Equipment

Ryan Palmer speaks on his 1-of-1 Jordan shoes, lead tape, gear free agency, and first tee nerves

Published

4 years ago

Feb 4, 2022

There are few things that stop me in my tracks on a PGA Tour range more than custom shoes. As a sneakerhead myself, I love the new wave of tour players embracing the shoe game, and all of the custom designs that come along with it. Not all of the custom shoes that players wear are hits – there are plenty of fashion missteps, in my humble opinion – but I love that players are having fun with it.

On Tuesday at the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Ryan Palmer’s custom Jordan 11 shoes with an elephant print upper nearly made my heart stop. The Jordan 11 is one of my favorite silhouettes in general, and I think they translate really well into a golf shoe, too. Then you add in the classic Jordan elephant print?! I needed to get the backstory on these.

I’d never seen that exact design before, so I asked Palmer himself about them.

During our conversation about kicks, we also talked about the lead tape on his Srixon irons, equipment free agency in general, the new TaylorMade Stealth driver, and his tips for overcoming first tee nerves. I figured you’d enjoy the talk as much as I did, so below is the full convo.

Tursky: I noticed you were wearing some wild Jordan’s yesterday. I mean the (all-white) versions today are really cool, but yesterday they had elephant print on them. Where did you get those?

Palmer: I followed Nomad Customs on Instagram. He had a pair he made for somebody, a blue pair. I thought those were really cool, so I sent him a note. I DM’d him and got his number, said I liked ’em. I sent him two white pairs and had him do black and navy.

I buy the white ones, the 11s, and then I send them to him, and then he does all the elephant paint work for me. It turned out pretty good.

Does he charge you for that?

Yeah, it’s a nice price, but it’s good. The work he does is unbelievable, and it makes for a good conversation piece because I get a lot of good comments on themem.

Are you like a sneakerhead?

Not really. No. I’m really not. I went through plantar fasciitis for 2 years and went through every shoe company. Harold Varner III brought me a pair of the 11s to the Shark Shootout. I tried them one day, and I thought they were unbelievable. The cushion and the comfort, and I haven’t worn anything since.

So HV3, he was the original plug for you, and now you’re a Jordan guy?

For the 11’s yes. Now I can’t find the them anywhere else. I’ve tried them all, it’s just the 11’s are good for my feet. I have small bone spurs. Now I need more. I’ll just have to go seek them out and buy ’em.

Do you rock Jordan’s off the course?

Yeah, I have a couple pair of 1’s that I wear that are comfortable. My son’s getting into a little bit more. I got him a few pair, and my wife, as well.

So he thinks you’re the coolest dad ever right now?

He gets a few pairs, yeah (laughs). They’re always a good thing to have.

I just had a quick question about the irons, too. I mean, lead tape is nothing new on irons – pros use it all the time – but I noticed the lead tape on yours are particularly low on the club.

I think it’s where they put [the lead tape] because of the way the head’s designed, but typically when you move the lead tape around, if you put the weight lower, it puts the center of gravity lower in the head, which helps the ball get up a little higher. And it just happens to be where they put it on these heads.

But I’ve always had it toward the bottom of the club. I can’t see it (from address), for one, and it’s supposed to help the ball perform as far as getting launch a little higher.

So that’s something they do for you, you don’t apply it yourself?

It depends. If I get a new set of irons that are lighter, I’ll do it myself. But most times, the guys in the trucks do it if it needs to [be applied]. Heads are so different weight wise, so if I get to a new set of irons and they need to weigh a little more, they’re quick to do it and they do a nice clean job with it.

Are you a free agent right now, equipment wise?

Yeah, I have been, for quite a few years now. I play the Titleist ball and glove, but other than that, I play whatever I want equipment wise. It keeps me able to try new things, and I’ve got a lot of great corporate sponsorships, which makes it even nicer. So yeah, I enjoy the freedom of playing what I want.

I was curious about that, because as of like 6 years ago, everyone had brand deals. It was like, what were you doing if you didn’t? Now everyone’s kind of going more the free agent route.

Yeah, it’s changed a lot over the years since more companies have brought in the ball. TaylorMade, you have to play the ball. Srixon, you have to play the ball. Callaway, the ball. And you have to sign more club deals. I used to play Titleist irons forever, and now I play Srixon irons, Vokey wedges, I’ve played TaylorMade woods since 2005 or 2006. I was on the TaylorMade staff for a little while, and I still play the TaylorMade woods, but, I just keep myself open to trying new things if I need to and I play what works for me.

You like the new red face?

It’s awesome.

You have the new Stealth in the bag?

Oh yeah. It’s real.

Would you consider yourself a gearhead?

I like to test things. I wouldn’t call myself a gearhead, but I love grabbing new things and testing them. I don’t hoard clubs like a lot of people do. If I don’t like a club, I give it right back to them. Sometimes it’s not as good, and I don’t want to take a bunch of clubs home. But I guess you could call me a tinkerer at home a lot. Just testing new things, but I’m always back to the gamers that keep me going.

Last question: First tee tip. With all of the celebrities at Pebble Beach, there’s a special buzz around the first tee this week. Do you have any tips for someone who gets really nervous on the first tee?

I always call it the hardest shot of the day, the first one. Just try not to put too much into it. Be relaxed. The first shot is always the hardest. Probably the best thing for an amateur to do is get the driver and hit it as hard as you can, and get it out of the way.

For all of our photos from the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, check out the link 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.

1 Comment

F

Feb 6, 2022 at 12:39 am

If Hideki is with Srixon and can hit the Srixon driver well, I don’t see why Palmer couldn’t. It’s not the tech. It’s purely the head shape and he’s used to it.

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Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

Published

11 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

11 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

14 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.