WITB Special: Surprising Club Choices at the Tour Championship – lessons for us all?

Welcome to the WITB special Tour Championship! The Tour Championship sees the gathering of the last 30 players to see who will be crowned the FedEx Champion. This gives a great opportunity to delve into the bags of all 30 players to see what brands are being gamed – from off the tee to rolling the putts on the green.

Some of the choices might surprise you and in fact give you hope! It is not simply the case of all players using the latest equipment and balls. Like us amateurs, it appears that even the professionals have their trusty favourites that give confidence when standing over the ball.

So, let’s take a deeper look and see what clubs the 30 players at the Tour Championship are gaming and which brands come out on top. Sections are split into drivers, fairway woods, mini drivers, hybrids, irons, wedges, putters and balls.

Tour Championship WITB Special

Drivers

• PGA Tour statistics – Titleist 36% / Ping 24% / TaylorMade 12% / Callaway 18% / Srixon 3%
• Final 30 Tour Champs – Titleist 33% / Ping 27% / TaylorMade 20% / Callaway 13% / Srixon 7%

The statistics above only give part of the picture as there is a lot of variation in which models are chosen – between new and older models. See the breakdown below for the 30 players at the Tour Championship finale, with the latest model listed first.

• Titleist – GT-4 / TSR-2 / TSi-3 / TS-1 – most featuring in our buyer’s guide Best Titleist Drivers
• Ping – G440-3 / G430-4 / G425-1 – most featuring in our buyer’s guide Best Ping Drivers
• TaylorMade – Qi35-3 / Qi10-3 – all featuring in our buyer’s guide Best TaylorMade Drivers
• Callaway – AiSmoke-2 / Paradym-1 / Rogue ST Max-1 – most featuring in our buyer’s guide Best Callaway Drivers
• Srixon – ZXi-1 / ZX5-MK II-1 – both featuring in our buyer’s guide Best Srixon Drivers

When it comes to particular players it is interesting to note Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy both tee off with the TaylorMade Qi10 and have not yet made the switch to the Qi35.

Justin Rose, further to his win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, seems to have settled on the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max – the 2024 offering from Callaway – whereas Akshay Bhatia opts for the 2022 Callaway Rogue ST Max.

There are some great bargains to be had on the older models and if they are good enough for the elite then maybe they are good enough for us mere mortals!

Fairway woods

• PGA Tour statistics – TaylorMade 40% / Titleist 19% / Ping 17% / Callaway 20%
• Final 30 Tour Champs – TaylorMade 57% / Titleist 20% / Ping 13% / Callaway 10%

This area of the bag was a surprise for me. I thought it would be very similar to the driver statistics above. But how wrong was I!?!? There seems to be a shift towards TaylorMade when selecting a fairway wood.

The statistics for fairway woods is not as clean as for driver due to the fact that players sometimes choose to put in their bag more than one fairway wood and it does not necessarily follow that they select the same brand and or model. For example, Collin Morikawa has a TaylorMade SIM Titanium and TaylorMade Qi10, Justin Thomas has the Titleist TS3 and Titleist 915 Fd and Hideki Matsuyama selects a TaylorMade Qi10 and Cobra King RadSpeed Tour!

Taking all these variations into consideration the summary statistics are still a good reflection of which brands the final 30 players are choosing when it comes to fairway woods.

What the driver and fairway wood statistics demonstrate is that players will switch brand between the clubs as highlighted by the examples below –

