Equipment
500 wins: Mitsubishi Chemical’s history of tour success, innovation
Mitsubishi, broadly, is one of the most recognizable brands in the world, owing largely to the visibility Mitsubishi Motors. Golf gearheads, however, are just as familiar with Mitsubishi Chemical, makers of some of the most popular golf shafts at both amateur and professional levels.
With respect to the latter, Mitsubishi’s history is impressive: More winning driver shafts than any other brand for 16 of the past 17 years on the PGA Tour—and the past seven years straight on the European Tour. Indeed, Mitsubishi Diamana models also have more than 270 wins and Tensei has 80. Kuro Kage and Fubuki, names well known to GolfWRXers and often seen in tour WITBs over the years, have more than 80 wins combined.
With win totals this high across multiple shaft families, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear a Mitsubishi driver shaft was played for the 500th time in a win on a major professional tour.
A little more about the makers of the Diamana DF gamed in victory number 500. In the golf equipment world, you’ll often see Mitsubishi designated “MCA.” Perhaps puzzling to the carbon fiber and kick point neophyte, “MCA” merely stands for Mitsubishi Chemical America. As a sidebar, many GolfWRXers familiar with “MCA” think it denotes the combined companies of Mitsubishi Chemical and Aldila — both venerable shaft houses in their own right — as Mitsubishi acquired Aldila in 2013, but isn’t the case.
With respect to Mitsubishi proper, the Japanese company established a carbon fiber division way back in 1974. In other words, the company, broadly, has been active in the space since, well, it was a space to be active in. Mitsubishi began making carbon shafts in 1979, doing so for decades for its domestic OEM partners in Japan.
It wasn’t until 2004, however, that Mitsubishi Rayon Composites, Inc. proper hung a shingle in Carlsbad, California, to begin developing its own branded products for sale to the aftermarket to satisfy the graphite boom.
The first solo Mitsubishi win (non co-branded shaft) came in July of 2004 at the European Open, and it was also the first victory for the Diamana.
In any industry where innovation and improvement are expected with each product iteration and where new materials are being developed all the time, it’s difficult to pinpoint inflection points and key technologies.
Nevertheless, we asked Mark Gunther, MCA’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing, to highlight a few touchstone innovations and how they informed future shaft developments.
Gunther told us the decision to use metal wire in the butt section of the Diamana Ali’Islei shaft in 2008 led to the development of the TiNi Wire prepreg (the sheets of carbon fiber and resin that are rolled together into golf shafts), which featured in the Kuro Kage line. That technology eventually begat the 304 Stainless Steel Metal Mesh, which is the centerpiece of the popular MMT (Metal Mesh Technology) iron shafts, which debuted in 2019.
Additionally, Gunther highlighted the use of pitch fiber in Diamana X shafts in 2012. Shortly after Mitsubishi merged its pitch fiber production with, at the time, Mitsubishi Rayon’s carbon fiber division to form one business unit, pitch fiber was used for the first time in an $800 Mitsubishi shaft. This led to the use of pitch fiber in the third generation of the Diamana series, and later, the popular Aldila Rogue series. It continues to be the platform for innovation in MCA pitch fiber today.
Mitsubishi has leveraged the GEARS full swing and body tracking system as a secondary testing process after running products through internal testing protocols. MMT (Metal Mesh Technology) shafts were validated via GEARS prior to PGA Tour seeding and rapid adoption by many of the game’s best.
With these innovations as a bedrock — and 500 professional wins under their belts — looking to the future, Gunther says
“There’s every reason to be excited about the future. We’ve built a very talented team that covers tours and golfers globally, we continue to create breakthrough technologies and materials that you’ve seen in Tensei Pro White 1K and in things you’ll see soon like Kai’li and Ascent, and we’re more committed than ever to validating the performance of our products through testing systems like GEARS. Whenever it’s possible to turn over a stone to help golfers shoot lower scores, we’re going to explore it.”
No doubt those explorations — and foundational shaft families like Diamana and Tensei — will have Mitsubishi’s win tally ticking toward 600 faster than, say, a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
View this post on Instagram
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
