"Once I locked up top 60, I would switch balls" - Maverick McNealy credits RSM Classic win to an equipment change

Maverick McNealy credited his win at the 2024 RSM Classic to a switch in golf balls. The final FedExCup Fall event was held at the Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia, and concluded on Sunday, November 24.

McNealy had a splendid bogey-free first round. He scored 70, 66 and 68 in the final rounds to finish with a score of 16-under. In the pre-tournament press conference, McNealy revealed his strategy and the thought process behind the equipment change.

The Nevada native used the new 2025 Titleist Pro V1. He said, via PGA Tour:

"I said once I locked up top 60, I would switch balls. Obviously, Bermuda (Championship) we didn't have the ball shipped over there, so I didn't have access to it. I said I'll play it in Sea Island, see how it does under the gun.

"Then in the wind on Thursday, it performed unbelievably well. I was really excited, every ball came out exactly how I wanted to, held the wind, went through the wind and that gave me a ton of confidence," he added.

Incidentally, Nico Echavarria also used the 2025 Titleist Pro V1 during his win at the 2024 Zozo Championship. Maverick McNealy also talked about switching his irons to TaylorMade P7CB irons which improved his ball flight and modified his swing in windy conditions. Talking about the irons change, he said:

"Globally in my golf swing, my swing direction was way right and so everything was a big draw. I couldn't hit any flighted shots because if you hit down, it creates more path to the right, so it was just a mess.

So I realized I had to swing left and hit more down and those irons compared to the blades I was using, they have more bounce and they kind of – if I swung the way I was swinging before, I hit them all thin, so I had to feel like I was smacking down on them," he added.

This is Maverick McNealy's first win on the PGA Tour in his 142nd start. The 29-year-old won a prize money of $1,368,000.

---

What is in Maverick McNealy's bag? WITB explored

Maverick McNealy used golf equipment from various golf manufacturers to win the 2024 RSM Classic. The 29-year-old American golfer played with a TaylorMade Qi10 driver with Graphite Design Tour AD XC 6 TX shaft.

For his fairway game, McNealy used TaylorMade Stealth 2 for both his 3-wood and 7-wood. The 3-wood had a Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X shaft while the 7-wood had a Fujikura Ventus Red 8 X shaft.

Here's a look at Maverick McNealy's bag at the 2024 RSM Classic, via PGA Tour:

• Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (10.5 degrees)
• Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD XC 6 TX
• 3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (16.5 degrees)
• Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
• 7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (21 degrees)
• Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 8 X
• Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4-9)
• Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
• Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 50-08F, 54-08M), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-L @59)
• Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (46), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (50-58)
• Putter: Odyssey Toulon Design Prototype
• Grips: Golf Pride MCC
• Ball: Titleist Pro V1x