Almost everyone, from dedicated basketball fans to weekend golfers, wants a peek inside Michael Jordan’s golf bag. His legendary competitiveness didn't just stay on the court, it followed him to the fairway, where he plays with the same intensity and demands the same level of performance from his equipment. This article will not only give you a full breakdown of the golf clubs MJ uses but an analysis from a coaching perspective on why he chooses them and, more importantly, what clues it can give you about finding the right clubs for your own game.
A Competitor's Mindset on the Course
To understand Michael Jordan's equipment choices, you first have to understand his approach to golf. This isn't a casual hobby for him. MJ is famously a single-digit handicapper, often playing to a handicap as low as 1 or 2. He's a member at some of the world's most exclusive and difficult golf clubs and even built 자신의 private course in Florida called Grove XXIII. The course is nicknamed "Slaughterhouse 23," a clear sign of the challenge he embraces.
For Jordan, golf is another arena for competition. His golf swing is powerful and athletic, a reflection of the man who created it. He doesn't need clubs that mask his swing flaws, he demands clubs that reward a well-struck shot with precision and feel. His setup is that of an elite amateur or borderline professional, and it's built for two things: performance and control. Copying his setup piece-for-piece might not be the answer for the average golfer, but understanding the philosophy behind it is incredibly valuable.
An Inside Look: Michael Jordan's Golf Clubs (WITB)
Like any serious golfer, MJ's exact bag setup can change based on the course, conditions, or simply a desire to test new gear. However, based on recent sightings at pro-ams and on his home course, here is a very reliable list of what's in Michael Jordan's bag. We'll go through each club category and break down why a player with his skill set would make these specific choices.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9.0 degrees)
In MJ's hands is typically a Titleist TSR3 Driver, set at 9.0 degrees of loft and paired with a high-end, stout shaft like the Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X. This combination is a pure performance machine, not designed for the faint of heart.
The Coach's Analysis: The TSR3 model from Titleist is specifically engineered for players who consistently find the center of the club face. Unlike its more forgiving sibling, the TSR2, the TSR3 features an adjustable center-of-gravity (CG) track that allows a player to dial in their preferred shot shape and impact location. It's built for workability and lower spin. A powerful athlete like Jordan generates immense clubhead speed. His main battle isn't getting more distance, it's controlling that distance and Preventing the ball from spinning too much, which can lead to high, ballooning shots that lose yardage and accuracy. The low loft (9.0 degrees) and stiff Ventus Black shaft are both choices aimed at taming spin and producing a powerful, piercing ball flight. For the average golfer who misses the center of the face more often, a more forgiving driver with a slightly softer shaft would produce better results.
Fairway Woods: Titleist TSR3 (15.0 degrees)
Following the theme, Jordan matches his driver with a Titleist TSR3 3-Wood. This club serves as a reliable secondary option off the tee on tight holes and a weapon for reaching long par-5s in two shots.
The Coach's Analysis: Keeping the same model in his fairway wood makes a lot of sense. It provides a similar feel, look, and performance profile to his driver. This consistency is something many good players seek. He knows how the TSR3 will react, and he can trust it to produce the flight he wants under pressure. While many amateurs could benefit from a higher-launching, more forgiving fairway wood, MJ opts for a model that allows him to shape shots and manage trajectory - priorities for a low-handicap player.
Irons: Custom Wilson Staff Model Blades (3-PW)
This is the heart and soul of Michael Jordan's bag. He is a 'Wilson guy' through and through, harking back to his long-standing relationship with the brand. He plays a set of Wilson Staff Model Blades, often with custom "MJ" stamps or other personal touches.
The Coach's Analysis: This single equipment choice tells you everything you need to know about MJ's game. True muscle-back blades, like the Wilson Staff Models, are the ultimate player's iron. They have a very small sweet spot, offer practically zero forgiveness on mishits, but provide unparalleled feedback and control on well-struck shots. When you hit a shot pure with a blade, you get an incredibly soft feel and the ability to work the ball left, right, high, or low on command.
