Collin Morikawa is making an unusual equipment adjustment for The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Rather than focusing only on woods and wedges, the former Champion Golfer of the Year is also swapping irons with one clear objective: producing the best possible contact on the links.
The move reflects how precisely Morikawa approaches major-championship preparation. It is not a one-off change for Royal Birkdale, as he has made similar iron adjustments when playing in The Open for years.
More Than a Wedge and Wood Decision
Equipment conversations ahead of The Open commonly center on the ends of the bag. Players often move into lower-bounce wedges and replace higher-lofted woods with driving irons to suit links conditions.
Morikawa’s preparation goes further by including his iron setup. As reported by sports.yahoo.com, the purpose is to make sure his iron contact is as reliable as possible on Royal Birkdale’s links terrain.
A Targeted Change for Links Golf
The adjustment underscores the importance of fitting equipment to a specific venue rather than treating every tournament setup the same way. For Morikawa, the iron change is part of a broader effort to dial in every part of the bag for The Open.
No specific replacement iron model or technical specification was detailed. What is clear is that Morikawa sees iron contact as important enough to warrant a dedicated swap when links golf is on the schedule.
That focus separates his approach from the more familiar Open-week equipment changes involving wedges, fairway woods, and driving irons. At Royal Birkdale, Morikawa’s attention is also firmly on the clubs used for his approach shots.