For the last several years, Tommy Fleetwood has been part of a new wave of PGA Tour players who mostly opt to use a 7-wood in place of a 3-iron. High-lofted fairway options in the modern game help offer increased forgiveness, enhanced workability, greater versatility and higher launch for more stopping power on slick greens from long distances.

However, when the winds are high, or on particular courses, Fleetwood carries a 3-iron for a more penetrating ball flight. His latest 7-wood replacement provides even lower launch; it’s a long iron that his caddie refers to as a “2.5-iron.”

On Wednesday at the 2022 U.S. Open, Fleetwood had two 3-iron options in the bag; one is a TaylorMade P-7TW 3-iron (20 degrees), and the other is a TaylorMade “TF Proto” 3-iron (18 degrees). He won’t keep both in the bag during competition, so he’ll make the decision between them come competition time on Thursday.

Fleetwood’s caddie Ian Finnis calls the 18-degree TF Proto iron a “2.5 iron” due to its lower loft. Finnis also says that Fleetwood hits the 18-degree option “about 20 yards further” than his weaker-lofted P-7TW.

If the TF Proto iron does end up going into play at the U.S. Open on Thursday, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d be using the club in competition.

At the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, Fleetwood switched into the TF Proto 2.5-iron to hit low-flighted missiles that better navigated the blustery Texas winds.

But his experience with the TF Proto iron actually goes back even farther than that.

In 2019, as an equipment free agent, Fleetwood was using TaylorMade’s P-7TW prototype irons, which were designed for Tiger Woods. Then, in September 2020, just months before officially signing with TaylorMade that December, Fleetwood switched into his own set of TaylorMade “TF Proto” irons. The TF Proto name and aesthetics of the iron were reminiscent of the company’s other custom builds for players, such as Rory McIlroy’s “Rors Proto” irons, Justin Rose’s “Rose Proto” irons, and Dustin Johnson’s “DJ Proto” irons.

The TF Protos didn’t last in Fleetwood’s bag, as he switched back into P-7TW irons in 2021, and he still plays them currently. Well, that is, aside from when he dug back into his stash of TF Proto irons to bring back the low-lofted “2.5 iron” at Colonial late last month.

The TF Proto iron might just make another appearance at the 2022 U.S. Open this week, too. We’ll be on the lookout and update this story with more info when we confirm his game-time setup.

See more photos of the TF Proto 2.5 iron here.