There was something wonderfully refreshing about watching Aaron Rai win the 2026 PGA Championship without a bag full of the most recently released equipment.
Going by what his peers have said following his victory at Aronimink, he is clearly a deserving and hugely popular winner. Xander Schauffele is just one of a number of players to praise his work rate, which fittingly got its reward in Newtown Square.
It is also refreshing to see that in an era of every new driver launch seemingly promises more ball speed, greater forgiveness and unmatched distances, Rai turned up with one from 2019.
Embrace new and old technology
The TaylorMade M6 driver has been a feature in his bag for some years now.
It’s a driver that drew quite the following when it was first released seven years ago. The NCG review team praised the M6 for its forgiving head and larger sweetspot across the face, which helped produce more ball speed.
Although, I doubt many, at the time, would have envisioned it being used to win a major in 2026. But, here we are.
Rai clearly trusts it and its longevity puts a reality check on the need to be constantly changing driver.
