RUMOUR: Rory McIlroy to make HUGE equipment change before 2023 Masters

Rory McIlroy is reportedly going to make a big equipment change before the 2023 Masters, according to a recent report about the 33-year-old.

Ben Smith

21 Mar 2023

RUMOUR: Rory McIlroy to make HUGE equipment change before 2023 Masters

There are whispers Rory McIlroy could soon be making a monumental change before The Masters next month, according to a report.

Per @thecountryclubcollection, McIlroy, 33, will be making some 'big equipment adjustments' before the first major of the year at Augusta in the first week of April.

WATCH: RORY HITS THE GREATEST DRIVE YOU WILL EVER SEE TO WIN MATCH!

McIlroy has been in strong form in 2023, already tasting victory on two occasions and returning to the top spot in the OWGR.

The World No.3 defeated his LIV Golf League rival Patrick Reed down the stretch to claim the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour.

He also defended his title at the CJ Cup on the PGA Tour. That, of course, was using the TaylorMade Stealth driver.

In recent weeks McIlroy has made no secret of his frustrations with the new TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus.

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McIlroy switched to the new model after the first round of Tiger Woods' Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour.

It was during this tournament that McIlroy got a little bit hot under the collar with one tee shot.

He was filmed smashing his driver into the turf on the tee box in frustration.

@TrackingRory - wonder what this may entail. pic.twitter.com/EJUrHrCqVb
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) March 19, 2023

Since then, McIlroy has struggled to find consistency with the chief. He missed the cut at the Players, hitting 13 of 28 fairways.

McIlroy explained his issues and stressed there was 'quite a lot of user error' on his part but claimed he just wanted to use his old driver.

McIlroy told the media:

"Yeah, obviously I went to that new driver in Riviera, and it's just not -- yeah.

"Look, I wish I could use my driver from last year, but I can't just because of -- you use a driver for so long, and it starts to get a little too -- basically it just wouldn't pass the test.

"These driver heads are so finicky, it's hard to get one exactly the same.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm obviously trying my best, trying to get something that's as close to what I had last year. Yeah, just struggled a little bit off the tee the last couple weeks."

McIlroy added that the problem 'doesn't look good on me or TaylorMade'.

We'll have to keep our eyes peeled to see if anything happens. It's not the first time that McIlroy has turned heads with his equipment this season.

McIlroy was spotted testing Titleist Vokey Wedges in February. You can read more about that here.

Asked about this, McIlroy explained that TaylorMade had given him more flexibility in the first year of his new contract.

Speaking before the WM Phoenix Open, McIlroy said:

"Yeah, so this is my first year of my new deal with TaylorMade, and they gave me just a little bit of flexibility with some of the clubs that I can play,"

"So that was really it. I was messing around with Justin, I see Justin Thomas all the time at home and messing around with some of his wedges and some of the grinds he has. I got in touch and ordered a couple, and they've worked really nicely."

TaylorMade declined to comment on the subject of this article.

Update:

Rory McIlroy’s @TrackingRory rumored equipment change is reportedly to do with shaft length. Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis is reporting that Rory drove the ball well during a two day scouting mission to Augusta last week and still has the Stealth 2 head. (Via @RMTracker)
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) March 20, 2023

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