Callaway appeared in 68.6% of ChatGPT golf shopping answers on prompts that do not name Callaway, ahead of PING at 52.6% and TaylorMade at 47.9%, and SCHEELS and DICK’S Sporting Goods are effectively tied for retailer share at 25.3% and 22.7%. The study covers 5,850 ChatGPT runs from August and September 2026, of which 2,347 returned a shopping result. This is 5W’s analysis using Profound’s tools.
By Ronn Torossian, Founder and Chairman of 5W. Last updated: November 6, 2026. Data window: August to September 2026. This report takes a closer look at the golf category in the 5W ChatGPT Shopping Index.
In this report
- What did ChatGPT show golf shoppers?
- How did we run the study?
- Which golf brands does ChatGPT surface most?
- Which retailers does ChatGPT surface for golf shoppers?
- Which golf products does ChatGPT surface most?
- What does this mean for brands and retailers?
- What are the limitations of this data?
- Frequently asked questions
- Appendix: prompt inventory
What did ChatGPT show golf shoppers?
Callaway leads golf brands, PING places higher when it appears, and SCHEELS matches DICK’S Sporting Goods among retailers in ChatGPT golf shopping results.
- Brands: Callaway leads on frequency. PING places higher when it appears, at an average position of 2.09 against 2.56, and closes to within about 4 points of Callaway when prompts that mention sets are excluded.
- Retailers: SCHEELS holds a 25.3% share of results and DICK’S holds 22.7%, but the order changes by month and prompt cut. A regional chain matches a national one.
- Products: The Callaway Strata 12-Piece Golf Set (6.1%) and the PING G440 MAX Driver (5.4%) lead.
How did we run the study?
5W built this report from Profound’s stored ChatGPT runs, which record each answer, whether ChatGPT returned a shopping result, and which brands, products and retailers it showed. We read the golf runs from August and September 2026 and analyzed the runs that returned a shopping result. This is 5W’s analysis using Profound’s tools.
The golf set has 284 prompts, each run about 30 times, for 8,520 runs. About one in three prompts names Callaway or its Odyssey putter line, such as product comparisons and price questions. Because that could favor Callaway, every figure in this report uses the 195 prompts that do not name Callaway or Odyssey. The 5W ChatGPT Shopping Index reports golf on all 284 prompts, where Callaway’s visibility is 70.7%, SCHEELS’ share is 24.4% and DICK’S share is 24.0%, so figures here differ slightly.
We audited the 195 retained prompts. They cover nine product areas and eight shopper types, listed in the appendix. Only four name another brand, in questions about zero-torque putters, and each returned a shopping result in 1 of 30 runs. Shopping results are concentrated: 79 prompts account for 92% of shopping runs, mostly purchase-style questions about drivers, fairway woods and complete sets. We then tested whether the ranking holds on stricter cuts.
| Prompt cut | Prompts | Runs | Shopping runs | Callaway | PING | TaylorMade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All golf prompts | 284 | 8,520 | 3,695 | 70.7% | 49.9% | 46.2% |
| Excludes Callaway and Odyssey prompts (used here) | 195 | 5,850 | 2,347 | 68.6% | 52.6% | 47.9% |
| Also excludes four prompts naming other brands | 191 | 5,730 | 2,343 | 68.7% | 52.7% | 47.9% |
| Also excludes prompts containing “set” | 160 | 4,800 | 1,683 | 69.5% | 65.2% | 56.1% |
Callaway ranks first on every cut. Its lead over PING is 16 points on the main cut and about 4 points when set prompts are removed, so part of Callaway’s margin comes from complete-set questions.
We report four measures. Brand and retailer figures come from the shopping results ChatGPT returned, which are product listings, not narrative text.
- Brand visibility: the share of shopping answers that mention a brand.
- Average position: where the brand or product appears in the answer when it is shown. Lower is better.
- Retailer share: a retailer’s share of all shopping results in the category.
- Retailer visibility: the share of shopping answers in which a retailer appears.
Which golf brands does ChatGPT surface most?
Callaway is the most visible golf brand in ChatGPT shopping results at 68.6%, ahead of PING at 52.6% and TaylorMade at 47.9%. ChatGPT surfaced 78 brands, and no other brand reached 26% visibility.
| Rank | Brand | Visibility | Average position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Callaway Golf | 68.6% | 2.56 |
| 2 | PING | 52.6% | 2.09 |
| 3 | TaylorMade | 47.9% | 3.02 |
| 4 to 5 | Wilson | 25.6% | 2.59 |
| 4 to 5 | Cobra (both listings) | 20.2% to 37.6% | 3.01 to 3.25 |
| 6 | Titleist | 18.0% | 2.87 |
| 7 | Srixon | 12.7% | 2.71 |
| 8 | Cleveland Golf | 12.4% | 2.31 |
| 9 | Tour Edge | 12.4% | 2.75 |
| 10 | Mizuno | 5.6% | 3.04 |
PING has the best placement among the leaders. It appears less often than Callaway, but it averages position 2.09 against Callaway’s 2.56.
ChatGPT lists “Cobra” and “Cobra Golf” as separate entries. One answer can include both, so the two counts cannot be added. Combined visibility lies between 20.2%, the larger listing alone, and 37.6%, if no answer used both. An exact figure needs run-level data.
The ranking held across both months. Callaway appeared in 67.7% of shopping answers in August and 69.2% in September, PING in 53.0% and 52.4%, and TaylorMade in 50.0% and 46.3%. Callaway’s lead does depend partly on complete-set questions. Without prompts that mention sets, PING reaches 65.2% against Callaway’s 69.5%.
Which retailers does ChatGPT surface for golf shoppers?
