The “Ancient” Clubs Presidents Cup Players Can’t Quit

Golf equipment has a short shelf life these days.

A driver gets replaced, an iron line gets refreshed and suddenly a club you bought two seasons ago is considered “ancient.” And that is particularly true for pro golfers who have unfettered access to the latest equipment.

But pros occasionally decide to hold on to their older clubs because they can’t find a replacement that will beat the original. The bags at the 2026 Presidents Cup show that’s a lot more common than you would think.

Several players arrived at Medinah with club models they were using more than five years ago. Some have held on to a single fairway wood while others have kept much larger portions of their setup.

With that in mind, these are some of the most interesting holdovers.

Patrick Cantlay: An old favorite surrounded by more old favorites

Cantlay could fill most of this story himself.

He has a Titleist 915F 3-wood from 2014, 718 AP2 irons from 2017 and Vokey SM7 46- and 52-degree wedges from 2018 in his bag. His iron setup has shifted to include a Srixon ZXi5 4-iron—the AP2s now run from 5-iron through 9-iron—but the core of it remains familiar.

The 915F sits next to a current Titleist driver (GTS4), yet Cantlay continues to reserve a spot for it. Why?

“Once you find one that you fall in love with, and you learn to trust it, guys don’t want to change” Cantlay said. “I’ve heard Fred Couples used the same ladies’ flex 3-wood for a number of years. And it’s just when you fall in love with a club like a 7-wood or a 3-wood, it’s hard to get out of the bag.”

The irons are just as striking. Keeping one older specialty club is fairly common on Tour but keeping most of an older iron set suggests the player remains comfortable with its shape, flight and distance control across a substantial part of the bag.

Justin Thomas: two fairway woods from different eras

Justin Thomas has updated plenty of equipment over the years but his fairway woods have been much stickier.

When Thomas won the 2021 Players Championship with a Titleist TS3 3-wood and a 915 Fd 5-wood. The 3-wood is eight years old and the 5-wood is 12 years old.

The reasoning is specific to yardage gaps. For instance, he said newer 5-woods he has tried fly farther than he wants. His current one gives him a range of shots. He said he can hit it 230 yards when needed or carry it 265, which is a wide range.

“It’s just kind of a perfect club for me,” Thomas said.

Thomas’s current bag also includes newer options at the top end but those additions haven’t automatically pushed out two clubs with established jobs. A fairway wood has to produce the right flight from awkward lies as well as ideal ones. If an older head gives a player the shot he wants, the appeal of a replacement has to survive more than a comparison of ball speed.

Sungjae Im: a familiar hybrid and iron set

Switching over to the International side, Im’s equipment loyalty extends well beyond a single wood.

Im has continuously played a 818 H2 hybrid for seven years despite hybrids going out of style on Tour.

His T100 irons, TSi2 driver, TS3 3-wood and Vokey SM7 60-degree wedge all date back at least six years since he first used them.

The hybrid is particularly interesting because clubs at that end of the bag often compete with fairway woods and utility irons as players adjust to courses and conditions. Im has kept a place for a model he was using six years ago, even while making changes around it.

Im has said he knows how high the 818 H2 launches, how far it carries and how it behaves from different lies. In a lot of cases like this, a newer hybrid might produce better numbers in one area but create an awkward gap between a player’s 3-wood and longest iron.

Hideki Matsuyama: the wedges that keep coming back

Matsuyama has used Cleveland RTX 4 Forged Prototype wedges for nearly seven years. He is still using the same wedge model that he gamed during his win at the 2021 Masters.

The Cleveland team says Hideki rarely changes the 52-degree wedge’s sole but regularly adjusts the 56 and 60. They can alter the width, bounce and relief without changing how the wedge looks at address. 

There’s also an Augusta connection. Cleveland/Srixon’s R&D team said his love of wide, low-bounce wedge soles reflect his focus on what works for him at Augusta National.

Closing thoughts

None of this means golfers should ignore new equipment.

These players have made changes elsewhere in their bags and a fitting can reveal a genuine improvement.

At the end of the day, pros don’t just blindly replace their gamers. The new club has to offer a meaningful advantage.

Top Photo Caption: Justin Thomas looks on after hitting a shot with his 3-wood. (GETTY IMAGES/Keyur Khamar)