Golfers feel a profound connection to the clubs they use. It's not uncommon for someone to carry a favourite putter for decades, while others might even attach personal qualities and nicknames to their irons and wedges. Finding a driver that works for you can seem like the most important relationship you'll ever have - at least when you're on the golf course, that is.
Such devotion might appear odd to those who don't play the game, but they fail to fully appreciate just what those precious hours spent striding the fairways mean to golfers.
Many of us are similarly evangelical regarding the brand of equipment we use. Perhaps it's a result of what you grew up with, or maybe it was the label endorsed by your favourite player, but once a golfer adopts a company that works for them, it's a marriage not easily broken, which is arguably understandable when you see just how expensive new gear can be.
That said, it's clear that a significant number of you don't feel that way. Just like many golfers out there are not members of a particular club and will happily roam between courses, that nomadic perspective can be similarly showcased in terms of the equipment you pack into your bag.
You might favour one brand of irons, but use a completely different manufacturer when it comes to your driver and woods. While tour stars are routinely signed and associated with one brand, that isn't always an exclusive arrangement, and you will quite often see a mix of companies represented inside the bags of the leading names in the sport.
Which equipment brands do amateur golfers favour?
(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)
But what are the brands that everyday, amateur golfers most choose to play with?
That was something we recently explored in a comprehensive survey that was completed by over 3,000 golfers, with the results showing notable differences between respondents of different ages and skill levels.
44.93% of golfers told us that they were either always or mostly loyal to a specific brand. That figure rises to 50.43% for low handicappers versus just 38.81% for high handicappers. Mid-handicappers sit at 46.79% when it comes to declaring resolute manufacturer loyalty.
Among these loyal golfers, 26.28% favoured PING, with 16.72% playing TaylorMade and 14.16% considering themselves Callaway golfers. Titleist was back at 9.73%, while Mizuno sat at 8.87%. The likes of Wilson (5.63%), COBRA (5.29%) and Srixon/Cleveland (3.58%) also claimed a notable slice of the wider golfing audience.
These are the overall numbers, but things become eminently more intriguing when you break down the demographics.
Why do older golfers love PING clubs so much?
You might think that golfers are typically the same, but age clearly has an impact on which brands are popular. 30.89% of those aged 65+ consider themselves to be PING golfers, while only 4.55% of those under 45 are loyal to this company. Conversely, Titleist has a low reporting among the oldest golfers (8.26%), but among those under the age of 45, it can lay claim to 27.27% of younger golfers, which, alongside Callaway (coincidentally also reporting 27.27%) demonstrates that these brands, Titleist and Callaway, are comparatively dominant among the younger generation.
PING (21.70%) and TaylorMade (19.15%) are most popular among the golfers aged between 45 and 64, while Mizuno's portion of this age category (12.77%) far exceeds its share among other demographics.
Older golfers also edge more towards Wilson, while COBRA and Srixon/Cleveland both record their highest age share among those under 45.
But what does your ability say when it comes to brand loyalty?
Studying the data across handicap levels, there are some dramatic shifts.
Low handicappers are big fans of Titleist and Mizuno
Titleist is the leader (26.25%) among low handicappers. But it commands just 5.04% of high handicappers and 8.15% of mid handicap golfers.
Mizuno is similarly represented among the higher handicap categories, but 17.50% of low handicappers consider themselves to be brand loyalists. PING and TaylorMade are also more popular among the better standard of players, but those two brands are more dominant with mid-handicappers, securing 25.84% and 19.10% of that category respectively. Callaway commands just 7.50% of low handicappers, but 14.04% of mid handicappers and 17.99% of high handicappers.
Wilson and COBRA are both more popular among high handicappers than Titleist and Mizuno, which are greatly favoured by low handicap players.
Mid and high handicappers prefer Callaway and TaylorMade
If you are someone who is generally loyal to one brand, it'll be fascinating to see how you compare. The survey has found that older golfers favour PING, TaylorMade and Callaway, while the youngest are strongly linked to both Callaway and Titleist. Those somewhere in the middle (45 to 64) are more likely to play Mizuno over Callaway.
But when it comes to handicap level, the best golfers are minded towards (in order) Titleist, Mizuno, PING and TaylorMade, while higher handicappers reported (in order) PING, Callaway and TaylorMade as their favourites. Those mid handicappers out there are similar, but TaylorMade edged ahead of Callaway into second place among them.
We recently presented a similar study with regards to the brand of golf ball that golfers choose to play.
Brand loyalty is certainly not for everyone, but for those who do attach great importance to sticking with the same manufacturer for their golf clubs, it's clear that preferences evolve both with age and also playing ability.
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