Titleist's new mini driver, 2026's best better-player distance irons

Last week at the Genesis Scottish Open, several golfers, including the eventual winner, Tom Kim, opted to adjust their equipment setup and add a driving iron to give themselves a low-flying option that delivers more control off the tee. When the game's best golfers return to the United Staters, where conditions tend to be softer and wind is often less of a factor, those 2-irons and 3-will likely go away and 5-woods and 7-woods will find their way into the bags of players like Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood.

It's a swap that happens annually, along with the subtle adjustment that some golfers make to their wedge setup. While wind is a primary defense on a links course like Royal Birkdale, the fairways and surrounding green complexes tend to be exceptionally firm. That's great if you want more roll and distance, but if can make hitting pitch shots and chips a nightmare, especially if your wedges have significant bounce. In soft conditions, high-bounce wedges make it easier to avoid digging, but on firm, hard ground, the bounce can make it hard to get the leading edge under the ball. The club ricochets off the turf, the leading edge hits the back of the ball and it shoots too far.

The answer to this problem is to reach for a low-bounce wedge, like a Callaway Opus SP T Grind, Cleveland RTZ Low Bounce, Ping s259 T Grind, TaylorMade MG5 LB Grind or Titleist SM11 T Grind. These clubs are designed to keep the leading edge down, and while the can increase the likelihood of digging into soft turf or fluffy sand, on a links course they can be the only want to make clean contact.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Titleist's new mini driver, 2026's best better-player distance irons

Reporting by David Dusek, Golfweek / Golfweek

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Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 11:30 AM.