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In spite of the fact that pro golfers seem to play a very different game to regular amateurs it is almost impossible for us not to pay close attention to the clubs the best pros in the world are using.
There is a small part of every amateur golfer I suspect that believes that if we simply play the same club that the pros are using then some of their magic will transfer to us and we’ll be able to hit some of the same shots as they do.
But what clubs are the pros actually using? If you analysed all the golf bags of the best players on the PGA Tour and chose the most popular 14 clubs the pros carry what golf set would you end up with?
We decided to do a comprehensive analysis of the top 100 players on the PGA Tour to find out.
The most common 14 clubs set up used by the top 100 PGA Tour players is made up firstly of a driver, 3-wood and 5-wood. The most popular iron set then starts with a 4-iron to pitching wedge which matches the iron set. 3 specialist wedges – a gap, sand and lob wedge are then added to the putter to complete the set.
The best players in the world however clearly don’t all use this setup and many use a number of different variations of higher numbers fairway woods (e.g. 7-wood), utility irons and hybrids and indeed some of the players will change the make up of their set on a regular basis depending on the particular course they are playing that week.
It is interesting however that the most common set-up of the best players on Tour will feel familiar to millions of amateurs across the world despite all of the options that are available to players today.
But while the most common golf club set up for the top pros is one thing we wanted also to find out what the individual club selections would be based on the most popular choices of the best pros on the PGA Tour, including lofts, shafts and grips.
The Most Popular Clubs on the PGA Tour – Top 100 Player Breakdown
When it comes to the most common set of golf clubs used by the top 100 players on the PGA Tour there is clearly a lot of similarity to the golf club type choices with regular amateurs.
Having a set of clubs with 3 woods, 7 irons, 3 wedges and a putter will be a familiar thing for the vast majority of amateur players.
But what about the individual club choices that the best pros on the PGA Tour then make? Our detailed analysis of the top 100 PGA Tour players found the following individual clubs to be the most popular:
If you went to your local golf shop and picked up this set up of clubs you are clearly not automatically going to play like a top PGA Tour pro however for all the options available to the best players in the world when it comes to club choices it is interesting to see how close this set is most likely to the vast majority of regular players across the world.
Saying that however our research found the top pros are all constantly searching for little changes and tweaks in their golf set which will save them a stroke or three across the course of a round or a tournament.
Many pros will therefore change their clubs from week to week depending on the type of course they find themselves playing that week whether that be adding in an extra wedge at the expense of a fairway wood or utility iron, or adding in a hybrid in place of their longest iron.
In addition many pros of course do not follow this set up and the most likely place of variation will be among the longer clubs in the bag.
For every pro that uses a 5-wood you will find close to a similar number who choose a higher numbered wood such as a 7-wood, utility iron or hybrid in its place. Further a number of the pros opt to carry more than one utility iron or hybrid and then start their standard iron-set with a 5-iron or sometimes even a 6-iron.
The decision to play 4 specialist wedges instead of the standard 3 by replacing the pitching wedge which comes with the rest of the iron set is also increasing in popularity and particularly among the younger generation of pros on the PGA Tour.
[Editor’s note – to put together this analysis we researched all the drivers, fairway woods, utility or driving irons, irons, irons, wedges and putters used by the top 100 players on the PGA Tour. If you are interested in finding out more about the individual club types you can check out our other articles here:
- What Driver is Most Used On the PGA Tour? Top 100 Player Analysis
- The Fairway Woods Used by the Top 100 PGA Tour Pros
- What Hybrid Golf Clubs Do the Top 100 PGA Tour Pros Use?
- What Irons Do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Guide (2021)
- What Wedges Do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Analysis (2021)
- What Putters do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Guide (2021)]
What Brand of Golf Clubs Do Most Pros Use?
When it comes to golf club brands they are an ever-increasing number of options on the market.
As golf technology has developed at a rapid rate, and particularly since the turn of the 21st century, an increasing number of specialist brands have entered the market and sometimes specialised in areas of the game, such as putter grips, previously considered not thought of as worthy of dedicated attention.
The big golf brands however have maintained an almost vice-like grip over the golf market and when it comes to the professional ranks that grip is once again in evidence.
Titleist is the dominant brand among the golf clubs used by the top 100 PGA Tour players. Titleist clubs are the most played across all categories of clubs, with the sole exception of fairway woods. Callaway is the next most popular brand among this elite group with PING golf clubs being the next most common.
For many years everyone has been aware of Titleist’s stranglehold over the golf ball market but I must confess to being surprised as to the popularity of Titleist clubs among all club types used by the best pros on the PGA Tour.
Titleist produces the most used golf clubs across all the main categories of golf clubs with the sole exception of fairway woods where TaylorMade’s SIM and M models are used by more of the top 100.
But even in this category Titleist is the second most popular brand with only 2 fewer players playing its TS and TSi models compared to TaylorMade.
Titleist’s dominance is evident however in every other club category and especially when it comes to wedges where their Vokey Design clubs are chosen 3 times as frequently compared to the next most popular wedge brands of Callaway and PING.
The table below highlights the most popular brands among the top 100 PGA Tour players and as you can see Titleist’s dominance is very clear.
| TITLEIST | CALLAWAY | PING | TAYLORMADE | SRIXON | PXG | |
| DRIVERS | 1st most used brand | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 5th= | 5th= |
| FAIRWAY WOODS | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | 1st | 5th= | 5th= |
| UTILITY IRONS | 1st | 2nd | 5th | 4th | 3rd | – |
| HYBRIDS | 1st= | 1st= | 4th | 5th= | 5th= | 3rd |
| IRONS | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
| WEDGES | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 5th | 4th (Cleveland brand) | 6th |
| PUTTERS | 1st= (Scotty Cameron brand) | 1st= (Odyssey brand) | 3rd | 4th | – | 7th |
Other great articles related to this topic:
- What Golf Grips Do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Guide
- What Shafts Do Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Breakdown
- What Putters do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Guide
- What Wedges Do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Analysis
- What Irons Do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Guide
- What Hybrid Golf Clubs Do the Top 100 PGA Tour Pros Use?
- What Driving Irons do the Pros Use on the PGA Tour?
- The Fairway Woods Used by the Top 100 PGA Tour Pros
- What Driver is Most Used On the PGA Tour? Top 100 Player Analysis
- What Golf Balls Do LPGA Players Use? Top 50 Player Breakdown
- What Golf Balls Do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Players Breakdown
- Do Golf Pros Wear Metal Spikes? But They are Banned!
- What Irons Do LPGA Players Use? Top 50 Pros Analysis
- What Clubs do LPGA players use? Top 50 Player Breakdown
- How Do Pros Hit the Ball So Far? It’s Not About the Equipment!
- Do Pros Use Regular or Stiff Shafts? They’re Stronger Than That!
- Do Pros Use Graphite or Steel Shafts? It Depends Which Club
- What Do Pros Have in Their Yardage Books? Things Have Changed
- What Percentage of Putts Do Pros Make? TV Does Not Tell the Story
- How Often Do Pros Hit Driver? Not As Much As You Think!
- Do Golf Pros Wear Metal Spikes? But They are Banned!
- Why Don’t Pros Use Coloured Golf Balls? It’s Not Black and White