Equipment

Montesano: Two big toes up for Sqairz Speed2 LT golf shoes

Published

11 months ago

Jul 2, 2025

Unboxing is all the rage for the latest generation of content delivery people. Even before you unbox your first pair of Sqairz golf shoes, you cannot help but wonder at the marvelous elephant in the room: the square toe. Every other shoe on the market has a rounded toe of some point, with some reaching a weapon-like point. Not so with Sqairz, whose squared-off toe is, ironically, the tip of the iceberg.

Let’s talk about the shoe elements (shoelements?) that jump off the deck when you pick up your first Sqairz. Number one, they feel light. Number two, they feel sturdy, but not heavy. Number three, there is something going on with those laces. Number four, they have a brand-specific sock built specifically to interface with their shoe. You don’t get those shoe elements with other brands, at least the ones that I’ve worn in the past.

Patented roomier toe box. We opened up the toe box for your toes to spread naturally, creating better balance and more ground connection.

As soon as your foot slides into the Sqairz, you feel this gathering around your heel/ankle region. You’re not restrained, as you would have with a high-top or a boot. Instead, you feel secure. It’s the idea that there will be no sliding around. It gives you a bit of confidence off the starter’s pistol. At the same time, the absence of the traditional toe point is rendered unimportant. There is much room in the toe box, but not so much that you feel as if you were wearing clown shoes.

It’s the perfect balance of lightweight comfort and proven performance. And—at under 425 grams, it’s lighter than the competition and does one thing no other shoe can—it helps you use the ground better.

One of the negative aspects of coaching high school golf is that playing time is curtailed. I wore my new Sqairz in the cart and on a few walking bursts during our April-May season, but no golf! I finally got out for a scramble event in early June, after rediscovering my swing on the range for a full week. Yup, Sqairz at the range! I’m going to give credit where credit is due. I holed a seven-iron from 155 (knock-down under the wind) for eagle on our 15th hole, and we ultimately placed third in the event, at 13-under par. As the rainy day wore on, I never lost footing once, never felt unstable, and increased the fierceness of my lash, thanks to this ridiculous confidence that I had in my new shoes.

Refined modern aesthetics. A shoe that looks as good as it plays, combining premium craftsmanship with lightweight, high-performance tech.

Did I mention how good I look? Have you seen those shoes, where diverse elements do battle for your attention? This isn’t that shoe. The white background is enhanced by the piping and edging of the supporting color. The Sqairz isn’t a shoe that you’ll wear from course to club, but you’ll wish that you could. I’ll put in a request for some casual, around-town footwear.

Crunch the croutons

Here is the straight dope on what separates the Sqairz LT series from other shoes. Sqairz provides the initial marketing content, and we interpret it for you.

New Lightweight TPU Outsole: Crafted for maximum performance and durability while maintaining a featherlight feel. –This means that it doesn’t feel like a total collapse of the sole, at some point during the round.

New Lightweight NRG-FoamTM EVA Midsole: Optimized for energy return and comfort, keeping you fresh through every round. –It’s difficult to create durability and comfort, so the foam is what gets you the comfort.

Dual-Density Compression Foam Footbed: Provides immediate step-in comfort for a superior experience from tee to green. –See above. We told you that they are comfortable!

100% Waterproof Premium Microfiber Upper: Designed to keep your feet dry in any weather while offering exceptional breathability to ensure cool, all-day comfort on the course. –Remember dew? Remember summer rains that feel great? Remember shoulder season soakers? Stay dry, friends.

TPU Heel Stabilizer: Extends from the heel to the arch, delivering exceptional integrated arch support for a secure, grounded stride. –We’re all intrigued by the Scheffler Slide, but that doesn’t translate to want-that-in-my-swing. Stable heel menas no slide.

Proprietary Carbon Heel-to-Arch Support: Delivers lightweight stability, supports lateral torsion, and prevents rollover for a secure, balanced foundation during every swing. Engineered for Performance and Power. –Something that we don’t consider in a shoe, until now. That between heel and toe pad space needs a bar of its own.

Hybrid Smart Traction System: The patented outsole delivers superior grip with over 290 points of ground contact, combining the comfort of spikeless shoes with the stability and traction of spikes for improved consistency and distance. –For those of us of a certain age, we remember the transition from nails to softspikes. Slippage was the major concern. We don’t worry about that with these kicks.

Six Strategically Placed Replaceable Pivix Softspikes®: Triangulated under the pressure points of the foot to maximize traction and prevent slipping during every swing. –Seriously? Just six major cleats, complemented by nestled nubbins.

Sta-Put Lacing System: Silicone-printed laces lock in comfort and performance without the need for retying, keeping you focused on your game –I fell in love with these laces at first glance. Why not have no-slip be your mantra, from shoe to lace? These lassos aren’t shifting any which way

Breathable Textured Tongue and Collar Lining: Forms to your foot for unparalleled airflow and comfort during every round –Whether coaching or playing, I typically unburden my feets and step right into a pair of crocs #NoCrocHate. Not needed with my Sqairz, although I still do it #CrocNation

Lateral and Medial Embossing: Enhances structural integrity to keep you grounded under pressure. –I won’t lie: no comprendo embossing. However, since I felt one with the ground, from first tee to final green, I’ll step to this one with a smile

Did we say “yes to the dress,” or in this case, the shoes? It’s two big toes up, or out, or whatever big toes do, to signify approval. Sqairz is worth the investment. Bank on it.

Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

Published

7 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

8 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

10 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.