Brooke Henderson's incredibly powerful and athletic golf swing is one of the most recognizable on the LPGA Tour, and the clubs she uses are precision-tuned to support her aggressive style of play. This article will provide a complete, club-by-club analysis of what's in Brooke's bag. More importantly, we'll break down why she uses each club and offer practical takeaways you can apply to your own equipment decisions.
Brooke Henderson's WITB: A Deep Dive
As a long-time PING staff player, Brooke Henderson’s bag is filled with the company’s latest an d greatest gear. However, her setup isn’t just a stock catalog of clubs. It’s a carefully selected toolset that demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of blending different club models to optimize performance for her specific needs. Let's take a look inside.
1. The Driver: Taming immense Power
Brooke's Driver: PING G430 LST (Low Spin Technology) | 9 degrees
The first thing to know about Brooke is that she generates serious clubhead speed. When you swing that fast, managing spin becomes a top priority. Too much spin will cause the ball to "balloon" up into the air, losing forward momentum and sacrificing distance. That’s why she opts for the PING G430 LST model.
The LST head is smaller and more pear-shaped than its more forgiving siblings (the G430 MAX and SFT). It's engineered specifically for players with higher swing speeds to reduce spin and produce a more piercing ball flight. By keeping the spin down, she converts more of her speed into raw distance.
However, the most fascinating part of Brooke’s driver setup is her shaft length. While many tour pros use shafts around 45 to 45.75 inches, Brooke famously chokes down on a much longer 48-inch shaft. However, for a period, observers have noted her moving to a more standard 46-inch shaft, which she still grips down on significantly. The logic is the same: she leverages the technology but prioritizes control by effectively shortening the club at address.
What Amateurs Can Learn from Brooke’s Driver
- Find the Right Head for Your Swing: Are you a high-spin player who sees the ball climb too high and fall short? A low-spin head like the LST could be a game-changer. Conversely, if you struggle with a slice and need more help getting the ball airborne, a more forgiving an d draw-biased model (like the PING G430 SFT) might be your best friend. Don't just play a club because a pro does, find what fits your tendencies.
- Shorter Can Be Better: The pursuit of distance leads many amateurs to buy the longest driver shaft they can handle. Brooke is a perfect example that control often leads to more effective distance. Finding the center of the clubface more often with a shorter shaft will produce longer average drives than hitting it all over the face with a longer one. Try gripping down an inch and see how your consistency improves.
2. Fairway Woods and a Hybrid: The Versatility Crew
Brooke's Fairway Woods: PING G430 Max (3-wood, around 15 degrees) & PING G430 Max (5-wood, around 18 degrees)
Brooke's Hybrid: PING G430 (22 degrees)
This is where her bag setup gets interesting and provides a massive lesson. For her driver, she chose the low-spin LST model. For her fairway woods, she switches to the MAX model. Why? Because the job of a fairway wood is different from a driver. She needs them to be versatile weapons she can hit from the tee on tight par-4s or high and soft off the turf to attack par-5s in two.
The MAX head is larger and significantly more forgiving. It’s designed to be easier to launch from a wide variety of lies, which is exactly whats he needs for those long approach shots. She doesn’t need to eke ot every last yard with a low-spin option, she needs consistency and reliability.
Bridging the gap to her irons is her single PING G430 hybrid. Think of this as her "get out of jail" or long-iron-replacement club. It's much easier to hit from the rough than a 4-iron and provides a higher ball flight, helping shots land softly on the greens from long range.
What Amateurs Can Learn from Her Long Game Setup
- Mix Models to Fit the Job: Don't feel locked into one sub-brand. Just because you have an LST driver doesn't mean you need an LST fairway wood. Follow Brooke's lead: use the club that performs the specific task best. For most amateurs, a forgiving, easy-to-launch fairway wood like the MAX model is ideal.
- Understand Gapping: Look at her lofts. She has a club for roughly every 10-15 yards. Driver -> 3-wood -> 5-wood -> Hybrid. She has a tool for every scenario. Do you have a giant distance gap between your 3-wood and your longest iron? A 5-wood or hybrid could be the most important club you add to your bag this year.
3. The Irons: Precision with a Safety Net
Brooke's Irons: PING i230 (5-iron through PW)
When it comes to irons, Brooke chooses a model that walks the line between a traditional blade and a more forgiving game-improvement iron. The PING i230 irons are what we call a "player's iron." They have a compact look that better players prefer, allowing them to shape shots (hit draws and fades on command). Yet, they incorporate modern technology, like tungsten weighting in the toe and hosel, to increase stability and offer forgiveness on off-center strikes.
