Rory McIlroy changed his driver and fairway woods before the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The Northern Irishman was more than comfortable with the ones he had been using in 2024, and this was reflected in his results. He arrived at Bay Hill with a victory at Pebble Beach, another at the DP World Tour Championship, a fourth at the Dubai Desert Classic, third in Abu Dhabi, second in Ireland and Wentworth… His worst result since August last year had been a 25th at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. So why change? Quite simply, because of the pressure from brands that release new clubs every year and pay a fortune to players to promote them. It’s all about selling. Rory had already resisted the change for a long time and understood that the Arnold Palmer, just before THE PLAYERS, could be a good moment.
However, things didn’t go well for him. Accustomed to leading the statistics from the tee almost every week, Rory wasn’t quite comfortable at Bay Hill. He finished the first round in 21st place out of 72, the second day, even worse, he fell to 30th, and the third he finished 32nd… out of 51, as the cut had already been made. Not even the oldest locals remember the last time McIlroy was worse than average from the tee. For example, at Pebble Beach, where he won, and at the Genesis, where he finished 17th, his two previous tournaments on the PGA Tour, he was the best in this category.
In view of the data and, above all, the feelings, McIlroy decided on Sunday to go back. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a negative stroke gained from the tee (in a full field tournament, you have to go back to last year’s Memorial), so he took the new equipment out of the bag and put in last year’s driver and woods. “Since I led the strokes gained statistic from the tee both at Pebble and Torrey, it seems it was a great idea to change (laughing)… Seeing that on Saturday I lost strokes from the tee, which is the first time that’s happened in a long time, I decided to go back to what was more familiar and comfortable. I tried new woods the first three days and they didn’t work as I wanted, so I went back to my old gear,” he explained yesterday after finishing the tournament.
Things didn’t go too well for McIlroy on Sunday either. He lost strokes from the tee again and ended up even further back in that statistic (39th), although this time he attributes it more to being more aggressive in seeking a big comeback and the fact of having spent several days working and playing with the other clubs rather than a feeling of discomfort.
Given the situation, Rory has made a decision that can be considered drastic in these times. “I’m going to keep using the old driver (from last year, don’t think it’s older) at least until the Masters. That’s clear to me,” he assures. By the way, he also confirmed that he will make one or two visits to Augusta before April, something he hasn’t been doing lately. “I think a few trees have fallen since the last hurricane and they’ve changed the 16th green, so I want to see it before the tournament week,” he notes.
Regarding the equipment and changes every year, McIlroy invites brands to reflect. “You have to try to adapt to the new as quickly as possible. There are pros and cons. It’s a blessing and a curse at the same time that we have to go through these club cycles every 12 months. Most likely, I haven’t given it enough time. It’s completely different to look good on the Trackman and at the practice range at the Bear’s Club than to do it in a tournament and in conditions like Bay Hill. This week has shown that I wasn’t quite ready,” he concludes.
