On top of the world: The equipment used by every player to reach World No 1
Hannah Holden looks through the archives to bring you a What’s in the Bag rundown with a twist
Scottie Scheffler’s win at the 2022 WGC-Match Play made him the 25th player to reach the summit of the Official World Golf Ranking since it was introduced in 1986. Scheffler knocked Jon Rahm off top spot and it keeps quite a run going for the brand who have now featured in the bags of six of the last seven World No 1s.
It got me thinking. What gear was each of the 25 players using when they first made it to No 1? I’ve painstakingly gone through it all, but there are a couple of gaps I’m trying to fill out so if you have any information get in touch!
What’s in the bag: World No 1’s
Bernhard Langer
First reached World No 1: April 6, 1986
Langer was the first player crowned World No 1 and at the time the German was a Wilson staffer and carried a full set of their blades from 1-iron (ask your dad) all the way down to pitching wedge.
What’s in the bag?
Irons: Wilson Staff Tour Blades
Wedges: MacGregor
Seve Ballesteros
First reached World No 1: April 27, 1986
It didn’t take long for Seve to knock Langer off the top spot. He did so with nearly a full bag of Slazenger gear including the Supremo Sounder irons.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: Dunlop persimmon
Irons: Slazenger Supremo sounder
Ball: Dunlop Maxfli
Greg Norman
First reached World No 1: September 14, 1986
Norman was very finicky about his equipment. When his clubs arrived at his house he used to completely take them apart and re-build them to check all the parts and make sure the weighting, shaft kick, and spine location was correct.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: MacGregor M85
Fairway wood: Toney Penna
Irons: Spalding Tour Edition
Nick Faldo
First reached World No 1: September 2, 1990
Faldo was technically a Wilson staffer when he hit the top spot but had made a deal with the company to start testing new equipment. In fact there wasn’t actually any Wilson equipment in his iconic red Wilson tour bag…
What’s in the bag?
Driver: MacGregor M85W Eye-O-Matic Persimmon
Fairway wood: MacGregor M85W Eye-O-Matic Persimmon
Irons: Mizuno TN-87
Wedges: Mizuno Tour Proven (55°, 60°)
Putter: TaylorMade TPA XVIII
Ball: Titleist Tour Balata 90
Ian Woosnam
First reached World No 1: April 7, 1991
Woosnam was contracted with Maruman when he won the Masters, with the only exception being his putter.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: Maruman Conductor
Fairway wood: Maruman Conductor
Irons: Maruman MB
Putter: MaxFli Tad Moore
Fred Couples
First reached World No 1: March 22, 1992
As a Lynx ambassador Couples carried the brands driver and irons along with equipment from four other brands. Perhaps most iconic was his Ping Anser putter.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: Lynx Boom Boom9
Fairway wood: Ram Laser
Irons: Lynx Parallax
Wedges: Cleveland 588
Putter: Ping Anser
Ball: Maxfli
Nick Price
First reached World No 1: August 14, 1994
Who can forget the Fat Lady Swings putter? Other than that Price reached World No 1 with a mixed bag.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade Tour Brassie
Irons: Golden Ram
Putter: Fat Lady Swings
Tom Lehman
First reached World No 1: April 20, 1997
A long-time TaylorMade staffer, Lehman had the iconic Burner driver, complete with the new Bubble shaft, in play when he hit the summit.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade Burner Bubble
Fairway wood: TaylorMade Burner
Irons: TaylorMade Burner Bubble Tour
Putter: Taylormade TPA V
Tiger Woods
First reached World No 1: June 15, 1997
Tiger’s first world ranking-topping sticks are a far cry from his modern equipment setup. Woods was a free agent at the time and was using a mixed bag. Who remembers these?
- Related: Tiger Woods WITB
What’s in the bag?
