It’s always interesting when a golfer who is pretty stable with equipment makes a big change.
Matt Fitzpatrick fits that description. He spent most of his career with the same PING S55 irons before finally changing in 2024 and his equipment decisions generally don’t feel impulsive.
That’s what made his driver situation this summer worth watching.
While most of the golf world was focused on the Presidents Cup at Medinah, Fitzpatrick was in France adding a fourth win to his 2026 season. And he did it with the same driver setup he had in play for his first three wins of the year.

The driver that started the year
Fitzpatrick won the Valspar Championship, RBC Heritage and Zurich Classic this season with a Titleist GT3 nine-degree driver paired with a Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Orange 65 TX shaft.
Then things changed.
His GT3 head cracked before the Truist Championship in May. Fitzpatrick tried replacements but said he struggled to find one that matched what he wanted to see and feel through impact.
By the Travelers Championship in June, he had made a fairly significant move, putting a PING G430 LST in the bag. He immediately hit 13 of 14 fairways in the opening round.
“The detail is really important,” Fitzpatrick said at the time. “Everyone is different. Their habits, how they move the club, how they react to different clubs.”

Then he went back
The PING worked well enough that Fitzpatrick kept it in the bag into the summer. But in France last week, he went back to the setup that had helped him win three times earlier in the year.
He had the Titleist GT3 nine-degree head and the same Tensei AV Raw Orange 65 TX shaft in his winning bag.
That return ended with a three-shot victory at Le Golf National and his fourth win of 2026.
Matt Fitzpatrick WITB (FedEx Open de France)
Here’s a look at Fitzpatrick’s complete setup for this win:
- Driver: Titleist GT3, 9° with Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Orange 65 TX
- 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35, 15° with Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Orange 75 TX
- 5-wood: TaylorMade Qi35, 18° with Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 80 TX
- Irons: PING i210, 4-iron PING S55, 5-9 (Shafts: PING CFS X-Stiff in the 4-iron, KBS Tour in the 5-9)
- Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48.10F, 52.12F, 56.08M, 60.08M) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300
Putter: Bettinardi BB1 Fitz - Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
- Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Sometimes the answer is something you already had
Fitzpatrick had a setup that worked, lost it because the head cracked, found another driver that performed well and eventually found his way back to the configuration that had already helped him win three times.
The GT3 was one of the best-performing drivers for high swing speed golfers in 2026, finishing third overall and first for distance. It’s a lower-spin, more compact head built more for players who want speed, distance and some shot-shape control than maximum help launching the ball. It can still be forgiving but it’s not the obvious fit for every golfer, especially if you need more spin or launch. It’s priced at $449 making it one of the better values for faster players.
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