Equipment

GolfWRX Deep Dive: XXIO’s 13 Series

Published

2 years ago

Jul 5, 2024

What’s the most well-respected, high-quality brand of golf equipment not frequently played by PGA Tour pros? If you ask a few of your local fitters, there’s a good chance they’ll respond “XXIO.” (That said, there may be some variety in the pronunciation…more on that later)

Male professional golfers don’t play XXIO’s clubs because they’re not supposed to, which is to say, the majority of the company’s clubs are not designed for them. The average driver clubhead speed on the PGA Tour is more than 115 mph. XXIO’s 13 lineup of metals and irons is designed for players who swing their drivers at less than 100 mph. From a design perspective, it’s a completely different equation for a completely different set of needs.

Lightweight, forgiving, and easy to launch are the watchwords for XXIO’s 13 Series. And if you’re not swinging your driver more than 100 mph, your golf game will thank you for learning more about the series in this conversation with Ryan Polanco, General Manager, XXIO.

Check out the full discussion below.

GolfWRX: Before digging into the specifics of the XXIO 13 lineup, can you settle a debate within the golf community? How do you pronounce “XXIO”?

RP: (zek) – Like “how the heck are these clubs so light and easy to swing.” (si) – Like “yes” in Español. And (oh) – like, “Oh that ball went a long way’. (zek-si-oh)

GolfWRX: For the average consumer who may have heard of XXIO but not know much more about the brand generally, how would you describe the company’s product offerings and the space XXIO occupies in the golf equipment world? Who generally plays XXIO clubs?

RP: We focus on making the best lightweight and easy-to-swing golf clubs for moderate-swing speed players (below 100 MPH).

From a product perspective, nearly every female golfer and the majority of men are perfect candidates for XXIO golf clubs. We have some of the best ladies’ clubs out there because we focus our engineering on slower swing speeds, and that requires a very different approach than every other club manufacturer out there. We also have incredible men’s clubs because most men fall into the moderate swing speed category as well.

GolfWRX: Digging into the XXIO 13 lineup. Can you briefly describe what unites the series as a whole, what XXIO is offering golfers the 13 lineup of driver, woods, hybrids, and irons?

RP: The big thing with XXIO 13 is that this is the 13th generation of lightweight golf clubs, so our engineers focused on making these clubs easier to swing in addition to being lightweight. Previous technologies like Weight Plus and new ones that focus on enhanced COR: New Bi-Flex Face, L-Groove irons, and enhanced aerodynamics (new ActivWing) are what unite this 13th generation of XXIO golf clubs.

GolfWRX: XXIO irons have historically been excellent performers in the game improvement space. What can you tell us about the XXIO 13 irons?

RP: The enhanced Rebound Frame technology in the Irons helps to increase ball speed (especially on shots struck lower on the face) by utilizing alternating zones of rigid and flexible sections. New for XXIO 13, we have internal grooves cut in the heel and toe to save mass and create greater flexibility for more ball speed, which previous generations did not include. These improvements help to increase COR in the center and lower portion of the face. Additionally, these irons feature the same face material we use in our fan-favorite driver to help with ball speed.

GolfWRX: Similarly, for years, we’ve seen XXIO’s drivers as a fitter favorite in the lightweight category. Can you discuss how the XXIO 13 driver continues this trend?

RP: Yes, the XXIO driver is normally most golfers’ introduction to XXIO because they perform so well and are generally much different from the golfer’s gamer during a fitting. New for XXIO 13 is a technology called BiFlex Face which helps to expand the sweet spot, while an all-new ActivWing helps golfers hit the sweet spot more often; something many golfers will benefit from. The BiFlex Face and ActivWing technologies work together to give XXIO 13 golfers better control of their clubface, more ball speed off the face, and more forgiveness on mishits.

GolfWRX: Finally, in terms of fairway woods and hybrids, what is the XXIO 13 lineup bringing to the table?

RP: Technology-wise, BiFlex Face carries from the driver into the fairway woods for an expanded sweet spot. Our Canon Sole has been upgraded as well. Canon Sole is a floating weight pad that optimizes launch and distance, while also allowing space for improved face flex, which is especially helpful for shots struck lower on the face (a common mishit for golfers with moderate swing speeds).

GolfWRX: Among golfers who play XXIO clubs, it seems like many have been fit into driver-through-irons sets. What have you seen in terms of set makeup for golfers who go “XXIO 13” in driver-through irons? (number of fairway woods, hybrids, lofts, etc)

RP: Yes, that is normally the case. Typically, we will see golfers dive into the driver first and then continue to add clubs until they have a full bag once they experience the benefits of XXIO. Once you have a lightweight and easy-to-swing driver, having heavier, stiffer clubs through the rest of your bag just feels so different. The lofts and combinations will vary, but a driver, three fairway woods, a hybrid, and five or six irons are a common setup in many bags.

Learn more about XXIO’s 13 Series here and on XXIO’s website.

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.