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As strange as it sounds, one of the world’s best ball strikers, Collin Morikawa, who shot 68 on Thursday in the first round of the 2026 Open Championship, spent part of his preparation for Royal Birkdale hitting shots off a cart path in search of answers about turf interaction.
It’s the sort of thing that sounds absurd, until you remember two important facts. First, Morikawa has won the Claret Jug before and knows what it takes to compete on links courses. Second, he thinks about his equipment with the same precision that he uses to carve shots around the course.
This week at Royal Birkdale, the fairways are brown, baked out, and firm, with tight turf that behaves much differently than the softer conditions players encounter most weeks in the United States. When the ground gets hard, the sole of an iron becomes every bit as important as the grooves on its face.
That reality sent Morikawa and TaylorMade’s tour staff down an unusual path.
Normally, Morikawa would have spent last week at the Genesis Scottish Open in preparation for this week’s event, but he skipped that event this year. Instead, TaylorMade shipped multiple sets of irons to his house in Last Vegas so he could determine which configuration would perform best on ultra-hard links turf.
One option was a customized set of P·7CB irons featuring tweaks to the leading edge and sole geometry. The other was a set of P·7MC irons, which have one of the narrowest soles in TaylorMade’s lineup. For golfers who strike the ball as consistently as Morikawa, and who don’t need the forgiveness that extra bounce can offer, a narrower sole can help the club glide through firm turf with less resistance.
That is where the cart path entered the story.
Rather than relying solely on feel off the grass on the range at home, Morikawa used the concrete cart path as a giant testing surface. By hitting shots on the pavement, he could see scratches in the sole where it made contact. The marks effectively mapped how different sole grinds, relief areas and leading edges would interact with the ground at Royal Birkdale.
Yes, this is one of the advantages of getting your clubs for free. And yes, it sounds like something a golfer would dream up after watching too many YouTube club-fitting videos. That said, there is real science behind it. Elite players don’t just fit clubs based on launch angle and spin rates. At the highest level, they are often fitting for how the club moves through the turf.
That distinction matters because Morikawa controls the clubface and impact conditions so precisely that even small changes in sole design can influence performance. According to TaylorMade, Morikawa credits turf interaction for being one of the things that helped him win the Open Championship in 2021 at Royal St. Georges.
This year’s testing led Morikawa to go with a full set of P·7MC irons because the narrower sole produced the cleanest and most predictable movement through the ground.
Now, before you start hitting iron shots in the parking lot at the local muni, there is an easier way to learn the same lesson. Talk with a good custom fitter and ask about irons that fit your style of play. Then, ask about hitting shots on a lie board with impact tape on the sole. The mark on the tape can not only help to reveal your ideal lie angle, but also shot where and how the sole works at impact.
Most recreational golfers are not playing on courses with fairways that are nearly as firm as we’re seeing this week at Royal Birkdale, so the bounce designed into most better-player distance irons, game-improvement irons, and max game-improvement irons is going to help you, not hurt you. However, Morikawa’s exercise brings to light an important question: What exactly are your club doing when they meet the ground?
David Dusek is a senior writer at Golfweek covering golf equipment.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Learn why Collin Morikawa tested irons on concrete before The Open
Continue reading...
It’s the sort of thing that sounds absurd, until you remember two important facts. First, Morikawa has won the Claret Jug before and knows what it takes to compete on links courses. Second, he thinks about his equipment with the same precision that he uses to carve shots around the course.
This week at Royal Birkdale, the fairways are brown, baked out, and firm, with tight turf that behaves much differently than the softer conditions players encounter most weeks in the United States. When the ground gets hard, the sole of an iron becomes every bit as important as the grooves on its face.
That reality sent Morikawa and TaylorMade’s tour staff down an unusual path.
Normally, Morikawa would have spent last week at the Genesis Scottish Open in preparation for this week’s event, but he skipped that event this year. Instead, TaylorMade shipped multiple sets of irons to his house in Last Vegas so he could determine which configuration would perform best on ultra-hard links turf.
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One option was a customized set of P·7CB irons featuring tweaks to the leading edge and sole geometry. The other was a set of P·7MC irons, which have one of the narrowest soles in TaylorMade’s lineup. For golfers who strike the ball as consistently as Morikawa, and who don’t need the forgiveness that extra bounce can offer, a narrower sole can help the club glide through firm turf with less resistance.
That is where the cart path entered the story.
Rather than relying solely on feel off the grass on the range at home, Morikawa used the concrete cart path as a giant testing surface. By hitting shots on the pavement, he could see scratches in the sole where it made contact. The marks effectively mapped how different sole grinds, relief areas and leading edges would interact with the ground at Royal Birkdale.
You must be registered for see images attach
Yes, this is one of the advantages of getting your clubs for free. And yes, it sounds like something a golfer would dream up after watching too many YouTube club-fitting videos. That said, there is real science behind it. Elite players don’t just fit clubs based on launch angle and spin rates. At the highest level, they are often fitting for how the club moves through the turf.
That distinction matters because Morikawa controls the clubface and impact conditions so precisely that even small changes in sole design can influence performance. According to TaylorMade, Morikawa credits turf interaction for being one of the things that helped him win the Open Championship in 2021 at Royal St. Georges.
This year’s testing led Morikawa to go with a full set of P·7MC irons because the narrower sole produced the cleanest and most predictable movement through the ground.
Now, before you start hitting iron shots in the parking lot at the local muni, there is an easier way to learn the same lesson. Talk with a good custom fitter and ask about irons that fit your style of play. Then, ask about hitting shots on a lie board with impact tape on the sole. The mark on the tape can not only help to reveal your ideal lie angle, but also shot where and how the sole works at impact.
Most recreational golfers are not playing on courses with fairways that are nearly as firm as we’re seeing this week at Royal Birkdale, so the bounce designed into most better-player distance irons, game-improvement irons, and max game-improvement irons is going to help you, not hurt you. However, Morikawa’s exercise brings to light an important question: What exactly are your club doing when they meet the ground?
David Dusek is a senior writer at Golfweek covering golf equipment.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Learn why Collin Morikawa tested irons on concrete before The Open
Continue reading...
