Before Rory McIlroy was winning majors, or even appearing on TV talk shows as a child prodigy, persimmon golf drivers had been overtaken by metal heads for good. But after testing out an extra-special custom persimmon driver gifted to him at the Genesis Scottish Open, it appears the World No. 2 could still thrive with old-school club technology.
Just ask Rory.
Rory McIlroy gifted persimmon club for career Grand Slam
McIlroy is at the Renaissance Club in Scotland this week, hoping to claim his fourth win of the season before heading back home to Northern Ireland for the final major of the year, the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
While practicing on the range on Tuesday, McIlroy was approached by former pro and Sky Sports commentator John E. Morgan. Morgan, who is part-owner of a persimmon golf club company, came bearing a special gift: a custom-made persimmon driver honoring McIlroy’s career Grand Slam, which he completed at this year’s Masters.
Among many custom details, the sole of the driver features a poppy flower representing McIlroy’s daughter Poppy, in addition to the names of golf’s four majors and the years Rory won each the first time. The design is wrapped with the words “RORY MCILROY CAREER SLAM.”
The face is also tailor-made for McIlroy.
“We’ve given you, obviously, the colors of your flag,” Morgan said describing the face of the club in a video of the moment, “and a little bit of green on there. C’mon on, man, you had to do that.”
“Green topline, good man,” McIlroy responds.
McIlroy stripes drive, cracks up onlookers with quip
In case you don’t know, persimmon wood was the dominant material used to craft drivers and fairway woods from the 1960s through the early 1990s. In addition to their wood construction, persimmon clubs feature tiny heads compared to modern composite drivers.
Their small size and lack of technology make them much harder to hit than any drivers made in the last 20 years or so, not to mention the high-tech big sticks of today.
But McIlroy wasn’t going pass on an opportunity to try out the clubs with which the past legends of the game had to compete.
In a video released by the DP World Tour, McIlroy takes his new persimmon driver, sets up to the ball and blasts it down the middle of the fairway.
“Oh mate! That is absolutely smoked,” Morgan says of the shot.
After a moment of silence watching his ball sail away, McIlroy turns back toward the camera and quips, “I could have played in any era,” causing everyone gathered on the range to break into laughter.
McIlroy tees off for Thursday’s opening round of the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open at 8:43 a.m. ET/1:43 p.m. local time.
