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Golf clubs of the top 50 LPGA pros (WITB)

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Women’s golf is becoming increasingly popular and is catching up to men’s golf rapidly. This study on the increasing purse sizes of LPGA major tournaments confirms this fact. The purse of the Women’s PGA Championship has nearly doubled since 2013. You can read more about it here.

At this moment, the number of female golfers in the world is probably the highest in recorded history, and this number is rising year by year. Each year, thousands of young girls grab their first golf clubs and embark on their golfing journeys. These budding lady golfers often wonder which clubs their role models use to win the most prestigious tournaments.

Driven by this fact, our team at Golf Reporter looked into the golf bags of the top 50 LPGA professionals. We found some shocking statistics that might surprise many of you. In this article, we’ll talk about the golf clubs used by the top 50 LPGA pros, including the driver, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges and putters.

However, it is worth noting that this data is for 44 out of the top 50 LPGA pros. The information for the remaining 6 golfers was either wholly or partially unavailable. These are Pajaree Anannarukarn, Yealimi Noh, Wei-Ling Hsu, Shanshan Feng, Su Oh, and Lauren Stephenson. That is why we have left those 6 out of this study.

We have compiled all the data into a table for your convenience. Here it is.

Analysis and Findings

After collecting the data and codifying it into a table, we began looking for patterns, and we found some quite interesting ones. We have classified them into respective club categories.

Drivers

The driver and the putter are the only two clubs guaranteed to be in every golf bag. Or so we thought. Oddly, one LPGA pro does not use the driver, and she’s quite a prominent figure.

We’re talking about world number 5, Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand. She does not have a driver in her bag. Instead, she uses her 3-wood or her utility iron in the tee box.

Apparently, Ping drivers are all the rage among LPGA pros as 10 of them opt for them, with Ping G425 being the most popular. Patty Tavatanakit (world number 3) is the highest-ranking LPGA pro who uses Ping drivers. Not far behind is TaylorMade, with 8 users, including Moriya Jutanugarn (world number 11), who uses the M2 driver.

Callaway, PXG, and Titleist are the next ones in line, with 7, 6, and 5 users, respectively. The world number one, Nelly Korda, uses the Titleist TSi1 driver with Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 6S shaft.

Most of these LPGA golfers have different loft settings, but 15 of them prefer to go with the 9 degrees option. Furthermore, 10 players have chosen Fujikura shafts as their preferred option, while 9 others prefer Graphite Design or Mitsubishi shafts.

Fairway Woods

The configuration of fairway woods varies from person to person. Some prefer to use only a single club, while others prefer two or even three. Usually, 3-wood is the widely used choice of most golfers, and this list conforms to this fact. Everyone in this list uses a 3-wood, except one.

Nanna Koerstz Madsen is the only pro in the top 50 who doesn’t use the 3 wood. Interestingly, she’s also the only one who uses the 4-wood.

17 of these golfers also use a 5-wood along with their 3-wood. However, only four LPGA pros still use the extremely rare 7-wood, including the world number one, Nelly Korda. Her sister Jessica Korda, Leona Maguire, and Lizette Salas are the other three who use the 7-wood.

Here, Callaway has managed to get the better of its rivals by securing the trust of 11 golfers. Callaway is followed by Ping and TaylorMade, with 9 and 7 players, respectively. PXG, Titleist, and Srixon come next, with 6, 5, and 4 users, respectively.

Hybrids

34 LPGA pros from the top 50 keep hybrid golf clubs in their bags, which clearly suggests their widespread popularity among women golfers. This number is significantly higher than their male counterparts. You can read more about this here. In addition, nearly half (16) of these hybrids using women golfers prefer to play with a 19-degree loft.

In hybrid clubs, Ping is back on top with 9 players choosing their products. PXG is the 2nd most popular brand with 6 users. Other giants, including TaylorMade and Titleist, have only four users each. This might suggest that these brands have apparently not won the trust of women golfers when it comes to hybrids. Callaway is even farther behind with merely 3 users.

Irons

Similar to fairway woods, the configuration of irons varies from golfer to golfer. However, we found an arrangement that has repeated itself several times, 16 to be exact. The majority of LPGA pros favor a 5-iron to pitching wedge assortment. While only four golfers avoid the 5-iron and have 6-iron to pitching wedge iron sets. In addition, Nippon has established itself as the most preferred choice for iron shafts as 10 LPGA pros choose their products.

