Golf is one of the most difficult sports in the world and having the best equipment possible can really help improve your game.
Choosing the right brand for you will make sure you’re getting the best performance possible.
That being said, golf is a sport with a rich heritage and a number of distinguished brands, as well as newer manufacturers who have disrupted the golf club market. This can make it difficult to know which brands are quality, and which are less well known for their performance and history.
Using the right balance of materials, shape, flex, and length, golf club manufacturers compete to provide increased power, control, and accuracy to players, helping them to add performance as well as comfort to their game.
To make sure you’re getting the full benefit of modern golf club design we’ve created a list of some of the best golf club manufacturers of the day, to ensure you’re getting the best equipment possible, whether it’s from a historic brand or a modern upstart.
Top 10 Most Popular
1. TaylorMade
TaylorMade is one of the most popular brands in golf and produces a full range of golf equipment for various skill levels and abilities.
They famously found success after innovating to create the first metal driver back in 1979, which has subsequently become the industry standard, with metal drivers now totally dominating the driver market some 40 years later.
Despite their pedigree for driver design, TaylorMade produces a well-balanced list of glubs as well as other accessories and apparel also.
Currently, TaylorMade is owned as a subsidiary of Adidas, however, this hasn’t affected this excellent brand’s standards for quality, and their branding will regularly be spotted at the biggest golfing events in the professional calendar.
While they do provide clubs for every skill level, many professional players are sponsored by TaylorMade, such as Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, and Dustin Johnson, indicating the excellent performance of their higher tier clubs.
2. Titleist
This is one of the oldest golf brands, being founded in 1932, and is also one of the most popular brands used by many professional tour golfers.
Their top-of-the-line golf ball is actually the most used by professionals and has been the most played ball on the PGA Tour for some 20 years, almost since its first introduction to top-level competition.
The name Titleist means ‘title holder’ which is quite apt considering that this brand is used widely among the best golfers. 15 of the top 50 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking use Titleist clubs and equipment, including Adam Scott, Ian Poulter, and several others.
Alongside their top-quality clubs and balls, Titleist also produces a host of other equipment to suit various ability levels.
3. PING
Ping is another top brand used by several PGA Tour golfers including Martin Kaymer, Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan, and Lee Westwood, and a few others totaling 7 top players in the top 50 pros. This is a substantial number of endorsements that indicate the high performance of Ping’s clubs as well as their other accessories.
Known for particularly excellent putters and irons, and founded by an engineer named Karsten Solheim back in 1959, Ping clubs have developed a reputation for precision and quality that makes them one of the leading brands among professionals, with a wide range of equipment to suit amateur players also.
4. Nike Golf
Nike Golf is one of the biggest brands, not only due to Nike’s huge profile in the general sporting world but also due to its longstanding sponsorship of Tiger Woods who has been the world’s most famous golfer for much of the 21st century.
Nike Golf produces a variety of apparel and accessories to accompany their well-made golf equipment, and you will see many popular pros using their equipment, including Rory McIlroy, one of the most talented and popular golfers currently playing.
Aside from these two pros and Charl Schwartzel, Nike isn’t particularly well represented among golf professionals, however, this doesn’t diminish the excellent performance of these clubs.
5. Mizuno
Mizuno is one of the biggest brands out of Japan, however, they only count former world no.1, Luke Donald, on their team among PGA tour golfers.
Despite this relatively low representation on the PGA tour, Mizuno does produce some of the absolute best golf clubs anywhere in the world.
Mizuno Irons in particular are known for their precision and power, making this a very popular brand for discerning golfers who aren’t phased by high-profile sponsorship deals and value great performance.
6. Cobra
Cobra was first introduced in 1973 by Thomas Crow, but since 2010 it has been opened by Puma, which has combined one of the world's leading footwear and apparel brands with a well-established golf club manufacturer.
The result has made Cobra one of the top 10 brands, with Rickie Fowler being the star sponsor for Cobra, using their equipment in the PGA tour.
While perhaps not as well known as some other club manufacturers, Cobra makes solid and well-made clubs and are particularly well known for their fantastic hybrid clubs, which have massively caught the attention of the golfing world over the last few years.
7. Callaway
Callaway is one of, if not the largest golf manufacturer in the US, and produces various equipment from balls and bags to clubs and apparel. They are one of the most easily recognized and respected brands in the world of golf and have a reputation for producing premium quality clubs.
Their drivers, woods, and irons have been lauded for their distance and accuracy, and have been used by several star players including Phil Mickelson and Henrick Stenson who both play on the PGA tour, as well as Michelle Wie of the ladies PGA tour.
Despite their premium quality and excellent reputation, Callaway actually produces some excellent products for entry-level and beginner golfers who want the reliability and quality of a top 10 brand without high-performance costs.
8. Bridgestone
Bridgestone is actually a Japanese auto company that was founded back in the 1930s, and that didn’t enter the golf industry until the 1970s which seems a little weird at first.
