The COVID-19 pandemic and supply-chain issues made it challenging for many golfers to find the gear they were looking for in 2021, but it was still a banner year for equipment innovations. Players at every level looked for ways to hit the ball farther, hole more putts and shoot lower scores. We saw technologies put to use in major championships for the first time, elite players make significant changes and brands re-enter categories with exciting new offerings.

While 2022 promises to be a massive year in equipment with the pending release of the USGA and R&A’s distance findings and reports, it is time to take a look back at some of the most eye-catching and noteworthy gear we saw in 2021.

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Rory McIlroy’s putter. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Rory McIlroy played a blade-style putter throughout much of his amateur and professional career but switched to a mallet a few years ago, opti9ng to variations of TaylorMade’s Spider. Here and there, Rory experimented with a heel-toe weighted TaylorMade Juno blade, but after slumping on the greens during the summer, McIlroy turned heads by bringing out an old Scotty Cameron Newport at the Tokyo Olympics. Gearheads went wild, but McIlroy put a TaylorMade Spider X Hydro Blast in the bag a few weeks later and won the CJ Cup with it. (TaylorMade Spider X Hydro Blast from $279 at Global Golf)

Collin Morikawa’s TaylorMade putter. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Since joining the PGA Tour in 2019, Collin Morikawa has been among the most elite ballstrikers in golf, but putting has been his weakness. He won the 2020 PGA Championship using a TaylorMade TP Collection Juno, but after tinkering with an online club-building tool, Morikawa had TaylorMade make him his long-neck prototype version and he used it to win the 2021 British Open with it.

Bryson DeChambeau’s equipment. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Bryson DeChambeau made plenty of headlines this year after complaining about his driver at the British Open, but he’s also had a love-hate relationship with his wedges over the last few seasons. While Cobra makes his woods and irons, and DeChambeau uses a SIK putter, his wedges are made by a small Texas company called Artisan. In the photo above, you can see a large weight has bneen added to the high-toe area of his 58-degree wedge (yes, LVIII is the Roman numerial for 58). It has a wide, highly-camered sole, but the weight with Artisan’s logo appears to be sodered into place and should elevate the center of gravity location to help Bryson flight wedge shots down more easily.

KIAWAH ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA – MAY 19: A detailed view of a rangefinder held by Jordan Spieth of the United States is seen as he plays the second hole during a practice round prior to the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island Resort’s Ocean Course on May 19, 2021 in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Rightfully, when we think back on the 2021 PGA Championship, Phil Mickelson’s win is what we remember, but the tournament also marked the first time that laser rangefinders were allowed to be used during play at a major championship. Did they speed up play? No. Did their use at Kiawah boost laser rangefinder sales? It’s hard to say because the chip shortage and supply chain issues made it hard for many brands to keep laser rangefinders and other electoronic goods in stores.

A look at several golf balls that have been cut in half to show their insides. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Most golf balls like alike on the outside, but as you can see, when you cut them in half, every ball looks different. You can see a whole gallery of what several popular balls look like on the inside by clicking here.

Xander Schauffele’s Odyssey putter. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

While he was disappointed to not win the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in his home town of La Jolla, California, Xander Schuffele did win the Olympic gold metal using this Odyssey O-Works #7 CH Red putter.

Adams Tight Lies fairway woods and hybrids. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

For people who are new to the game, Adams Golf doesn’t mean another, but to people who have been around the sport for a few decades it brings back memories. Adams fairway woods and hybrids have quietly been available online for a few years since TaylorMade bought the company in 2012. This fall, however, Adams released updated Tight Lies fairway woods and hybrids. (Fairways from $179 and hybrids from $149 at Global Golf)

The Pro V1 Left Dot is a three-piece ball, like the Pro V1. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x are the most-played balls in golf, and the other premium offerings from Titleist, the AVX and Pro V1x Left Dash were made to compliment them. But when Titleist released a limited number of the Pro V1 Left Dot, a ball that had previously only been available to tour, equipment junkies went crazy. The supply sold out in a flash and now are being sold for $100 or more per dozen on eBay.

Jon Rahm’s Callaway equipment. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The United States is the biggest golf market in the world, and you can buy U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm’s Callaway Epic Speed driver (from $529 at Global Golf) and his Callaway Epic Speed 3-wood (from $299.99 at Global Golf), his Callaway Apex TCB were not available for most of this season. The irons were originally made for the European market as a better-player’s cavity-back offering, but Rahm’s success with them, along with Sam Burns’ win this season with TCB’s, has now made them available on Callaway’s website. (From $1,400 at callawaygolf.com)

Dustin Johnson at the 2021 U.S. Open (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Graphite putter shafts are not a new thing, but in 2021 they became much more common among pros and elite golfers. In the days leading up to the U.S. Open, Dustin Johnson signed a deal with LA Golf and had LAGP graphite putter shafts installed in several putters. Bryson DeChambeau, Kevin Na and Michelle Wie West are among the other players using an LAGP putter shaft, while several other players are using other graphite putter shafts, however, at $300 to $400 per shaft, this trend may take a while to migrate from the tour to your local club.

Cobra King GrandSport-35 putter. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Cobra Golf has released some of the most innovative products in the game recently and showed off some of that high-tech savvy when it returned to the putter market. The company’s putters feature tungsten weight plugs, 3D printed nylon lattices and multi-loft, grooved faces. (From $249.99 at Global Golf)

Tiger Woods’ TaylorMade equipment at PNC Championship (Adam Schupak)

After his car accident in February, Tiger Woods was not expected to return to competitive golf in 2021, but there he was a few weeks ago at the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie, nearly winning. For equipment junkies, getting a first look at the yet-to-be-released TaylorMade Stealth driver and 3-wood that Tiger had in his bag was almost as excited as seeing the 15-time major winning play again.

The Q-Star Tour Divide’s coloration creates a 36-degree alignment line on the greens. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Few pieces of golf equipment are as eye-catching as Srixon’s Q-Star Tour Divide golf balls. They are easy to spot in the air and sitting in turf, and make it easy to align your ball on the green and see the quality of your stroke. (From $32.99 at Carl’s Golfland)

Viktor Hovland’s Ping i59 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Quietly put into play by Viktor Hovland this summer, Ping’s new i59 irons are forged and have a compact blade length, minimal offset and narrow topline. It’s what’s inside that makes them different than other Ping irons. Instead of being solid, the i59 is the first Ping iron to have a hollow inner chamber that is filled with something. In this case, an aluminum structure that pushes more weight to the perimeter. (Full set from $1,999 at Global Golf)

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The funniest holiday card yet from your friends at TaylorMade.

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