Jack's thoughts on Rory's equipment changes

[The Dansome]

Did anybody catch Jack Nicklaus's thoughts on Rory's equipment change during the Honda broadcast yesterday? Jack said it's no excuse. In his day he kept a different set of clubs and ball in the US, Europe and Australia. None of the equipment in any bag was the same and sounded like each was customized to the local sponsor marketing, rules etc. Jack said straight out that he could play with anything and that raw talent would prevail.

 

So is Rory and others alike that good, or merely a product of technology?

[Tyk]

Well, I think they are "that good" if they want to be. The full story on McIlroy is far from over. We can't forget how young he is. If I had to bet, I'd bet his girlfriend and his fame and money are much more to blame for his recent struggles than his equipment. There is really not much to motivate today's pro. Most of them have never wanted for anything and even moderate success on the PGA Tour solves all money woes. The only thing that can motivate them is a desire to compete, and seemingly most of these guys just don't have it consistently. Tiger was (and I think still is) the exception. He also never needed anything, but he wanted to win, for the first years on tour, he didn't just want to beat the field, he wanted to destroy it! I don't get that vibe from McIlroy. I think he's talented enough to dominate, but I also think he doesn't really care that much if he doesn't. He seems to very easily just chalk things up to a "bad day, bad week, bad month, bad season" and just move along.

[Mr_Theoo]

I think its a mix of new equipment and him just being in a funk. Remember when he fell apart at the masters; he just lets that space between his ears get the best of him. I'm sure he is still adjusting to the new equipment as well but I think his head is getting to him

[silver & black]

I didn't buy the wisdom tooth excuse for a minute. Jack was being a gentleman with his commentary, but he didn't buy it either.

 

Rory is a very talented player. He's used to playing at a certain level. Since his switch to the Swoosh, he has struggled. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to know that he was just fed up and decided to quit.

 

Hopefully, Rory knows how bad this looks, feels awful about it, and gets back to playing like he, and the rest of us, know he is capable of. I'm not going to hold this one incident against him. He's still very much a youngster, and will make mistakes and bad judgments....... just like most of us old farts did at that age.

[Kor.A.Door]

How much different are the Nike clubs vs. his old Titleist clubs. Doesn't he determine all of the specs for his new clubs, and don't you think he would set them up to exactly the way he likes, I think he is in a different place mentally right now, and is having a hard time finding his way out. I honestly don't think the club change has anything to do with it. Tiger went through the same thing years back when he started dating and making that part of his life more of a priority than golf. When you are single it's all about golf, but throw in another responsibility and you will struggle for a while until you figure out the balance, he is to talented of a player not find his way out of this. Just my thoughts.

[RookieBlue7]

Not the arrow, it's the indian.

[Shambles]

Anybody who looks closely at clubs in general ought to be able to see how much alike they can be. Much more so than different, other than cosmetic and brand.

 

It's well known that whenever a player signs on with a club manufacturer to play his clubs, they choose a model that most closely resembles the set he is most familiar with and then modify it in every way possible to be the same as the old set, except for the brand and identifying marks. Then they put together 3 or more sets for him to work with and select the set or sets that most satisfies him. He returns the sets that he feels are not good enough. The brand may change but, if the player so desires, he is effectively getting the same set albeit with a slightly different look.

 

 

Shambles

[sparnar]

I still haven't made up my mind completely on whether I really like Rory, or whether I just like him.

 

He seems like a pretty good guy.

 

Before I go any further, I will say that I won't even try to imagine what kind of pressure comes with being the number 1 athlete in your sport. There aren't too many guys and girls in the world, who can identify with that.

 

Sure we can say that he should be used to this to a large extent, having been around the block a bit.

 

But let's be honest, most of us were still fooling around when we were 23 years old.

 

So, while I will give him some leeway about this misstep (that's what I think it was), I think he should really think hard about the decisions he makes in the next couple of years. Being that talented, he will be under scrutiny for each and every of his decisions. Tough place to be.

 

But quitting because of an alleged sore tooth, doesn't look great in anyone's book. And if I was one of his competitors, I would start to believe that Rory is a little soft. Whether that is true or not isn't the case, once your competitors start thinking you are, you've got trouble heading your way.

 

I hope he can conjure up some good play pretty soon.

 

And while we are talking about Rory, what is up with his relaxed schedule so far? I would think that for someone in his position, getting used to new clubs, with the first Major not too far around the corner, I would be playing my ass off to get the clubs, and ball sorted out ASAP.

 

All the best to Rory, I think he will be entertaining us for years to come. But he will also be learning some harsh lessons along the way.

[apprenti23]

I'm no tour player, but I'm good enough to know that I can play with any club you put in my hands. Sure I may have to adjust a little, but were talking a small bucket and I'd be good to go. I have always thought that a players equipment changes should not matter to them. If anything it's mental- the weak minded will lt it get to them. Plus, we're talking tour players here. Better players than anyone here and no matter what change they make the clubs will be perfectly custom made to their specifications- so it's apples to apples not apples to oranges.

[The Dansome]

I'm no tour player, but I'm good enough to know that I can play with any club you put in my hands. Sure I may have to adjust a little, but were talking a small bucket and I'd be good to go. I have always thought that a players equipment changes should not matter to them. If anything it's mental- the weak minded will lt it get to them. Plus, we're talking tour players here. Better players than anyone here and no matter what change they make the clubs will be perfectly custom made to their specifications- so it's apples to apples not apples to oranges.

 

Couldn't agree more. Hell I'm a 4-12 hdcp and could pretty much hit whatever's put in my hands.

[Aotearoa_Brad]

But quitting because of an alleged sore tooth, doesn't look great in anyone's book. And if I was one of his competitors, I would start to believe that Rory is a little soft. Whether that is true or not isn't the case, once your competitors start thinking you are, you've got trouble heading your way.

 

I have to agree Sparnar. I think that you only have to look at the number of different winners we've already had on tour this year, and the talent being shown from some of the Rookies, to see that there is a massive amount of depth in the field. I'm certain that knowing that there are chinks in the Rory-armour (at least now) will be to the benefit of his competitors (in terms of confidence) when they're coming down the stretch and the pressure goes on.