Jason Day Spotted With Seven-Year-Old TaylorMade Driver At Grant Thornton Invitational

The Major winner opted for a TaylorMade M5 driver during his first round of the mixed-team event, using a model first seen at the end of 2018

Jason Day hits a driver off the tee
(Image credit: Getty Images)

As we saw at the Bank of Utah Championship, Jason Day isn't afraid to experiment with new golf equipment but, at this week's Grant Thornton Invitational, it was an old driver that caught the eye.

Being an equipment-free agent, the Australian is able to use any manufacturer or model of club he wants, but it still came as a slight surprise to see Day with a TaylorMade M5 as he played the first round of the mixed-team event.

Jason Day hits a driver off the tee

Day during the first round of the Grant Thornton Invitational

(Image credit: Getty Images)

First seen at the end of 2018 and released to the public in 2019, almost seven years ago, the TaylorMade M5 was used by various TaylorMade staffers throughout that season and was even in the bags of Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka for their Masters and PGA Championship wins that year.

Possessing the Twist Face Technology that we see in the best TaylorMade drivers of today, there is also an Inverse T-Track System to help with weight positing in the head, providing plenty of playability.

Although not the same model, Aaron Rai still uses the TaylorMade M6 driver and has done for a number of years. That club was released at the same time as the M5, and differs via it being the less adjustable model.

Aaron Rai hits a driver off the tee

Rai using his TaylorMade M6 during the Hero World Challenge

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Previously, Day had been using a Ping G440 LST, but also had the Ping G430 LST in the bag. Shaft-wise, he had also been using the Fujikura Ventus VeloCore+ Black 6 X, with it unclear as to whether that model has remained in his set-up or not.

What we do know is that the Avoda Prototype Irons have remained in his bag, with Day remaining with them at Tiburón Golf Club.

They were first spotted at the Bank of Utah Championship, with Day actually using a 13-club set-up at Black Desert Resort, instead of the usual 14.

Spec-wise, Day was influential in the design of them and they feature the same curve-face technology as Bryson DeChambeau's Avoda Irons, with the key difference being that Day's has different soles and head shapes, as well as them being a conventional variable-length.

Jason Day hits an iron and watches its flight

Day recently started using a set of prototype Avoda Irons

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Paired alongside Lydia Ko at the Grant Thornton Invitational, the 2023 winners fired a 12-under-par first round in the Scramble format to sit five shots back of the leaders.

Speaking prior to the event, Day stated: "I haven't played for a while. I played Utah, which is about a month ago. Had to test some clubs, some new clubs. Then I've had about another month off. So been just trying to get a handle on those clubs.

"It feels pretty good right now so I'm looking forward to a good week, trying to ease my way into the week."

Matt Cradock
Staff Writer

Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover news and social media.

Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round is a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine.

Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?

Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°

Fairway Wood: Ping G430 LST 15°, 19°

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB

Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°

Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

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