The equipment cycle never stops at MyGolfSpy.
All year long, we test, we review, we compare, we get your feedback. Then we use what we learned in 2025 to ask the right questions heading into 2026.
Here are the questions we have for golf’s four biggest equipment manufacturers for next year.
TaylorMade: Can they release a 2026 driver that is fast and consistent?
The TaylorMade Qi35 drivers were fine in 2025 testing but they did not steal the show. Callaway, PING and Titleist consistently ranked ahead of them in driver testing and that held true across every swing speed group. It just was not the year for Qi35.
TaylorMade can make fast drivers. What showed up in the data was a consistency gap. Compared to the leaders, Qi35 struggled to pair speed with forgiveness and stability on misses.
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy kept Qi10 drivers in play at various points throughout the season. This kind of reinforced the idea that Qi35 was not a clear step forward for everyone. A bright spot for TaylorMade this year were the Qi35 fairway woods. They finished second overall in fairway wood testing and were strong from a distance perspective.
Heading into 2026, the question is whether the 2026 drivers will be fast and consistent enough to compete at the top again.
Callaway: Can they repeat as the driver standard?
The Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond finished as the top driver in 2025 testing and set the standard everyone else will be chasing.
Repeating is harder than winning once. We saw that with PING. The G430 Max 10K won in 2024 and followed it with a runner-up finish in 2025. Even staying that close to the top across consecutive years is rare.
For Callaway, the question is whether they can maintain the same blend of distance and accuracy across all swing speeds while the rest of the market adjusts.
PING: Will they enter the zero-torque putter game?
PING knows how to make putters that consistently compete in product testing.
The Scottsdale Prime Tyne 4 finished third in mallet testing and the Scottsdale Anser placed inside the top 10 in blade testing. Zero-torque putters now have their own Most Wanted category and golfer interest continues to grow. PING did not have an entry in that space in 2025.
So the question is whether PING will enter the zero-torque category and how they may approach it.
Titleist: What will the SM11 offer that the SM10 does not?
Vokey wedge releases have followed a steady cadence and a new lineup is expected in 2026. SM9 ran from 2022 through 2024. SM10 launched in early 2024 and carried through 2025.
In 2024 testing, the Vokey SM10 finished third overall and ranked best overall for accuracy. That sets a strong baseline for the next generation.
When new Vokey wedges arrive in 2026, the question for Titleist will be: What changes, in measurable ways, will they have beyond what SM10 already delivers? Vokey SM11 wedges will be included in our 2026 wedge testing to see how they compete with other top names such as TaylorMade, PING and Mizuno.
Final thought
As our First Looks articles roll out and testing begins again, some of these questions will be answered quickly. The rest will start to roll in when the data does.
MarkM
6 months ago
“What will the SM11 offer that the SM10 does not?” Nothing but another number in the naming sequence