Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy took match play to the next level by swapping bags in this latest video from TaylorMade.
TaylorMade Golf YouTube
It’s an idea I’ve loved for a long time. Two-time Masters champion Rory McIlroy and World No. 5 Tommy Fleetwood playing a three-hole match is always going to be great content, but swapping bags? Now we’re cooking. That’s what TaylorMade did in a video released just a couple of days ago.
I think it’s fair to say both players have had their bags covered often this year, but what I find most compelling about the video is watching world-class players adapt to other equipment and essentially making it work. I think back to my days at Callaway when I would see Jon Rahm grab some random club off a fitting cart between filming sessions. He’d hit one, get a feel for it and then bang ball after ball — making the club do what he needed like it was his gamer. It sounds simple in practice but was on a completely different level.
Here are three interesting nuggets from Rory vs. Tommy TaylorMade video:
1. Your clubs are indeed a reflection of YOU: Swing weights, lie angles, offset, etc. It’s all so personal and in a few spots in the video you hear both players call out what seems so foreign to them. For example, Fleetwood plays a softer shaft than Rory (PX 6.5 at 125 grams vs. PX 7.0 at 130 grams) and has very flat lie angles in his irons. So what does Rory do? He starts aiming left to combat the ball going too far to the right. It also happens with the opening tee shots. Rory plays a low lofted, open faced, back weighted Qi4D core model vs. Tommy’s lofted up, upright, front weighted Qi4D LS driver. These drivers not only fly differently but the look is quite a contrast as well. Even the faces look different with Rory’s light gray face vs. Tommy’s darker one. At their core the drivers they play (and the shafts) are MILES apart.
Right on cue, Rory hit Tommy’s driver left and Tommy hit Rory’s driver right. Clubs, like humans, have a DNA, and pretty strict bias. The best players in the world have clubs that are tuned in to their swing DNA. Wanna know the fun thing? You can do that too!
2. Another man’s trash is another man’s treasure: Watching Tommy coax Rory into hitting the 9-wood on every shot was a real treat. If there was ever a player who wouldn’t be caught dead with a 9-wood, it’s Rory McIlroy. For good reason though, it makes no sense for a player with his speed and delivery. But for Tommy, who is an “on top of it” golfer who tends to play with north-to-south launch at his whim, it’s a no brainer. (Almost cheating, if I’m being honest.) It goes back to my tools analogy — some players can use tools that others won’t yet they still achieve the same result. I’ve heard TaylorMade’s Adrain Rietveld call the 9-wood a 230-yard pitching wedge. I need that in my life.
3. Every player will react to the wrong club (some better than others): This is the best part of this video and it’s a testament to 1) How dialed in each player is with their own bag — thanks to Adrian Rietveld — and, 2) How unbelievably talented both players are to react and adapt to golf clubs that have no business being in their possession and still making it work. It’s even with the Spider putters they use. To a normal person they may seem basically the same, but they are polar opposites of each other in terms of how they feel, look and perform. Rory’s is longer, heavier and with less loft. Tommy’s is light, has unique alignment aids and has more loft. I don’t advise swapping sticks with your Saturday morning group, but there is something to be said for learning how to manufacture shots under any circumstance. This video is kind of that idea on steroids. I wish it was an 18-hole match, although I also think the PGA Tour team event in New Orleans could really shake it up with this idea.
Here is my bag-by-bag breakdown of Rory and Tommy:
Rory McIlroy
Getty Images/Johnny Wunder
Driver: Head: Qi4D 9@8 (2 lower on 1.5 sleeve) Face: Grey face w/ top line and fiducials Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black OG 6X (Tipped 1) Length: 45 5/8 Cut Swingweight: D5 Weighting: 4G Front/11G back
The Fujikura Ventus Black utilizes a Tour-inspired profile and the first to include Fujikura’s VeloCore Technology in an accelerated taper, ultra stiff tip profile. Maximum energy transfer from the tip section boosts the clubhead’s performance and a straight taper design enhances loading and feel. You can purchase the Fujikura Ventus Black in the following models: 6, 7, and 8. You can buy the Fujikura Ventus Black with the adaptor sleeve of choice built to your requires specifications.
JOCKEY TIP: The Fujikura Ventus Black is ideal for the player looking for a low launch, low spin shaft that was designed to significantly tighten shot dispersion and maximize ball speed especially on off-center shots.
PROVEN RECIPE
TaylorMade Fairways have dominated on Tour for over a decade because of their unique performance recipe, which enables maximum distance and versatility.
The Qi4D fairway is designed for golfers who want the most advanced technology while still prioritizing versatility and control with amazing distance.
ADJUSTABLE PERFORMANCE
Utilizing a single Trajectory Adjustment System weight (8g x1) provides the golfer a more mass efficient way to adjust flight, spin and swing weight.
4° loft sleeve can be used to adjust loft, lie and face angle for optimized flight and is available in all lofts.
