from the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge.

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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: Top-30 equipment photos from the 2021-2022 PGA Tour season – GolfWRX
ChipNRun

May 29, 2022 at 7:33 pm

I find it amusing that the 10i and 11i are called prototypes.

Years ago, MacGregor regularly featured the 10i and 11i in several of its 1960s and 1970s iron models.

From 1974-1994, I played with MacGregor MT flatsole blades which contained a 10i rather than a PW. The 10i was great for half and full swings from fairway and rough, but fell short as a PW for touch shots around the green. The sharp leading edge tended to grab at the wrong time.

For greenside, I used either a 7i chip or a SW cut shot (SW had a decent wedge-style flange).

Today, Honma is one of the current manufacturers that offer 10i and 11i.

Honma TR21 X IRONS

CLUB #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11
LOFT 18.0° 20.0° 23.0° 26.0° 30.0° 34.0° 38.0° 43.0° 48.0°

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Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

Published

3 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

3 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

6 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.