Why Justin Rose changed clubs mid-season despite strong PGA Tour form

Justin Rose admitted he has “not been playing the perfect set of clubs” in recent times as he prepares to debut a surprise equipment switch to McLaren Golf at this week’s Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral.

The PGA Tour star will unveil his new setup in competition on the Blue Monster course in Miami on Thursday, marking a significant mid-season change during one of the strongest stretches of his late career.

Rose, 45, arrives at Doral having spent an extended period as an equipment free agent, without a single manufacturer contract and instead building his bag from a mix of brands. 

While that flexibility gave him access to a wide range of options, he says it also led to constant tinkering and a lack of long-term stability.

“I don’t think I’ve been playing the perfect set of clubs for me,” Rose told reporters ahead of the $20m Cadillac Championship, the fifth Signature Event of the 2026 PGA Tour season. 

 “I’ve been just kind of playing – I think when you’re not with an equipment manufacturer it’s, there’s a little bit of temptation just to bounce around anyway, there’s so many good options out there.”

That situation has now changed after Rose officially signed with McLaren Golf, becoming the brand’s first global ambassador and effectively ending his free-agent status in the equipment world.

Rose has also taken an equity stake in the company after spending close to two years working with McLaren on product development, testing prototypes and helping shape the first generation of clubs.

“McLaren Golf has been something that’s been on the back burner for a good number of months,” Rose said. 

“Obviously, to launch a brand out of the ground obviously has been going for a lot longer than a year. It’s something I’ve been involved with from the outset, really helping the engineering team, really testing the very first editions of the club. So yeah, I’ve been kind of working with the project for well over a year probably.”

Rose arrives at Trump National Doral in impressive form after another close call at The Masters three weeks ago, where he finished tied third, and currently ranks seventh on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach.

The Englishman also captured his 13th PGA Tour title with a second career win at the Farmers Insurance Open in February. 

Despite his recent performance levels, Rose believes his McLaren switch offers a more structured and tailored setup than his previous free-agent approach.

“Clubs are feeling great,” Rose said. 

“Obviously, a lot of my own preferences have gone into the irons that I’m playing. I’m excited to finally get them in the bag and sort of just enjoy them now for the rest of the season. But it’s been a lot of fun.”

This is not Rose’s first high-profile equipment switch.

In 2019, while ranked second in the world, he left TaylorMade after nearly two decades to join Honma Golf.

He quickly won on the PGA Tour and reached world number one, but the move eventually proved less stable over time.

Rose says both that experience and his more recent free-agent period have shaped his approach this time around.

“I’ve learned so much from being brand agnostic for a while that I kind of have my own preference list now,” he explained.

“I feel like I’m in an environment where I can take all my preferences to one place where they can execute on that for me. So from my point of view, no, I’m actually looking at what can be better. I’m looking to mitigate risk.”

“Yeah, I’ve done this once before as well in 2019, obviously, and I kind of learned a lot from that process,” he added. “So I feel a bit better place now to kind of go down this path.”

Data-driven confidence in McLaren

Unlike previous changes, Rose says this move is backed by performance data gathered during extensive testing with McLaren Golf.

“I think yeah, I think there’s some best practices that we’re kind of, we’ve sort of put into development really that I think are giving me what I feel are a fantastic set of golf clubs,” he said.

“I’m looking at some of the performance data that I’m getting on the range and places like that, and outperforming what I have. So that’s the exciting part for me.”

New combo iron setup at Doral

Rose is expected to compete with a blended McLaren iron setup at the Cadillac Championship, combining forgiveness in the long irons with more blade-like precision through the scoring clubs.

“Basically, right now it’s irons is the offering,” said the current world number five.

“Yeah, 4-iron through. I got the two sets available. I got the 1s and 3s. The 1s are very much a good player blade. The 3s are very much more your approachable mid handicap style club, which is just performing so well in my long irons that I can’t not put it in.”

“I’m just refining that last end of the bag. Like do I put a 5-iron with the blade or the 3s in. So I’m making those final little decisions.”

Rose acknowledges there will be an adjustment period once the clubs are in competitive play, but insists the long-term benefits outweigh any short-term disruption.

“Obviously, there’s going to be a refinement process,” admitted Rose. 

“You can test all you want, you got to get the clubs in play, and there’s going to be little mini situations out there, different lies, all sorts of things, just getting comfortable. But in the long-term, no, I don’t see there being an issue at all.”

As he tees it up at the Cadillac Championship, Rose begins one of the most high-profile equipment debuts in recent PGA Tour memory — transitioning from free agent to flagship ambassador for McLaren Golf on one of the game’s toughest stages at the Blue Monster.