Fall on the PGA Tour usually means new gear starts appearing in bags at equipment manufacturers. But don’t forget that new doesn’t always mean better. For some, there’s a comfort in knowing that the older clubs can still get it done, and some just shouldn’t be replaced. So let’s check out some of the older equipment that won in 2026 on the PGA Tour.
No replacements for Ping irons
There’s something about Ping irons that just makes it difficult to take them out of the bag. Just ask William Mouw, who at points during this season gamed a set of 15-year-old Ping Anser irons, which he used to win last season. But in 2026, it was Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland who continued the tradition.
Fitzpatrick won three times on Tour using a set of Ping S55 irons that were released to the public all the way back in 2013. They mixed the looks of what a better player desires with the compact size and thin topline, but gave forgiveness with perimeter weighting and a cavity-back construction. That combination made it difficult for Fitzpatrick to find a reason to replace them.
“I feel I’ve had success with them, so why change when you’re in winning form? That’s the big thing for me,” Fitzpatrick told GolfWRX.com in 2023 about his irons. “I tested other irons a couple years ago in the summer, but these are just the best for me, and they fit well. I don’t want to change and try to do anything too different. Just stay with the same.”
Fitzpatrick also plays the slightly newer Ping i210 for his 4-iron. The irons were released in 2018, and it’s also the model of choice for 2026 Travelers Champion Viktor Hovland.
“I think it really is that low center of gravity, and that higher spin rate the iron produces,” Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates told GolfWRX about why Hovland has stuck with the Ping i210. “He is such a shallow player. At times, he can under-spin it, and not get enough peak height. The 210s do spin quite a bit, because of the nature of the design, and they’re also a very straight-flying club. Some guys see curve and some guys don’t. I would say Viktor is a guy who doesn’t. He sees little curves, and he takes off distance by curving it more, but he’s a pretty straight ball hitter, and those irons allow him to be a straight ball hitter.”
Back-to-back wins for M-series drivers
Brandt Snedeker was one of the oldest winners on Tour this year. The 45-year-old turned back time, returning to the winner’s circle for the first time in nearly 8 years, with his victory at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
His victory didn’t come without some equipment updates, either. Snedeker added the 2016 TaylorMade M2 driver equipped with a Fujikura Speeder Evolution 661. It’s a shaft that’s even older than the driver.
“I played this (M2 driver) 10 years ago and really love it; thought it was the best driver they ever made,” Snedker told GolfWRX after his victory. “For some reason I just drive this one really straight, got a lot of confidence in it. It’s not the longest driver, but I just know where it’s going.”
Just a week later, it was another M-series driver winning on Tour, this time at the PGA Championship, where Aaron Rai earned his first major title using an M6 driver, which was released in 2019.
“The biggest thing for me is the consistency,” Rai said about the older driver. “There was a period of driver where it had a nice balance between distance, but it definitely had a little bit of forgiveness.
“I think since 2021 TaylorMade have gone into the carbon faces, which have felt a little bit difficult for me to adjust to. When I’ve tried other brands and they have the same titanium face as the M6, they don’t have the Twist Face technology, which then changes my misses and what I expect to happen with the ball.”
Bridgeman’s high school 4-iron
Jacob Bridgeman earned two PGA Tour titles this season, including a win at Tiger Woods’ Genesis Invitational. In the bag during both victories was a TaylorMade TP UDI 4-iron, a model that was released in 2014, when Bridgeman was still in high school.
The UDI’s hollow body construction is made out of 450 stainless steel, and the face is made out of thinner, stronger 455 Carpenter steel, which produces faster ball speeds. The Speed Pocket, a 3-millimeter slot in the sole, is also included in the design and allows for more face flex at impact.
Interestingly, at the time of release, the UDI was only available in 1 iron (16 degrees), 2 iron (18 degrees) and 3 iron (20 degrees).
It’s not just golf clubs
Both Wyndham Clark and Fitzpatrick, who each had three victories on Tour this season, played the 2019 model of Titleist’s Pro V1x golf ball, making it one of the winningest golf ball models in 2026.
“I play (Pro V1x) because it’s kind of the perfect combination for me of launch and spin,” said Clark “… I’m a low spin player; I have a lot of speed, but I don’t spin the ball very much. And the Pro V1x, especially with my irons and driver, spins at the numbers that I want. Also, I think it’s great around the greens. So I’ve always been looking for spin. And this Pro V1x gives me exactly what I need.”
The 2019 model featured, at the time, a new 2.0 ZG process dual core, where the outermost portions of the solid core Pro V1 and dual core Pro V1x had increased in stiffness for higher ball speed and lower long-game spin.
