Spend time on the driving range during Open week and you’ll quickly notice something different.
While Augusta National might require towering iron shots and the US Open rewards precision, links golf presents an entirely different challenge. Firm fairways, unpredictable winds and awkward lies force players to think differently about every club in their bag.
Where players typically game high-lofted fairway woods, and even hybrids, week-to-week on the PGA Tour those same clubs are usually swapped out for old school long irons.
There isn’t another tournament on the calendar that changes what’s in a golfer’s bag quite like the game’s oldest major.
That has lead to some unique choices. Here are some of the most unusual clubs that have featured in Open Championships through the years…
1. Todd Hamilton’s Sonartec Md
You’ll be forgiven if you hadn’t heard of Sonartec. Before starting writing this article, I hadn’t either.
They were a small fairway wood-focused brand that garnered quite the cult following in the early 2000s which included a loyal following on tour.
Todd Hamilton arrived at Royal Troon in 2004 with a 17-degree Sonartec Md hybrid that had been bent down to 14 degrees and built to almost the length of a 3-wood. Rather than using it like a typical hybrid, he used it for almost everything.
Its versatility proved invaluable as he went on to win the Open Championship that year.
Hamilton’s victory sparked a surge in the popularity of hybrids. Demand for the Sonartec Md exploded almost overnight and, more broadly, golfers began to see hybrids as much more than rescue clubs.
2. Phil Mickelson’s Phrankenwood
When Phil Mickelson lifted the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield, he did so without a driver in the bag. That was pretty unheard of for a tour professional at the time, and still is today.
Instead he had something else in the bag. Dubbed the “Phrankenwood”, the club was a one-off prototype created by Callaway specifically for Mickelson. It combined the larger head of a 3-wood with the shaft length of a driver.
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Sound familiar? Now, we of course know that as a mini driver, but back in 2013 that was yet to be a thing. Although the Phrankenwood was never released, its influence can be seen with the surge in popularity of the mini driver.
Our very own Dan Murphy now has a ‘Thriver’ in the bag – the ultimate fairway finder – read his full review here.
3. Zach Johnson’s SeeMore FGP Putter
Scotty Cameron’s, TaylorMade Spider’s, the Odyssey ranges are all extremely popular on tour. But Zach Johnson decided to pass up on all of those when he won the Open in 2015 and instead went down a different route.
That route led him to the SeeMore FGP putter. Johnson’s victory gave SeeMore one of their biggest moments.
Unlike many of the equipment giants represented on tour, the Tennessee-based company focuses heavily on alignment and consistency – with the aid of the simple red dot on the putter head. Something our review team loved when testing, with Jack Backhouse commenting – the RST system promoting a square face through impact. During my testing, it became apparent to me that when the red dot is hidden, putts roll true with minimal side spin.
And while it looked unconventional compared to many blade putters of the era, it became one of the most recognisable clubs of that championship.
4. Fleetwood’s Nine-wood Obsession
A 9-wood might seem like an unlikely choice for links golf, but Tommy Fleetwood has shown that there’s still a place for one at The Open under the right conditions. The Englishman has occasionally put a TaylorMade Qi10 Max 9-wood into play over the years.
Higher-lofted fairway woods are becoming ever-increasingly popular on tour but still a nine-wood is quite the outlier. At a links course where players can face long approaches into elevated greens a nine-wood can have quite the use. The Open Championship has always encouraged players to think differently. Here are the strangest clubs ever used at
Will he have it in the bag for Royal Birkdale?
5. Greg Norman’s Persimmon drivers
Even as metal woods began to take over professional golf, Greg Norman continued to use a persimmon driver during parts of his Open career.
The traditional wooden-headed club offered exceptional feel and workability, and Norman trusted it during an era when many of his rivals were making the switch to metal. It serves as a reminder of just how rapidly golf equipment evolved during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Let us know if we have missed any out by leaving a comment or by getting in touch with us on X!
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