One of the biggest perks of being an equipment-free professional golfer is the freedom to experiment. Without being tied to a single brand, a player can mix and match clubs to fit their eye, their swing, and their feel — rather than a sponsorship obligation.

Back in 2018, players like Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari, and Patrick Reed proved how effective this approach could be. Each had breakout seasons without signing with any equipment company, turning “gear free agency” into one of the most intriguing trends on Tour.

While most professionals today still have brand sponsorships, a few notable names have chosen independence — and Jason Day is one of them.

Jason Day’s iourney of freedom after TaylorMade

Since parting ways with TaylorMade in 2021, the 37-year-old Australian has kept only one deal — with Bridgestone, for his golf ball. Everything else in his bag is entirely his choice.

For over four years, Day’s setup remained relatively stable. But as the offseason approached, he decided to make a series of significant changes ahead of this week’s Bank of Utah Championship.

Only, these weren’t ordinary tweaks.

When Day arrived in Utah, his bag looked more like a testing lab than a tournament setup — new irons, new shafts, new grips, even a new hybrid.
And curiously, there were only 13 clubs in the bag for the opening round at Black Desert Resort — a rare “anomaly” in the gear world.

The early results? Solid. Day opened with a 68 (-3), hitting 12 of 14 fairways and missing only four greens, gaming a set of prototype Avoda irons reminiscent of Bryson DeChambeau’s setup — complete with JumboMax JMX Zen Lite grips and KBS TGI Tour 110 graphite shafts.

The Experiment begins

“I haven’t been hitting my irons great lately,” Day admitted. “So I talked to my coach, Colin [Swatton], and said maybe it’s time to test something new.”

“I don’t have an OEM sponsor, so I’m free to do whatever I want,” he continued. “I started looking into Avoda — Bryson’s had huge success with their clubs, even winning the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. So I told Colin, ‘Let’s reach out and see what they’ve got.’”

What started as curiosity quickly became a full-on rebuild. Day, who’s never been afraid to change, has rotated this year between TaylorMade blades and Ping cavity backs, but the move to Avoda represents a true shift in direction.

Avoda Golf – 3D printing and curved-face innovation

Avoda Golf is a boutique manufacturer gaining buzz for its 3D-printed clubhead technology. Working directly with the company, Day co-developed a custom prototype set with a progressive face curvature similar to the one used by Bryson DeChambeau.

The principle is simple but clever: A curved clubface reduces sidespin on off-center strikes, keeping the ball flight straighter and tightening dispersion.

After multiple rounds of testing with different 3D-printed versions, Day landed on a one-of-one set — built entirely to his visual preferences, feel, and feedback.
Unlike Bryson, he’s kept traditional-length shafts, though he hinted more changes could come.

“After this event, I’ll sit down with the Avoda team to see what we might tweak,” he said. “Maybe add a little more offset to help rotate the face easier and launch it higher — that’d be perfect.”

A move toward unified feel

Beyond the new heads, Day also switched to oversized grips for the first time and moved from heavy True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 steel shafts (136g) to lighter graphite shafts.

When asked why, he smiled:

“It’s a lot easier on the body. I’m using the same shaft profile from wedges through driver. The goal is one feel, one flight, one rhythm — repeated over and over.”

Even after the overhaul, Day’s bag still isn’t full. He currently carries a Callaway Apex UW 21°, bringing his total to 13 clubs. Missing one club doesn’t bother him — that’s the beauty of being brand-independent.

“I want to add a 23-degree club between my 21° and my 5-iron,” he explained. “The 21 goes about 250 yards, and my 5-iron is around 229–230. I just need something in between to cover the gap.”

Jason Day is clearly deep in experimentation mode — but it may be this freedom to explore that opens the next chapter of his career.

GolfEdit.com