MARANA, Ariz. — Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is not a serious gearhead. He knows things that any professional golfer needs to know, like his ideal launch angle and spin rate off the tee, and he has a modest collection of about 15 Scotty Cameron putters and headcovers at home, but he does not tinker or dabble with equipment too often.

However, before starting his 2010 season, McIIroy pulled his Titleist ZM irons out of the bag and started using Titleist’s new MB irons.

He’d first seen and hit the clubs in Akron, Ohio, before the start of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but decided to stick with his old sticks rather than make a mid-season change.

“I had six weeks off at the end of my season,” he told me. “During that time I went out and tested [the MB irons] again. I knew that I like them, but they were a little bit softer than my ZMs and I found that they don’t go quite as far. But the feel is quite a lot better, which is good for me because I’m a feel player.”

McIlroy also noticed that the MB irons didn’t send his shots quite as high as his old irons, which as a high-spin player he felt was a positive.

For competitors here at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, the idea of a more-accurate Rory McIlroy is a scary thought. He had the lowest scoring average on the European Tour last season (69.51) and ranked third in green in regulation (78.1%).

But if McIlroy is going to win here this week, he’s going to need to hole more putts. He averaged more than 30 per round last season, so this week he’s going back to a Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport Fastback that has been customized for him with a shaft that goes straight into the head near the center of the topline.

Here is a complete list of the clubs that McIlroy has in his bag this week:
DRIVER: Titleist 909 D2 (8.5) with a Fujikura Rombax 7V05 shaft
FAIRWAY WOODS: Titleist 909 F2 (13.5) with a Project X 7A3 shaft, 906 F3 (18.5) with a Fujikura FitOn 11 Pro 95 shaft
IRONS: Titleist MB (3-9) with Project X 6.5 shafts
WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C (48, 54, 58) with Project X 6.5 shafts
PUTTER: Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport Fastback Select prototype
BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

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(Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)