Back
Unusual golf clubs are having a moment.
Old traditions and assumptions about which types of clubs worked best for whom - and even ridicule for players who dared to step outside their stereotyped lanes - are falling by the wayside. The rise of custom-fitting and the proliferation of data-driven insight into golfers' shot tendencies have created opportunities for companies to blur the lines between the four core categories of clubs - woods, irons, wedges and putter - in order to try and optimize their equipment within USGA and R&A tech guidelines.
The biggest example of this shift has been hybrid clubs, which took the better part of two decades to fully enter the mainstream after first being heavily marketed in the early 2000s as a more forgiving, higher-launching alternative to the long irons that were for decades the most feared clubs in millions of golf bags.
Chances are good you have at least one hybrid in your bag. Could you be a candidate for one of these other categories of golf club in 2026?
High-loft fairway woods
Background: When I was playing junior, high school and college golf from the late-1990s through the early 2010s, any male under 65 years of age who had a 7 wood in his bag was ripe for needling. In pro golf, it was unthinkable, with one notable exception: Vijay Singh, who would prove to be ahead of his time by gaming a 9 wood head bent open to the loft of a 7 wood during his incredible run of golf that occasionally rivaled that of Tiger Woods. No one would dare make fun of Singh, of course, especially given the results he achieved with that club in his bag. Nowadays, 7 woods are relatively common on tour, with Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Åberg, Adam Scott and others using them in 2025 PGA Tour competition.
Why you might need one: Why grab a high-lofted fairway wood instead of a hybrid? If you find yourself playing around your long irons or you generally struggle on par-5 layups and long par 3 and par 4 approaches, one of these clubs could become your new favorite. The shape of the clubhead and low-slung center-of-gravity help longer approaches fly higher and stop faster, while a typically sturdy leading edge can make a 7 or 9 wood an asset out of the rough.
One golfer's take: I am all-in on high-loft fairway woods and have been for more than a decade. I have used an old-school TaylorMade V Steel 7 wood with a slightly cut-down steel shaft for years and have gotten great use from it out of the rough on long par 4s and the tees of long par 3s. I could never imagine hitting a 3 iron. Because its odd-diameter hosel makes replacement shafts impossible to find, the V Steel's retirement is close at hand, but I fully intend on replacing it with a newer 7 wood or 9 wood in 2026.
Mini-drivers
Background: Golfers of a certain age know well that drivers were not always 460cc behemoths that encouraged speed-chasing and lusty swings off the tee. At their peaks, generational drivers of the golf ball like Nicklaus, Norman and Woods slammed tee shots with drivers that were diminutive relative to what's on the market today. But a combination of nostalgia and exploration of potential performance gains have prompted some major manufacturers to roll out something that's between a 3 wood and driver in both head size and shaft length. Current mini-driver models include the TaylorMade r7 Quad (a throwback to the company's early-2000s drivers), the Titleist GT280 and the PXG Secret Weapon. Mini-drivers are seeing some usage on tour, with Tommy Fleetwood being one of the earliest adopters.
Why you might need one: At the end of the day, a mini-driver is going to replace either someone's driver or their 3 wood. My sense is that for the vast majority of mini-driver candidates, it will be the latter. The cadre of players who are generally lost with a driver is much smaller now than it used to be, and 3 woods tend to be harder for mid-handicap golfers than they often realize, given the significant head-size difference but only modest shaft-length difference. A mini-driver may bridge that gap nicely, coming in handy off the tee on shorter or narrower holes while also being surprisingly serviceable from the fairway, a nod to when the driver-off-the-deck was not yet a lost art.
One golfer's take: I have had the chance to test two different mini-drivers in 2025, and I really like the PXG Secret Weapon, a 13-degree howitzer when struck on the button. In the rounds I've played with it, my best shots have actually come off the deck, which is great on par 5s where I want to get aggressive. It's not yet a mortal-lock member of my golf bag because the shaft in it feels a little hefty, but if I can dial that in, it might supplant my 3 wood in 2026.
Driving irons
Background: Driving irons are something of a subcategory of hybrids. The general design of hybrids has set itself up as a spectrum: some hybrids look more like fairway woods while other hybrids look more like irons. As their name suggests, driving irons typically get most use off the tee, and are especially effective in high winds and/or firm, fast fairways. Virtually every July, stories will emerge about top pros toying with or adding a driving iron to their bags in time for the Open Championship.
Why you might need one: Driving irons are situational, and tend to appeal more towards golfers with lower handicaps and higher swing speeds, especially if that speed typically translates to high launch and high spin. Those who fit that profile need something to help keep the ball down off the tee, and don't mind giving up some yards in order to achieve those results. If those statements resonate with you, a driving iron may be worth a look. Likewise, if you play on firm, fast turf and don't mind something that looks like a chunky-ish long iron, this is a category of interest.
One golfer's take: As someone who has always gotten along better with fairway woods than long irons, it is not a club for me. But I have noticed a lot of big-hitting competitive amateurs using driving irons to great effect off the tee on shorter par 4s. I launch the ball low naturally, so I generally need more height, not less.
Other non-traditional golf clubs you might consider
Chipping clubs
Chipping clubs have been around forever, typically geared towards high-handicap players who struggle greenside. They are basically putters with a considerable amount of loft, so that their users don't have to tie themselves in knots with the nuances of proper chipping and pitching motions. As a result, these clubs are fairly crude and limited in their usefulness. For example, their loft is not going to help a ball land soft out of thick rough. That's what technique and practice are for. Major manufacturers do make chipping clubs; two examples include the PING ChipR and the Odyssey Chipper.
PXG's Desert Club
This one-off is a true niche product that reflects PXG's home base of Scottsdale, Ariz. Experienced desert golfers know that the rough sand, scrub and rock can be hell on wedges, so over the years it's become a tradition to carry a beat-up old club in one's bag for certain reconnaissance missions. So in 2025, PXG debuted the Desert Club, with the loft of a pitching wedge and the shaft length of an 8-iron, made of hardy 17-4 stainless steel. Retailing at $99.99, it's built to last and priced to take a beating.
Comments (0)