Is Brooks Koepka Moving On from One of His Most Famous Clubs?

Brooks Koepka made a surprise change to his bag at the DP World Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, replacing his nearly decade-old TaylorMade M2 Tour fairway wood with an R7 Quad Mini Driver.

Earlier this year, Koepka said he did not expect to make major changes to his setup, apart from experimenting with putters. “I haven’t really tested anything. I’m not a tinkerer. If something works, something works. I like everything that I’ve got in the bag,” he said at Torrey Pines in January.

Koepka’s M2 Tour 4-wood was in the bag for all five of his major-championship victories. Along with a 2016 Nike Vapor Fly Pro 3-iron, it was also one of the few remaining Nike clubs in professional golf.

The change may be temporary. Inside Tour Golf, the DP World Tour equipment surveyor that first reported Koepka’s move to the R7 Quad, counted 49 mini drivers in play this week, representing 29.2 percent of the field.

The reason is closely tied to links-golf strategy. Firm turf creates more runout, while the deep pot bunkers that line many fairways heavily punish misses. Players therefore hit fewer drivers from the tee, and mini drivers provide a popular alternative: their larger heads offer extra forgiveness when they are used frequently from the tee.

Koepka’s move may not be a permanent goodbye to the M2 Tour, but rather a course-dependent decision. His Nike Vapor Fly Pro 3-iron remains in the bag, while he has also returned to his Scotty Cameron T22 Newport 2 putter after trying several models this season.

Rose and Poulter debut McLaren Series 2

McLaren Golf staffers Justin Rose and Ian Poulter provided the first look at prototype Series 2 cavity-back irons. Both players put the Series 2 in their 4- through 6-irons while keeping the Series 1 blades from the 7-iron through pitching wedge.

The setup places Series 2 between the Series 1 blades and Series 3 Players Distance irons. Poulter had teased the prototypes in an Instagram story and confirmed their Series 2 designation.

For Rose, it is the latest configuration of the McLaren set he has used since signing with the company in late April. His mid- and short-irons have remained Series 1, while he had previously alternated between Series 1 and Series 3 in the 4- and 5-irons.

McLaren has not disclosed the new irons’ construction, but Series 2 is likely to use Metal Injection Molding, or MIM, like Series 1 and Series 3. Structural mesh is also visible inside the upper portion of the cavity, similar to the previous irons.

Other bag changes

PXG launched the Raptor XLS and XLR drivers on the PGA Tour in the bags of Aldrich Potgieter and Eric Cole. Zach Bauchou added a Callaway Quantum Mini Driver, Steven Fisk put a new Callaway Apex UW in play, and Max McGreevy added a new Odyssey TRTL Prototype putter.

Alex Fitzpatrick switched to a new Titleist GTS2 driver at 9 degrees, Nick Dunlap added a Vokey SM11 WedgeWorks 60A+ lob wedge, and Sudarshan Yellamaraju added a TaylorMade Spider Tour V putter and Qi4D 3-wood.