Equipment
Wilson introduces new Duo Soft golf balls, available in matte colors
Wilson is unveiling the industry’s lowest-compression two-piece golf ball and adding some color in the process.
“The industry’s lowest 29-compression golf balls are not only the softest, longest and straightest, but now even longer and more durable,” says Frank Simonutti, Wilson’s Global Director of Golf Ball Innovation.

“With a 3 percent larger core for increased ball velocity and a softer, thinner sodium/zinc ionomer cover for optimal distance and durability, this newly formulated 2-piece golf ball provides low driver spin, exceptional yardage and unparalleled soft feel to the Distance (D) player.”

The Duo Soft balls, which will be available in-store and online November 17, bear a $19.99 price tag for one dozen. In terms of price, the Duo Soft slides in behind Wilson’s premium Staff FG Tour Urethane ($44.99/dozen) and Duo Urethane ($37.99/dozen).

Simonutti also notes company testing shows the new Duo Soft is an industry leader in the two-piece ball market.
“The optimized dimple pattern has reduced dimple depth by 5.7 percent, resulting in higher trajectory and longer distance performance.” These enhancements give DUO Soft the (1) best feel, (2) longest distance, and (3) the lowest spin leading to straightest flight off the tee in testing against all competitive premium 2-piece balls.”

Consumers will be able to pre-order the Duo Soft golf ball– in one of six matte finishes –starting October 30. The balls are available in red, green, yellow, orange, pink, and a women’s matte white.
Whats in the Bag
Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)
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
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
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.
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Vito B
Oct 11, 2017 at 5:57 pm
Interesting. On My Golf Spy, Frank Simonetti says that they tested a large number of different golf balls and there was no more than 4 yards difference in all of them.(except for Aeroburner Soft which was “a lot shorter”). So which is it Mr. Simonetti, are they longer or not? Or are you wearing your “marketing”(aka B.S) hat?
JB
Oct 13, 2017 at 3:27 pm
In context he you are referring to two separate comparisons.
When he says they are longer, he is referring to the previous ball these replaced. Which, yes, can generally be viewed as marketing. It is always expected to be better than previous generations. Do you think anyone would ever sell a product if they said “It is kind of better than the previous generation.” It would be like Apple saying “This is the same exact iPhone, with no real improvement over the old generation”, or “The battery life is the exact same.” Probably wouldn’t sell many phones.
His other comment about a 4 yard difference is a comparison across all balls, both tour and non-tour caliber balls. In other words under the USGA rules, all balls essentially get the same distance, and the only difference is feel, spin, etc. So if your buying a ball just for “distance” you are wasting time, they all go the same distance give or take a few yards. Keep in mind this comparison is not a comparison with the previous DUO.
William Milne
Oct 11, 2017 at 12:20 pm
Must tell you guys…I am senior golfer and at one time scratch player for years. I tried the duo about a year ago and have tried all the other brands and was long time PRO V! player. For my swing speed at about 90 MPH it is great! Also, what I like is that it is the softest feel off pitches and putter of ANY ball I have ever used. Sure, it doesn’t bite as well as the premiums, but for price and feel, I have come to conclusion that it is the only ball for me and I am going to quit trying to find better ball. Tried the duo spin, but did not like it as well…not sure why.
matt
Oct 11, 2017 at 10:49 am
So Women only get the white-balls???
Thomas A
Oct 11, 2017 at 11:40 am
Don’t be racist.
dapadre
Oct 11, 2017 at 2:07 pm
Taking a Knee because of Matts comment.
Travis
Oct 12, 2017 at 8:47 am
Get out of here, Collin!
JB
Oct 13, 2017 at 3:29 pm
I heard they were going to make matt black balls too, but you know what they say about going black…..
Gorden
Oct 10, 2017 at 10:27 pm
Like what he said about distance, all most all golf balls have reached distance limit, last year Barney Adams (original Adams golf) told us Drivers had reached distance limit within the last 6 years or so….Now we need to see how long before golf governing bodies cave in to club and ball companies and make the average tour drive 350….with 400 common for big hitters…..
Volvik
Oct 10, 2017 at 9:19 pm
Welp, there goes my business…
Real Volvik
Oct 11, 2017 at 7:10 am
Not really, we are supplying the technology to Wilson Staff. We’re doing just fine.
Real Real Volvik
Oct 12, 2017 at 8:48 am
Just kidding, no one plays our balls anyway.
Rick
Oct 13, 2017 at 9:16 am
I play the green. I don’t see as well as always but hate wearing glasses while playing. Easy to see and no glare. It even lights up the face of my irons when sun is right which is no benefit, but cool
Scott
Oct 10, 2017 at 8:54 pm
Why don’t they come out with blue balls…
Tanner
Oct 11, 2017 at 7:12 pm
Gamer Soft has. WTF, no yellow ones?
Thomas A
Oct 12, 2017 at 10:23 am
Yellow is listed and pictured here.
etc.
Oct 10, 2017 at 6:54 pm
29-compressioin?!!! They must feel like a silicone ball or a really old marshmallow !!!
Shane
Oct 10, 2017 at 6:32 pm
Says matte but in photo at top with the box they look like regular white, thus so or not? I saw them elsewhere and the shield was blue in color, what gives?
Steve I
Oct 10, 2017 at 5:07 pm
Balls! … White balls … Yellow balls …. Orange balls …. what’s next … Blackballs?
etc.
Oct 10, 2017 at 6:55 pm
IIRC Nike came out with a ‘black’ ball.. but it was quickly discontinued…. wonder why.
Cornwall1888
Oct 10, 2017 at 11:31 am
Softest, longest, straightest? Too good to be true
Dat
Oct 10, 2017 at 9:40 am
Just in time for fall/winter. I like it!