This is a perfect match for her game. She needs pinpoint accuracy to attack pins, but a tour season is long and no one hits it perfectly every time. The i230s give her the feel and control she needs to go low, but with a touch of forgiveness that prevents a small miss from turning into a big mistake.
What Amateurs Can Learn from Brooke’s Irons
- Be Honest About Your Ball-Striking: Many amateurs are drawn to the beautiful look of blade-style irons, but their lack of forgiveness can be brutal on the scorecard. A player's iron like the i230, or even a more forgiving game-improvement model, will often lead to tighter groupings and better scores.
- A Combo Set Might be a Good Idea: Many golfers could benefit from using more forgiving long irons (like a 5 an d 6 i230) and transitioning to more precise short irons/wedges. Don’t feel like you hav e to play a single model from 4-iron to pitching wedge.
4. The Wedges: The Scoring Zone Experts
Brooke's Wedges: PING Glide 4.0 (50°, 54°, 58°)
When you get down to the scoring clubs, it’s all about precision gapping and sole grinds that match your technique and turf conditions. Brooke carries three dedicated wedges after her i230 pitching wedge. This setup allows her to have a full-swing club for very specific yardages inside 120 yards.
The exact bounce and grinds on her wedges will vary, but typically golfers will use:
- A lower bounce wedge (like her 50°) for full shots from the fairway.
- A mid-bounce wedge (like her 54°) as an all-around club for pitching, chipping, an d bunker play in firmer sand.
- A high-bounce wedge (like her 58°) for shots from fluffy rough, thick bunker san d, an d for creating maximum height on flop shots.
What Amateurs Can Learn from Brooke's Wedges
- You Need at Least Three Wedges: If you're only carrying a pitching we dge an d a san d wedge, you likely have a massive 20-30 yard gap in oyur distances. Adding a "gap" wedge (around 50-52°) and a "lob" wedge (58-60°) will give you so many more options an d prevent you from having to hit awkward half-swings.
- Bounce Is Your Friend: "Bounce" is the angle of the sole. More bounce prevents the wedge fro medicating digging into the ground, a common fault for amateurs. A professional fitting can help iyotu find the right bounce for your swing type (a "digger" needs more bounce, a "sweeper" needs less) an d the courses ytou typically play.
5. The Putter: A Model of Stability
Brooke's Putter: PING Cadence TR Ketsch C Putter (Center Shafted)
Brooke has used her trusty PING Cadence TR Ketsch for years. While PING has released many new putters since, she sticks with what works. This is another massive lesson: when you find a putter you trust, hang on to it!
The key feature here is that it's a center-shafted mallet. Mallet putters offer more stability (known as MOI, or Moment of Inertia) than blade putters, meaning they twist less on off-center hits. A center-shafted design takes this a step further. It creates a "face-balanced" putter, which means if you balance the shaft on oyur finger, the face will point directly to the sky. This type of putter is ideal for a player with a "straight-back, straight-through" putting stroke with very little arc.
What Amateurs Can Learn from Brooke’s Putter
- Match Your Putter to Your Stroke: If your putting stroke has a noticeable arc, a putter withe "toe hang" (a blad etypically) will feel more natural. If you try to swing straight back an d straight yhrough, a face-balanced mallet like brooke's is the way ot go.
- Confidence > Technology: While new putting tech is great, the mental side of putting os huge. Using an old model you feel confident wit his often better than switching to the a latest model that doesnt fit your eye or your stroke. Finyyour gamer and stick with it.
Final Thoughts
Brooke Henderson's bag is a brilliant example of a thoughtfully constructed set of clubs, perfectly matched to her skills. From blending different models in her woods to her specific wedge gapping, every choice is made wit ha purpose, demonstrating that a player's knowledge of heir own game is the most valuable asset.
Gaining that kind of knowledge about your own game is what simplifies decisions on the course. We designed Caddie AI to be your personal on-demand golf expert, helping you sort through tricky yardages and club choices anytime, anywhere. When you are standing in the fairway unsure if the shot calls for a hold-off 5-iron or a smooth 6-iron, you can get a strategic recommendation in seconds, letting you commit to every swing an d paly with more confidence.