Why is Daniel Berger using 13-year-old irons at the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open? PGA Tour golfer explains WITB

Daniel Berger is returning to competitive golf after a 19-month injury layoff. However, the clubs he carries in his bag have generated as much fan interest as his return.

Berger officially returned the previous weekend at The American Express and is currently playing at the Farmers Insurance Open. Interestingly, he is playing with a set of irons that is no less than 13 years old.

It is a TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC irons set, a product so old that the manufacturer has discontinued its production. Daniel Berger has to buy them secondhand from whoever sells them online.

The reason Daniel Berger is using TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC irons at the Farmers Insurance Open is because he prefers them over newer models. According to the PGA Tour news service, these irons feature cavity-back-like forgiveness, the look of a blade iron, and they're forged from 1025 carbon steel, a combination that Berger finds optimal for him.

Daniel Berger was quoted as saying by the PGA Tour news service about how he got his irons:

“I’ve got a couple different sets, and they’ve come from all over the place. I bought one set online … just from some guy on the internet. He messaged me online on social media. It’s a perfect set."

What else is in Daniel Berger's bag at the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open?

Daniel Berger's TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC irons set goes from iron 4 to pitching wedge, or seven places in the bag. However, the rest of his clubs are not as old as the irons.

Let's take a look at the complete contents of Berger's bag (via the PGA Tour news service):

• Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees) with Fujikura Ventus Black 6X shaft
• 4-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (16.5 degrees) with Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X shaft
• 6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees) with Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X shaft
• Irons: TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW) with Project X 6.5 shaft
• Wedges: Titleist SM9 (50 degrees), Titleist SM10 (56 and 62 degrees) with Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56 and 62) shafts.
• Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom prototype

Berger began to experience problems with his back in 2021 but kept playing until The Memorial Tournament in 2022. After finishing T5 there, he retired from competitive activity to resolve his injury.

Berger worked during the subsequent months with Canadian specialist Stuart McGill, who helped him rehabilitate during 2023. The American was ready to start the 2024 PGA Tour season with the first event on continental soil, The American Express, where he finished T39.

This week, Berger is playing in the Farmers Insurance Open, where he finished the first round in T90, with a score of even.