ATLANTA — Rory McIlroy has found a driver he trusts, and thanks to a shift in TaylorMade's product strategy, he won't have to give it up anytime soon.

Speaking Tuesday at the Tour Championship, McIlroy praised his equipment sponsor's decision to move away from an annual driver release cycle, a change that will allow him and other TaylorMade staffers to continue using their current Qi4D drivers well into next year rather than being fitted into a new model this offseason.

A shift in the industry's release cycle

TaylorMade announced in May that it was moving to a two-year product cycle for its metal woods, starting with the Qi4D driver family that was released in January. The move made TaylorMade the fourth of the six largest equipment manufacturers in golf to adopt a two-year cadence for drivers, joining Ping, Srixon and Titleist. Callaway and Cobra have not yet indicated any plans to move off their traditional yearly release schedules.

For McIlroy, the change offers a level of stability he has publicly welcomed. "I think being able to use the same driver for say like an 18-month period I think just gives guys a little bit more of a level of comfort," McIlroy said Tuesday at the Tour Championship.

A driver that's already working

McIlroy's endorsement of the extended cycle comes at a moment when his driver performance is peaking. He switched into the Qi4D during its first week of........

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