Throughout most players' careers, it's likely that the majority of their earnings actually came from sponsorships rather than prize money, with brands coughing up substantial paychecks for players to use and advertise their equipment.
Tiger Woods, for example, made an estimated $500 million during a 27-year partnership with Nike, while his prize money earnings on the PGA Tour stand at $121 million.
Now though, with large increases of prize money on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League, players are finding themselves earning similar amounts of money through tournament purses to brand and equipment deals, so much so, it seems more and more equipment-free agents are popping up on the professional circuits.
However, is this really the case? Well, firstly, it's best to explain what an equipment-free agent is, as well as why there are benefits to being one on Tour.
Firstly, an equipment-free agent is someone who isn't tied down to one particular manufacturer. Essentially, they have free rein to use any brand they see fit, such as TaylorMade woods, Callaway irons and Titleist wedges.
By being an equipment-free agent, they can use the manufacturer that's best for them without upsetting their sponsors, something that those who have an equipment deal can't do.
If the clubs aren't performing, and they're tied down to an equipment contract, they must continue using the clubs, or end their deal and part ways with the company.
Looking at the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings, a total of 11 players are equipment-free agents and even those who do have equipment deals don't necessarily play a full bag of clubs, or even the most recent models.
US Open winner, JJ Spaun, for example, joined Srixon in January 2017 and was contracted to use the then Z-Star golf ball, as well as Cleveland Golf RTX Series wedges and Srixon staff bag.
Eight years on at his Major win at Oakmont last year, Spaun had Srixon irons, Cleveland wedges and Z-Star Diamond golf ball in-play, along with a Titleist driver and TaylorMade fairway woods.
Below, we have listed the top 50 players in the world and whether they are equipment-free agents or contracted.
It's worth noting that the extent and details of the deals between the players and manufacturers remain private, so the table is based on thorough research in terms of the years players signed and the clubs they possess in their set-ups as of now.
How Many Of The World's Top 50 Are Equipment-Free Agents?
*correct as of February 11th 2026
Player |
Club Deal |
Ball Deal |
Scottie Scheffler |
TaylorMade (full bag) |
TaylorMade |
Rory McIlroy |
TaylorMade (full bag) |
TaylorMade |
Justin Rose |
N/A |
Titleist |
Tommy Fleetwood |
TaylorMade (full bag) |
TaylorMade |
Chris Gotterup |
Bridgestone (irons) |
Bridgestone |
Russell Henley |
Titleist (full bag) |
Titleist |
JJ Spaun |
Srixon (irons, wedges) |
Srixon |
Robert MacIntyre |
N/A |
Titleist |
Ben Griffin |
Mizuno (irons) |
Maxfli |
Xander Schauffele |
Callaway (full bag) |
Callaway |
Hideki Matsuyama |
Srixon (driver, irons, wedges) |
Srixon |
Justin Thomas |
Titleist (full bag) |
Titleist |
Harris English |
Ping (full bag) |
Titleist |
Sepp Straka |
Srixon (irons, wedges) |
Srixon |
Viktor Hovland |
Ping (driver, irons, wedges, putter) |
Titleist |
Alex Noren |
Callaway (full bag) |
Callaway |
Patrick Reed |
N/A |
Titleist |
Keegan Bradley |
Srixon (irons, wedges) |
Srixon |
Collin Morikawa |
TaylorMade (full bag) |
TaylorMade |
Ludvig Aberg |
Titleist (driver, irons, wedges) |
Titleist |
Cameron Young |
Titleist (full bag) |
Titleist |
Maverick McNealy |
N/A |
Titleist |
Matt Fitzpatrick |
N/A |
Titleist |
Ryan Gerard |
Titleist (driver, irons, wedges) |
Titleist |
Tyrrell Hatton |
Ping (driver, irons, wedges, putter) |
Titleist |
Si Woo Kim |
Callaway (full bag) |
Callaway |
Aaron Rai |
N/A |
Titleist |
Sam Burns |
Callaway (full bag) |
Callaway |
Shane Lowry |
Srixon (driver, irons, wedges) |
Srixon |
Patrick Cantlay |
N/A |
Titleist |
Marco Penge |
PXG (full bag) |
Titleist |
Corey Conners |
Ping (full bag) |
Titleist |
Bryson DeChambeau |
N/A |
N/A |
Jason Day |
N/A |
Bridgestone |
Andrew Novak |
Srixon (irons, wedges) |
Srixon |
Matt McCarty |
Ping (full bag) |
N/A |
Michael Brennan |
Titleist (full bag) |
Titleist |
Kristoffer Reitan |
Ping (full bag) |
Titleist |
Sam Stevens |
Ping (full bag) |
Titleist |
Rasmus Hojgaard |
Callaway (full bag) |
Callaway |
Michael Kim |
Titleist (driver, irons, wedges) |
Titleist |
Kurt Kitayama |
N/A |
Bridgestone |
Michael Thorbjornsen |
TaylorMade (full bag) |
TaylorMade |
Pierceson Coody |
TaylorMade (full bag) |
TaylorMade |
Sami Valimaki |
N/A |
Titleist |
Brian Harman |
Titleist (driver, fairway woods, irons, wedges) |
Titleist |
Max Greyserman |
Callaway (full bag) |
Callaway |
Akshay Bhatia |
Callaway (full bag) |
Callaway |
Ryan Fox |
Srixon (driver, fairway woods, irons, wedges) |
Srixon |
Nicolai Hojgaard |
Callaway (full bag) |
Callaway |
As mentioned, 11 players inside the top 50 are equipment-free agents, with five of those being Major winners and eight claiming victories on their respective circuits in the last 12 months.
A total of 24 players have full bags in-play, with TaylorMade, Callaway, Titleist, Ping and PXG featuring in that category.
Once more, it doesn't necessarily mean those players have the most recent clubs in the bag, as shown by Russell Henley, who uses 2019 versions of the Titleist T100 irons, as well as the TSi2 hybrid from 2021.
When it comes to the golf balls, Titleist is the stand-out brand and, although some of the players listed don't have golf club contracts with the company, they are ambassadors in terms of using their golf balls.
The Pro V1 and Pro V1x are among the best golf balls money can buy, hence why a lot of the top 50 have partnerships with Titleist as Brand Ambassadors.
