Rory McIlroy Spent $1000 on an Uber for Old TaylorMade Clubs – Here’s Why

Rory McIlroy recently had the fine folks at Uber snag an older version of several TaylorMade clubs for his final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. 

It cost him nearly $1,000, but he had a good reason.

McIlroy was seven back of 54-hole leader Collin Morikawa two weekends ago, and he was ready to make a drastic change in his bag, ditching TaylorMade’s new Qi35 driver and fairway woods for last year’s Qi10 models. He had the Qi35s in the bag that week initially because they offered slightly more distance.

🚨😲🚗 Rory McIlroy paid $995 to Uber his Qi10 driver and fairway woods to Bay Hill last Sunday from his Palm Beach Gardens home after getting frustrated with the newer Qi35 models. McIlroy admitted he’ll be sticking with his old equipment through at least the Masters and… pic.twitter.com/eY8y7Yd8Tm

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) March 15, 2025

But Rory was over the distance and just wanted something that felt right.

His home in West Palm Beach was three hours away, and he had no time to drive there, get his clubs, and return to Bay Hill. Too much had to be done. This is where Uber comes in.

McIlroy paid $995 to have an Uber driver go to his home in West Palm Beach, pick up his old clubs, and bring them back to Bay Hill, all because he was more comfortable with last year’s model.

Brad Faxon said:

“He had them Ubered from his house on Saturday night, which is pretty extraordinary to have those shipped up. And he came back with his clubs I think he is a little more comfortable with that he will use this week at the Players Championship.”

The change led to a second victory at THE PLAYERS, which he earned this morning in a three-hole playoff with JJ Spaun.

McIlroy has been critical of manufacturer rules that require sponsored players to game the company’s most recent models. We saw many players speak out against this several years ago, as a handful of TaylorMade golfers ditched the Stealth 2 for the older SIM models.

For those that were curious, the ride for the clubs was $665 plus a $330 tip.

Cover Image via Irish Examiner