• J.J Spaun – Titleist GT3 driver and TaylorMade Qi10 fairway wood
• Justin Rose – Callaway AiSmoke Triple Diamond Max driver and TaylorMade M6 fairway wood
• Ben Griffin – Ping G430 Max 10K driver and TaylorMade Qi10 fairway wood
• Bob Macintyre – Titleist TSR2 driver and TaylorMade Aeroburner fairway wood
• Ludvig Aberg – Titleist TSR2 driver and TaylorMade Stealth 2 fairway wood (now discounted)
• Keegan Bradley – Ping G430 LST driver and TaylorMade Qi10 HL fairway wood
• Viktor Hovland – Ping G425 LST driver and TaylorMade SIM Titanium fairway wood
• Hideki Matsuyama – Srixon ZX5-MK II LS driver and TaylorMade Qi10 fairway wood
• Shane Lowry – Srixon ZXi LS driver and TaylorMade Qi35 fairway wood
• Nick Taylor – Titleist TSi3 driver and TaylorMade Qi10 and SIM2 Max fairway woods
• Chris Gotterup – Ping G440 LST driver and TaylorMade Qi35 fairway wood

If you have a mixed set of clubs at the top of the bag maybe it is the way to go! Just because you have a certain brand driver it does not necessarily follow you need to follow suit when it comes to the fairway wood(s).

Having said that Scottie Scheffler seems quite settled on his driver and fairway wood – choosing the TaylorMade Qi10 for both – and so maybe looking to match your driver and fairway wood might be a sensible option if you want model your game on Scottie.

The other thing to note is that it appears that the top players are happier to game the latest models when it comes to fairway woods whereas they are more reluctant when it comes to the driver. See the examples below…

• Sam Burns – Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond S driver and Callaway Triple Diamond Elyte fairway wood
• Brian Harman – Titleist TSi2 driver and Titleist GT2 fairway wood
• Akshay Bhatia – Callaway Rogue ST Max driver and Callaway Elyte fairway wood

Mini Drivers

Mini Drivers have been a growth area in 2025 with most of the major brands releasing products in 2025 and featuring in our Best Mini Drivers buyer’s guide. A guide that we could not have created in 2024 as there were not enough products on the market.

That being said, out of the field of 30 players teeing it up at the Tour Championship there are only 3 who currently carry the mini driver – with only 11 playing a mini driver on the PGA Tour. These being Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Jacob Bridgeman. All carry a TaylorMade mini driver with Justin and Tommy opting for the 2025 R7 Quad and Jacob the previous model BRNR Copper.

Hybrids

What percentage of the field do you think have a hybrid in the bag? It is just 6 players, which equates to 20%.

I am certainly someone who has benefitted from hybrids over long irons and so probably just reflects that if you are confident in your long iron play maybe you do not need to consider putting a hybrid in your bag. The 6 players that have opted for a hybrid are listed below – with four of the six choosing to put a Titleist hybrid in the bag

• Russell Henley – Titleist TSi2
• Bob Macintyre – TaylorMade Stealth 2
• Cameron Young – Titleist GT2
• Nick Taylor – Titleist TSR2
• Sungjae Im – Titleist 818 H2
• Akshay Bhatia – Callaway Apex UW

Even if only 20% of players select a hybrid what the above demonstrates again is that there is variety and does not follow that the most recent model is selected.

Irons

When it comes to irons it might be helpful to put the Final 30 Tour Champs Irons and Driver stats next to each other….

• Final Tour Champs irons – Titleist 33% / TaylorMade 20% / Srixon 20% / Ping 10% / Callaway 10% / Bridgestone 3% / Mizuno 3% – ( please note – Justin Rose uses Titleist 620 CB (4-6) and Miura MC-502 (7-PW))
• Final Tour Champs drivers – Titleist 33% / Ping 27% / TaylorMade 20% / Callaway 13% / Srixon 7%

In simple terms, Srixon are more popular when it comes to irons (even Scottie Scheffler selects some Srixon irons) and there seems to be some switching from a Ping driver to another brand for irons. Out of the 8 players who use a Ping driver only Harris English, Corey Connors and Viktor Hovland stick with Ping when it comes to their irons.

The new brands that make an appearance, namely Bridgestone and Mizuno, are players who use a Ping driver. Chris Gotterup choosing Bridgestone irons and Ben Griffin Mizuno irons.

The remaining three players who tee up a Ping Driver, Keegan Bradley and Andrew Novak select Srixon and Harry Hall a mix of Titleist and Callaway.

