What can we expect from golf equipment in 2024?

We've seen some fantastic product launches in 2023, including TaylorMade's Stealth 2 range and Odyssey's newly released AI-ONE and AI-One Milled putters, but what's going to catch the attention of the golfing world in 2024?

Increased speed, forgiveness and distance would be the easy answers to this question, but instead, we're going to take a look back at what we've seen in 2023 to try and make some educated guesses as to what's coming round the corner.

Let's get into it

Drivers

One thing we do know is that due to the two-year product cycles of both PING and Titleist, it's highly unlikely either brand will be launching new drivers in 2024. 

Thankfully, there is a whole bevvy of leading manufacturers that will likely be going big with new driver launches in the new year.

To pick apart some of the big brands, we're going to take a look at what we've seen in 2023 and try and figure out what we can expect in the new year.

TaylorMade really focused on forgiveness, or should we say 'fargiveness' with the Stealth 2 range of drivers, so we wouldn't be surprised if the brand has a new focus in 2024, perhaps speed or even improved aerodynamics. 

Having recently teamed up with Oracle Red Bull Racing, it would be rather poetic if TaylorMade went all in on either improved club head or ball speed as its principal focus in 2024.

Based on trends we've seen from Callaway in recent years, we could be looking at a driver with a fixed-weight design in 2024.

In recent years, Callaway has alternated between moveable and fixed-weight designs, and with Paradym having an adjustable weight at the rear, it makes sense that we could see Callaway's new offering for 2024 featuring a static weight setup.  

While Callaway, TaylorMade, PING and Titleist like to keep pretty uniform with the naming of their products, G425 to G430 etc, one brand loves to mix things up year after year with its driver names and designs.

That brand is, of course, Cobra. From LTDx to Aerojet, Cobra is a brand that loves to reinvent their big sticks, which makes predicting what it's going to do that much harder.

Could we see an Aerojet 2? As much as we would love that, due to AeroJet's excellent performance, it's far more likely Cobra will give us something entirely fresh for the new year, and we can't wait to see what it is. 

Woods & Hybrids

As we've seen previously, when a brand releases a driver, the woods and hybrids also fall into the same family, with tech and aesthetics being shared across the set. 

With that in mind, we should see a whole host of new woods and hybrids from Callaway, Cobra and TaylorMade in 2024. 

One thing we would like to see from 2024 is brands following Callaway down the utility wood route. 

Callaway's Apex Utility Wood is a fantastic tool that we loved testing recently, and it would be great if some of the other OEMs followed suit to try and compete with the brand.

The U wood is neither a wood nor a hybrid, so it sits in a category of its own, and it's also a category that we think will appeal to a lot of golfers. With that being said, we think it's only a matter of time before other brands follow suit and try and go head to head with Callaway for the U-wood crown

Irons

We've already seen some big iron launches in the later months of 2023 from Titleist, Mizuno, Callaway and TaylorMade, but they have all been irons designed for the better player. Callaway's Apex Pro line featured three new models that are all aimed at low-handicap players, while TaylorMade and Mizuno did the same.

So, what do we think will happen in 2024? Game improvement irons, and lots of them. 

In previous years, when Callaway, Cobra and TaylorMade released new drivers and woods, a set of irons tended to accompany them.

So, with that in mind, we would expect that trend to continue into next year.

We've also already seen Matthew Fitzpatrick gaming new PING Blueprint irons, so we are excited to see how they perform once officially released. 

Putters

With Odyssey having just launched its new range of AI-One putters and TaylorMade's Spider Tour range having also just been unveiled, there is already a whole host of new putters for consumers to get to grips with in 2024.

There will undoubtedly be some surprise packages throughout the year from other brands, but what we are intrigued to see, is if any brand will go head to head with L.A.B Golf in the broomstick putter market. 

We've seen a real resurgence of longer putters on Tour this year, with the majority of players relying on the L.A.B Golf Mezz.1. 

It will be very interesting to see if some of the more established putter brands like Scotty Cameron, Odyssey and TaylorMade decide to compete with L.A.B and bring out longer putters, too. 

Verdict

While our assumptions are based on years of working in the golf industry, there will undoubtedly be some curve balls served up next year, and we can't wait to see what they are.

Will 2024 be the year Tour players start using Kirkland wedges? Who knows, but what we can tell you is we've heard some exciting rumours, and we're looking forward to another big year of equipment releases. 

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