World number eight Rory McIlroy has taken the decision to make an upgrade to two of his highest-lofted clubs following an extensive testing session.

McIlroy has been using TaylorMade’s MG2 wedges for most of the season so far but underwent a system update prior to his appearance at the DP World Tour Championship. McIlroy has already been adopting the MG3 46-degree wedge, but the switch of his two most lofted clubs to high-bounce MG3s is an intriguing decision by the two-time FedEx Cup winner.

It is hoped that the 54-degree and 58-degree MG3 wedges will offer the Northern Irishman greater ‘bounce’. Theoretically speaking, more bounce should result in more forgiving performance out of the rough and from softer areas of the fairway. All of which can be useful in enhancing McIlroy’s greens-in-regulation (GIR) statistics for the season, particularly for those third shots in and around the greens on par-fives. McIlroy is around 12th in the PGA Tour list for players with the best GIR statistics. With data in golf becoming increasingly influential to the development of professionals and recreational players alike, tweaks like wedge upgrades could be the minor refinements needed to help players hit greens more consistently.

In past tournaments, McIlroy will have had eight degrees of potential bounce using his 58-degree MG2 wedge. The move to a 58-degree MG3 wedge gives him up to 14 degrees of bounce. TaylorMade employee Adrian Rietveld described bounce as “your friend” on the golf course. Rietveld said the more bounce available the better as it helps to “get the club out of the ground”.

TaylorMade’s MG3 wedges: Allowing McIlroy to be more aggressive around the green

McIlroy has already spoken in glowing terms about his new MG3 wedges and the additional “control” he’s received on the trajectory of his approach shots to the green. McIlroy said that when a player is able to handle the trajectory of their approach shots better, it’s easier to “control your distance better”.

McIlroy said the new MG3s would prove to be a much-needed addition to his golf bag for courses that are “really grain” like at Albany, which has incredibly short grass around its greens. Already, McIlroy says that he has more “trust” in his new wedge combination. Keith Sbarbaro, vice president of tour operations at TaylorMade, said that the additional bounce afforded to McIlroy through the MG3 wedges would enable him to “be more aggressive” and prevent the club “digging” or the ball “coming up short” on the greens. Sbarbaro said that the one shot in testing that really sealed the deal for the MG3 wedges was the “uphill pitches into the grain”, with McIlroy able to “even hit a bit behind” the ball and “still not get the club stuck”.

It’s been a roller-coaster of a season for Rory McIlroy in 2021. He clinched his 19th win on the PGA Tour back in May after winning the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, by a single stroke. It was his third victory at the Quail Hollow Club, a course that has been kind to him through the years. McIlroy then followed that up by narrowly missing out on an Olympic Games medal in August. He was tied for third place but eventually lost out in a seven-way playoff for the bronze.

Further disappointment followed for McIlroy as part of Team Europe in the Ryder Cup. Wisconsin’s Whistling Straits was the backdrop for Team USA’s comprehensive 19-9 victory, with McIlroy losing three of his four matches throughout the weekend. The outcome caused McIlroy to be somewhat emotional at the end of his Sunday singles match with Xander Schauffele. More recently, McIlroy has been in circumspect mood looking back at the 2021 season, insisting it had been a “year of exploration” and that he did not “regret any of it”.

The fact that the 32-year-old is still constantly tweaking his golf bag underlines what a true professional the County Down star is on the golf scene. Self-improvement is McIlroy’s middle name and despite not troubling golf’s four Majors since 2015 he’s still hungry for more.