How Rory Changed His Bag

Justin Parsons has watched Rory McIlroy blossom from a shaggy haired teen to the summit of world golf. The Director of Instruction at Dubai’s Butch Harmon School of Golf also witnessed the 28-year-old Northern Irishman settle on his new bag of swag and offers a fascinating insight into the selection process.

- Kent Gray

It has been an interesting year for the major golf equipment manufacturers. Some have left the market, others have entered and we have seen a lot of changes by high profile players. The biggest has seen Nike depart the equipment market which left Rory McIlroy in the rather unusual position of being able to hand pick whatever equipment worked for him at the turn of the year.

I have known Rory since he was around 12 and have helped him find a good place for warm weather practice in the UAE since 2005 when I moved here to work at The Montgomerie, Dubai. Rory has always enjoyed the facilities and weather as he gets his game into shape after his Christmas break. It traditionally entails swing work with his coach Michael Bannon and preseason strength and conditioning with trainer Steve McGregor over two to three weeks but this year it was rather different.

Over the course of two weeks our putting studio at The Butch Harmon School of Golf in Sports City was more akin to the back of a pro’s shop as clubs and balls arrived for Rory to test. Most manufacturers sent what they felt might be best suited to the world No.2 and we stored them for Rory to look at as the sessions gathered pace. One of the biggest issues Rory faced was not getting confused by all of the different product. It meant he went through things systematically, quickly off loading equipment that was unsuitable. This was interesting to watch and why wouldn’t it be - one of the best ball strikers of all time allowing himself the freedom to settle on clubs that were best for him without any constraint.

PUTTER