If I asked you who won the U.S. Open this year, you’d probably know it was Wyndham Clark. But I can almost guarantee you couldn’t tell me who finished second. Sam Burns, one shot back.
That’s the way our world works; second place is hard to remember. But when you’re shopping for golf equipment, paying attention to second place is smart. The differences between some of our top clubs this year were small at times and second place in our testing is still really good. So here are five clubs that finished second in 2026 that I don’t think get enough credit.
Srixon ZXi Driver (Slow Swing Speeds)
Sometimes the winner isn’t a realistic option and the runner-up becomes the actual recommendation. That’s the situation here. The LA GOLF driver won slow swing speeds and was the most accurate driver in the whole test but the company is moving away from making new clubs in 2026.
The ZXi is the driver I’d point a slower swinger to instead. It finished second with a 9.2 MGS Score and no category fell below an 8.4. What’s interesting is how it got there. The LA GOLF won on accuracy (9.6) and forgiveness (9.5) while the ZXi’s edge was distance. It’s the one to test if maximizing yardage is the goal and it still performed well in accuracy.
Ballistic CB Irons (Player’s irons)
I love a story where a small brand walks into a room full of big names and holds its own. Ballistic is a direct-to-consumer company out of Iowa and the CB made its Most Wanted debut with a second-place finish overall at $799.99.
Accuracy is what pulled the Ballistic CB irons to the top. If I’m shopping for player’s irons, accuracy is an area that makes a lot of sense to pay attention to.
It was the second-most accurate player’s iron in the test, with a 9.6 accuracy score, and its average proximity of 19.2 feet was third-best. What kept it behind the Titleist T150 was distance. The CB scored a 7.7 there, compared to the T150’s 9.7, and it’s the short iron of the group.
If you’d rather hit more greens than chase yards and you don’t want to spend $1,500 to do it, the Ballistic CB makes a pretty compelling argument.
New Level SPN V3 Wedge
The spin is what surprised me about the SPN V3. Every wedge in our test landed in a tight window on the dry 50-yard shot, between 6,729 and 7,217 rpm, so dry spin barely separates anything. The SPN V3 produced 7,062 rpm and finished 6.9 feet from the hole. That’s more dry spin than the Vokey SM11 (6,857 rpm).
But making spin is the easy part. Keeping it is what counts and that’s where the SPN V3 earned its spot. It held up in the wet better than any previous New Level wedge and it was the most accurate wedge in the test across full swings, dry 50-yard shots and wet 50-yard shots. For a smaller brand that still flies under the radar for a lot of golfers, I think that’s a big deal.
Sub 70 011-SQ Putter (Zero-Torque)
The Sub 70 011-SQ posted a -7.7 overall PuttView Handicap against the winning Odyssey Ai-Dual S2S #7’s -8.1. It beat the Odyssey on short putts (-8.1 to -7.9). The gap opened on medium putts (-4.9 to -6.2) and long putts (-9.7 to -10.4). It also finished in the top five in every scoring category, the kind of consistency I care about in a putter.
The Sub 70 is $229 which makes it even more appealing when many putters in 2026 were $400 or more.
Callaway Quantum Max D Fairway Wood
The Quantum Max D finished second overall with an 8.9, the same score as the winning Mizuno JPX One, and it led the test in accuracy with a 9.5. It had the highest fairway percentage in the test (76.45), a 57.97-percent straight-shot rate and a 91.67-percent playable rate. The draw bias didn’t turn it into a one-dimensional anti-slice club.
But it’s not for everybody. Its distance score was an 8.5, with 203.15 yards of carry and 214.34 total, so it gives up some yards to the longest fairway woods. It’s also one of the higher-spinning options which could be a problem if you already spin it too much.
A fairway wood is the club you hit off the tee and off the turf and misses cost you strokes. If distance is your priority, the TaylorMade Qi4D (third overall) is the one to look at. If it’s keeping the ball in play and hitting the shot you’re aiming at, the Max D is the one I’d want to try.
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