Driver: King Cobra Deep Face
Fairway wood: Titleist PT 15
Driving iron: Mizuno MP-29
Irons: Mizuno MP-14
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTG
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport TeI3
Ball: Titleist Professional 90
Ernie Els
First reached World No 1: June 22, 1997
Another win for the TaylorMade bubble shaft. In fact, all Els’ long game clubs were TaylorMade. He rounded out his set with Cleveland wedges and a Ping Anser putter.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade Titanium with Bubble Shaft
Fairway wood: TaylorMade Titanium
Irons: TaylorMade Burner Tour
Wedges: Cleveland 588
Putter: Ping Anser
Ball: Titleist Professional
David Duval
First reached World No 1: March 28, 1999
Duval had five different brands in play when he became World No 1. I love how old school these Titleist irons look…
What’s in the bag?
Driver: Titleist 975D 6.5
Fairway wood: Callaway S2H2
Irons: Titleist DCI Black
Wedges: Cobra Trusty Rusty and Cleveland 588
Putter: Scotty Cameron Pro Platinum Newport
Vijay Singh
First reached World No 1: September 5, 2004
Probably the most eclectic bag on this list. My favourite is the 9-wood – yes, really – that Singh had bent for a stronger loft, so it was more like a 7-wood.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade R7 quad
Fairway woods: Cleveland Launcher 13 (3) and Callaway Big Bertha Steelhead (9)
Irons: Cleveland TA1
Wedges: Cleveland 900
Putter: Ben Hogan by Bettinardi BHB5-CC
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Lee Westwood
First reached World No 1: October 31, 2010
Westwood’s ranking-topping driver is a major throwback for me since it was my first ever proper driver. As a Ping staffer, he had a full bag of Ping goodies in play.
- Related: Lee Westwood WITB
What’s in the bag?
Driver: Ping G10
Fairway woods: Ping i15 and Ping Rapture V2
Irons: Ping i10
Wedges: Ping Tour-W
Putter: Ping Redwood Anser
Martin Kaymer
First reached World No 1: February 27, 2011
Kaymer was a TaylorMade staffer when he became World No 1. The only non-contracted club in his bag was his putter.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade R9 SuperTri
Fairway woods: TaylorMade R9 and TaylorMade Burner
Irons: TaylorMade RAC MB
Wedges: TaylorMade RAC and TaylorMade xFT
Putter: Ping Anser 2
Ball: TaylorMade Penta TP
Luke Donald
First reached World No 1: May 29, 2011
Although the first official Mizuno staffer to top the world rankings, Donald still had a pretty mixed set in play.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade R11
Fairway wood: TaylorMade R9
Hybrid: Mizuno CLK Fli-hi
Irons: Mizuno MP-62
Wedges: Mizuno MP T10
Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Rory McIlroy
First reached World No 1: March 4, 2012
McIlroy became World No 1 shortly before his 10-year, $250 million deal with Nike. He had a very traditional Titleist setup which had stayed constant throughout his early professional career.
- Related: Rory McIlroy WITB
What’s in the bag?
Driver: Titleist 913D3
Fairway woods: Titleist 906F2 and Titleist 910F
Irons: Titleist MB
Wedge: Vokey Design SM4
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport GSS prototype
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Adam Scott
First reached World No 1: May 18, 2014
We know Scott likes an unusual putter and things were not different when he was officially the best in the world…
What’s in the bag?
Driver: Titleist 915 D3
Fairway wood: Titleist 910 F.d
Driving iron: Titleist 712U
Irons: Titleist 680 Forged
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM5 and Titleist Vokey TVD-K
Putters: Scotty Cameron Futura X Long
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Jordan Spieth
First reached World No 1: August 16, 2015
A Titleist staffer since his early days on tour, Spieth has stayed loyal to the brand ever since and tinkers with his setup as little as possible.
- Related: Jordan Spieth WITB
What’s in the bag?
Driver: Titleist 915D2
Fairway wood: Titleist 915F
Driving iron: Titleist 712U
Irons: Titleist 714 AP2
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM5
Putter: Scotty Cameron 009 Prototype
Ball: Titleist Pro V1X
Jason Day
First reached World No 1: September 20, 2015
Day’s rise up the world ranking was largely down to a fine display of putting in this period and one of the reasons the TaylorMade Spider became so popular.
