The Open Gear Round-Up: DeChambeau's New 3D Printed Irons, Major Winner Changes Putter And Will This LIV Golfer Not Use A Driver?

Links golf is not like any other golf and, in the run-up to The 154th Open Championship, Royal Birkdale is set to be extremely dry, firm and fast.

Certainly, it's quite the opposite to what the majority of professionals are faced with week in week out, which usually consists of soft, juicy lies in the fairways, as well as greens that hold with no problem.

At The Open Championship, though, this will be quite the opposite, as the baked out surfaces means there will be plenty of run-out on the ball, and that doesn't even include the potential for the wind to get up.

Because of the conditions, many of the world's best will change and adapt their set-ups accordingly, with this week being no different.

From new irons and putters, to one professional even considering not putting a driver in-play, there have been some interesting gear stories developing at Royal Birkdale, and we've listed them below for you...

Bryson DeChambeau Experimenting With New Irons

Unsurprisingly, the biggest gear story of the week involves Bryson DeChambeau, who appears to be using a custom-made set of irons that have been 3D-printed.

Looking to not make it a fourth straight missed Major cut in 2026, the American revealed on the range to Sky Sports that that each iron takes around an hour to print and that the full process takes approximately four days.

At The Masters in April, he did showcase a 3D printed 5-iron, which he teased at LIV Golf South Africa the month prior.

Although it's unclear as to what the specs are, or indeed if they will be in the bag for the main event, it does appear that DeChambeau has moved out of the LA Golf shafts and into a steel set.

It seems, however, that the TaylorMade Qi4D Proto 200+ driver has remained after he put it in-play at the US Open, while his Bettinardi wedges also stay in the bag after being introduced earlier this year.

No Driver In The Bag?

Back at the 2006 Open Championship, Tiger Woods hit one driver all week, but he could be one-upped by Lucas Herbert, who might not opt to hit, or even have, his driver in the bag at all.

In a post on X by Inside Tour Golf, it read: "Lucas Herbert is considering dropping his driver this week and adding a 3 iron due to the firm and fast conditions at Royal Birkdale."

According to some players, irons have been going up to 280-300 yards, but the move to take the driver out of the bag would be an interesting one for the Australian, who qualified for The Open Championship via his runner-up finish at the New Zealand Open.

The move to take out the driver wouldn't be the first time we've seen it happen. At the DP World India Championship in 2025, many players took their drivers out due to the extremely tight nature of Delhi Golf Club.

New Putter For Fitzpatrick

Coming into the week as one of the favorites, Matt Fitzpatrick will be using a putter that was custom-made to deal with the different terrain links golf provides.

Usually, his putter has a blank sole that can slide when the putter is set down at address on fast, firm surfaces but, at the Genesis Scottish Open, he changed it for one that has Bettinardi's Honeycomb sole pattern.

Providing a textured, gritted feel that grips the turf and holds the putter still at setup, Fitzpatrick used the flatstick well at The Renaissance Club, where he finished in a share of third.

Morikawa Reveals Iron Change For The Open

A former Champion Golfer of the Year, Collin Morikawa knows what it takes to win a Claret Jug and, speaking to Sky Sports on Tuesday, he revealed that, for The Open Championship, he alters his irons.

Giving a fascinating insight about iron-play, something that is the strongest part of his game, Morikawa stated: "Ever since I won The Open, I change my irons when I come over here, just because of the contact you want through the turf.

"When it's so firm, I would catch it low on the face, so it would be spinny. Therefore, I change irons to get into the turf a little bit better."

Although it's unclear as to what changes have been made, we believe the TaylorMade P7MC has replaced the TaylorMade P730 in the lower end of the bag, while the PDHY 4-iron and P7CB 5-and-6-iron have remained.

Ludvig Aberg's Tough Flight

During his practice round on Tuesday, Ludvig Aberg revealed that his equipment was damaged as he flew back from the States a few weeks ago.

Speaking at Royal Birkdale, he stated: "I had a rough time. I flew from Boston after the Travelers Championship.

"I had a couple days in Sweden after that and, first off, my bag got lost. I didn't get them until three days later and then, when I pull my clubs out, my driver was snapped in half. My Foresight, the [GC] Quad that I use, was also cracked in half."

Thankfully, Aberg was able to get his driver replaced, with the Ryder Cup player using a Titleist TSR2 with a Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X shaft.

Could 1-Irons Be In-Play?

Driving irons will be in demand at The Open Championship, with plenty of players opting for 3-irons, 2-irons and, in the case of Michael Brennan, potentially a 1-iron.

They may not be as popular as they once were, but given the hard ground and potential wind, the need for a 1-iron might be necessary for the American, who makes his Open debut this week.

Handed a Titleist T250 2-iron, the other club given to Brennan is a Titleist U505 1-iron.

It's unclear as to whether they will be in-play at Royal Birkdale, but given his ball striking on the video provided by Titleist, it could be a late addition to the bag.

Rai Explains M6 Driver

Aaron Rai claimed his maiden Major at the PGA Championship in May, with his set-up causing plenty of reaction.

Using iron headcovers, the Englishman also still has a TaylorMade M6 driver in the bag from 2019, with Rai explaining why it has remained in his set-up during a press conference on Tuesday.

"We've still got a few heads as backup. Over time they get a little hot, so naturally there will come a point where I have to change into the backup heads. The biggest thing for me is the consistency," he stated.

"There was a period of driver where it had a nice balance between distance, but it definitely had a little bit of forgiveness. I think since 2021 TaylorMade have gone into the carbon faces, which have felt a little bit difficult for me to adjust to.

"When I've tried other brands and they have the same titanium face as the M6, they don't have the Twist Face technology, which then changes my misses and what I expect to happen with the ball.

"I really like the driver, but it's almost like a necessity to stick with it just with where equipment has gone over the past few years. Yeah, hopefully I can stick with it until something I feel more comfortable comes along."

New Irons And Mini Driver Spotted

At The Open Championship, new Mizuno irons were spotted onsite, specifically an S4 model.

Once again, specs and details of the new models are scarce, but they will likely be the replacement to the Mizuno Pro S3, a Tour model that is designed with the low-handicapper in mind.

Along with the irons, Titleist released its GTS300 mini driver, which will be going to retail on July 23rd.

Brand's Produce Open-Inspired Accessories

From golf bags to headcovers, there is plenty on show at Royal Birkdale, with TaylorMade, Callaway, Cobra, Srixon and Titleist showing off various items.

We often see special edition releases for the Majors and, along with the bags and headcovers, the likes of Rory McIlroy is wearing Nike golf shoes inspired by golf's oldest Major.

FootJoy also revealed that it has once again partnered with Harris Tweed Hebrides to launch a limited edition shoe ahead of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.