By his incredibly high standards, Rory McIlroy has enjoyed a rather quiet start to 2024, with the Northern Irishman picking up a sole victory at the Dubai Desert Classic.
Despite this, McIlroy explained at the RBC Heritage that he is loving his golf at the minute, claiming: "I'm liking the challenge at the minute and liking trying to figure it out.” One of the ways in which the 34-year-old is seemingly trying to improve is in the equipment section, as McIlroy was spotted making a number of club changes at Harbour Town.
Finishing in a tie for 22nd at the Masters a week prior, McIlroy was seen using a TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver and, at the RBC Heritage, that club has carried over, as the four-time Major winner used it a number of times in tournament play on Thursday.
“I hit it a little bit. I actually think I only hit it three times,” revealed McIlroy. “The way the wind was today out of the south means I didn't hit it at some of the holes I hit it in practice... But it's a great club. It's versatile. I'm sure I'll use it quite a bit over these next few days.”
It's not just the upper section of his bag that has seen a change, though, with McIlroy changing his wedges from TaylorMade Milled Grind 4s to what appears to be Titleist Vokey SM10s. We must add that it's currently unclear as to whether this move is permanent or not.
What we do know is that McIlroy briefly made the move from TaylorMade to Titleist at the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic. That time around, the four-time Major winner opted for a 54 degree SM9 bent to 55 degrees and a 58 degree Wedge Works prototype bent to 59 degrees.
The last time McIlroy had Titleist Vokey wedges in the bag before 2023 came in early 2017, when he was an equipment free agent following Nike's decision to stop making golf clubs.
At the RBC Heritage in 2024, the Northern Irishman produced a four-under-par first round of 67 to sit in a tie for 15th. Within the short game department, McIlroy made two sand saves out of two, as well as six up-and-downs out of seven.
