Matt Fitzpatrick on why he (finally) switched out of 10-year-old irons

Up until the end of 2023, Matt Fitzpatrick used Ping S55 irons for his entire tenure on the PGA TOUR.

When GolfWRX.com took “What’s in the Bag?” photos of his set in 2014 at the RBC Heritage, he was using a set of Ping S55 irons (5-PW), and as of the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship in August, he was still using a set of Ping S55 irons.

“I feel I’ve had success with them, so why change when you’re in winning form? That’s the big thing for me,” Fitzpatrick told GolfWRX.com, following his win at the 2023 RBC Heritage. “I tested other irons a couple years ago in the summer, but these are just the best for me and they fit well. I don’t want to change and try to do anything too different. Just stay with the same.”

The Ping S55 irons were released to the public all the way back in 2013, and they were made with the compact sizes and thin toplines that better players desire, but they were also designed with perimeter weighting and a cavity-back construction for better forgiveness. That combination made it difficult for Fitzpatrick to find a reason to replace them.

Following the 2023 Ryder Cup, though, Fitzpatrick started testing Ping Blueprint S irons, ended up winning with them in the bag at the 2023 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Now, the new Ping Blueprint S irons have earned a starting spot in the 29-year-old free agent’s setup.

On Tuesday at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational, GolfWRX.com caught up with Fitzpatrick to get his thoughts on finally switching out of the S55’s after all those years.

“What’s not to like, really?" Fitzpatrick said of the Blueprint S irons. "They just look really good, they perform really good. I just like the feel of them. The look's the biggest thing, I think, for me. They look like my old ones (the Ping S55 irons), just probably a little bit more modern. Everything about them is really good, I really like them.”

Click here to read more about the tech and designs of Ping’s new Blueprint S irons.

To go along with the head change, Fitzpatrick also switched from the True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts into Project X LZ 6.5 iron shafts that weigh about 5 grams less.

For Fitzpatrick, the switch is paying dividends already. He’s currently ranked 22nd in Greens-In-Regulation on the PGA TOUR in 2024, whereas he was ranked just 156th in the same category in the 2022-23 season.

It’s great to stick with what you know, and what makes you comfortable, but don’t forget to test out the latest equipment at least once every 1-2 years, because you never know when you’ll find something better for your game.

It seems that Fitzpatrick has finally found his replacements for the S55s.

Could this be the start of another 10-year run with the same irons for Fitzpatrick? We’ll see you in 2034 for the answer.