Here too, Ping has emerged as the most trusted choice with 10 players. Srixon makes a surprise appearance with 6 users along with Titleist and PXG. They are followed by TaylorMade and Callaway, each of whom is used by 5 players.

Wedges

Titleist makes a dramatic recovery in the wedges section. Titleist Vokey wedges have cemented themselves as one of the most reliable wedges for LPGA pros with 16 users. World number one, Nelly Korda, along with 8 others, uses their latest SM8 version.

Ping and PXG are the next most popular brands with 9 and 8 users, respectively. Cleveland Golf makes a dramatic appearance with 4 users, with Minjee Lee (world number 10) as the highest-ranking golfer who uses them.

Callaway and TaylorMade also fail to make a mark with only a handful of users. 4 players use Callaway wedges while only 2 choose TaylorMade wedges.

Putters

Callaway makes a strong comeback in the putters category, thanks to their state-of-the-art Odyssey putters. 12 golfers play with Odyssey putters, with Ariya Jutanugarn (world number 5) and Inbee Park (world number 6) as the highest-ranking golfers.

Titleist’s Scotty Cameron putters are not far behind with 10 users. Current world number one, Nelly Korda and her sister Jessica (world number 7), both use Scotty Cameron putters. Besides these two sisters, three others from the top 10 (total 5) are regular Scotty Cameron putter users.

Ping comes in at the third spot with 9 users. Leona Maguire (world number 8) is the highest-ranking golfer to use Ping putters. Other brands like TaylorMade and PXG are at 4th and 5th positions, respectively, with 5 and 4 players.

Bettinardi Golf makes its first appearance with two users, Patty Tavatanakit (world number 3) and Nasa Hataoka (world number 18). Other brands to make an appearance are Piretti and Swag Golf.

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Katie Fitzgerald is the managing editor at Golf Reporter. She found her passion in sports writing over 10 years back and has been playing golf since she was 10 years old.

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Pingback: Former LPGA pro shares detailed breakdown of expenses for a year on Symetra Tour – GolfWRX

  2. Michael

    Nov 3, 2021 at 10:13 pm

    Great info all in one place. My distances relate to mid or lower length LPGA pros and have been looking to properly gap the upper end of the bag. Two really strong trends split about 50/50 are shown here with a little variation on the 4H, 4I, or 4U:

    3 wood (15), 5 wood (18), 4 hybrid (22-23) [sometimes 4U/ 4I] or 3 wood (15), 3 hybrid (19-20), 4I [sometimes 4H 22-23]

    In case anyone else has tried some different setups and may relate – I’ve tried eliminating a 3 wood twice, due to the fitting recommendations of the higher lofted woods creating more carry and controlled decent. Tried a strong lofted 5 wood, 7 wood and gapping from there. Each time I found myself missing a 3 wood for certain situations fairly often. Seeing this list helps confirm the setup options I need to test.

    Always more of a challenge to get current women’s witb info. Thanks for putting it together and sharing some analysis.

  3. MattS

    Oct 8, 2021 at 12:01 pm

    Good info. Could you also give details of their shaft flexes (R, S, XS)? Would help golfers with similar swing speeds. Thanks

    • Hunter Warne

      Oct 8, 2021 at 1:16 pm

      Most of them have the shaft flexes listed. I’m guessing the one’s that don’t weren’t available.

  4. JungleJimbo

    Oct 8, 2021 at 12:57 am

    excellent, thanks for providing this in response to our request for more LPGA WITBs! 🙂

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

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Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

 

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

 

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

 

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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Whats in the Bag

Alejandro Tosti WITB 2024 (April)

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  • Alejandro Tosti what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.

Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees @10.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 80 TX

Hybrid: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour Rescue (22 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5 100

Irons: Srixon ZX7 Mk II (4-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Cleveland RTX6 ZipCore Tour Rack (50-10 MID, 54-10 MID, 58-10 MID, 60-06 LOW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid Tour Issue X100, S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron

Grips: Golf Pride MCC Plus4

Check out more in-hand photos of Alejandro Tosti’s WITB in the forums.

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Whats in the Bag

Drew Brees WITB 2024 (April)

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Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (10.5 degrees)

Mini driver: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper (13.5 degrees)

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (19 degrees)

Irons: TaylorMade P790 (4-7), TaylorMade P760 (8-PW)

Wedges: TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09, 56-10, 60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2 Prototype

Check out more in-hand photos of Drew Brees’ clubs here.

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