Despite the slightly unlikely origins of Bridgestone’s entry into golf, it has become one of the core brands used by several top 50 golfers including Matt Kuchar, Brandy Snedeker, and several others.
Bridgestone golf balls are actually some of the most well respected among PGA tour golfers and are also very popular among discerning amateurs.
In terms of their clubs, they are known to provide surprising distance and considerable control while also being quite forgiving and comfortable. This makes them an excellent choice for mid-handicap golfers seeking a well-regarded brand that produces quality clubs.
9. Cleveland Golf
Cleveland Golf is a pretty well-known brand that is known to produce some of the best wedges in the world. While they aren’t regarded as one of the biggest golf brands, three top 50 golfers use their equipment, including Keegan Bradley, Graeme McDowell, and Hideki Matsuyama.
While they are well known for their excellent wedges, Cleveland also produces an increasingly popular line of drivers and irons that are very well regarded and could become some of the best clubs available, making this a bit of a sleeper brand.
Not flashy and high profile, but providing excellent performance and quality.
10. MacGregor Golf
MacGregor is a brand with a history more storied than most but has grown to become a major manufacturer. Famous pros who used these clubs are Jack Nicklaus who won the 1986 Masters using a MacGregor putter, as well as Jose Maria Olazabal and Lee Janzen.
While their fortunes have waxed and waned over the years due to several ownership bids, MacGregor remains a great brand with a wide range of options that will suit experienced enthusiasts or total beginners.
List of Manufacturers (Alphabetical)
Adams Golf
This brand produces various clubs and apparel to suit various skill levels and has been in the industry since 1991.
Ben Ross Golf
This is one of the better entry-level brands, as their slogan ‘Excellence made affordable’ suggests. They make bags and clubs as well as clothing to suit beginners who want excellent performance.
Ben Hogan Golf
This company produces a variety of clubs that have respectable performance at competitive prices, however, it seems as though they only sell their equipment online so make sure to check before heading to your local golf store.
Bettinardi Golf
Bettinardi makes excellent wedges and putters which have proved popular among several professionals, however, they can be on the more expensive side.
Bridgestone Golf
We went over the details in the top ten sections, but again, this is one of the best and most recognizable brands particularly well regarded among pros.
Carnahan Golf
Carnahan produces a series of wedges that are quite affordable and which also perform surprisingly well.
Callaway
As mentioned in the top 10 above, this is one of the most popular and high-performance club brands in the world that caters to every skill level and produces all of the equipment you need to play golf.
Cleveland Golf
Another brand we discussed in the top 10 above, which makes some of the best wedges in the world.
Cobra Golf
Another top 10 brand that produces various equipment including some of the best woods and hybrids.
Dunlop Golf
Dunlop is mainly a British brand that focuses on entry-level golf equipment suitable for total beginners as well as children. Not particularly popular however these clubs can sometimes be found in budget sports stores.
Forgan Golf
Originally started in St. Andrews, one of the birthplaces of modern golf, Forgan is a brand that has been around for a long time and is widely distributed.
Fourteen Golf
Fourteen is another Japanese brand that produces very attractive and high-performance wedges along with a host of other clubs.
Gauge Design
Gauge design is a manufacturer that focuses on the short game, producing only putters and wedges with great quality and accuracy.
Henry Griffitts
This is a premium brand that makes some of the best clubs in each category, and custom fits them to you, allowing them to be comfortable and high quality but also on the higher tier of the scale in terms of cost.
Honma Golf
This is a growing brand that makes the whole range of clubs and was recently joined by Justin Rose back in 2019.
Kasco Golf
This is a high spec Japanese brand that isn’t widely used but does have great performance if you can get hold of their clubs.
Komperdell Golf
An Austrian golf company that produces the full range of clubs and has excellent performance particularly from their putters and hybrids.
Louisville Golf
This US-based company makes wooden golf clubs out of hickory, while also using several modern techniques and materials. These are a unique and intriguing choice for the anachronistically inclined golfer.
MacGregor Golf
A top 10 brand we’ve highlighted in the above section, with a wide range of entry-level and performance equipment.
Mizuno
Mizuno clubs are very popular around the world due to their superb performance and craftsmanship, which are appreciated by several pro golfers.
Ping
Another of the top 10 brands we highlighted above and very well regarded among pros and amateurs.
Scotty Cameron
This is a brand solely focussed on high-tier putters, which are used mostly by professional or highly skilled golfers with a considerable budget.
Slazenger
A common budget brand that works well to get beginners into the sport using reliable and simple clubs.
TaylorMade
One of the most popular brands in the world, highly popular among pros and amateurs as mentioned in the top 10 section above.
Titleist
Again, a top brand which sponsors many top 50 golfers.
Tour Edge
This is a US-based company that makes the full range of clubs that perform well but are also accessible for mid-tier enthusiasts.
Vokey
This company produces wedges in cooperation with Titleist and is very popular among pro players due to their customizability.
Wilson
Wilson makes various sports products including golf clubs, and these make great starter sets for beginners who want reliability, simplicity, and fair performance.
