With many LIV Golf players without golf equipment contracts, there is a surprising leader when it comes to driver usage.
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With many LIV Golf players forgoing equipment contracts (or having contracts expire) to sign with the breakaway league, looking at club usage offers a unique view into how some of the world’s best golfers set up their bags without being tied to a specific brand.
With that in mind, we decided to dig into the world of gear on the LIV tour and uncovered some interesting results, including the No. 1 driver brand, along with unearthing some older models that are still being used. One of the oldest still in use belongs to reigning PGA champion Brooks Koepka. At the most recent event in Las Vegas, Koepka was spotted with a TaylorMade SIM2 driver, which is a club he has gone back and forth with after winning the 2023 PGA using a Srixon ZX5 LS MKII (although Hideki Matsuyama just won using the ZX5 LS MKII last week at Riviera).
The SIM2 went back into Koepka’s bag around the Ryder Cup last fall, and since he’s a creature of habit, I expect to see it in his bag for the foreseeable future.
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The No. 1 driver?
This is where it gets interesting. Driver counts on the PGA Tour are largely driven by sponsorship dollars, with most contracts stipulating that any golfer tied to the brand has to play with one of the most recent models, with a few exceptions made for particular players.
Of course, every manufacturer makes great products and offers a line of drivers that can be adjusted to fit almost any swing, but with the removal of any sort of contractual bias, the No. 1 driver on LIV is the PING G430 LST (with some players mixing in other G430 models).
Ryan Barath/GOLF
Yes, Ping does have several staff players — including recent Masters invite Joaquin Niemann, Louis Oosthuizen and Bubba Watson — but there is an almost equal amount of golfers playing the driver without any sort of financial incentive. Pros like Matthew Wolff, Taylor Gooch, Brendan Steele, Abraham Ancer, and Martin Kaymer are all using a Ping driver despite previous deals with other brands.
Ping G430 LST Custom Driver
$579.99
The PING G430 LST Driver features an exclusive Low Spin Technology (LST) Carbonfly Wrap, a lightweight composite that covers the crown and wraps into the heel/toe sections of the skirt to save weight and lower the CG for more ball speed, less spin and higher MOI. The 8-layer, one-piece composite saves four grams and weighs 11.5g fully installed. A moveable 22-gram, high-density tungsten backweight influences shot shape ±7 yards between the Draw, Neutral and Fade settings. At 440cc, the smaller tour-style LST is available in 9° and 10.5° lofts (adjustable +/-1.5° and lie up to 3° flat from standard) and best fits faster swing speeds.
THE DISTANCE DIFFERENCE. MORE BALL SPEED.
A shallower, variable-thickness face is thinner to create more face deflection for generating faster ball speed for our biggest distance gains to date.
THE SOUND SOLUTION
A new integral rib structure and increased curvature of the crown, skirt and sole fine tunes clubhead frequencies to produce a desirable sound and impact experience.
SPINSISTENCY
A variable roll radius, with less loft low on the face, enhances spin consistency and carry distance.
CARBONFLY WRAP
Lightweight composite crown wraps into the heel and toe of the skirt to save weight and lower the CG for more ball speed with higher MOI.
MOVEABLE BACK WEIGHT
A 25-gram, high-density tungsten moveable backweight influences shot shape +/-10 yards between the Draw, Neutral and Fade settings.
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As for the No. 2 driver brand, that title belongs to Callaway, with the most notable players being Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson and Charl Schwartzel, electing to use either a Paradym or Paradym Smoke Ai model.
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