A Lesson Learned from Brooks: Play What’s Best For You

An article posted on Golf.com introduced a very interesting hypothetical this morning: If Brooks Koepka were to sign an equipment endorsement deal, it would be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 to $4 million.

Despite how tempting that might be, there’s one major flaw with that hypothetical: Koepka.  Indeed, the new No. 1 ranked player in the world, who’s won 4 out of the 8 last majors he’s competed in (in addition to his T-2 finish at the 2019 Masters), has been achieving all of this success with a mixed bag of goodies, and there doesn’t appear to be any indication that he’s looking to exchange his trusted tools.

Brooks Koepka of the United States and Tiger Woods of the United…

Brooks Koepka of the United States and Tiger Woods of the United States shake hands on the 18th green during the second round of the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course on May 17, 2019… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

You see, Koepka signed an apparel and equipment endorsement with Nike Golf in January 2016. At the time, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, among many others, were Nike staffers and the company appeared to be well-positioned for the future.  So it was a real surprise when not even a year later in August 2016, Nike abruptly decided to exit the golf equipment business.  While some golfers, like Woods and McIlroy, have since gone on to sign with new equipment sponsors, Koepka has made himself an outlier by finding some of his greatest accomplishments without an equipment endorsement.

But maybe that’s exactly why Koepka’s been playing so well.  While signed golfers are usually obligated to play the newest gear from their sponsor, Koepka has the ability to mix, match and change his gear at any moment without any fear of pushback.  Indeed, Koepka’s win at Bethpage was powered by:

• TaylorMade M5 Driver (10.5°)
• TaylorMade M2 Tour HL 3 Wood (16.5°)
• Nike Vapor Fly Pro (3) Driving Iron
• Mizuno JPX 919 Tour Irons (4-PW)
• Titleist Vokey Design SM7 Raw (52° and 56°) and a Vokey SM4 TVD Raw (60°)
• Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Putter
• Titleist Pro V1x

In case you’re not keeping score, that’s equipment from 4 different manufacturers, with 3 clubs being arguably “outdated” and no longer in production.  And while there’s certainly very little credibility that just because Koepka is playing this equipment that it must be the “best” in the world, it’s impossible to ignore that the above-mentioned manufacturers (particularly in regard to the more dated clubs) have built some very high quality equipment if a very successful, unsigned pro is playing there stuff when his career is on the line.

So what can amateur golfers take away from this?  Well, actually a few things.

First, as amateurs, we should always be playing what gives us the best chance to succeed.  In stark contrast to Brooks, who’s being offered lots of money to play under someone’s banner, we’re often paying the big bucks (which are being used to help finance these staffer deals) to play certain equipment.  As a result, you shouldn’t go grab club “X” because PGA pro “Y” just won event “Z” with it.  Indeed, as a club fitting often reveals, there’s a certain model driver, fairway wood, hybrid, irons, wedges and putter out there that is best suited to you.

Brooks Koepka of the United States reacts after putting in to win on…

Brooks Koepka of the United States reacts after putting in to win on the 18th green during the final round of the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course on May 19, 2019 in Farmingdale,… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Second, there’s no reason to upgrade equipment every year, or even every other year.  If you’ve been properly fit, there’s a good chance that you might see marginal, let alone any, gains that would justify the big expense coupled with purchasing new equipment.  And if you feel the need to disagree, then I would greatly appreciate if you could explain to me why Koepka is playing a 3 wood that hasn’t been made in 2 years, and a driving iron that went on sale in 2016.

So while it will be interesting to see whether Koepka decides to align himself with a particular brand or, in the alternative, what clubs he continues to put it play, there’s no doubt that he’s paving the way for other future professionals to remain unsigned and pick-and-choose the equipment that gives them the best chance to succeed.

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