Clubs You Specifically Bought Because a Pro Used Them...

I thought it would be a fun thread since as much as I hate to admit it, I have gone out of my way to buy clubs because a pro used them.

Not in the traditional sense of rushing out to get the latest and greatest, but from looking through WITB pictures and spotting old clubs that just seem to stick around.

I'm sure I cant be the only offender here on GolfWRX and I would love to hear what you bought and how it worked out.

To kick this off, I just bought a Titleist 915F 21° to re-shaft because Jason Dufner is still using one and I figured since I don't really get along with hybrids I should try out a modern 7 wood. The last one I had was an old Callaway BB04 with a steel shaft when I was a teenager. Fingers crossed it works for me as well ad it works for Duff!

I (and many others) bought the spider tour red in that summer of 2017. Holy moly that was a popular putter that year.

Being 100% honest..... I don't think I've EVER bought a certain piece of equipment b/c a pro played it. For me, it's always been about looks and performance/technology.

-ZA

Picked up a sim hybrid partially cause Rory and DJ put it into play. I was getting along well with 3/5 wood combo, but the 5W was going farther than I wanted related to my 4i. I was torn about what to put there, and once I saw those guys put a hybrid into play, I figured it was worth a shot.

Not a club, but the AD DI shaft. Saw so many on tour and had to try them.

Diamana Blueboard 73 for me, still one of my favorite driver shafts.

Red Spider (Day)

SIM Max hybrid (Rory)

Titleist 680s (Adam)

PM Grind wedge (Phil)

Cleveland Classic 290 T3 (Vijay)

OG Ping Anser (Seve)

PM grind and Mack Daddy2 U grind because of Lefty.

M2 Driver cause Tiger played two seasons with it....and I was due for an upgrade from a R9 Supertri lol.

Only irons I ever bought because of a name were my Nicklaus N1 irons.

Def found a Pink Bimatrix to try because of bubba and the concept was interesting.....I dont think Ive ever hit a worse fitting shaft for me lol.

I also bought a pink bimatrix in a G15 driver,super accurate but in regular still too stiff so sold it.Pinks just not my colour......

I brought and still own Makser Tw400 fairways 3+ & 5 due to Jose Maria Olazabal being associated with the brand although I'm not 100% he used that model. Nice clean looking woods. I also have a WhiteHot #2 but Steve Sticker had no influence on that one.

Nike VR Pro II irons...

915F is a good budget find to try out. If you end up not liking it you shouldn't be out much.

Dave

hell yes. #tigereffect

You can add me to the red Spider Tour group...bought one, had it in the bag for a round and sold it not long after.

In terms of clubs I would specifically buy in the future, if I ever spotted any type of Callaway 3 wood with a Graf Blue in it (a la Henrik Stenson's Diablo Octane Tour 13*) I'd snap it up in an instant.

VR Nike blades "TW" stamp (still have), Callaway TA Prototypes (still have) cause of Phil, I am all Ping now (thanks to an LPGA player that vouched for me), met a few staff player and was hooked...I have a TW Scotty Re Dot (GSS 009) that I hardly ever use (mostly a collectible) being afraid that it will get snatched by a hater!!!, lots of TW shoes and FJ shoes just because some of my favorite players use them...just to mention a few.

Almost embarrassed to admit but after watching YouTube’s very own Rick Shiels hit the Ben Hogan FT Worth’s I was very tempted to grab a set as I had no other way of trying them. I didn’t, but they certainly were tempting!

XHot driver after Lefty won his last major. I had not bought a driver in forever and considering I can block out a drive with the best of them, it was a good fit Phil-style.

I don't even know the brand played by most pros, let alone the model, and my game is nothing theirs. So no, never.

A set of Bridgestone j38's because of Freddy, haven't been able to find anything to knock the Bridgestone irons out of the bag since 2010.

There are legions of guys with T.Made drivers on this forum because of DJ, Koepka, Day, Tiger and so on but just won't admit it. I bought a Cobra Fowler Signature 60* wedge because I liked the look and employee cost was too tempting. I wore it out three years ago.

Scotty Cameron Newport Tel3 all thanks to Tiger and The Masters 1997...the club that started my Titleist obsession.

Bought the Callaway XHot 3 deep because Phil used it. I actually like it better than any driver I've ever owned and have used it in the place of a driver in many rounds. Would have loved to get my hands on Phrankenwood.

So many! Original Nike blades and forged wedges because of Tiger. A full kit of Cobra/Titleist product around 2007 because of Camilo. A full line of Puma clothes around the same time because of Geoff Ogilvy and Camilo. Nike Vapor Pro Combos because I saw the MM prototypes in the Nike staffer's bags and literally spent days just looking at them online. I am still trying to shoe-horn a 7 wood in my bag somewhere ala early 2000s Vijay, and now current Charles Howell.

Not surprisingly, the Nike blades were a bad idea. However, the wedges were incredible and I used them for about 5 seasons until I upgraded to the Titleist Spin Milled when I did my Camilo kick, which I then used for 3 seasons until I upgraded to VR Pro IIs because of Tiger. The VPC irons are still the one set I kick myself for selling. The Cobra Forged CBs I bought because of Camilo were okay, nothing amazing. The Speed Pro woods because of him, however, were awesome and I used those for a very long time until about 2011. I then got a Cobra ZL Encore as an upgrade and proceeded to hit that well for a couple of years too. The Scotty Cameron putter because of Camilo (circa 62 charcoal mist) looked good in the bag but was so-so on performance. By and large, I seem to do okay when I copy.

Taylormade R510 driver because David Toms played it

Founders Club Fresh Metal driver because Peter Jacobsen played it

Loved 'em both...still have the 510

I wont play a certain club because a pro plays it. Thats a rediculous premise for anyone, tbh. What a pro plays will 99% NEVER be good for someone with a day job - not to mention the fact that a pro's club that they actually put into play is customized to the point, most of the time, that its not even close to the 'off the rack' club.

Now, when a pro or series of pros validate a certain technology or an entire line of clubs using a certain tech or feature - thats a different story. I think that speaks volumes and can actually be good for the day job golfer.

A recent instance is the Ventus shaft. Its success on tour shows the tech Fuji put behind it works, and is by and large worth the aftermarket upgrade IF IT WORKS for the player during a fitting.

Other instances are certain types of sight lines and tech on putters, grip types, club modifications/specs (going shorter on driver), etc.

But an actual specific model of club? Nah

Yeah...Huge DD fan, so I had my 975D, 962Bs, 53* Trusty Rusty and an Excedo SS-03. I still have all but the 975D. All are great clubs that I still take out on occasion. Also played Nike TA DDs and still have a couple dozen laying around. And a Cally S2H2 3W that quite a few of the guys used...Wow - this might be worse than I thought! Played a King Cobra driver for a bit because of Greg Norman...Moving on to the Golden Ram Tour Grinds -- but not because of Watson. Those were what a friends dad played and he started me in golf. I always remembered his sticks and when I saw a mint set in the pro shop for $199, they became mine! Added some persimmons and will take at set out on occasion, too.

I bought my Spider Tour Red putter based on how many I saw on tour a few years ago and am very glad I did. On the other hand, I specifically avoided white colored drivers when they became popular on tour.