Playing without a golf club sponsor, or as a free agent on the PGA Tour is a bit of an anomaly these days, but it also allows players the flexibility to test and play whatever equipment they want. Last week at the Bank of Utah Championship, Jason Day was spotted playing Avoda irons, made popular by Bryson Dechambeau’s 3D printed set in 2024.
ST GEORGE, UTAH – OCTOBER 23: Jason Day of Australia plays a shot on the tenth hole during the first round of the Bank of Utah Championship 2025 at Black Desert Resort on October 23, 2025 in St George, Utah. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
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Jason Day has been an equipment free agent since 2021, except for his contract with Bridgestone for golf balls. This gives him the ability to play whatever clubs he wants. At the Bank of Utah Championship last week in St. George, Utah, Day was playing the Avoda irons. So, if you thought the curved face irons that Bryson DeChambeau has been using for a few seasons were unique only to him, you would be mistaken.
“Hadn’t been hitting my irons great at all,” Day said at Black Desert. “I decided to have a chat to my coach, Colin [Swatton], and say, do you reckon we can go out and just maybe have a look?
“I don’t have an OEM sponsor, so I’m a free agent there so I can go out and see what the best of the best is. Stumbled across Avoda in a way … obviously, Bryson had some success with it. He won with the Avoda irons at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. But I just told my coach, just have a chat to the guys, see what they think.”
Last season, Day played a variety of irons from both TaylorMade and Ping, using both blades and cavity back irons at times. TaylorMade and Ping are traditional powers in the golf club industry and have been around for decades. What Jason Day turned to for irons ahead of the Bank of Utah Championship is something altogether different.
Avoda Golf’s big break came in 2024, when Bryson DeChambeau used their irons en route to winning the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. DeChambeau still uses the irons, but there hadn’t been another big name player in golf to try them out in competition until now, with Jason Day.
Just like DeChambeau, Avoda and Day worked to find a 3D printed prototype, with the progressive face curvature that would be to Day’s liking. Unlike DeChambeau though, Day will not be playing a single shaft length set, instead opting for traditional shaft lengths.
Bryson DeChambeau’s Avoda 3d printed prototype irons with face ‘bulge’
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According the Avoda, curved face irons reduce side spin on mishits, which is supposed to dramatically improve shot dispersion compared to a traditional iron face. It is a very similar concept to the curve on driver faces. The difference with irons is that they only require horizontal curvature, known as ‘bulge’ across the face. Woods also employ vertical curvature called ‘roll.’
Before the tournament started, Day stated, “After this week, we’ll get back together and see what needs to be improved. I’d like to see a tiny bit more offset, help me turn it over a bit more and get it launching higher. That’d be nice.”
At the Bank of Utah Championship, Day finished T-20 and his approach play strokes gained on the field was +0.05 according to Data Golf, which was an improvement from his last two starts.
The 3D printed iron heads were not the only thing Day has changed. He is trying oversized grips for the first time in his career and he made a shaft change in his irons. Day had been playing True Temper Dynamic Golf X7 shafts, with a weight of 136 grams. In the Avoda set, he has opted to use KBS TGI 110X graphite shafted irons. The shafts match the ones he is currently playing in his woods.
Day explained his thinking when talking to the media. “The theory I think I have the same profile shaft from 60-degree all the way up to driver,” he said. The goal is to be able to swing, just pretty much have one swing like whatever ball flight you want, whether that’s a draw or a fade. For me it’s a draw. To go up there and hit a draw and pretty much put the same swing on it and hopefully it produces the same shot over and over again.”
Are 3D printed irons, that have face curvature like Avodas the future of iron design? Time will tell on that front, but having another big name star like Jason Day using them in the fall season cannot hurt the possible new trend in iron design.