Best of 2023: Our top 10 equipment stories (including irons, irons and more irons)

The course is important. The swing is important. The outfit is important.

But the equipment? It’s what you geek out most on.

As the year comes to a close, we’re offering up a snapshot of the top 10 stories from each of Golfweek’s most popular sections, including travel, the PGA and LPGA tours, instruction and amateur golf.

Today we’re looking at equipment. Under the watchful eye of our gear guru David Dusek, this list has some of our top posts of the year in terms of your clicks.

10

New for 2023: Callaway Paradym, Paradym X, Paradym Triple Diamond drivers

Callaway Paradym X driver. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

By making the entire middle portion of the Paradym drivers with carbon fiber, Callaway created significant amounts of discretionary weight that – in combination with hitting areas designed using artificial intelligence, Jailbreak and adjustability – can lead to more distance and tighter downrange dispersion.

Here’s our look at the family of drivers.

9

Best golf bags for 2023 - stand bags

It’s tough to beat an early morning stroll with your buddies around your home course, or a twilight nine all by yourself.

So, we put together a list of some of the best stand golf bags we could find.

8

Best better-player distance irons for 2023

Better Player Irons for 2023. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Better-player distance irons are designed to look like the clubs single-digit handicap golfers want to play. They have compact blade lengths, narrow toplines and soles and typically come with only a touch of offset. However, manufacturers pack them with distance-enhancing features and technologies so they appeal to players who might lose a few yards, and they tend to be more forgiving than cavity-back and muscleback irons made for aspiring club champions.

Here’s our list.

7

Best affordable drivers in 2023

When big-name brands like TaylorMade, Titleist, Callaway and Ping release new drivers, the prices can be astronomical. You could be a die-hard golfer playing 2 to 3 times a week, and it’d still be hard to justify spending that much money on a golf club.

So we thought it’d be a good idea to scour the internet for the best deals on name-brand drivers to save the average golfer some coin on their next big stick. 

6

Irons used by golfers ranked in the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green

Jon Rahm’s Callaway wedges and irons at the 2023 Travelers Championship. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Check out the list of the 10 golfers who lead the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green – a statistic that measures how much of an advantage a golfer has over the field based exclusively on his play from the fairway – along with the irons those players are using.

5

Best golf bags for 2023

The most obvious golf accessory is a choice that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Whether strapped to your back or the back of your golf cart, choosing a golf bag is as important as choosing a proper golf ball.

4

Best wedges for 2023 to add more spin and control to your short game

2023 Wedges. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Several manufacturers have released outstanding wedges, including Callaway, Mizuno, TaylorMade, Titleist and Tour Edge. so to keep you up-to-date with the latest shortgame tools to hit the market, Golfweek has updated our list of this season’s best wedges.

Here is our list.

3

Best golf balls for 2023 for every budget and playing style

(David Dusek/Golfweek)

The best way to find your ideal ball is to think about what you need and how much you are willing to spend, then buy a few three-ball sleeves of a few brands and try them out. Play six holes of an 18-hole round with three different balls and think about how each performed off the tee, from the fairway and around the greens. Many shops also offer two-ball promotional packs of premium balls, which is a great way to see if a tour-level ball is right for you.

2

Best drivers for 2023 for every handicap and playing style

2023 Drivers. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The best way to discover the driver that is best suited to your swing and game is to work with a good custom fitter who has a launch monitor, try several models (along with different shafts) and see which performs best.

Here’s our list.

1

Best irons for 2023 for every handicap and playing style

2023 Irons

The trouble is finding the new set of irons that will complement your game. The best way to do that is to work with a custom fitter and hit lots of different options under the watchful eye of a launch monitor, but the list of irons below will give you a great place to start your research and narrow down your search.