Golf’s big four brands: Who are they and what do they do best

The evolution of golfing equipment has been in the ‘space age’ for some time now – and the bigger brands have established themselves as literal heavy-hitters in the industry.

There is a clear division between the very top brands and the best of the rest.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you should focus all your attention on the big four brands when it comes to selecting your equipment because there are several others doing their bit to move the golf equipment game forward.

But here we will look at each of the big four brands and tell you what it is they do best.

Titleist

We will start with Titleist as they are a brand that frequently feature in unsponsored professionals’ bags, mainly because of their excellent wedges and Vokey design.

Vokey pitching wedges are engineered with a lower centre of gravity, helping players hit their trajectory window more consistently. Vokey pitching wedges are also distinctly crafted with narrower, deeper grooves in the club face, allowing for maximum control and a longer-lasting spin.

They also manufacture the famous Pro V1 balls, which are often found in the pockets of players who have just holed an ace with another cheaper variant. To be fair there are also a number of V1s enjoying a watery resting place right this minute, so you do you on this one.

If you’re a fan of Titleist and have the money to fill your bag with their clubs there is probably little reason not to given they produce high-quality equipment in almost every category.

Callaway

Callaway launched themselves into the stratosphere when it comes to equipment thanks to developing the famous or infamous Big Bertha driver.

Arguably the catalyst for many of the big-headed drivers seen on ranges and courses all over the world, Callaway really changed the game when they dropped their boom stick.

At a time when most other drivers were still made of persimmon wood, the Big Bertha was crafted entirely of stainless steel and the head had a volume of 190 cm3.

Callaway have followed on from that tradition by producing some of the best available drivers. They also sport a fantastic range of Irons with the Paradym range recommended for better players looking to enhance their short game.

TaylorMade

There probably isn’t a golf brand with a better all-around reputation for quality and innovation than TaylorMade and as a result they are among the most popular brands for professionals.

The company doesn’t only target the top end of the market when it comes to player skill levels with plenty of products catering to more casual players.

As a result of that allround quality it is hard to pick out a genuine flagship product at TaylorMade but their Stealth range of drivers and irons are extremely popular and they produce some of the finest putters on the market including the much-vaunted Spider Tour range.

It is quite possible to fully kit yourself out in TaylorMade gear and clubs without hurting your game in any way.

PING

You might have guessed from their name that PING is named after the sound their first putter made when it struck the ball.

Started as a garage business by an engineer and avid golfer, PING has grown into one of the premier golf brands in the world.

The background of the company has driven them to be great innovators, and PING was the first to offer factory fitting to its customers.

While they built a great name for themselves with putters PING have also produced great sets of irons and they produce perhaps the best clubs in that range for high-handicappers in the G425 series.