Top Five Storylines for Team TaylorMade at the Ryder Cup

Bethpage Black. United States of America. Europe. Rory. Scottie. Is there anything better than the Ryder Cup?!?

Practice rounds are underway for Team Europe and Team USA at Bethpage, so let’s dive into what you need to know about Rory, Tommy, Scottie and Collin’s equipment ahead of the first tee shot on Friday.

There will be six Spider putters on the greens at Bethpage, accounting for 25 percent of total putters in play between the two squads. Team TaylorMade plays four completely different Spiders, so let’s break down the specs and get the full scoop on each putter from our Tour Representative James Holley.

It is likely we could see Team Fleetwood McIlroy back together at Bethpage after going 2-0 in 2023. Rory and Tommy couldn’t have more different set ups, which will make for some unique scenarios in foursomes. I can’t stop thinking about Tommy hitting iron shots from Rory’s drives and Rory putting from a patented Fleetwood dart. Here’s how their bags compare and contrast!

GOLF BALL

• Rory: TP5
• Tommy: TP5x pix™

If Rory and Tommy are paired together, it is likely they will play Tommy’s TP5x, bringing some noticeable measurables into play. In testing, Rory saw less spin with Tommy’s ball with driver, meaning he could hit it even further (!) at Bethpage off the tee with TP5x. Their five-irons performed nearly identically, while Rory spins Tommy’s ball a fraction more with seven iron and a fraction less with pitching wedge.

DRIVER

• Rory: Qi10 9.0° (Ventus Black 6X)
• Tommy: Qi35 10.5° (Ventus Blue Velocore+ 6X)

On the loft sleeve, Rory plays his driver toward the lower setting measuring nearly 8°, while Tommy has his 10.5° head set on the upright side of the sleeve one click toward lower.

FAIRWAY WOODS

• Rory: Qi10 15.0° 3-wood (Ventus Black 8X) and Qi10 18.0° 5-wood (Ventus Black 9X)
• Tommy: R7 Quad Mini 13.5° (Ventus TR Blue 6X), Qi35 18.0° 5-wood (KuroKage 80TX) and Qi10 24.0° 9-wood (KuroKage 80TX)

Rory’s top of the bag is relatively ho hum with his 295-yard 3-wood and 270-yard 5-wood, while Tommy’s is an absolute electric factory with mini driver, 5-wood and 9-wood. Tommy was one of the first PGA TOUR players to bring the mini driver to the main stage as he has played a mini in every event since the RBC Heritage in 2023. With the ability to manipulate weighting in every direction, TaylorMade Senior Tour Manager, Adrian Rietveld, manipulated CG forward and to the heel so Tommy can continue to hit his patented mini driver draw and additionally knocked down spin to 3000 RPM.

IRONS

• Rory: P·760 4, Rors Proto 5-9 (Project X 7.0)
• Tommy: P·7TW 5-PW (Project X 6.5)

While Tommy doesn’t play a 4-iron, the performance characteristics of his 9-wood are about the same as Rory’s 4-iron with both carrying in the 240-yard range at a high trajectory.

WEDGES

• Rory: Milled Grind 5 46° SB, 50° SB, 54° SB, 60° LB (Project X 6.5, Project X 6.5 Wedge in 60°)
• Tommy: Hi-Toe 4 52° ATS, MG5 56° SB, 60° SB (Dynamic Gold S400)

You can see the differences in their wedge set ups straight away with Tommy's blended HT4/MG5 set-up and Rory deploying a MG5 46° and 50°. The biggest difference, perhaps, comes in their lob wedges. Tommy plays a stock, standard bounce MG5, while Rory’s is everything but standard. At the start of the season, Rory bent his 60° lob wedge to 61° to improve turf interaction on tighter grass and help make the 40-to-70 yard shot easier. It’s safe to say that one degree has paid off as Rory has collected four worldwide wins, including the career Grand Slam, since making the change.

PUTTER

• Rory: Spider Tour X Short Slant
• Tommy: Spider Tour Short Slant

Both Rory and Tommy’s putters are relatively unique. Rory plays a torched finish Spider Tour X with no true path and a full sight line that has made the winning putt five times since he switched at the 2024 TOUR Championship. Tommy won his first PGA TOUR event at the TOUR Championship with a black Spider Tour head featuring custom drawn sharpie lines emulating the micro milling seen on Spider ZT.

Rory, Collin and Tommy will all have Milled Grind 5 wedges in the bag at Bethpage. Rory and Tommy’s set ups are above, while Collin has a 50° SB, 56° LB and 60° TW in his arsenal. Take a look at each wedge below!

Scottie is known for being as steady as they come on the golf course. Exhibit A is his record typing 21 consecutive rounds in the 60s before snapping it in the first round at the ProCore championship. He went on to win the tournament to make up for it! To no surprise, that steadiness is seen in his golf bag as he has only made two changes to his bag in his last 15 wins. The first switch came at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational when he captured his first win with Spider Tour X putter and the second change was adding a Qi35 7-wood at the PGA Championship. Whether he plays a 7-wood or not depends on the setup of the golf course and this week it is likely he will play a 3-iron instead of the 7-wood.

His Ryder Cup teammate made two notable changes at the ProCore Championship switching from his TP Soto to a center shafted Spider Tour V and P·DHY 4-iron. Collin also has two options in his 60° wedge with both a TW grind and LB with him at Bethpage.