Joel Beall
Rory McIlroy made a New Year’s splash with his decision to add Callaway and Titleist equipment to his bag. Club changes involving a player of McIlroy’s calibre are always noteworthy; Nike’s exit from the industry added an extra layer of intrigue to the proceedings. It also proved a coup for Callaway and Titleist: one of the best performers in the game was willing to play their tools for free. A better endorsement, there is not.
However, making his debut with the new sticks from this afternoon at the South African Open, the four-time major winner let everyone know he wasn’t promising fidelity to his bag.
“They are picked for this week but that could change week to week,” McIlroy told reporters on Tuesday. “This is my first event with those clubs, so we will see how it goes this week.”
Since the Nike departure, McIlroy has tested TaylorMade woods, and won the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup with a Scotty Cameron by Titleist M1 prototype.
McIlroy told reporters that he tested the equipment around the holidays in Dubai. This week marks his first competitive action since the DP World Tour Championship.
“You never really know until you have a card in your hand, and at the end of the day, the person swinging the club is more important than the club itself,” McIlroy said.
