Rory McIlroy switches back to old driver after tough week off the tee at Bay Hill

ORLANDO, Fla. – Rory McIlroy led the field in strokes gained: off the tee earlier this season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which he won. At the Genesis Invitational, where he tied for 17^th, he was equally proficient off the tee, picking up more than a shot on the field.

His otherworldly driving game has been a cornerstone of his career, which leads to this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he lost shots to the field on the weekend and ranked 25^th in strokes gained: off the tee out of the 51 players who made the cut.

An “off” week is always a possibility for any Tour player, but following a final-round 72 that left him tied for 15^th, McIlroy addressed an equipment change he made this week at Bay Hill that included a new driver for the first three rounds.

“I led strokes gained: off the tee in both Pebble and Torrey, so it was a really good idea to change,” he laughed following his round. “[Saturday], I lost strokes off the tee, which is the first time I’ve done that in a long time. Yeah, just went back to what was familiar and what’s comfortable.”

McIlroy said he made the change to a new driver, as well as new fairway woods and wedges, in part, because he’d also recently switched to a new golf ball that had different spin characteristics that allowed him to experiment. But that experiment is over, at least until after the Masters.

“There was a little bit of that [different spin characteristics]. Also just, you know, trying to get into the new stuff. There’s pros and cons to it, and it’s a blessing and a curse at the same time that we sort of have to go through these 12-month club cycles,” said McIlroy, who returned to his old driver and fairway woods for Sunday’s final round, when he still lost strokes off the tee.

“I probably just didn’t give myself enough time,” he said. “It’s totally different, you know, it can look good on the Trackman and it can look good on the range at home at the Bear’s Club or on the golf course, but once you get out here in these conditions that’s where it really shows itself and it just wasn’t quite ready.”