Scottie Scheffler has endured a very challenging last month or so, by his standards at least.
Scheffler burst out of the blocks in January and won his first PGA Tour event of the 2026 season at the American Express.
He then recorded back-to-back top four finishes in Phoenix and at Pebble Beach before ending up in a tie for 12th at Riviera.
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The 29-year-old world number one then played some really poor golf last week at Bay Hill, finishing in a tie for 24th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Scheffler will be hoping to get back to his best at The Players Championship this week and it really shouldn’t surprise anyone if he ends up winning at TPC Sawgrass.
However, if he is to do just that, he will need to improve his iron play and feel confident in the driver that he decides to put in his bag.
The man from Dallas, Texas, has been experimenting with TaylorMade’s new Qi4D driver this season. However, the Arnold Palmer Invitational was the first week in 2026 where he put the driver in his bag throughout the entire tournament.
Scottie Scheffler explains the problem he’s having with his new driver
Scheffler’s frustrations have boiled over recently and he clearly wasn’t happy with his game in general last week.
He’s been seen working extremely hard on the driving range at TPC Sawgrass this week as he looks to fine-tune his game ahead of The Players.
Scheffler spoke to reporters at Sawgrass on Tuesday.
And he was asked why he is working so hard to put a new driver in his bag right now.
“So I think when you look at the driver, I think there are always little things you can do to improve,“ Scheffler admitted.
“But you got to toe the line, I think, between improving and sticking with the stuff that also works really well. So there’s always that kind of fine line in golf.
“Like you see guys trying to get a bunch of speed and then it’s like, okay, we gained a bunch of speed but now the irons are getting a little bit worse; I’m having trouble with my distance control. There’s always a little bit of give and take.
“So when you look at new technology, I think there’s stuff that’s really good about it. Like with the new driver I’ve seen my spin numbers come down, or sorry, become more consistent, which is really nice. It’s a little bit faster too.“
A potentially longer and straighter Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler has been the best golfer in the world for three years now.
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He is really struggling with his first rounds right now…
And there is a chance he could get even better, if he manages to nail down his current issues with his driver.
“So it’s like, okay, if my spins can stay a little closer together and the ball can go a little bit further, in theory it should be more accurate,” Scheffler suggested.
“But I’m a guy that shapes the ball and does a lot of different things,
“So sometimes those little differences can be a bit of an adjustment for me and so a lot of that I’m still kind of working through, if that makes sense.“
Scheffler has actually driven the ball well this season on the whole, even last week at Bay Hill, where he finished inside the top 20 for strokes gained off the tee.
However, he obviously wants to reach a whole new level with the Qi4D if he is to put it in his bag permanently.
He will get there but it might take some time.
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