McIlroy began his opening round Thursday at the RBC Canadian Open with a brand-new TaylorMade Qi35 driver in his arsenal, three weeks after his last start at the PGA Championship.
While drivers commonly fail CT tests or are taken out of play before becoming “too hot,” McIlroy struggled off the tee at Quail Hollow, a course he had historically dominated, and finished T47.
The major change McIlroy made with his driver
With a few weeks off before McIlroy’s next event this week north of the border, TaylorMade sent their star staff player with several options to help find a new driver for the rest of the season.
“They knew he was going back home for three weeks and they sent him home with a bunch of options for drivers,” GOLF’s Johnny Wunder said on this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped. “So Rory actually went back with some Qi35 heads and with some Qi10 heads. They gave him options. These were all his spec and they actually sent him some shorter options as well.”
When McIlroy tests drivers at home, despite playing ribbed versions of Golf Pride’s MCC grips, TaylorMade will send him shafts with round grips because McIlroy will test all of the options himself and fit himself to one. Without the ribbed grips, McIlroy can adjust the FCT Sleeves on the drivers and play with different settings without worrying about where the rib sits in his hands. When he gets back on Tour, he has TaylorMade reps swap out the round grip for a ribbed one.
Recently, McIlroy had been playing with driver builds around 45.75″, just under the USGA legal limit. But TaylorMade sent him some shorter options as well.
As TaylorMade sources told Wunder, McIlroy landed on one of the shorter options paired with his new Qi35 (DOT) head.
McIlroy’s new driver build
Rory McIlroy’s new TaylorMade Qi35 driver, before being set to the propper FCT setting.TaylorMade
The final build was a 9-degree (stated loft) Qi35 (DOT) head, the Tour-only version of the driver that is essentially a combination of the Qi35 LS and Qi35 Core heads, with a 44.75″ Fujikura Ventus Black 6-X shaft, one inch shorter than his previous gamer.
“The nice thing for TaylorMade is that Rory landed on this Qi35,” Wunder said. “Rory landed on the shorter build. These were ideas that TaylorMade had that they sent to him.”
Ryan Barath of Skratch was the first to report that McIlroy’s new driver was in the bag for the Wednesday pro-am at the Canadian Open, and Wunder pointed out an interesting nugget from the photo of the driver as it was set to go into play.
Rory McIlroy has got a Qi35 driver back in the bag. This appears to be a different head than the one he used for three rounds at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. https://t.co/Cwgvk4FewG
The driver was set in the lower setting, which on TaylorMade’s Tour-only 1.5-degree FCT sleeves means a 9-degree head would play at 7.5 degrees. But Wunder presumed that the actual loft of the driver might be higher than that.
“If I see the guys in a lower setting, it tells me that they were probably playing a head that’s a higher lofted number head,” he said. “So it might say ‘9.0’ on the driver, but it’s probably closer to 9.5 to 9.75. So the fact that Rory is in a lower setting, tells me that he is in one of those higher lofted 9-degree heads, so that the loft is probably closer to like 8, 8.25.”
That would be just about the same actual loft as his previous gamer, if not just a touch lower, but the shorter shaft will also create a lower launch because the shaft will deflect less during the swing, delivering less loft. While McIlory might lose a little yardage, he’ll be able to maintain much of his length because he’ll also be more efficient as he delivers less loft. The shorter shaft also should help him rein in dispersion when he’s not swinging his best.
Qi35 Round 2
This is the second time McIlroy has put Qi35 woods in the bag. He first gamed them for the opening three rounds of the Arnold Palmer Invitational before making an about-face and putting his Qi10 woods back in for the final round Sunday. The driver head he’s using this week appears to be different than the one from March as it’s missing the date that was written on the sole, and it has more weight (8 g vs. 3 g) in the forward TAS port.
Only other thing to point out here, aside from this obviously being a different Qi35 Dot head than from March (doesn't have the "DEC 2" written on it), McIlroy has an 8 g weight in the forward TAS port vs a 3 g weight in March. pic.twitter.com/PnBEZQppun
Along with the driver swap this week, McIlroy is also re-inserting a Qi35 3-wood and a P770 Proto 3-iron. The 3-wood has more to do with McIlroy’s personal preferences than anything, according to Wunder’s sources.
