Trend Tracker: Notes From the PLAYERS and Creator Classic

This past week (and still this morning) the PGA TOUR was in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida for the PLAYERS and after a 3-hole playoff, Rory McIlroy defeated JJ Spaun to claim his second PLAYERS title.

But even before we get to Rory and his playoff win - there is still quite a bit to talk about when it comes to what gear was trending this week on the PGA TOUR as well as a little event held before the PLAYERS at the Creator Classic Presented by YouTube … which was produced by Pro Shop Studios—a company under the Pro Shop umbrella that also includes Skratch.

Let's start with the Creator Classic, which was won by one of the most popular content creators on YouTube, Grant Horvat. Grant has a very diverse equipment story because he’s a part owner/shareholder of the DTC brand Takomo, is part of TaylorMade’s staff when it comes to woods and golf ball, and recently made the switch to a LAB Golf long putter.

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This brings me to the biggest observations after two playings of the Creator Classic and that is LAB Golf and Takomo irons are two-for-two in the win column. Now just like other equipment manufacturers with players on their staff, it’s no secret that these golfers have a financial incentive to play the equipment but it still doesn't make the swings and the putts, so shoutout to both Luke Kwon and Grant Horvat for their wins.

Now speaking of LAB Golf putters, they didn’t just do well for the creators - in fact, they did quite well at the real pro golf tournament too. JJ Spaun, Lucas Glover, Will Zalatoris, Byeong Hun An, and first round co-leader Camilo Villegas, amongst others had one in play, and something else Camilo had in common with his other first round co-leaders was their use of Srixon irons, which I wrote about here: First Round PLAYERS Leaders Share These Two Pieces of Gear in Common

As someone who worked in the custom clubs fitting world back when Srixon finally went full bore into the North American market with the “45” series, which included the Z745, Z545, and Z945 blades - which I will still to this day say was one of the nicest sets of blade irons ever made. Srixon irons no longer fly under the radar and for those who need more bounce in their irons should be a top consideration. A quick look at their staff and they have a ton of top players including the lesser known (until this week) Alejandro Tosti who made a hole in one on 17 at Sawgrass during the practice round on Wednesday.

As for the other man in the playoff not playing Srixon irons (he uses TaylorMade instead), Rory McIlroy’s gear was again the subject of questions leading up to the event, after he went back to a 2024 driver for the final round of Bay Hill. Here's how the press conference equipment convo went this week:

Q: You kind of mentioned the 12-month club cycle at Bay Hill. Has that ever been a problem for you over the years as companies are trying to promote new equipment and use the players they pay to help out, and you're trying to win tournaments?

Rory: Yeah. Yeah. Some years you vibe with a new piece of equipment a little easier. Like that Qi10 that I'm using that they brought out last year, it was like love at first sight. I was like, this thing is amazing. I think when you feel like that about a golf club, it's very hard to change into something else. It ebbs and flows. Sometimes it's easier—some years it's easier than others. Look, they're all businesses and they're all trying to make money and innovate and try to be better. So I understand why the cycle is the way it is.

Are you ever under pressure (to switch)?

Rory: No, never. No.

I wanted to make sure to include that last little part of the story in because I hear a lot from people online who assume equipment manufacturers implore pros to switch to the newest gear and if they don’t they are punished financially, when in reality none of that is true.

And if I've said it once I've said it at least a dozen time—who would dare ask Rory to change up his bag after the control and performance displayed this week....DID YOU SEE THAT DRIVE ON 16 IN THE PLAYOFF!!! It went 336 yards!

As for the Rory's full bag of gear:

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 Core

3-Wood: TaylorMade Qi10 15

3-Iron: TaylorMade P770 Proto

4-iron: TaylorMade P760

Irons (5-9): TaylorMade Rors' Proto (5-9)

Wedge: TaylorMade MG4 (46/50/56/60)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour

Ball: TaylorMade TP5

Last but not least, one more fun putter nuggie from the week at the PLAYERS is that Corey Conners continues to use a new PING Prototype "OnSet" PLD and it's hard to complain about the results - a T6 finish, where he also finished 21st for the week in strokes gained putting.

So there you have it another week in the world of golf - now onto the TGL Playoffs!