Wyndham Clark’s search for a new driver helped win the US Open

Wyndham Clarke won the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills with a TaylorMade Qi4D in the bag sporting a Project X Titan Yellow golf shaft for his second win in a month. He has played four different driver combinations this year, including a different Qi4D + Titan Yellow model that won CJ Cup.

Here’s what he ended up changing for his winning driver setup at the US Open, including an accidental entry into the main tape army.

In the CJ Cup, Clark won with a TaylorMade Qi4D 10.5º driver and a Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 45.00″ length of cut golf shaft. This axle change came from a Titan Black he had been playing last week and was finalized the night before he went to the CJ Cup. I’d say this change worked considering his two wins in four weeks time. But at the RBC Canadian Open, he ended up going from that 10.5º head to a 9º head.

Let’s do some gear math here together. The Clark Driver features 3g of weight in the forefoot and rearfoot and 9g in the fore and aft heel positions. That’s 2g lighter than the stock weight of (2) 9g weights and (2) 4g weights, which loses a point of swing. TaylorMade Tour Representative Adrian Rietveld then added 8g of hot melt to the head on the heel side of the driver a little more center back on the head. This 8g adds about 4 points of sway to the structure for a net total of 3 points of added swing weight. Assuming the driver is about D2 at its 45.00 inch length of cut, that means with the Titan Black in the driver he was probably rolling his driver around a D5 drive weight, which would be considered pretty heavy by most standards.

Passing on counterbalanced Titan Yellowthe driver naturally went down to his D3 curb weight, which is a much more “standard” curb weight for a driver. The beauty of switching to Titan Yellow is that he didn’t have to change sentiments from Titan Black, but the performance gains came alive immediately. In my testing, this was the biggest benefit I found when comparing the two axles. I was incredibly impressed by the yellow. Compared to Black, it added just a touch of spin and launch when at 10.5º head. He had stated that he might have sacrificed some distance in doing so, but his confidence in hitting the fairway increased significantly. Keep in mind his “distance loss” is probably equivalent to going from about 320 to about 310, or something along those lines.

I asked Project X’s Jackson Bragg about the similarity in feel between Titan Black and Titan Yellow. Normally with a counterbalanced part you have to sacrifice some feel. The handle gets really stiff because of the added weight and material under the hands to create that higher balance point. The answer is in their new Synex material; an all-new multi-axial carbon fiber matrix that they say reinforces the outer structure and increases rim stiffness without having to add more and more material. Jackson (who helps design the Titan family of axles) thankfully gave me a very nice gear response.

“Synex technology debuted in the Titan Black as a way to maintain stiffness while providing a smoother, more resilient feel in the grip than our previous HZRDUS shapes offered. Especially highlighted with the EI Bump from the grip to the middle, new to the Project X shape in 2026. With Yellow, our goal was to make the club as strong as possible without a hard, reverse board. It typically defines a profile of counterweighted, where the added mass in the grip is what dictates the balance point, let’s move the balance point almost two full points from the Titan Yellow without ever feeling stiff or unwieldy across the Titan family, the added EI stroke produces a more springy and stronger grip. The builder’s ability to use mass to dictate the launch pattern on the ball with mass strategically placed in the clubhead resulting in more speed and control.”

Thanks to physics, we also know that a heavier driver head swung at the same speed will produce more ball speed. So he has this going for him too. It looks like this driver combination really hit Wyndham with what he won in his first week. So why did he skip the US Open?

At the Canadian Open he ended up swapping the 10.5º head out for a 9º of the same model, built the same way. It puts the shaft on the straight side of the sleeve with a little lower loft, like 10.5º and it’s mostly a visual thing. Rietveld told me that Clark THERE to see his face sitting slightly open is one of his non-negotiables. By going down to the 9º head, they were able to drop it from 2800rpm of spin to 2400rpm of spin, which resulted in a slightly flatter flight that didn’t rise as much to its maximum height and both carried and spun a bit more. The 9º head we saw in play at the US Open also had lead tape as opposed to the hot melt they used on the 10.5º head. Why? There is no equipment truck at the RBC Canadian Open! They didn’t have access to a heat gun, so they had to stay old school and remove the tape.

Project X Titan Black Wood Shaft

You can only evolve so many times. Then you have to reinvent. Designed and engineered in our R&D lab in San Diego, CA, the Titan Black is built to meet the demands of today’s fastest and most aggressive swingers. A more elastic section of the handle gradually tapers in the middle and tip, giving a smooth feel with added stability where it matters most. Synex technology uses multi-axial carbon fiber to reinforce the outer structure of the shaft, increasing the stiffness of the circle from the handle to the mid-section for efficient power transfer and improved control. Blending feel and stability, the Titan Black gives players the confidence to move faster without sacrificing dispersion or stability.

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You may also have noticed that he has a lot of weight on the heel. This combined with sitting on the straight side of the sleeve creates what we would assume is a very biased driver pattern, but Clark likes to hit. In his case, it’s actually almost a fair ball. This is one of the cheat code type setups that Johnny and I talk a lot about on the podcast. Building something on paper that does one thing knowing you want to get those benefits and doing the opposite. Having a draw bias setup for a player who likes to work the ball left to right makes for a nice pulling machine in the hands of the right athlete. Knowing that his path will be a little outside and the face will want to open up a little, they take the weight and move it toward the heel to make sure the driver’s head is effectively stabilized “square” through the impact.

Much of what I have gathered here leads me to guess what happened this year for Clark and why he has had so much success of late. Keep in mind that Clark has never been shy about his mental health struggles and his desire to find peace while staying above the golf ball. To be clear, this is entirely my opinion; I have not had this endorsed by any of the representatives or anyone in Clark’s camp. Combined with the success he’s had playing the Ping Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset, which is designed and built to put the mind at ease, and his reliance on confidence-inspiring performance changes, I think this driver quest ended up being a really great example of putting crumbs to a final destination.

Playing off the tee can be very, very comfortable. It’s something I’ve done myself for many years. I like to putt because I feel a little more in control of the golf ball. Clark wasn’t running the ball well late last year, or early this year, but he’s taking the right steps to make changes with people he trusts. He has worked with the Project X team for a long time and trusts their guidance for the new product. In fact, the last time a Project X shaft won a major was his other win at the US Open at LACC. After switching to Qi4D 10.5º and Titan Black, he started to regain his confidence and feelings.

So you take that successful combination and change it up a bit. Change the shaft to add a touch of spin and focus on hitting more fairways. Win a tournament. Take that fresh batch of confidence and roll it into another little tweak. It goes to 9º with everything else remaining the same, and now he’s back to near-perfect tee conditions, and he’ll be heading home tonight with a US Open trophy to “fill him with grapes.”

The moral of the story here for any gearheads reading is that it’s okay to screw up, even when you’re doing good. However, there is a right way to do things and it never hurts to have supervision. I will no longer seriously consider an alteration to my bag unless it is overseen by one of the fitters I trust and knows when to tell me I am off base. I have access to some amazing individuals, but anyone can do the same. I always recommend finding a fitter in your area that you are really comfortable with and sticking with them as you make changes. Having someone in your corner who really knows your swing, what you like and don’t like, and what to suggest to try is a great resource.