Tommy Fleetwood Maintains Dual Clubs with Matching Yardage at Scottish Open

Welcome to Fully Equipped’s weekly Tour equipment report. Every Friday during PGA Tour weeks (and occasionally when news merits), GOLF equipment editor Jack Hirsh walks you through the most notable developments in golf clubs on Tour, covering updates, adjustments, and new releases.

Despite the shift to breezy links conditions at this week’s Genesis Scottish Open, Tommy Fleetwood continues to carry a club built for launching high, moon‑ball shots.

Fleetwood still trusts his 9‑wood at Renaissance Club and intends to keep it for next week’s Open Championship, yet his overall bag configuration has evolved.

This week he has inserted one of his 2018 TaylorMade GAPR Lo utility irons — a 3‑iron loft — into the bag, while removing his 56‑degree wedge, a change he first made earlier in the season.

“He believes the 9‑wood is too valuable to drop, yet he requires a club that can be struck off the tee and land on the green with a low trajectory,” said TaylorMade Tour representative Adrian Reitveld. “In practice, the two clubs deliver virtually identical yardage, but their flight profiles are completely different.”

Introducing the 3‑iron is not a novel move for Fleetwood, who has previously turned to it on links courses; the breezy coastal layouts often demand a low ball flight, most readily achieved with a long iron.

Pairing a 3‑iron with a 9‑wood that covers roughly the same distance — about 235 to 240 yards — yet produces a markedly different trajectory represents a fresh approach. Although contemporary high‑lofted fairway woods provide considerable versatility, a 9‑wood still struggles to replicate the low apex height achievable with a utility iron.

Fleetwood has employed similar adjustments previously; earlier this year in Miami he removed his sand wedge and inserted a 4‑iron between his 9‑wood and 5‑iron to better handle lengthy par‑3 holes.

It is probable that Fleetwood is inserting the GAPR for a particular hole or shot at Renaissance, with the intention of repeating the setup next week at the season’s final major in his hometown.

“Both clubs perform well off the links turf, and with numerous options at the top of his bag he can comfortably carry just two wedges — a 52° and a 60°,” said Rietveld. “In Tommy’s view, that combination is ideal for Birkdale.”

Plan ahead for utility irons

Like Fleetwood, numerous players have added a 3‑iron this week, though most opted for the more conventional approach of dropping a second fairway wood or hybrid.

Fleetwood’s TaylorMade teammate Rory McIlroy is employing one of his older P760 utility irons — a 3‑iron he has relied on for years — while removing his 5‑wood to accommodate it.

Similarly, Viktor Hovland (Ping iDi), J.J. Spaun (Srixon ZXiU), Aldrich Potgieter (PXG Gen8 X driving iron) and Xander Schauffele (Mizuno Pro 225 Fli-Hi) are also incorporating utility irons into their bags, clubs they have occasionally used for months or even years.

Min Woo Lee is employing a new 20‑degree Callaway Apex UT, a club he has had on hand for several months to test and acclimate to links‑golf conditions; he first put it into play at the U.S. Open.

This illustrates the extent of preparation Tour professionals undertake with their representatives ahead of events. The era of players crossing the pond for the Open and Scottish Open, then swapping clubs on the fly, has passed; such work is now completed months in advance to eliminate any adjustment period.

T-Grind (and low bounce) reigns supreme across pond

What do Alex Fitzpatrick, Brooks Koepka and Kurt Kitayama share? Each has adopted a Vokey T‑Grind lob wedge this week, and the T‑Grind is emerging as a favored choice for links golf.

The T‑Grind is the leading grind on the PGA Tour’s most popular wedge, the Vokey SM11, yet on firm links turf its value increases further. Fitzpatrick previously used the wider‑sole A+‑Grind, whereas Koepka had been playing the uncommon B‑Grind.

At the 2022 Open Championship held on the burnt‑out St. Andrews links, Vokey exhausted its supply of T‑Grind heads, sparking the ongoing grind trend.

“At this event, under these conditions, a T‑Grind outperforms most of the other grinds we produce simply because of its design and function,” said Vokey wedge representative Aaron Dill. “The rear portion of the T‑Grind sole is the lowest we manufacture, so when the wedge face is opened it rests as close to the ground as any Vokey model. Consequently, players who claim this wedge fits them best are making a sensible choice.”

Prominent players already using the T‑Grind include Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Reed, Min Woo Lee and Fleetwood. Among this group, only Thomas holds a contract to play Vokey wedges, which accounted for 235 lob, sand and gap wedges in play this week — representing 52 % of the field.

Likewise, Rory McIlroy has adjusted his wedge selection this week, opting for a lower‑bounce TaylorMade MG4 lob wedge in place of his usual MG5.

Check this out

This section showcases recent Tour photos we have captured but have not yet found a reason to publish. This week, take a look at Rory McIlroy’s driver, as he ranks second in the field this week for SG: OTT.

Odds and Ends

Additional gear changes and notes we are monitoring this week

Srixon has introduced new ZXi RKT fairway woods and hybrids, offering one model in each category. Lucas Glover has added the new RKT 3‑wood to his bag. At the ISCO Championship, Ryan Brehm (ZXi RKT), Sean Crocker (ZXi RKT LS) and Brandon Robinson Thompson (ZXi RKT) have all placed the new Srixon driver in play. Additionally, Patrick Reed is using a malter for only the second time in his career, having moved from a Scotty Cameron Tour Rat 1.5 to a new Phantom 12.5 Tour Prototype.

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