“That’s kind of how Rory thinks; he just doesn’t want to have a Qi10 3-wood and a Qi35 driver,” Wunder said. “So the 3-wood that he had in the Qi35, he liked it. He already liked it before. He took it out of the bag because he switched back to the Qi10, so he wanted everything to match up.”
It’s likely that McIlroy is gaming the 3-iron based on conditions at TPC Toronto this week, as well as his upcoming starts at the U.S. Open and subsequent Scottish and Open Championships.
Here’s what the top of McIlroy’s bag looks like this week.
Irons: TaylorMade P770 PROTO (3), P760 (4) RORS PROTO MB (5-9), Project X HZRDUS 105 TX (3), Project X 7.0 (4-9, Length: +.25″, Lie: 1˚ Flat) Loft Progression: 20/23/26/30/34/38/42
TaylorMade
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 Raw (46/09SB, 50/09SB, 54/11SB, 60/08LB), Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)
TaylorMade
TaylorMade Milled Grind 4 Custom Wedge
Milled Grind 4 utilizes laser etched Spin Tread and a raw face to provide better bite around the greens and superior spin in wet conditions. Refined shaping creates a smooth aesthetic that inspires creativity around the greens, while improved mass distribution provides a solid feel.
IMPROVED SPIN IN WET CONDITIONS
Spin Tread technology utilizes laser etching to channel away moisture and help retain spin in wet conditions. The same way that tire treads help your car stay connected to the road, Spin Tread redirects water at impact and creates more friction between the club face and golf ball to impart more spin than prior generations.
REFINED SHAPING
MG4 features refinements in shape and visual appeal with a focus on what players perceive at address. Details from the hosel blend, offset and leading-edge straightness were all inspired by the insights and preferences of the best players and most experienced designers. Compared to the previous MG3, MG4 showcases a slightly larger footprint that provides players with a sense of roundness, smoothness and improved ease of use.
RAW FACE & NEW FINISH
There’s a reason raw wedges are preferred by the game’s best players. The unplated material will rust over time to preserve consistent spin while also delivering better performance in wet conditions. A new refined finish with a slightly darker tint minimizes glare and blends seamlessly with the raw face for a unified appearance.
Putter: Spider Tour X (Loft 3, Lie 69.5), Short Slant, Full Line, Pure Roll insert, Black Stepless shaft, 34 1/2″ EOG, E0
TaylorMade
TaylorMade 2025 Spider Tour Black Custom Putter
BLACK PVD FINISH The durable PVD coating creates a beautiful high-quality finish with sole plate, back badge and copper accents.
TRUE PATH™ ALIGNMENT The patented alignment system provides visual clarity and helps golfers better envision the line to the hole.
WHITE TPU PURE ROLL™ INSERTMade from a combination of Surlyn and aluminum, the white TPU Pure Roll™ insert creates a softer feel.Grooves are angled at 45° to encourage optimal forward roll as well as better sound, feel and overall roll characteristics. The white insert also creates better symmetry with the white True Path alignment.
THIN WALL UNDERCUT CONSTRUCTION We’ve engineered a super stable structure by removing excess weight to create high MOI and legendary Spider performance.
HYBRAR ECHO®DAMPENER HYBRAR is behind the face to dampen unwanted vibrations, delivering premium sound and feelon every putt with the best possible sensation.
TSS WEIGHTING TSS weights provide balanced weighting and help optimize performance for all various putter lengths.
STEEL WIREFRAME Allows engineers to better control weight distribution and CG location.
The MCC™ (New Decade® MultiCompound) is an innovative hybrid grip that fuses the positive performance of rubber and cord. The MCC boasts the Golf Pride® exclusive Brushed Cotton Cord in the upper hand area for firm all-weather control, and a performance rubber material in the lower hand for ultimate feel and responsiveness.
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.
