With a new season comes the now familiar round of equipment changes, as manufacturers roll out new products and players fine‑tune their setups for the year ahead. The Hero Dubai Desert Classic offered an early look at that process, with several players adjusting drivers, fairway woods, irons and putters in the opening events of 2026.
For some, the new year brings wholesale changes; for others, it’s a single club or no change at all. Whatever the approach, it remains one of the most closely watched periods for equipment followers. Working with SMS on TOUR, we’ve taken a detailed look at the most notable switches from this week’s Rolex Series field.
Interestingly, two of the players to have made changes are right at the top of the leaderboard.
One of those is Francesco Molinari. The Italian, who sailed to a first-round 65 to lead after day one at Emirates Golf Club, made a notable change at the top of the bag this week, switching into the TaylorMade Qi4D driver, 3‑wood and 7‑wood for the first time.
Another is Patrick Reed, who set the early pace on day two helped by rolling in an eagle putt from 42 feet during the second round with a new Scotty Cameron Tour Rat I putter.
Mini Drivers on the rise for Hero Dubai Desert Classic
Outside of other changes, the clearest trend for this week was the sharp increase in Mini Drivers in use for the 18.3% of the field carried one this week, up from 6.3% at the 2025 Dubai Desert Classic.
Players adopting the club included Tommy Fleetwood, Dustin Johnson, Thriston Lawrence, Eddie Pepperell, Dan Bradbury, Daniel Hillier, Matteo Manassero, Sean Crocker and Angel Hidalgo.
For some, like Bradbury, it was a first‑time addition. Others, such as Hidalgo, returned to the category for the first time since mid‑2025. Hillier continued his reputation for rotating the top of the bag, using combinations that ranged from driver down to 5‑wood depending on the setup.
Driver changes across the Field
The driver category saw significant early‑season movement, with multiple players debuting new heads as manufacturers rolled out 2026 models. Notable switches included Marcus Armitage moving into a Titleist GT3, Nicolai Højgaard and Pablo Larrazábal adopting new Callaway models, and Johannes Veerman shifting into the more forgiving Ping G440 Max.
Marcus Armitage moved into a Titleist GT3 for the first time.
Nicolai Højgaard debuted the Callaway Paradym TD Max alongside the new Chrome Tour X+ ball.
Pablo Larrazábal switched to the Quantum TD Max and Chrome Tour X ball, with a new Odyssey putter expected imminently.
Ryan Fox moved into the Srixon ZXi LS+.
Johannes Veerman shifted from Ping’s LST line into the more forgiving G440 Max.
Marcel Siem and Ockie Strydom also added the Callaway Quantum TD driver.
Nacho Elvira, last week’s winner, adjusted his Phantom TD Max head from 9° to 8.5° ahead of his victory, unchanged for this week.
Fairway Woods and Hybrids
There were several changes in the fairway wood and hybrid slots, with players adjusting lofts, profiles and gapping. Tommy Fleetwood updated his 9‑wood, Angel Hidalgo added a new hybrid and mini driver, and Eugenio Chacarra introduced a Qi4D 3‑wood, highlighting a week of fine‑tuning in this part of the bag.
Tommy Fleetwood replaced his Qi35 9‑wood with the Qi4D version.
Angel Hidalgo added a Cobra King Tec‑MD mini driver and a new 21° hybrid.
Eugenio Chacarra introduced a Qi4D 3‑wood.
Oliver Lindell shifted from a 3‑wood and mini driver setup to mini driver + 5‑wood.
Irons: Notable adjustments
Iron setups saw a mix of full overhauls and targeted adjustments. McIlroy continued with the P‑7CB irons he introduced last week, while Joost Luiten and Niklas Nørgaard moved into new Titleist models. Matt Wallace made one of the most comprehensive changes, switching into a new set of Titleist 620 CBs.
Rory McIlroy continued with the TaylorMade P‑7CB irons he introduced last week, paired with the new TP5 ball, TaylorMade Qi4D woods, and Milled Grind 5 wedges.
Joost Luiten moved into Titleist T100 (25) irons for the first time.
Niklas Nørgaard returned to Titleist 620 MB blades in the mid‑irons.
Matt Wallace made one of the biggest overhauls of the week, switching to a Titleist GT2 driver, TaylorMade R7 Quad Mini, and Titleist 620 CB irons, along with a Scotty Cameron Phantom Black 11 putter.
Antoine Rozner completed a full brand shift from Titleist to Callaway, including the Chrome Tour X (26) ball, Quantum Triple Diamond driver, Quantum Max 4‑wood and prototype irons.
Wedges: SM11 launch sees immediate uptake
Titleist’s Vokey SM11 wedges launched this week and were quickly adopted by several players. Rafa Cabrera‑Bello, Adrian Meronk, Daniel Hillier and Dustin Johnson were among those to make the switch, signalling strong early confidence in the new line
Rafa Cabrera‑Bello
Adrian Meronk
Niklas Nørgaard
Daniel Hillier
Matteo Manassero
Dustin Johnson
Putter Changes
The putter category saw plenty of movement, with players adjusting shapes and technologies early in the season. Nacho Elvira moved to an Odyssey Ai‑Dual Jailbird Mini, Patrick Reed switched into a Scotty Cameron Tour Rat I, and David Puig debuted a Tour Only 9R. Angel Hidalgo continued his trend of frequent changes, using his fifth putter in as many events.
Nacho Elvira switched from a blade to an Odyssey Ai‑Dual Jailbird Mini mallet putter, and his setup remains unchanged for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
Patrick Reed moved into a Scotty Cameron Tour Rat I.
David Puig debuted a Scotty Cameron Tour Only 9R (2026).
Nicolai von Dellingshausen also added a Tour Only 9R.
Angel Hidalgo continued his run of frequent changes, using his fifth different putter in five events.
Matteo Manassero adopted a Scotty Cameron Onset Centre, a zero/low‑torque design he had not used before.
