Justin Rose has drawn attention with his decision to debut new McLaren Golf clubs at this week’s Cadillac Championship in Miami, marking an unexpected crossover between Formula One engineering and professional golf.

The move comes as McLaren expands into the golf equipment space and coincides with the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, further highlighting the team’s growing commercial ambitions beyond motorsport.

On paper, the switch appears to be a bold risk for the 45-year-old Englishman, who earlier this year became the second-oldest player to reach No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking following a win at Torrey Pines. Rose, now ranked No. 5 after a two-week break that included a tie for third at the Masters, is making the equipment change ahead of a demanding stretch featuring two signature events and the PGA Championship.

Rose said he has been working closely with McLaren’s golf engineering team for more than a year and has undergone extensive testing with the new clubs.

“Clubs are feeling great. Obviously a lot of my own preferences have gone into the irons that I'm playing,” Rose said on Tuesday. “I'm excited to finally get them in the bag and sort of just enjoy them now for the rest of the season.”

He added that he is currently without a traditional club manufacturer deal and has been testing various equipment setups in search of what he considers an ideal fit. Rose previously made a significant equipment switch in 2019, which he said helped him better understand the process.

“I’m actually looking at what can be better. I’m looking to mitigate risk,” Rose said. “I’m looking at some of the performance data that I’m getting on the range and places like that and outperforming what I have. So that’s the exciting part for me.

“Obviously there’s going to be a refinement process. You can test all you want, you’ve got to get the clubs in play, and there’s going to be little mini situations out there, different lies, all sorts of things, just getting comfortable. But in the long term, no, I don’t see there being an issue at all.”

Rose said McLaren is positioning itself in the “high-end” segment of the golf market rather than aiming for mass production. He also noted his growing relationship with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown and Formula One world champion Lando Norris, with McLaren’s testing facility located about 20 minutes from his home.

“They’re both very keen golfers,” Rose said. “I think there’s a little bit of a get-together tomorrow night, which is kind of before their week gets serious, before our week gets serious. But, yeah, those guys are probably as excited about the launch as I am.”

-Reporting by Field Level Media/Reuters