REFINED ATTRIBUTES, BIG CHANGES
Engineers conducted an objective analysis of all the performance attributes and discovered new methods to enhance performance and confidence.
Sit points, lie angles, address views, and center of gravity locations were all updated based on Tour feedback and the expertise of leading fitters worldwide, ensuring the optimal fairway across skill levels.
TOUR-PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES
New and improved cut-through Speed Pocket™ protects ball speed and reduces spin on low-face strikes.
Advanced CAD modeling creates a design with a clean and powerful sound, a foundation for TaylorMade fairway performance.
Twist Face™ features corrective face curvature designed to provide straighter shots on mishits.
Multi-Material Construction allows engineers to maximize performance by increasing discretionary weight.
Putter: Head: Spider Tour X Slant TORCHED Shaft: Black Stepless steel Alignment: Full line Length: 34.5 Loft: 2 Lie: 69 Face: Pure Roll Toe Hang: 30 degrees
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.
Driver: Head: Qi4D LS 9@9.75 (Upright plus .75 on 1.5 sleeve) Face: Dark face w/ top line and fiducials Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 6X (Tipped 1) Length: 45 5/8 Cut Swingweight: D4 Weighting: 15G Front/7 G back
SHAPED FOR SPEED
Traditional address shape based on feedback from world-class players helps create confidence on every shot.
Qi4D LS is the lowest spinning option in the Qi4D lineup.
FACE FOR DISTANCE
Qi4D LS drivers feature a new and improved roll radius, yielding more consistent spin across vertical impact locations.
ADJUSTABLE PERFORMANCE
4° loft sleeve can be used to adjust loft, lie and face angle for optimized flight.
TOUR PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES
New and improved cut-through Speed Pocket™ protects ball speed and reduces spin on low-face strikes.
Advanced CAD modeling creates a design with a clean and powerful sound, a foundation of TaylorMade driver performance.
Multi-Material Construction allows engineers to strategically place mass in areas of the head where it maximizes performance, speed, and stability.
THIN WALL UNDERCUT CONSTRUCTION
We’ve engineered a super stable structure by removing excess weight to create high MOI and legendary Spider performance.
STEEL WIREFRAME
Allows engineers to better control weight distribution and CG location.
HYBRAR ECHO® DAMPENER
HYBRAR is behind the face to dampen unwanted vibrations, delivering premium sound and feel on every putt with the best possible sensation.
DIFFERENT CG LOCATION
Each Spider Tour model features different CG locations for optimal putter fitting.
TSS WEIGHTING
TSS weights provide balanced weighting and help optimize performance for all various putter lengths.
GUNMETAL PVD FINISH
The durable PVD coating creates a beautiful high-quality finish.
TRUE PATH™ ALIGNMENT
The patented alignment system provides visual clarity and helps golfers better envision the line to the hole.
WHITE TPU PURE ROLL™ INSERT
Made 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.
REFINED HOSEL DESIGNS
Spider Tour Series includes two different hosel shapes and designs. The small slant produces toe hang, and the double bend produces a face balanced design.
Built on the success of the best Team TaylorMade athletes in the world, TP5x is designed to deliver unparalleled low spin and distance off the tee and world-class feel and control where you need it most around the green.
Microcoating
No two golf balls are the same, but the all-new TP5x sets out to solve an invisible problem through our revolutionary microcoating finish process. Uneven paint and excess pooling in the dimples can compromise distance and accuracy. Microcoating uses precision application technology to ensure uniform coverage across the ball’s entire surface. Click on the video for a deep dive.
Thinner Than a Human Hair
Microcoating is thinner than a human hair and delivers measurable performance advantages: more consistent ball flight, optimized distance, and tight left-to-right dispersion.
Tour-Level Speed
The reengineered Speed Wrapped Core in TP5x increases the coefficient of restitution (COR) for exceptional ball speed at the top end of your bag.
I’d love to see more of this in the future, and it’s always interesting to learn from how players hit shots with a tool that wasn’t meant for them. It’s just another display of talent at its highest level. As an idea, at least from where I sit, there is so much fun to be had with this platform. For example, I’d love to see players like Jon Rahm and Rickie Fowler switch clubs. From a fitting perspective they are on different planets but watching them “make it work” would be quite the case study.
Can you imagine if Jack and Arnie would’ve swapped sticks at some point? Or Snead and Hogan? Gear-junky heaven is what I call that.
Johnny currently serves as the Director of Equipment at Golf.com, contributing to platforms like Fully Equipped Golf. Prior to this role, he was the Content Marketing Manager at Callaway Golf, where he led “Callaway Golf’s World of Wunder,” a platform dedicated to in-depth golf equipment content. Before joining Callaway, he was the Director of Original Content and host of “The Gear Dive” podcast at GolfWRX.com. Beyond his professional endeavors, Johnny is an avid golfer with a deep passion for the game, having played since his youth in Seattle, Washington.
