If someone had said that Justin Rose would be appearing in the next Netflix series of both ‘Full Swing’ and ‘Drive to Survive’, you’d imagine it would be loitering around the pit lane ahead of a big F1 race.
But Rose has instead set tongues wagging by signing a deal with McLaren Golf to become the first global ambassador for the fledgling company.
This isn’t about logos on bags or hats though. Rose has instead become the first player to put McLaren clubs in his bags – quite the move given that the F1 giants have absolutely no history or background in golf.
Given his standing in the game – Rose is World No.7 – many have seen this as a massive, indeed bizarre thing to do for a player still intent on winning majors.
After all, Rose made another huge tilt at the Masters Green Jacket last month, leading in round four before coming up just short and finishing third.
The timing of the change has also baffled many. Why not do it in the off-season? Instead Rose has put the new irons in with three majors of the campaign still to play.
Of course, the proof is in the pudding and the detractors have had plenty to say after Rose fared poorly in his first two starts since turning to McLaren.
Cadillac Championship: 65th out of 72
Truist Championship: 45th out of 72
Not great but let’s not forget that Rose has only switched irons. The rest of his bag has stayed the same.
In the Cadillac, it was his short game that really let him down.
As for Strokes Gained: Approach, the key measure of how well he was hitting his irons, Rose ranked 16th (out of 72) in round three and 14th in round four.
In other words, there were positives to be taken.
At the Truist, the Englishman gained strokes with his irons in round one and ranked 11th for SG: Approach in Sunday’s closer.
Again, these are signs of encouragement. Of course they still need bedding in but Rose is already having good rounds with the new McLaren clubs.
Ironically, and this is so typical of golf, perhaps while trying so hard to get his irons performing, other parts of Rose’s game are suffering as a result.
There’s a theory that Rose made the switch now to get his game ready for this summer’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, the venue where he first hit the headlines as a 17-year-old amateur when finishing fourth in 1998.
In that case, he has this week’s US PGA Championship and next month’s US Open to see how he performs with the McLaren clubs when under the greatest pressure.
Rose is a meticulous practiser and tester and won’t have made the switch without putting in the hours.
So perhaps it’ll just be a case of taking a short-term hit to reap the full rewards down the line.
In that sense the 45-year-old is playing the long game.
One other twist to the story came on LIV Golf last week.
Rose’s great friend, Ian Poulter, has also become a user of the new McLaren clubs. He too is an investor and ambassador of the F1 brand.
Poulter put them in his bag for last week’s LIV Golf Virginia and immediately found success.
The Ryder Cup star ranked 2nd for Strokes Gained: Approach in Virginia and that helped him to 18th place, his best finish in seven LIV starts this year.
Aware of the cynics, Poulter went on to X and said: “I guess the new McLaren irons are working. Roll on Korea.”
As for Rose, it will be intriguing to see if he steps it up in this week’s US PGA Championship at Aronimink – a venue where he has a win and a second from two of the three PGA Tour events held there.
In terms of drawing conclusions about his move to McLaren, it seems smart to let him have a few more laps before making a rush to judgement.
Read next: Why Matt Fitzpatrick chips cross-handed and why it works
The post How Justin Rose is banking on McLaren to find him an extra gear appeared first on Golf365.
Article Link: Justin Rose’s shock McLaren Golf deal explained