There’s no such thing as a universal golf club that works for everybody, but if the same clubs keep popping up with European & PGA Tour titles time after time, there’s usually a good reason. With fifteen events played across the two tours in 2020, we’ve collated a few of the most notable clubs and their wins at the top level this calendar year.
Drivers
TaylorMade’s new SIM Driver aided two men to their first European Tour victories, with Lucas Herbert claiming the Omega Dubai Desert Classic before Sami Valimaki topped the pile at the Oman Open a few weeks later.
PING G410 Driver in hand, Lee Westwood bounced back from a winless 2019 in emphatic style, winning his first event of 2020 at the Rolex Series Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Promising prospect Viktor Hovland notched his first title (Puerto Rico Open) with the PING G410 LST Driver.
The Callaway Mavrik (Marc Leishman, Farmers Insurance Open) and Titleist TS4 (Adam Scott, Genesis Invitational) drivers are also off the mark on the PGA Tour.
Other Woods
Westwood’s Rolex Series win came with a PING G410 fairway wood & hybrid to match his driver. The same went for TaylorMade’s Herbert & Valimaki as they boasted SIM fairway woods. Across the pond, Nick Taylor wielded a MAX version of that TaylorMade SIM fairway wood; a more affordable edition of the heralded “Shape in Motion” design.
Graeme McDowell’s Saudi International win featured the Callaway Mavrik 3-wood and the same PING G410 hybrid that Westwood had in play. A couple of weeks later, free agent Patrick Reed opted for the Callaway Mavrik (a name befitting of the man?) Sub-Zero 3-wood on his way to the most prestigious title of the year so far: the World Golf Championship Mexico.
Wedges
There are two clear winners in the wedge game so far this year. Clocking three wins each, the Callaway JAWS Mack Daddy 5 wedges and Titleist Vokey SM8 wedges have dominated their field.
Grace & Leishman (South African & Farmers Insurance Opens respectively) were joined by fellow Callaway JAWS MD5 wedge player Min Woo Lee in the winner’s circle after he won the ISPS Handa Vic Open for his first victory.
The Vokey SM8 wedges came in handy for Aussies Cameron Smith (Sony Open) & Adam Scott (Genesis Inv.), before Sungjae Im upset a high-profile field at the Honda Classic with the new Vokeys in his corner.
Putters
Odyssey’s Stroke Lab putter engineering, unveiled in 2019, proved a genuine game-changer, and Min Woo Lee’s Vic Open win showcased the Odyssey Stroke Lab Black Ten Putter; part of the new Stroke Lab Black & Stroke Lab Triple track ranges for 2020.
Golf Balls
It won’t surprise you to know that Titleist Pro V1 & Pro V1x golf balls continue to rule the Tour-golf roost, winning the lion’s share of tournaments. However, the new TaylorMade TP5 & TP5x golf balls (currently available at 4 for 3 with FREE personalisation) have emerged with a few early-season titles of their own.
All golf equipment mentioned in this article is available to purchase online now*, with FREE Click & Collect Delivery to your local Foremost Golf club.
*PING golf clubs are only available with custom fitting by an expert Foremost Golf PGA Professional. You can find your local Foremost Golf Pro here: https://www.foremostgolf.com/find-your-nearest-foremost-professional
Written by Joseph Carabini