Another take home point when looking at what irons the top players use is the amount of blended sets. They don’t just stick with one iron model and look to mix and match. See the examples below..

• Scottie Scheffler – Srixon ZU85 (3, 4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
• Rory McIlroy – TaylorMade P760 (2 and 4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9)
• J.J. Spaun – Srixon ZXi5 (4), Srixon ZXi7 (5-PW)
• Justin Rose – Titleist 620 CB (4-6), Miura MC-502 (7-PW)
• Russell Henley – Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
• Sepp Straka – Srixon ZXi5 (4, 5), Srixon ZXi7 (6-9)
• Harris English – Ping G410 Crossover (3), Ping Blueprint T (4-9)
• Justin Thomas – Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 621.JT (6-9)
• Cameron Young – Titleist T350 (3), Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
• Ludvig Aberg – Titleist T350 (3), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
• Keegan Bradley – Srixon ZX5 Mk II (3-5), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (6-9), Srixon Z-Forged II (PW)
• Brian Harman – Titleist U-500 (3-5), Titleist T100 (6), Titleist 620 CB (7-PW)
• Corey Conners – Ping i230 (4-5), Ping Blueprint T (6-PW)
• Collin Morikawa – TaylorMade P7CB (4-6), TaylorMade P730 (7-PW)
• Viktor Hovland – Titleist U505 (3), Ping i210 (4-PW)
• Shane Lowry – Srixon ZXi Utility (3), Srixon ZXi5 (4 and 5), Srixon ZXi7 (6-PW)
• Akshay Bhatia – Callaway X Forged UT (22 degrees), Callaway Apex TCB Raw (5-PW)

The above is a good illustration to why you might wish to get properly fitted for your irons – fittings are not just about drivers and or putters.

Wedges

Similar to irons, wedges can be very much a mix and match approach – 53% of the final 30 players selecting more than 1 model of wedge – mainly within a brand rather than between and once again it is not an automatic that a player will game the newest model. It will be interesting to see if those selecting TaylorMade wedges make a quick switch to the new MG5 or not.

• PGA Tour Statistics – Titleist (Vokey/Wedgeworks) 55% / TaylorMade 7% / Cleveland 7% / Ping 10% / Callaway 13%
• Final 30 Tour Champs – Titleist (Vokey/Wedgeworks) 43% / TaylorMade 20% / Cleveland 20% / Ping 10% / Callaway 7% – ( please note – Ben Griffin uses two TaylorMade and one Mizuno)

Listed below are the 47% of players who game one model of wedge –

• Rory McIlroy – TaylorMade MG4 – (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61)
• Russell Henley – Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 50-08F @51, 54-10S @55, 60-04T)
• Sepp Straka – Cleveland RTZ (46, 52, 56, 60)
• Justin Thomas – Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F @47.5, 52-12F @52.5, 56-14F @57, 60-04T @60.5)
• Ludvig Aberg – Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-08F, 54-10S, 60-08M)
• Andrew Novak – Cleveland RTZ (50, 54, 60)
• Keegan Bradley – Cleveland RTZ Tour Rack (52-10 Mid, 56-10 Mid, 58-06 Low)
• Sam Burns – Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-12F, 56-14F @55, 60-08M)
• Corey Conners – Ping s159 (50-S12, 56-S12, 60-H)
• Collin Morikawa – TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08, 60)
• Hideki Matsuyama – Cleveland RTX 4 Forged Prototype (48, 52-10, 56-08, 60-08)
• Shane Lowry – Cleveland RTZ (52-MID, 56-MID, 60-ADAPT)
• Jacob Bridgeman – TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB)
• Akshay Bhatia – Callaway Opus Prototype (50, 54, 60)

In terms of players selecting older model wedges it is interesting to note that two of the wedges Scottie Scheffler uses are the SM8 model. The SM7 is also still used courtesy of Patrick Cantlay and Sungjae Im.

Putters

Over 70% of the final 30 players choose to putt with a mallet putter with TaylorMade, Scotty Cameron and Odyssey the brands played by most players – they cover 84% of the players.

