Royal Portrush Golf Club is home to a beautiful links-style layout for players to contend with this week, but its unique design is presenting quite a challenge for the pros when it comes to their equipment setups.

On links golf courses, where the winds are high and the turf is especially firm, it’s common practice to employ a driving iron or the high-lofted fairway wood that’s become a top choice in the U.S, rather than a hybrid. Driving irons help players keep the ball low and running and control the golf ball away from fescue or pesky pot bunkers.

While the winds will certainly gust off the sea this week and the grass conditions are firm, Royal Portrush isn’t so simple. Compared to The Old Course at St. Andrews or The Renaissance Club, which hosted last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, Royal Portrush has more elevated green complexes, thus hindering the ability for players to run it up on their approach shot. Royal Portrush demands higher and softer entries into the greens.

That means a low-launching driving iron may not be as versatile. Yes, a driving iron may help a player find control on tee shots into the wind, but what about on the downwind holes? Or on approach shots where the greens are especially elevated?

Justin Thomas, for example, tested out a Titleist 1-iron in Scotland ahead of the Genesis Scottish Open, but he’s likely going to stick with his trusty Titleist 5-wood this week.

Collin Morikawa, who typically switches between a TaylorMade driving iron and 5-wood depending on course and weather conditions, is likely employing a Qi35 hybrid this week, according to TaylorMade. Compared to driving irons, hybrids can offer a bit more spin and height but still offer the versatility to hit it low into the wind.

Cameron Young is also considering a hybrid, says Titleist, and Ben Griffin was reportedly testing 7-woods, according to on-site sources.

Callaway representatives told GolfWRX.com that driving irons will mostly be the weapon of choice for its players. Max Greyserman is likely to switch into a stronger shaft on his driving for an even tighter and lower-launching flight.

Ping representatives also told GolfWRX.com that driving iron usage will be up for the week. Viktor Hovland has been using a Ping iDi driving iron since the 2025 U.S. Open, and he will likely continue to use it this week.

TaylorMade also reports an uptick in mini-driver usage for its players over the past couple weeks overseas, telling GolfWRX.com that it’s a strong choice for shots off the tee where there’s trouble, and it even helps with spin control in windy conditions, too.

Chris Gotterup was spotted this week with a TaylorMade mini driver and a P770 3-iron, but he had neither of those clubs in the bag for his win in Scotland. Even recent overseas winners are looking at making changes this week.

Driving irons, hybrids, fairway woods and mini drivers aren’t the only areas of the bag causing players to make equipment switches, as the short game also poses an issue.

As with typical link-style courses, the grass around the greens is firm and cut tight; this is cause for using a super low-bounce wedge, to avoid the sole or trailing edge from catching the turf before the ball and bouncing the leading edge into the golf ball. The danger here is that the player may catch too much ball, resulting in a thin shot. A low-bounce wedge helps players get under the ball better on firm turf and produces the loft and spin characteristics they desire.

The bunkers, however, are especially soft: Think of a white-sand beach, but with a firm layer a few inches underneath. This sand style typically lends itself to a higher-bounce wedge option, so to help keep from digging too much into the sand using their low-bounce lob wedge, players are going with a wide-sole design to help produce that gliding effect on the top layer of the sand.

Navigating Royal Portrush will be a battle this week for players during competition, but the chess match starts even earlier on the gear front. We’ll see which strategy proves most successful come Sunday.