Equipment: Best drivers of 2015 by tour wins

Here at NCG we take a keen interest in what equipment the world’s best players are using on tour each week.

So as 2015 draws to a close we take a look back at the Majors, the PGA Tour and the European Tour to find out which drivers were the weapons of choice in each win.

It was no surprise to see Titleist, Callaway and TaylorMade come out on top.

Overall wins
Titleist – 23
Callaway – 22
TaylorMade – 19
Ping – 6
Nike – 6
Cobra – 3
Cleveland – 3
Mizuno – 1
XXIO – 1


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Jordan Spieth led the way for the Titleist 915 driver using is 915 D2 version for his two major wins and three PGA Tour victories.

It was quite surprising to see so many Titleist staffers opting for the slightly larger D2 head as opposed to the lower-spinning and more compact D3.

A number of players including Justin Thomas, Bill Haas and Victor Dubuisson actually opted for the D4 version which is available on a ‘made to order’ basis only and features a forward weight position to reduce the spin further.


TaylorMade racked up the most wins on the PGA Tour thanks to the likes of Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and JB Holmes.

There was a mix though between the R15 driver, the Aeroburner, last year’s SLDR and the new M1 driver which was put to devastating effect by Day towards the end of the year.

Callaway drivers were the most successful on the European Tour with 15 victories from the likes of Danny Willett, Matt Fitzpatrick, Branden Grace and Anirban Lahiri.

The Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond was a popular choice but there were also wins for the XR, Big Bertha, Big Bertha Alpha 815 and the new Great Big Bertha.






Titleist were consistent across both tours with 10 wins on each while TaylorMade only had the three European Tour victories to go with their 16 PGA Tour successes.

Callaway had seven victories on the PGA Tour and ended the season major-less.

All of Ping’s six victories came from the Ping G30 – the market-leading driver of 2015 – thanks to Andy Sullivan’s three wins, a couple for Bubba Watson and a maiden triumph for David Lingmerth.

Rickie Fowler bagged all of Cobras three wins with his Fly-Z+ driver. It is likely Fowler will put the new King LTD driver into play in 2016

Nike’s six wins included four with the Vapor Pro driver (three from Rory, one from Thorbjorn Olessen) before McIlroy and Charl Schwartzel gave the new Vapor Fly driver two wins at the end of the year.






Breakdown

The 2015 Majors 
Titleist – 3 
TaylorMade – 1

The Masters – Jordan Spieth – Titleist 915 D2

US Open – Jordan Spieth – Titleist 915 D2

The Open – Zach Johnson – Titleist 913D2

PGA Championship – Jason Day – TaylorMade R15 

PGA tour winners in 2015 (WGC events included in PGA Tour list)


TaylorMade – 16
Titleist – 10
Callaway – 7
Ping – 3
Nike – 2
Cobra – 2
Cleveland – 2

Hyundai Tournament of Champions – Patrick Reed –  Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond

Sony Open in Hawaii – Jimmy Walker – Titleist 915 D2

CareerBuilder Challenge – Bill Haas –  Titleist 915 D2

Farmers Insurance Open – Jason Day – TaylorMade R15

Waste Management Phoenix Open – Brooks Koepka –  Titleist 915 D2

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – Brandt Snedeker – TaylorMade Burner SuperFast

Northern Trust Open – James Hahn – TaylorMade SLDR 460

The Honda Classic – Padraig Harrington – TaylorMade AeroBurner

World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship – Dustin Johnson – TaylorMade Aeroburner

Valspar Championship – Jordan Spieth – Titleist 915 D2

Arnold Palmer Invitational – Matt Every – Callaway Big Bertha V Series

World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play – Rory McIlroy – Nike Vapor Pro

Puerto Rico Open – Alex Cejka – TaylorMade SLDR 

Shell Houston Open – J.B. Holmes – TaylorMade R15

RBC Heritage – Jim Furyk – Callaway Big Bertha

Valero Texas Open – Jimmy Walker – Titleist 915 D2

Zurich Classic of New Orleans – Justin Rose – TaylorMade R15

Wells Fargo Championship – Rory McIlroy – Nike Vapor Pro

The Players Championship – Rickie Fowler – Cobra Fly-Z+

AT&T Byron Nelson – Steven Bowditch – TaylorMade Aeroburner

Colonial National Invitation Tournament – Chris Kirk – Callaway XR Pro

The Memorial Tournament – David Lingmerth – Ping G30

FedEx St. Jude Classic – Fabian Gomez – TaylorMade R15

Quicken Loans National – Troy Merritt – TaylorMade R15

Barracuda Championship – J.J. Henry – TaylorMade R15

World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational – Shane Lowry –  TaylorMade Burner Superfast TP

