Collin Morikawa is not afraid of change. Rather, the two-time major winner embraces it and sometimes calls for it. Like before the 2024 Open Championships. If you have noticed, the 27-year-old owner of that electric smile is playing with a new set of irons. It’s the links course of Great Britain that compelled him to make the switch. 

It’s a slight change in the sole geometry. But for an elite iron player like Collin Morikawa, that can be a game-changer. Before he heads to Royal Troon, take an inside view of the former Open champion’s golf bag.

Take a look at Collin Morikawa’s revamped bag

On the top of his bag, the latest TaylorMade Qi10 (9°) driver has taken the place of the Stealth 2 plus driver. The six-time PGA Tour winner is not the longest hitter in the Tour. Far from it, he sits 127th in driving distance. When pros regularly crush 330+-yard drives, Morikawa settles for a 294.3-yard average. 

His true power lies in accuracy, where the 27-year-old is the first (78.27%). The Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX shaft goes with his driver. Qi10 (3-Wood 13.5°, 5-Wood 18°) is also his trusted fairway wood model. The shaft changes to Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX. 

Morikawa made some changes to his irons just before this year’s Open Championship. The two-time major winner is giving the P7CB irons a trial run at the Genesis Scottish Open. By the looks of it (Morikawa has gained 4.8 strokes from his approaches), it will accompany him to Royal Troon as well. 

The switch from the previous muscle cavity irons (blades) to the cavity-back ones is again due to the links factor. Morikawa feels these give him an edge during those rare mishits. The shaft, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400, is likely unchanged. Morikawa has also retained the MG4 Wedges (50°, 56°), and MG4 TW (60°). The TaylorMade TP Soto Putter and the TP5x golf ball are steady companions as well. 

Morikawa likes to tweak things around

Ahead of the 2021 Open Championship, Collin Morikawa felt something was amiss. He was hitting his irons properly, but the contact with the links soil wasn’t how he wanted it. Morikawa was using P770 4-iron,  P•7MC (5 iron -6 iron) and then P•730 7 iron-PW. 

But what was working on his home soil, didn’t give the same output on the other side of the Atlantic. The trouble was with the sole geometry of his 7-9 irons. Morikawa eventually swapped the P730 with P7MC for 7-9irons. 

Here is what he said at that time, “I changed to the P•7MCs strictly because I couldn’t find the center of the face. I was sitting these iron shots last week at the Scottish Open that I just normally don’t and my swing felt good, but it was a huge learning opportunity.” Morikawa’s change, thanks to his elite ball striking, caught everyone’s attention. However, what was eclipsed was that he made slight changes to his putter as well. 

The last tinkering came to his long-serving TP Juno Putter. Morikawa realized the links greens required him to hit harder. However, that would mean making last-minute changes to his putting process. Tweaking gameplay at the last moment, especially before the major is always risky (ask Viktor Hovland). Instead, Morikawa added weights (10 g) to his clubhead. The 2021 Open Champion was the 3rd best putter in the field that week. 

Now, club changes don’t always precede a major victory. But who says history doesn’t repeat itself?