7 Most Popular Irons On The PGA Tour (2023 Update)
Nowadays, the scrutiny on what golf irons the pros are using is greater than ever, and club manufacturers are more aware of this perception by the golf playing and golf watching audiences around the world. So, what are the most popular irons on the PGA Tour?
The 7 most popular irons on the PGA Tour are:
- Titleist
- Callaway
- Ping
- TaylorMade
- Srixon
- Mizuno
- PXG
While drivers often take center stage, the real focus is on the irons that the pros use, as those constitute a larger percentage of shots played and hit during tournaments than those of drivers, but remember, a putter is the club used the most.
And to find out the most popular irons on the PGA Tour, keep reading!
PGA Tour Players Mix And Match Their Irons
Many PGA Tour players don’t have complete sets of one brand of irons but mix and match between brands and clubs based on what irons they prefer. So shorter irons could be one brand and longer irons another.
You may also find that some players have a complete set of irons from 4-PW and then have a different brand for a three iron or driving iron. The stats below are based on the popularity of the iron brands found in the bags of tour pros, and you may find some players using two different iron brands.
With this discussion, we are talking about irons only and not wedges, as that would be a separate discussion on its own.
Most Popular Irons On The PGA Tour
The most popular irons on the PGA Tour are Titleist, Callaway, Ping, TaylorMade, Srixon, Mizuno, and PXG. These are the most common irons found in the bags of PGA pros currently on tour, and the differences between the most popular and the least popular are significant.
| Brand of Iron | Number of Tour Players |
|---|---|
| Titleist | 33 |
| Callaway | 24 |
| PING | 19 |
| TaylorMade | 18 |
| Srixon | 12 |
| Mizuno | 7 |
| PXG | 5 |
So, let’s start with the least popular.
#7 – PXG Irons
PXG is a brand making slow but steady inroads into the PGA Tour player’s choice of clubs, and five top-ranked PGA Tour pros use PXG irons in their bag. Players include Jason Kokrak, Luke List, Joel Dahmen, James Hahn, and Zach Johnson.
PXG ranks higher in popularity than Cobra or Wilson on tour and some newer brands like Miura, Honma, or Bridgestone.
Which PXG Irons Do These PGA Tour Pros Use?
- Luke List and James Hahn play PXG 0311 T Gen 4 irons.
- Jason Kokrak uses the PXG 0311 T Gen 4 irons.
- Joel Dahmen uses the PXG 0211 ST irons.
- Zach Johnson plays the PXG 0311 T Gen 1.
Who Is PXG Golf?
PXG (Parsons Extreme Golf) was founded in 2014 by Bob Parsons, most well known as the founder of Go-Daddy. His vision was to make “the sexiest, most forgiving golf clubs that launch higher, go farther, feel softer, and have a sweet spot the size of Texas!”
PXG currently holds over 200 patents and focuses on providing clubs that look like blades but “feel like butter.” With the backing of Dr. Parsons and limitless resources, they began to research the various alloys and materials to produce the world’s finest golf clubs.
Even though PXG irons do come at a price, the design of their 0311 sets of irons is turning heads and getting great reviews from players and golf influencers alike.
Using a hollow construction, as many of the new irons are, and filling it with a thermoplastic-elastomer filling and tungsten weights on the perimeter provides forgiveness and great speed and sound off the clubface.
Whether for high/medium handicappers or more adept players, PXG 0311 irons are certainly delivering on the Parsons promise.
You can check out a wide selection of PXG irons at Global Golf. They also have a ‘used’ selection of irons from owners who trade in their used clubs when upgrading. You can pick up some good deals here if you have a lower budget or like to change your clubs regularly.
#6 – Mizuno Irons
Coming in at no.6 is a well-known and long-standing brand originating in Japan. It arguably produces some of the finest irons for the PGA Tour and amateur golfers. Mizuno ranks slightly higher in popularity than PXG, but there is a big gap between Mizuno and the no.5 ranked irons, Srixon.
Currently, seven players on the PGA Tour use Mizuno irons: Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Matt Jones, Lucas Glover, Jazz Janewattanond, Keith Mitchell, and Cameron Smith.
Which Mizuno Irons Do These PGA Tour Players Use?
Looking in the bag, you will find a mix of sets from the JPX 919 irons to the Pro Fli Hi and MP 5 and Pro 221 and Pro 225 irons. The players in this list use the following irons:
- Paul Casey – Mizuno MP-5 and Mizuno JPX919 Hot Metal Pro
- Matt Jones – Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi
- Lucas Glover – Mizuno JPX919 Tour
- Jazz Janewattanond – Mizuno JPX919 Tour
- Keith Mitchell – Mizuno Pro 225 and Mizuno Pro 221
- Cameron Smith – Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi
- Luke Donald – Mizuno Pro 225, Mizuno Pro 221, and Muzuno Pro Fli-Hi
Mizuno, as a brand, has produced clubs for both professionals and mid to low handicappers offering some forgiveness and providing superb control for ball shaping and a great feel off the clubface.
