The Equipment Debrief: Is Joining McLaren Golf A Smart Move For Justin Rose?
The former Major winner has been playing some incredible golf over the past 18 months, so is the move to McLaren the right one at the wrong time?
McLaren Golf has arrived on the scene and its first signing a rather big one!
A US Open winner, Olympic gold medalist, multiple-time Ryder Cup player and former World No.1, Justin Rose has joined the company as not just a tour player but also an investor.
Some of the best golf of his career is being played right now, and that's why quite a few eyebrows were raised when Rose was announced as McLaren Golf's first tour player.
It led to the question... is it a good move for the Englishman given his current form and the stage he's at in his career?
The Elephant In The Room
Let's start with the elephant in the room... Rose's short-lived stint with Honma Golf.
At the end of 2018, he was the World No.1, held the FedEx Cup and accumulated wins on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
However, having used TaylorMade clubs for 20 years, Rose opted to split with the brand at the end of that season and instead sign with Honma, a relatively unknown brand at the time, in a 10-club deal.
In a release, it said Rose would “lead Honma’s worldwide tour presence," adding "the board sees this as an important milestone in Honma’s efforts in global professional golf.”
Certainly, at the time, the move drew questions, but critics were quickly silenced as Rose claimed victory at the Farmers Insurance Open in just his second start with the brand.
The honeymoon period didn't last long, though as, despite making the Tour Championship in 2019, a poor start to 2020 which included three missed cuts and a T56th finish led to Rose splitting with Honma.
Initially, the risky move to a brand that wasn't as established as the major OEMs looked like it had paid off, but in the end, the Major winner lost form and his game suffered. Whether that could be directly attributed to his equipment is entirely conjecture, but it goes to show how switching clubs can affect even the most consistent of performers.
Since then, Rose has been an equipment-free agent and has been incredibly successful going down this route, alongside other players like Matt Fitzpatrick and Patrick Reed.
Why Does This Time Feel Different?
At the age of 45, Rose is still able to mix it with the best despite being towards the tail-end of his career.
McLaren Golf is a new venture, but where it differs from Honma is that, firstly, Rose is an investor in the company, while secondly, he played a part in the production of the new clubs.
A press release from McLaren read: "Rose has worked tirelessly alongside McLaren Golf’s engineering and development teams – testing prototypes, providing performance feedback and helping shape the impending equipment releases."
On the surface, it sounds like he has been able to help shape the clubs to match his game, rather than being put into a set and having to adapt to it. McLaren told us it went through nearly 100 iterations of prototype irons before settling on the final design, so clearly Rose had significant involvement in the development process to ensure the clubs were exactly as he wanted them.
Another point is that it's not like Rose was afraid to tinker with his clubs prior to signing with McLaren.
As an equipment-free agent, his set-up was changing regularly. For example, prior to his FedEx St. Jude Championship win in 2025, he had used around six drivers throughout the year before settling on Callaway’s Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max.
Even the irons changed over the last 12 months. In 2025, Titleist 620 CBs featured in the long-irons, while the Miura MC-502s were his short-irons of choice. A year later, Rose was using a combo set of Miura TC-202 and MC-502 blades.
It's safe to say that change isn't an uncommon thing for the 13-time PGA Tour winner when it comes to the clubs in his bag.
Obviously, the chance to work with McLaren Golf was an exciting opportunity and, given Rose's attention to detail, he wouldn't have jumped into the venture without wanting to know every detail and being impressed by what he has seen and heard from the leadership at the company.
Many will look at his time with Honma and surmise a repeat is on the cards, but if you actually dig in to his stats through the period of 2019 and 2020, Rose's struggles lay more with his short game.
During the 2019-20 season, the Englishman was 137th on the PGA Tour for Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and 110th in Strokes Gained: Putting.
The clubs in the bag at the time were Titleist Vokey wedges and an Axis1 prototype putter he had used before signing with Honma, suggesting it was perhaps more of a technical issue.
Time will tell if the move to McLaren Golf is a prudent one for Rose, but we have seen other players achieve success by using unique equipment from somewhat unknown brands.
Bryson DeChambeau's Avoda irons helped him to a second US Open title, with Jason Day following DeChambeau into the manufacturer 12 months later.
McLaren currently holds the Formula 1 driver and manufacturer championships, so it's product-making prowess isn't in question. Rose possesses an incredible amount of talent and, having worked closely with the brand to help create the clubs, perhaps it could be a stepping stone for more strong years to come.
What do you make of Rose joining McLaren? Let us know in the comments below.
