The last 12-24 months we’ve noticed a rapid rise in the number of new independent, direct to consumer (DTC) golf equipment brands coming on to the market.
Golf clothing designers have thankfully changed the look and style of millions of golfers since the days of Nick Faldo’s famous Pringle sweaters!
More recently new golf brands like Takomo golf clubs, Orka Golf , Sub70 Golf, Stewart Golf Trollies & Bags (one of the UK’s fastest growing brands) have all made a big splash in the golf equipment market.
And we’re all for it! It’s time for some disruption in the market.
Loosening the Grip of the Equipment Megabrands
As a challenger brand ourselves we know how difficult it is as a “smaller” business to break the dominance of golf megabrands.
So we’ve decided 2025 is the year we get behind some of these amazing businesses loosening the grip the Big “Fore!” Brands have held over us for decades!
Here are some of our favourite “underdogs” why we think they deserve to be on your golf equipment shortlist and why they are good for amateur golfers.
The Big “FORE!” Dominating the Golf Equipment Market
According to Statista Market Insights the worldwide total golf equipment market is projected to generate a par-blowing $27bn in 2025!
That’s up from $18bn in 2018 and they forecast it to reach $33bn by 2030.
For ever since we can remember the golf club market has been dominated by four big brands namely;
- Titleist
- Callaway
- TaylorMade
- PING
You could add a couple more in Cobra & Wilson to this list but these four brands likely account for a combined 70-80% of the global golf club and ball market.
Their approximate annual revenues from these products alone range from Callaway’s $3.96 billion in 2023 to PING’s $500-$700 million.
Some of the underdog brands are starting to get a foothold in the market – it’s unlikely they will ever reach the volumes of the big four but like Harry’s Shave products did to Gillette they could become an irritating itch!
This potential opportunity is down to the changing demographic of people taking up the game and their buying behaviour.
Let’s take a look…
Rise of the “Challenger” New Golf Brands
The fastest growing age segment taking up golf is 18-35 and thanks to social media plus their online buying habits this wave of “new golfers” seem less loyal to the Mega Brands – they are far more open to looking for quality, bespoke products that will give them better value and a more personal experience.
Takomo “Out-of-the-box” Marketing Deals
Since the beginning of 2025 social media superstars Grant Horvat and the Bryan Bros signed equity deals to use Takomo clubs across their content platforms.
Between them these two golf “creators” have over 1.5million followers on Youtube alone.
To give you some idea Callaway the #1 brand in the world has just 179,000!
These “out-of-the-box” thinking deals will bring millions of fresh eyes to this young pretender Finnish brand and all for a fraction of the advertising budgets of the traditional equipment makers.
TaylorMade signed Rory McIlroy up to a $100 million 10-year equipment deal and will see a massive return on that investment. But it will be interesting to see and compare the relative ROI Takomo achieve from their recent partnerships in a few years time.
And good luck to them – we think this sort of innovation is great for the game of golf.
Here’s why…
Why “Underdog” Brands Are Good for Amateur Golfers
Let’s compare an established brand versus some new pretenders!
A new set of mid-range custom fit Titleist T400 Golf Irons, will set you back approximately $1575 in the USA and well over £1000 in the UK!
In contrast in the US you can buy a set of award winning custom fit Sub 70 Taper Tip 649 MB Tour Forged Raw Irons for $549.
UK prices for a beautiful new set of custom Takomo Golf irons (and they do look stunning!) range from £499 to £649.
Now we know equipment can make a difference to everyone’s game, but do you think the brand badged socially acceptable Titleist’s will give the average club golfer over four figures improvement in performance? We suspect not and in fact product tests prove it!
The authorities in the game are all about making it more accessible and reducing the cost – with a four-figure entry point for a big brand set of clubs that doesn’t seem to be stacking up!
“As shareholders in Takomo Golf, these creators aim to champion the brand through their social channels, continue to engage their audiences, and inspire new, current and returning golfers along the way.”
Takomo Golf on the deals with Grant Horvat & the Bryan Bros
Driving Competition in Golf
That’s where these new competitive independent brands can make a real difference.
From club manufacturers like Takomo or Hanna Golf putters to Vice Golf balls the little guy is out there fighting for open-minded not brand-blinded golfers!
Here’s a list of some more challenger brands making a splash in the golf equipment market:
Here are four new golf brands we recommend you take a look at when choosing your next set of clubs:
Lynx Golf:
Orka Golf: Check out ORKA irons here
Takomo
Sub70
If you’re looking for something really special, and your budget is in the Rory bracket then here are two brands you need to know about:
Click on any of these great brands to see how their fantastic products compare to your established putter brands:
Golf bags is an area where there have been several top-quality entrants in recent years – here are four that are leading the pack dwon the fairways:
For many years one brand dominated the golf cart market. Now savvy golfers are turning to smaller specialist manufactorers who create top quality products at great value prices. If you’re in the market for a new cart or trolley put these on your wishlist:
Stewart Golf
GolfStream Carts – Compare GolfStream Carts & Bags
Axglo Carts – take a look at the latest Axglo “Follow Me” Golf Trollies
Greenhill Golf Trollies
Many golfers are famously loyal to their choice of golf ball – most of us don’t really know why but when it comes down to it it’s pretty hard to tear someone away from their Pro V1 – unless you’re offering a Pro V1x of course.
But as we discovered in researching our amazing golf facts article approximately 3-5 billion golf balls are lost every year around the World! And at the cost of your favourite big brand ball maybe we should all start trying something different – and save a bit of cash too!
Oncore Golf Balls
Cut Golf Balls
Vice Golf Balls
Free Balls Club – subscription service
It’s quick and easy to reach for an established brand name glove from the Pro shop just before you tee off. But often these can be an expensive and inferior quality to some of the golf gloves now being produced by bespoke glove makers like these four brands:
Asher Golf Gloves
Golf Gods Gloves
Skins Golf Gloves
Chipp Golf Gloves
There are so many companies making wedges now, beyond the usual suspects Vokey, TM, Callaway, Mizuno, Cleveland. SOmetimes it pays to stick your head above the bunker and see what else is out there! Here are four new golf brand wedge designers that won’t disappoint:
Haywood Signature Wedges
Edel Golf
Dragon Bespoke Japanese Wedges
Edison Wedges
Looking for something different to acccesorise your golf gear – check out these four brands who are bringing new style to the tee boxes!
Fyfe Tweed Headcovers
Tyson Lamb Crafted Golf Range
Kraken Golf Limited Collections
Glove Caddy
Quality + Value + Service = Win-Win-Win for Golfers!
We can’t deny that the likes of Titleist & TaylorMade create some amazing products that have brought huge joy to millions of golfers around the world – there’s no argument that some of the equipment they have brought to the market has made us all better players.
But often these hungry new brand entrants have products that are even better, more bespoke and overall better value than what’s available on the mainstream market.
Plus their service levels are often refreshingly friendly and customer-focused!
It’s difficult to argue against some proper competition to the traditional brands only being good for golf and golfers!
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And that’s a win-win every golfer wants – lower scores PLUS more money in the pocket!
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