Well, what an ending that was. Rory McIlroy threw everything into the final event of the DP World Tour season, making an eagle at the 18th in Dubai to force a playoff against Matt Fitzpatrick - but in the end it was his Ryder Cup teammate who prevailed.
There was, of course, the ‘consolation prize’ of another Race to Dubai title, a seventh for the Masters champion, who will just have to wait a little longer for DP World Tour victory number 21.
Enough about that - old news already. What you really want to know is, what’s going on in the equipment world?
Last week, the big gear story was Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood playing the new TaylorMade Qi4D drivers, the former with a standard version and the Englishman with the LS model.
Charley Hull, a player known for producing explosive speed, has also been pictured hitting the new model.
Hull fans will know that the TaylorMade player has been playing with the Qi10 LS, although the England star had the Qi4D in the bag during the penultimate event of the LPGA Tour season, The Annika.
Charley Hull with the new TaylorMade Qi4D driver at The Annika
As well as the brand-new TaylorMade drivers, the Ping G440 K - another model to have appeared on the USGA Conforming List recently - has been spotted, which appears to be the next iteration of the G440 range.
Thriston Lawrence is one of the latest Ping ambassadors to try the new Ping G440 K model.
The South African, a five-time winner on the DP World Tour, was seen using the new driver in Dubai, where he finished tied 24th.
Thriston Lawrence with the new Ping G440 K driver at the DP World Tour Championship
We believe this to be a new high-MOI model, similar to the G430 10K driver, which proved very popular and is still among the best golf drivers nearly two years after its release.
We’re expecting a flurry of more new models as we approach ‘new driver season’, although it’s always just as interesting to see older gear in play - and there can’t be many players using an older driver than Aaron Rai, who took the Abu Dhabi title at Yas Links recently playing with a TaylorMade M6 driver, which was released back in 2016.
Well, maybe one or two.
Thriston Lawrence was seen playing with the new Ping G440 K driver at the DP World Tour Championship
A MIXTURE OF OLD AND NEW
This brings us to Adam Schenk, winner of the weekend’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship, a victory that helped the American save his card.
That crucial win, his first on the PGA Tour at the 243rd time of asking, was secured using an eight-year-old driver - the Ping G440, the model that replaced G.
It’s certainly not unusual to see old equipment out on tour. At the DP World Tour Championship, Fitzpatrick had his trusty Ping irons in the bag - i210 3- and 4-irons, and S55 irons 5-PW, a 10-year-old set that the former US Open champion won’t be retiring any time soon.
What was slightly more unusual was seeing Schenk putt one-handed.
Although we are digressing slightly at this point, Fitzpatrick has attracted a lot of attention for his cross-handed chipping action.
No doubt the two recent winners could have an interesting chat around their choice of equipment and why they don't follow convention.
Back to the latest equipment news, and it was interesting to see Ping brand ambassador Tyrrell Hatton with a brand-new TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood in the bag.
The LIV golfer was one of only two players who could prevent McIlroy from winning the Race to Dubai at the weekend - the other being Marco Penge - but, in truth, the Northern Irishman rarely looked like losing his grip on the season-long title.
Now, after a short rest, attention will soon turn to the 2026 season.
And with the PGA Show in Orlando just around the corner, like the pros, we’re looking forward to getting our hands on plenty of new equipment.
Stay tuned.
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