- Related: Jason Day WITB
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade M1
Fairway woods: TaylorMade AeroBurner HL
Driving iron: TaylorMade RSi
Irons: TaylorMade RSi TP Irons
Wedges: TaylorMade Tour Preferred EF (47˚, 52˚ & 58˚)
Putter: TaylorMade Ghost Spider IB Black Prototype
Ball: TaylorMade Tour Preferred X
Dustin Johnson
First reached World No 1: February 19, 2017
Another No 1 using a full bag of TaylorMade equipment. The makeup of the set doesn’t vary much to the clubs he has in play today.
- Related: Dustin Johnson WITB
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade M1 460
Fairway woods: TaylorMade M1
Driving iron: TaylorMade Golf RSi TP UDI
Irons: TaylorMade MB 2014
Wedges: TaylorMade Golf Milled Grind
Putter: TaylorMade Golf Spider Tour Black
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
Justin Thomas
First reached World No 1: May 13, 2018
It’s more than two years since Thomas first rose to the top of the world ranking and other than some fresh wedges his setup has barely changed.
- Related: Justin Thomas WITB
What’s in the bag?
Driver: Titleist TS3
Fairway woods: Titleist TS3 and Titleist 915Fd
Driving iron: Titleist 718 AP2
Irons: Titleist 718 MB
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM6 and Vokey SM5
Putter: Scotty Cameron Futura T X5 Prototype
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Justin Rose
First reached World No 1: September 10, 2018
Rose had a full set of TaylorMade equipment in play as World No 1 including a full set of P730 Rose Prototype irons.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade M3 440
Fairway woods: TaylorMade M4 and TaylorMade M3
Driving iron: TaylorMade P790
Irons: TaylorMade P730 Rose Proto
Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind and TaylorMade Hi-Toe
Putter: TaylorMade TP Ardmore 2
Golf Ball: TaylorMade TP5
Brooks Koepka
First reached World No 1: October 21, 2018
As a free agent, Brooks had equipment from four different manufacturers in play when he reached the top of the world. Most iconic is probably the Nike Vapor Fly Pro 3-iron which he has clung to ever since Nike left the golf hardware game.
- Related: Brooks Koepka WITB
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade M3
Fairway wood: TaylorMade M2 Tour HL
Driving iron: Nike Vapor Fly Pro
Irons: Mizuno JPX-900 Tour
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 Raw and SM7 Raw TVD
Putter: Scotty Cameron T10 Select Newport 2 prototype
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Jon Rahm
First reached World No 1: July 19, 2020
The second Spaniard and 10th European to reach World No. 1, Rahm carries a full bag of TaylorMade equipment. He is one to add in new technology when it comes about and has a full set of the new SIM woods as well as the new Chalk Spider X putter.
- Related: Jon Rahm WITB
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade SIM
Fairway woods: TaylorMade SIM
Irons: TaylorMade P750
Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind 2
Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Chalk
Ball: TaylorMade TP5
Scottie Scheffler
First reached World No 1: March 27, 2022
The American has become the third-quickest player to reach the peak of professional golf. The 25-year-old jumped to the top of the rankings after racking up three wins in five starts on the PGA Tour. It also comes just three weeks after he officially signed with TaylorMade.
- Related: Scottie Scheffler WITB
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus+
Fairway: TaylorMade Stealth
Driving iron: Srixon ZU85
Irons: Srixon ZX7 (4-iron), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (50°12F, 56°14F & 60°06K)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Proto
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
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Hannah Holden
Hannah Holden is the Equipment and Instruction Editor here at National Club Golfer. If you’re looking to improve your game, by changing your golf swing or upgrading your golf equipment she’ll have the answers.
As well as writing lots of features and reviews you can find her on our YouTube channel giving you insights on the latest rules, clubs and tips to improve your golf game.
Hannah is a member at Alwoodley golf club. You will either find her here or driving up and down the country playing in a variety of elite amateur events.
