Rory McIlroy is changing equipment – let's just hope he doesn't change

Jubilation was obviously the most prominent emotion as Rory McIlroy hosted a party for one of his key sponsors in Dubai on Sunday evening. There must also have been an element of sadness, with McIlroy poised to end the lucrative association with Jumeirah which has been in place since 2007. When McIlroy next steps on to a 1st tee for competitive action, in Abu Dhabi in January, the Nike swoosh is expected to be his only visible slogan.

McIlroy's choice of shirts and hats isn't particularly important to anybody outside the fashion world. In a golfing sense, there will be scrutiny over how a move to new clubs and another golf ball will affect the world No1's displays. The ball is a particularly crucial issue for any top-level player.

McIlroy has used Titleist equipment since he was 14, a matter formalised after he turned professional. Those who point out how McIlroy's rapid rise over the past five years mean he shouldn't be of a mind to alter anything ignore what their own thoughts would be if such a lucrative Nike deal – which could be worth up to $250m (£156m) over a decade – was placed before them.

McIlroy must also, privately, value the thought of emulating his boyhood hero, Tiger Woods, who has been Nike's long-time golf icon.

McIlroy has admitted to testing new equipment since the culmination of the Ryder Cup. His assertion that, essentially, all golf clubs are the same but with separate branding may not have amused his new Nike paymasters.

Still, McIlroy's long-time coach Michael Bannon insists it would be wrong to suggest the 23-year-old could struggle amid adaptation. "He'll have no problems at all with new equipment," says Bannon. "If you look at the clubs he is going to change to, all the shafts are the same. He is also going from blade to blade, which is quite an easy thing to do.

"The ball is fine, he just has to practise a wee bit more with it and get used to the feel of it. He has to play a few rounds of golf as well, which he hasn't been able to do [with new equipment] yet.

"People overstate what the change could mean, it is something to talk about but I think this will be an easy transition for him. I don't see it being a problem at all."

If Bannon is proved correct, another element of hope will have disappeared for those seeking to topple McIlroy from the top of the world. Since his fifth win of the year, in Dubai on Sunday, his lead in the rankings is extensive.

"Rory has improved this season, mentally I think," Bannon adds. "He also learned how to hit a fade and how to control that shot. From about the Bridgestone on, he learned to hold the ball up without it getting away from him left to right. That was the big thing on the course this year, he could control that shot and his wedges a lot more.

"His short game is razor sharp at the minute and that is just another factor. His putting has improved immensely. He puts a lot of work in, he has had help from Dave Stockton who put a few wee things into his putting which really worked."

McIlroy is now in that envious position of being able to pick and choose when he will compete, as well as who he will make time for. He will cut down his schedule during 2013 but more intriguing than where the Northern Irishman appears will be his attitude when he does so.

McIlroy shows wonderful maturity for one so young. He has also been amiable and approachable. It would be sad, therefore, if McIlroy were to become the kind of cut-off, monosyllabic character that Woods was moulded into from virtually the start of his career. McIlroy has already proved there is no need whatsoever to be that way and is admired for it.

McIlroy claimed the World Championship with characteristic aplomb. After Justin Rose hit the top of the leaderboard, McIlroy closed with five successive birdies to win by two. Given McIlroy's exploits earlier in the year, it seemed a wholly appropriate sign-off to 2012.

"He doesn't like getting beat," said Bannon. "It is a confidence that he has. If he is in the lead or anywhere round about there he knows he can go out and win, he knows he can do it.

"That gives him that extra bit of help, I think, that he can go out on the course and put extra pressure on when needed. That showed over the last five holes; five single putts, five birdies. He has the ability to do that."

And the rest. Equipment change should pose few traumas; to McIlroy himself, that is.