If you’re in the market for Mizuno irons, check out the Global Golf website, where you can find the latest models and often at the best prices. Amazon also has a selection of Mizuno iron sets.
#5 – Srixon Irons
Japanese brand Srixon is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Rubber company that owns Dunlop Sport. Srixon holds more patents for golf balls than any other brand in the market; while not as popular as the Pro V1, Srixon balls are well respected and played by quite a few pros. I am a regular Srixon ball user myself.
Twelve players on the PGA Tour are currently using Srixon irons: Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Scotty Scheffler, Ryan Palmer, Marcus Armitage, Martin Laird, Hideki Matsuyama, Keegan Bradley, Harold Varner III, Graeme MacDowell, JJ Spaun, and Brooks Koepka.
Which Srixon Irons Do These PGA Tour Players Use?
Looking through the bags of these players, you will find a mix of irons, with the ZX 7 irons being the most popular in this group. There are also the ZX 5 irons, the Z Forged, Z 785, and Z U65 irons.
Except for Martin Laird, Ryan Palmer, Hideki Matsuyama, and Graeme MacDowell, all the other players use the ZX 7 and ZX 5 irons. Martin Laird and Ryan Palmer use the Z 785’s, MacDowell also uses the Z 785’s and the Z 745, Matsuyama uses the Srixon Z-Forged irons, and Spaun uses the Z U65 irons.
If you want to check out the best Srixon irons that are popular right now, you can find them at Global Golf. You can also check out the current pricing of Srixon irons over on Amazon.
#4 – TaylorMade Irons
As one of the golfing world’s most well-known and iconic brands, TaylorMade scooped possibly the biggest star ever when Tiger Woods signed to them and started to use their P7TW irons after Nike announced they would no longer be making clubs.
TaylorMade also produces some high-quality golf balls and while they are not in the same popularity league as the Pro V1 – let’s face it, which golf ball is – some of the best use their irons in the game.
With 18 players on the PGA using TaylorMade, they are far ahead of Srixon in the popularity ratings. Some of the big names on tour using TaylorMade irons include the likes of Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Daniel Berger, Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, and Tommy Fleetwood.
Which TaylorMade Irons Do These PGA Tour Players Use?
TaylorMade has a variety of irons that feature PGA players’ bags. A popular one is the P7TW irons found in the bags of players like Tiger Woods, Tommy Fleetwood, Martin Kaymer, Scotty Scheffler, and Lucas Herbert.
You can read more about Tiger’s irons in this article; What Irons Does Tiger Woods Use?
The other popular irons from TaylorMade are the P7MC (available on Amazon), and those can be found in the bags of players like Justin Rose, Mathew Wolf, and Robert McIntyre. The P770 irons (also on Amazon) have a good following with PGA Tour players, and names like Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, and Harry Higgs feature these irons in their bags.
I do like the P770s, but maybe I’m a little biased as my eldest son uses these clubs. Like me, he plays left-handed and seems well suited to them.
Sergio Garcia and Dustin Johnson feature the P730 irons, as Collin Morikawa and the P790 irons are used by Martin Kaymer, Lucas Herbert, and Jason Day. Remember that within the TaylorMade stable, there are a variety of irons, and pros that use TM often pull clubs from different model sets to complete their own.
#3 – Ping Irons
Ping’s influence on the game of golf is impressive at both the amateur and pro levels; they arguably provided golf’s greatest entertainer, Seve Ballesteros, with his clubs and the innovation of the world’s first game improvement irons some five decades ago.
The subsequent interest of professional players in the cavity back irons, Ping is a global leader in golf clubs, and it shows on the PGA Tour.
As the third most popular iron on tour, Ping features some very high-profile players, and 19 tour players feature this brand.
Only marginally ahead of TaylorMade, players that use Ping irons include the likes of Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen, Corey Conners, Harris English, Joaquin Niemann, Mackenzie Hughes, Stewart Cink, Lee Westwood, Tony Finau, Tyrell Hatton, and Viktor Hovland.
What Ping Irons Do These PGA Tour Pros Use?
The Ping i210 irons are the most popular amongst this playing group, with players like Viktor Hovland, Lee Westwood, Tyrell Hatton, Stewart Cink, Mackenzie Hughes, Sebastion Munoz, Sahith Teegala, and Matt Fitzpatrick all having the i210 in their bags.
The Ping iBlades are used by Corey Conners, Guillermo Mita Perreira, Joaquin Niemann, and Victor Perez. The Ping Blueprint irons are used by Louis Oosthuizen, Tony Finau, Seamus Power, and Harris English.