So, should you play blades? Here's a simple test: Go to the range with a can of foot powder spray. Spray the face of your current 7-iron and hit ten balls. If the ball marks are all clustered in a tight circle the size of a quarter in the center of the face, you might have the consistency to handle a-holes. 'a blade. If your impacts are spread across the heel, toe, and top of the face, stick with a more forgiving cavity-back iron. A cavity-back iron has perimeter weighting, which stabilizes the club on off-center hits and helps you get more consistent distance and direction, even when you aren't perfect.
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50°, 56°) & a Wedgeworks (60°)
For his short game, Jordan relies on the most popular wedges in golf: Titleist Vokeys. He typically carries three: a 50-degree for full shots and long pitches, a 56-degree sand wedge often used out bunkers and for mid-range scoring shots, to and a 60-degree lob wedge for delicate shots around the green.
The Coach's Analysis: What a pro or elite player does with their wedges goes beyond just the brand name. The real magic is in the customization of loft, bounce, and grind.
- Loft: They are likely bent to exact lofts to ensure perfect yardage gaps between his pitching wedge and his lob wedge.
- Bounce and Grind: Bounce is the angle on the sole of the wedge that prevents it from digging into the turf or sand. Grind refers to the shaping of the sole. MJ a likely uses different grinds on each wedge, custom-selected to match his steep, powerful swing and the firm, fast conditions of the courses he plays. This is a level of detail most amateurs don't consider, but choosing the right bounce for your swing (steep or shallow) and typical course conditions (soft or firm) can dramatically improve your short game consistency.
Putter: Custom Scotty Cameron or a Wilson Staff Prototype
MJ's putter is often a work of art. Most frequently, he is seen with a custom Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS "Circle T" putter. These "Tour Only" putters are made from a high-end German Stainless Steel (GSS) and carry an enormous price tag on the collector's market. He's also been spotted with custom Wilson Staff prototype putters.
The Coach's Analysis: The Newport 2 style is a timeless classic. It's a heel-toe weighted blade putter that offers incredible feel and feedback. It's designed for a player who has a slight arc in their putting stroke. The weighting helps the putter face open slightly on the backswing and close squarely through impact. While beautiful and effective, it’s not for everyone. Players with a "straight-back, straight-through" putting stroke often find more success with a face-balanced mallet putter, as it resists twisting during the stroke.
Can You Copy His Airness's Bag for Your Game?
After looking at this list, the temptation is strong to think, "If it's good enough for MJ, it's good enough for me." But that's thinking about it the wrong way. The direct answer to whether you should play his clubs is, for 99% of golfers, an emphatic no. His irons are too unforgiving, and his driver/shaft combo is too demanding for those without elite speed.
The lesson to take from Michael Jordan's golf bag is not to copy the equipment, but to copy the approach. His bag is a completely customized, tailored set of tools designed to fit his unique skills as a powerful, low-handicap golfer. He isn't buying clubs off the rack, he is assembling a specific set of tools to do a job.
Your goal should be the same. Instead of playing MJ's irons, find an iron that fits your ball-striking ability. Instead of his driver, get custom-fitted for a driver and shaft combination that optimizes launch and spin for your swing speed. That is the true tour-level approach you can and should emulate.
Final Thoughts
Michael Jordan’s bag is the perfect reflection of his on-course persona: a set of finely-tuned, high-performance tools for a demanding player. His choices show us that for elite athletes, control and feel are just as valuable as pure power.
While most of us don't have a team of custom fitters on speed dial like MJ, understanding these principles is a huge step toward playing smarter golf. This is why we created Caddie AI. Our goal is to bring this same level of personalized, intelligent advice to every golfer, right in your pocket. Caddie gives you on-demand guidance for on-course strategy, club selection, and even trouble shots, helping you play with the confidence that comes from making better decisions.