Rory McIlroy's putting coach and mentor, Brad Faxon, has tipped the 2025 Masters champion to double his list of major titles.

The 2025 Masters was epic. Watching Rory McIlroy complete the career Grand Slam wasn’t just another major victory. It was a moment of golf history. The term “Grand Slam” is often misunderstood. What does it really mean?

What is a Grand Slam in golf?

The Grand Slam in men’s professional golf refers to winning all four major championships:

The MastersThe PGA ChampionshipThe U.S. OpenThe Open Championship

The two types of Grand Slams

There are technically two types of Grand Slams: the “career Grand Slam” and the “calendar-year Grand Slam.”

The career Grand Slam

This is the less elusive Grand Slam, the one Rory completed at the 2025 Masters. A career Grand Slam happens when you win each of the four majors at least once in your life. Only six male golfers in the modern era have done it.

The calendar-year Grand Slam

Winning all four majors in a single year is considered a calendar-year Grand Slam. Bobby Jones was able to pull this off as an amateur in 1930, when the four majors were considered the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, the U.S. Amateur and the British Amateur.

There were plenty of nerves, but in the end, McIlroy finally won the Masters, got to put on the winner's jacket and completed the career Grand Slam.

New Masters champion Rory McIlroy has said he would be happy to don his Green Jacket at a Manchester United game if it could "inspire some better play" from his boyhood club.

Rory McIlroy is a fallible person.

He has said and done things I’ve disagreed with; he has frustratingly changed his opinion on certain topics; he has wrestled, and regularly succumbed, to mental demons during a decade-long major victory drought in the prime of his career—the career of a golfer who has always been brimming with generational talent.

But through it all, Rory McIlroy has been full of humanity, well beyond the increasingly robotic world of professional golfers and athletes in general.

He is not Tiger Woods of the 2000s with his life revolving around competition and little else.

McIlroy is a person first and golfer second. He answers interview questions genuinely, with almost too much honesty for his own good, instead of giving stock answers—even when we don’t like those answers. He can be likable and abrasive; he can hit a golf ball unlike anyone else and then lets negative emotions consume him in ways that other golfers may not even process.

It’s not the clubs, it’s the player… right?

In this case, it’s the player, his clubs, and his mindset.

Rory McIlroy has been in the position to win the career Grand Slam before, but he finally pulled it off this time. If you’ve been following Rory closely, you know there have been a few changes to his setup this season. He’s gone back and forth between the Qi10 and Qi35, and a golf ball switch seems to have played a big role in his success.

Here’s what Rory McIlroy had in the bag on Masters Sunday.

Rory McIlroy WITB: At a glance

TaylorMade Qi10 9.0° DriverTaylorMade Qi10 15.0° 3-WoodTaylorMade Qi10 18.0° 5-WoodTaylorMade P·760 4-IronTaylorMade Rors Proto 5-9 IronsTaylorMade MG4 46°, 50°, 54° SB WedgeTaylorMade MG4 60° LB Wedge (bent to 61°)TaylorMade Spider Tour X PutterTaylorMade TP5 Golf Ball

Driver

Model: TaylorMade Qi10 9.0°Shaft: Ventus Black 6X

At the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Rory used the TaylorMade Qi35 for three rounds and then went back to the Qi10 for the final round. He has left it in the bag since, and it’s paid off.

In our 2025 Best Golf Driver testing, we evaluated everything from distance and spin to fairways hit percentage. While our overall accuracy score factors in fairways hit, playable shot percentage and straight shot percentage, this list focuses solely on fairways hit. If you tend to miss the short grass, these drivers could help you find a few more fairways and set up better approach shots.

Tour Edge Exotics E725

The Tour Edge Exotics E725 driver had the highest fairways hit percentage, 62.6 percent. It was also the most accurate driver in the 2025 test. Thanks to its ability to keep the ball in play and mitigate big misses, the Tour Edge Exotics E725 should help erratic golfers straighten things out.

Of course, as you’ll see with some of the more accurate drivers, distance capability often decreases when accuracy increases. The E725 ranks in the bottom half of the test for distance and tends to be a higher-spinning model.

I’m a big believer in club fitting but I’m also as big a believer in retrofitting – adjusting the clubs you already own to get a better result.

The reality is that sometimes our swings change but often those changes are small enough that a simple tweak to your equipment makes more sense than burning it to the ground and starting over.