Other Ping irons used are the Ping S55 played by Bubba Watson and Carlos Ortiz, as well as the i500 (Makenzie Hughes), G 410 Crossover (Harris English), and the i59 (Sahith Teegala).
#2 – Callaway Irons
Callaway irons are the second most popular irons used on the PGA Tour behind Titleist – and there is a big difference between the number of players using Callaway and Titleist. In contrast, the numbers 3, 4, and 5 most popular irons are closer to the number 2 spot than the no. 2 is to the no. 1 most popular iron on the PGA Tour.
Between Callaway and Ping, there is only a difference of 5 players that use Callaway, so those gaps are pretty close.
Callaway is another massive global brand. Of the 24 PGA Tour players that use their irons, many South African players feature, such as Branden Grace, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Dylan Frittelli, Erik Van Rooyen, and prominent international stars.
Phil Mickelson, Alex Noren, Daniel Berger, Danny Willett, Henrik Stenson, Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, John Rahm, Kevin Na, Kevin Kisner, Sam Burns, Xander Schauffle, Siwoo Kim, and Marc Leishman all use Callaway irons.
You know you are doing something right when you can boast this illustrious list of players using your irons!
What Callaway Irons Do These Pro Players Use?
The two most popular iron sets are the Callaway Apex series and X Forged irons, while a few players on tour use the Rogue and Legacy irons.
With the Apex series, the MB, TCB, and Pro feature prominently, with the X Forged series irons coming in a close second. Let’s look at which PGA players use these irons.
- Callaway Apex TCB – John Rahm, Marc Leishman, Matt Wallace, Sam Burns, Xander Schauffle, Franceso Molinari, Danny Lee, and Branden Grace.
- Callaway Apex MB – Phil Mickelson, Talor Gooch, Matt Wallace, Danny Lee, Erik Van Rooyen.
- Callaway Pro and Pro UT – Jazz Jannewattanond, Alex Noren, Kevin Na, Kevin Kisner, and Siwoo Kim.
- Callaway X Forged UT/CB – Phil Mickelson, Talor Gooch, Maverick McNealy, Justin Rose, Dylan Frittelli, Erik Van Rooyen , Danny Willet and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
My youngest son has recently ignited his love of the game and purchased a set of Callaway clubs. Although not used by the PGA players mentioned above, he went for the Callaway Warbirds, which I think are just perfect for him, having not played for a while.
#1 – Titleist Irons
Titleist has the same dominance with their irons on tour as they do with the Pro V1 ball, which is a testament to their quality and consistency in performance. Compared to the no. 2 spot held by Callaway, Titleist have more than 70% more players using their clubs than Callaway.
Regarding the popularity of irons, it’s a race for second place as Titleist has the first place well and truly sewn up, with 33 PGA Tour players favoring them. You can view Titleist irons on Amazon and check prices or jump to the huge selection at Global Golf.
Their list of players using their irons is incredibly impressive. It features top players like Adam Scott, Cameron Smith, Chris Kirk, Garrick Higgo, Ian Poulter, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Lucas Glover, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa, Tom Hoge, and Will Zalatoris.
What Titleist Irons Do These PGA Tour Players Use?
Because Titleist has such a massive stable of clubs available, the mix of irons used by PGA players is quite varied.
The T100 and T200 are popular, along with the 620 CB and MB series. Then, the U500 and 510 and the 718AP2 and T MB irons feature in the bags of the top players.
- Titleist T100 and T200 – Cameron Smith, Charles Howell III, Charley Hoffman, Garrick Higgo, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris.
- Titleist 620 CB/ MB Series – Antoine Rozner, Billy Horschel , Brandt Wiesberger, Brian Harman , Cameron Davis, Cameron Young, Max Homa, Webb Simpson and Tom Hoge.
- Titleist 718 AP2/MB/CB/T MB -Brendon Todd, Chris Kirk, Ian Poulter, JT Poston, Patrick Cantlay.
- Titleist U 500 – Antoine Rozner, Berndt Wiesberger, Carlos Ortiz, JT Poston, Lucas Glover and Brian Harman.
Sidenote: Do you want to know the top golf grips used by the pros? Check out this article to find out, 3 Most Popular Grips on The PGA Tour.
Let’s Wrap This Up!
Titleist leads the race by some margin for the most popular irons on the PGA Tour, with some of the biggest names in the game using their irons with great success. Now that you know which players use which brand, be sure to keep an eye out for them on TV.
It will be interesting to see if and how these numbers change over the coming years as manufacturers jostle to move up the popularity rankings, but for now, the top four are well ahead of the chasing pack.
If you want more detail on this topic, check out this article, What Irons Do PGA Players Use?