L.A.B. putters have been getting more and more attention this year but J.J. Spaun is the only player to use a L.A.B. putter – providing the brand with some great exposure on his way to winning the US Open. It will be interesting to see if this changes over the next couple of years.

• PGA Tour statistics – TaylorMade 10% / Scotty Cameron 27% / Odyssey 34% / Ping 16% / Bettinardi 2% / L.A.B. 6%
• Final Tour Champs – TaylorMade 30% / Scotty Cameron 27% / Odyssey 27% / Ping 10% / Bettinardi 3% / L.A.B. 3% ( please note – Jacob Bridgeman primarily uses Bettinardi but also has a Scotty Cameron and TaylorMade Spider).

Golf Balls

If you look at the PGA as a whole approx 75% of players tee up a Titleist golf ball, with an equal amount playing the Pro V1 and the Pro V1x.

As the majority of players play a Titleist golf ball it is no surprise that they also dominate when it comes to balls played by the final 30 players at the Tour Championship finale – however this amount drops to 50% of the field.

• PGA Tour statistics – Titleist 75% / Srixon 8% / TaylorMade 4% / Bridgestone 3% / Callaway 10% / Maxfli 1%
• Final Tour Champs – Titleist 50% / Srixon 20% / TaylorMade 10% / Bridgestone 10% / Callaway 7% / Maxfli 3%

See the breakdown below for the models of balls in play at the Tour Championship finale –

• Titleist – Pro V1x x 8 / Pro V1 x 8 / Pro V1x prototype x 1
• Srixon – Z-Star XV and Z-Star Diamond both x 3
• TaylorMade – TP5, TP5x and TP5x pix x 1 each
• Bridgestone – Tour B X x 3
• Callaway – Chrome Tour X and Chrome Tour x 1 each
• Maxfli – Tour X x 1

SUMMARY

Though this analysis is somewhat simplistic and any leaps to making bold claims should be avoided there are a number of interesting lessons that come to light when taking a look at the equipment used by the top 30 players.

• 1) Drivers – switching to the latest models is not a given. What this means is that if you are in the market for a new driver it might be worth checking out older models – this is where the discounts and savings are to be found.
• 2) Fairway woods – it does not follow that the fairway brand matches the driver brand. TaylorMade seem to have benefitted the most by this trend when it comes to the PGA Tour and final 30 players. If you are struggling with your fairway woods and have not looked beyond your preferred driver brand it might be worth checking out something different.
• 3) Mini drivers – though getting some more exposure this year only time will tell to see if this is a fad or something that will trickle more in the professional and amateur game. The benefits of using a mini driver are discussed in our Best mini drivers buyer’s guide.
• 4) Hybrids – this might be a club to benefit amateur and senior golfers more than the elite ball strikers. Similar to the driver, there are some bargains to be had with the older models. So, if you want to test out a hybrid an older model might be the place to start.
• 5) Irons – Srixon have made progress in this area and when looking at it as a whole it seems blended sets might be the way to go.
• 6) Wedges – for us amateurs there is probably no need to mix and match models but is important to find the model that works for you – it could even be an older model. As ever, once you get to a certain standard and play more than a couple of times a year, a proper fitting would be beneficial.
• 7) Putters – a mallet putter might be the way to go if you are not getting on with a blade. Check out our best mallet and best blade putter buying guides. If you are struggling with any putter in hand then maybe looking into the best zero torque putters could be a great option.
• 8) Balls – there are so many good balls on the market today that cover all budgets and levels of play. Our best balls buyer’s guide is probably a good place to start. It contains the prices and links out to all the individual reviews.

Ultimately which ever brand, or brands, you go for to make up your own golf bag there is no doubt that a proper fitting will be beneficial.

If you are a member of a golf club then your professional should be able to guide you to make better choices that are matched to your game.

If you are not a golf member then finding the nearest fitting centre would be the thing to do if you wanted to explore which equipment matched your swing.

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