With data being used by club manufacturers more than ever before, DP World Tour professionals are always looking to fine-tune equipment set-ups to match the specific demands of each course.
Whether it be the thick rough at Emirates Golf Club resulting in a premium on accuracy off the tee at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic or the winds at Royal Golf Club requiring a lower ball flight for the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, the conditions of the week continued to affect club selection.
So, while we may have played four consecutive events in the Middle East as part of the International Swing, every venue has its quirks.
Here, we have teamed up with SMS on Tour to analyse club selections, how they compare to last year and spotlight the bags of the best performers.
Starting in Dubai, where a reduced field of 126 players contested the opening Rolex Series event of the season, the overall theme was the inclusion of higher-lofted fairway woods and hybrids in preference over long and utility irons.
With the rough dense and penal on the Majlis Course, on average there were 1.62 fairway woods per player compared to a 2024 DP World Tour season average of 1.37.
Just 10% of the field carried a three iron, while there was a total of 24 utility irons as there was a notable drop off in the average per player (0.19) from last year’s Race to Dubai (0.43).
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| . | Hero Dubai Desert Classic | Ras Al Khaimah Championship | Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship | Commercial Bank Qatar Masters | 2024 Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field size | 126 | 138 | 132 | 143 | 140 |
| Fairway Woods | 1.62 | 1.45 | 1.33 | 1.45 | 1.37 |
| Hybrids | 0.30 | 0.28 | 0.23 | 0.28 | 0.24 |
| Utility Irons | 0.19 | 0.28 | 0.38 | 0.27 | 0.43 |
| 3 Irons | 10% | 19% | 22% | 19% | 19% |
| Wedges | 3.85 | 3.87 | 3.86 | 3.86 | 3.84 |
The numbers in the table above are the average per player for all categories except 3 irons because a player can only carry one.
Of the four-week stretch, conditions were at their windiest in Bahrain and this is reflected in the reduction of fairway woods and hybrids in favour for more utility irons and three irons in the bag.
What did remain consistent throughout the last four weeks, however, was the number of wedges players were carrying, with almost four in use.
So, with all that in mind, what was the overarching club set-up for the best performers across the desert spell?
Well, when focusing in on players that played in at least three of the four events, a consistency in club selection paid dividends as might be expected.
Of the top three performers, when factoring in their average position across the stretch, two club changes were made.
Laurie Canter, who leads the International Swing rankings, swapped the Ping G430 hybrid that he used in Dubai for a Ping I Crossover 3 utility iron for his victory in Bahrain, before switching back to the same hybrid in Qatar.
Ivan Cantero, who recorded two top fives and a top-15 finish in his other start, went by the old adage of it ain’t broke, don’t fix it as he used the same 14 clubs each week in Ras Al Khaimah, Bahrain and Qatar.
The next most consistent performer to have made at least three starts, Sebastian Söderberg, had the same set-up for the opening two events in Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah before he took out his Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke TD 18 degree five wood and replaced it with a Callaway Apex Ti Fusion three iron in Bahrain.
Now, it remains to be seen how things may change for when we return to the Middle East for the DP World Tour Play-Offs in November.