The Greenbrier Classic – Danny Lee – Callaway XR

Barbasol Championship – Scott Piercy – Titleist 910 D2

RBC Canadian Open – Jason Day – TaylorMade R15

Travelers Championship – Bubba Watson – Ping G30

John Deere Classic – Jordan Spieth – Titleist 915 D2

Wyndham Championship – Davis Love III – TaylorMade SLDR

The Barclays – Jason Day – TaylorMade R15

Deutsche Bank Championship – Rickie Fowler – Cobra Fly-Z+

BMW Championship – Jason Day – TaylorMade M1

TOUR Championship – Jordan Spieth – Titleist 915 D2

Frys.com Open – Emiliano Grillo – Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 

Shriners Hospitals for Children Open – Smylie Kaufman – Cleveland Classic 290

CIMB Classic – Justin Thomas – Titleist 915 D4

Sanderson Farms Championship – Peter Malnati – Titleist 915 D2

World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions – Russell Knox –  Cleveland Classic XL Custom

The RSM Classic – Kevin Kisner – Callaway Great Big Bertha

Hero World Challenge – Bubba Watson – Ping G30

European Tour winners in 2015

Callaway – 15
Titleist – 10
Nike – 4
TaylorMade – 3
Ping – 3
Cobra – 1
Mizuno – 1
Cleveland – 1
XXIO – 1

The South African Open Championship – Andy SULLIVAN – Ping G30

Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship – Gary STAL – Titleist 915 D2

Commercial Bank Qatar Masters – Branden GRACE – Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 Double Black Diamond 

Omega Dubai Desert Classic – Rory MCILROY – Nike Vapor Pro

Maybank Malaysian Open – Anirban LAHIRI – Callaway, Big Bertha V Series

True Thailand Classic – Andrew DODT – Titleist 915 D3

Hero Indian Open – Anirban LAHIRI – Callaway Big Bertha V Series

Joburg Open – Andy SULLIVAN – Ping G30

Africa Open – Trevor FISHER JNR – Cleveland Classic

Tshwane Open – George COETZEE – Titleist 915 D3

Trophee Hassan II – Richie RAMSAY – TaylorMade Jet Speed

Shenzhen International – Kiradech APHIBARNRAT – Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond

Volvo China Open – Ashun WU – XXIO Forged

AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open – George COETZEE – Titleist 915 D3

Open de Espa̱a РJames MORRISON РCallaway Big Bertha V Series

BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP – Byeong Hun AN – Titleist 915 D3

Irish Open – Søren KJELDSEN – TaylorMade Aeroburner

Nordea Masters – Alex NOREN – Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond Driver

Lyoness Open – Chris WOOD – Mizuno JPX850

BMW International Open – Pablo LARRAZÃBAL – Callaway XR

Alstom Open de France – Bernd WIESBERGER – Titleist 915 D3

Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open – Rickie FOWLER – Cobra Fly-Z+

Omega European Masters – Danny WILLETT – Callaway XR

Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play – Kiradech APHIBARNRAT – Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond

Made in Denmark – David HORSEY – Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 

D+D REAL Czech Masters – Thomas PIETERS – Callaway Great Big Bertha

M2M Russian Open – Lee SLATTERY – Titleist 915 D2

KLM Open – Thomas PIETERS – Callaway Great Big Bertha

OPEN D’ITALIA – Rikard KARLBERG – Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond

Porsche European Open – Thongchai JAIDEE – Titleist 915 D2

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship – Thorbjørn OLESEN – Nike Vapor Pro

British Masters – Matthew FITZPATRICK – Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond

Portugal Masters – Andy SULLIVAN – Ping G30

UBS Hong Kong Open – Justin ROSE – TaylorMade M1

TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN – Victor DUBUISSON –  Titleist 915 D4

BMW MASTERS – Kristoffer BROBERG – Callaway RAZR Hawk

DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP – Rory MCILROY – Nike Vapor Fly Pro

Alfred Dunhill Championship – Charl Scwartzel – Nike Vapor Fly Pro

Nedbank Golf Challenge – Marc Leishman –  Titleist 915 D4