It’s also true that sometimes we just go through phases. When that happens, you might just need a small fix to sustain you until things return to whatever your individual version of “normal” happens to look like.

One of the most common issues golfers face is the dreaded slice. The cause is invariably rooted in a mix of face-to-path relationships and impact location. That’s all well and (not so) good but golfers are likely more interested in solutions than the problem itself.

Lessons or a new driver might be the best approach but, today, let’s focus on four things you can try to kill your slice with the driver you already have.

Given its success in the ball market and recent launches of irons, wedges, and putters, it’s not totally surprising that Vice would venture into metalwoods – and more specifically, the driver market.

New to the USGA conforming list are a pair of Vice Golf drivers – Wunderkind VGD01 and Wunderkind VGD01+ (somewhere Nathan Shelley is smiling).

As always, the USGA doesn’t provide any technical details, so we’re working off the assumption that the “+” will be the lower spinning option. That’s based on the lofts listed by the USGA. The Wunderkind VGD01+ is available in 9° and 10.5°, while the standard VGD01 is offered in 10.5° and 12° options.

Markings listed include “German Engineering” (are we doing that again?), Vice Alignment Mark, LASER GRID, and “GPS coordinates”: on the face. I can’t wait to hear what that’s all about.

No additional information is available at this time, but given Vice’s other offerings, it’s a reasonable bet that the new Wunderkind drivers will be more affordable than mainstream options, targeting average and recreational golfers.

Over the last little while, we’ve seen a growing number of golf simulator products that don’t actually require a ball. Some are built around fun, others claim to help with performance and a few try to be both. A year ago, I reviewed one of these systems and (spoiler alert!) it wasn’t great. But the space is evolving with more golfers looking for ways to practice indoors, in tight spaces and on a budget. Therefore, it’s worth taking a look at what’s out there.

Today, we’re diving into four golf ball-free swing options for golfers who want to train, improve or just enjoy the game without needing a launch monitor, net or huge room. Some are immersive, some more game-like and some … you’ll see.

Best: GOLF+ VR (Meta Quest Headset Required)

Let’s start with the clear front-runner. GOLF+ isn’t just a simulator, it’s a full VR golf experience. It’s immersive, engaging and honestly the most fun I’ve had playing golf that didn’t involve being on an actual course.

GOLF+ delivers on almost every front. The experience begins with a Meta Quest headset and while that is an upfront cost, what you get in return is a golf world you can walk into from your living room. The swing feel is impressively real, the visuals, sounds and experience are sharp and detailed and the course variety is improving every month. From major championship venues to lesser-known gems, there’s always something new to play.

Pros:

Fully immersive golf environmentReal-world golf coursesMinimal space requiredMultiplayer and community playConstant updates and customizationBest overall feel and feedback in this group

Cons:

Requires a Meta Quest headset (Price)Additional accessories and courses behind paywalls

There’s also a strong social aspect. You can join friends for rounds, compete in online events or just hit the range/Topgolf together. There’s even a community leaderboard and mini-games that help keep things fresh.

In our 2025 golf shoe testing, we evaluated five Skechers models, four spikeless and one spiked. The top performers were the Skechers Go Golf Elite Vortex Rival and the Go Golf Prestige SL. If you’re looking for comfortable golf shoes at a lower price point than most competitors, these are the best Skechers golf shoes of 2025.

Skechers Go Golf Elite Vortex Rival (Most comfortable spiked shoe)

Skeckers golf shoes tend to rank well for comfort. The Go Golf Elite Vortex Rival continues that dominance in the comfort category. It’s the most comfortable spiked golf shoe of 2025 and is very affordable. If you’ve been sleeping on Skechers, now’s the time to wake up.

A green jacket and prize money are at stake at the 2025 Masters. Here are the best moments from the final round.

Rory McIlroy gave up a big lead on the second nine and bogeyed the 72nd hole to create a tie, but he recovered to beat Justin Rose in a playoff to win the Masters.

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Rory McIlroy, at long last, won the Masters on Sunday at Augusta National. Here are 25,000 or so reasons why his victory mattered.

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He joins the Career Grand Slam club after a playoff win over Justin Rose and in one of the craziest Masters final rounds ever played.

Justin Thomas is concerned about his status with the U.S. Ryder Cup team after a poor showing at the Masters. "It's a tough spot to be in, but it's also self-inflicted," Thomas said.