Benefits without mechanical agreements have more options – but also more work
When golf equipment manufacturers release drivers at the beginning of the year, most of the professional staff switches to their brand’s clubs – but not without some work.
Most of the nitty-gritty installation is done behind the scenes and, even after that process is complete, many professionals will still cling to their old gamers like babies do to their protective clothing. That’s because even though players may see the performance gains of the new offerings, they still have an emotional attachment and deep trust in their old clubs earned over thousands of competitive reps.
The transition process can be even more difficult for “free agents,” that is, those professionals without gear deals who need to actively seek out opportunities to explore. For this type of professional, the testing process – usually across several types – requires more hustle and patience.
Seven of the world’s top 25 players are free to play for any club they choose, and the drivers who play for them paint an interesting picture.
Four of those players — Chris Gotterup (Ping G440 LST), Matt Fitzpatrick (Titleist GT3), Ben Griffin (Ping G440K) and Patrick Reed (GT3) — are stock game drivers, but only Griffin is a 2026 model.
Three other players – Justin Rose (Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke TD Max), Sepp Straka (Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke TD Max) and Maverick McNealy (TaylorMade Qi10) – used drivers that were released in 2024 and are no longer available.
Does that mean new drivers are no better? Not at all.
As we noted above, if these seven players want to make a change, they need to what are you looking for?and yet, none of them decided to test the market.
Further down the global scale, however, you will see more movement. Wyndham Clark, in his first year as a free agent, has played at least four different drivers. The same goes for Lucas Glover, who although he is a Srixon employee, has played drivers for different brands. Harry Hall was also working on the gear change wheel, switching between three different drivers.
Interestingly, all three of those players currently use TaylorMade’s Qi4D driver, and Clark will make his third start in a row with it this week after trying four other drivers in four events earlier in the season.
Qi4D isn’t the only 2026 driver that sees a lot of free use. Callaway Quantum saw its first global victory this year with Nacho Elvira in Dubai, while Anthony Kim also won it at LIV Adelaide.
A lot of pros have played with new drivers only to go back and change again, a theme many returning tourers have noticed.
“The majors are a close battle this year,” Fujikura Tour representative Marshall Thompson told GOLF. “It’s very competitive in terms of the speed of the team, distribution, face-to-face contact in the center, the way they start, no one has been successful from what I’ve seen.
“Even on the Tour side of it, these non-contract guys that I continue to work with every week, they still have four or five headcovers 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 today’s top golfers may look different come Masters week.
3 Things I Think
Daydreaming of Titleist’s GT1 hybrid: I’ve been thinking about this club since Cameron Young added it to the bag at Torrey Pines, and now that he’s won the Players with it, I can’t wait for my next visit to TPI to try out its greatest fairway-wood shaft hybrid. This part of my bag is versatile with many options from Fully Fit, but I haven’t tried this combo specifically.
Putters continue: There are a lot of prototype putters on Tour, and I have a feeling that most of them will end up being sold. 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 flatstick, now might be a good time to buy.
Spring (and golf) is in the air: My first winter in Boston was tough, but golf season finally seemed within reach. The snow is melting, driving ranges are opening up and balls are in the air. Opening day is coming!
