When golf equipment manufacturers release drivers at the beginning of the year, most staff pros switch to their respective brand’s new clubs – but not without work.
Most of the particles suitable it takes place behind the scenes and, even after this process is over, many pros will continue to hang on to their old players like babies do to their security blankets. That’s because while players may see performance gains in the new offerings, they still have an emotional connection and deep trust in their old clubs earned over thousands of competitive iterations.
The transition process can be even more complicated for devices”free agents“ie, those professionals without device deals who must actively seek testing opportunities. For this breed of professional, the testing process—often across multiple brands—requires more hustle and patience.
Seven of the top 25 players in the world are free to play whatever club they choose, and the drivers they play with make for an interesting sight.
Four of those players – Chris Gotterup (Ping G440 LST), Matt Fitzpatrick (Titleist GT3), Ben Griffin (Ping G440K) and Patrick Reed (GT3) — game drivers available at retail, but only Griffin’s is a 2026 model.
The other three players – Justin Rose (Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke TD Max), Sepp Straka (Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke TD Max) and Maverick McNealy (TaylorMade Qi10) – use drivers that were released in 2024 and are no longer available.
Does this mean that the new leaders are no better? Absolutely not.
As we noted above, if these seven players want to make a difference, they need to look for itand at the moment none of them have decided to test the market.
However, further down the world rankings, you’ll see a lot more movement. Wyndham Clark, in his first year of free agency, has already played at least four different drivers. The same applies to Lucas Gloverwho despite being an employee of Srixon, has played with drivers of different brands. Harry Hall has also been active on the gear wheel, switching between three different drivers.
Interestingly, all three of these players are currently using them TaylorMade’s Qi4D driver, with Clark set to make his third consecutive start with him this week after experimenting with four other drivers in four events earlier in the season.
Qi4D isn’t the only 2026 driver seeing a lot of free agent usage. Callaway Quantum saw first world win this year with Nacho Elvira in Dubai and Anthony Kim also won with him at LIV Adelaide.
Dozens of pros have played with new drivers only to back off and then change again, a theme many Tour officials have noticed.
“The heads are a close battle this year,” Fujikura Tour representative Marshall Thompson told GOLF. “It’s very competitive in terms of club speed, distribution, center contact, launch direction. There’s no clear winner from what I’ve seen.
“Even on the tour side, these guys out of contract that I still work with on a weekly basis, they still have four or five covers in the bag and they’re still trying different options, and we’re already in the Florida Swing.”
In other words, don’t be surprised if the drivers in the bags of today’s top players may look different come Masters week.
3 things I’m thinking
Titleist’s Dream GT1 Hybrid: I’ve been thinking about this club ever since Cameron Young added it to the Torrey Pines bag, and now that it is won the Players with that, I can’t wait for my next visit to TPI to try out what their biggest single shaft hybrid is. This part of my bag is in flux with many options from Fully Fit, but I didn’t try this combination specifically.
Putters are rolling: There are a lot of prototype makers on Tour, and I have a feeling that a lot of them will end up at retail. Perhaps the most notable models are the LAB Link 2.1 and Link 2.2 HS, which hit the consumer market this week. If you’re looking for a flat stick, now might be a good time to buy.
Spring (and golf) is in the air: My first winter in Boston has been rough, but golf season finally seems within reach. The snow is melting, the ranges are opening and the balls are in the air. Opening day is coming!