SCHEELS and DICK’S Sporting Goods are effectively tied for the top golf retailer spot. SCHEELS holds a 25.3% share of results against 22.7% for DICK’S, and appears in 55.2% of answers against 52.2%. Together they hold about 48% of results across 155 retailers.
| Rank by share | Retailer | Share of results | Appears in answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SCHEELS | 25.3% | 55.2% |
| 2 | DICK’S Sporting Goods | 22.7% | 52.2% |
| 3 | Walmart | 11.5% | 25.9% |
| 4 | Golf Discount | 6.5% | 21.3% |
| 5 | Academy Sports + Outdoors | 4.5% | 13.5% |
Monthly share shows how close the race is.
| Retailer | August share | September share |
|---|---|---|
| SCHEELS | 24.2% | 26.1% |
| DICK’S Sporting Goods | 24.0% | 21.7% |
| Walmart | 11.0% | 11.9% |
| Golf Discount | 6.7% | 6.4% |
| Academy Sports + Outdoors | 5.4% | 3.8% |
The order is not stable. The two were level in August, and SCHEELS pulled ahead in September. When prompts that mention sets are excluded, DICK’S leads on share (26.5% against 24.8%) and SCHEELS leads on visibility (54.2% against 53.4%). The safe reading is that a regional chain matches the national leader. Monthly visibility is not shown because the source returns one visibility figure for the full period. These figures measure what ChatGPT displayed, not retail sales.
Which golf products does ChatGPT surface most?
The Callaway Strata 12-Piece Golf Set is the most visible golf product at 6.1% of shopping answers, followed by the PING G440 MAX Driver at 5.4%. The PING driver has the best average position among the top products at 1.47. Callaway has four of the top ten products and PING has two.
| Golf product | Brand | Visibility | Average position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men’s Callaway Strata 12-Piece Golf Set | Callaway Golf | 6.1% | 1.93 |
| PING G440 MAX Driver | PING | 5.4% | 1.47 |
| Callaway Elyte X Fairway Wood | Callaway Golf | 4.8% | 2.29 |
| Cobra DS-ADAPT MAX K Driver | Cobra | 4.7% | 3.46 |
| Callaway Elyte X Driver | Callaway Golf | 4.1% | 3.25 |
| TaylorMade Qi35 Max Driver | TaylorMade | 4.0% | 3.36 |
| Men’s Wilson Tour Velocity Complete Golf Set | Wilson | 3.8% | 2.41 |
| Cobra OPTM MAX-K Driver | Cobra | 3.7% | 2.31 |
| Callaway SuperSoft 2025 Golf Balls, 12-pack | Callaway Golf | 3.5% | 1.58 |
| PING G440 MAX Fairway Wood | PING | 3.4% | 1.82 |
Complete sets, drivers, fairway woods and golf balls all appear in the top ten, so ChatGPT mixes premium clubs with entry-level bundles.
What does this mean for brands and retailers?
These results show what ChatGPT surfaced in tracked prompts, not what shoppers bought, and they are not a ranking of ChatGPT in general. Within that scope, four points stand out for brand and retail AI visibility.
- Frequency and placement are separate measures. Callaway appears in more shopping results, but PING places higher when it appears, at 2.09 against 2.56. A single visibility percentage hides that difference.
- Prompt mix shapes the leaderboard. Callaway’s lead over PING shrinks from 16 points to about 4 when prompts that mention sets are removed. Brands should test visibility across the question types their customers ask.
- Retail position in AI answers does not simply follow size. A regional chain, SCHEELS, matches a national one, DICK’S, and the order changes by month and prompt cut. Retailers should track their presence in shopping answers rather than assume store count carries over.
- Shopping results cluster in purchase-style questions. Seventy-nine prompts account for 92% of shopping runs, mostly “best driver,” “easiest fairway wood” and “best complete set” questions. Many informational and reputation questions trigger no shopping result at all.
5W is a PR, creative and AI Visibility agency, and we get you in the chatbox. See 5W’s AI visibility agency practice, its GEO programs, its entertainment and sports marketing PR practice, its specialty retail PR practice and its consumer PR work. Related 5W research includes the Golf Equipment AI Visibility Study 2026.
What are the limitations of this data?
This report shows what ChatGPT displayed, not what shoppers bought. Read it with these limits in mind:
- ChatGPT only. Other AI assistants may show different brands and retailers.
- Tracking prompts, not a representative sample. The 195 retained prompts cover nine product areas and eight shopper types, but they were set up to track brands. Most shopping results come from a subset of purchase-style prompts. The original set leaned toward Callaway, which is why prompts naming it are excluded.
- Synthetic prompts. The runs simulate shopper questions and do not measure real user behavior.
- Two months of data. The runs cover August and September 2026, and ChatGPT answers change over time.
- Retailer order is unstable. SCHEELS and DICK’S swap places across months and prompt cuts, so treat them as tied.
- Cobra listings overlap. ChatGPT lists Cobra under two names, so the exact combined figure is not available.
- Appearance is not endorsement. Brands and retailers “appeared” or were “surfaced” in shopping results. That does not mean ChatGPT recommended them.
- Visibility is not sales. Nothing here measures purchases or website traffic.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 5W ChatGPT Golf Shopping Index?
It is 5W’s analysis of 5,850 ChatGPT golf runs from August and September 2026, of which 2,347 returned a shopping result. It uses Profound’s tools to read stored ChatGPT runs and shows which brands, products and retailers ChatGPT surfaced.
Which golf brand does ChatGPT surface most?
Callaway. It appeared in 68.6% of golf shopping answers on prompts that do not name it, ahead of PING at 52.6% and TaylorMade at 47.9%.
Does naming Callaway in prompts inflate the result?
About one in three prompts in the tracked golf set names Callaway or Odyssey, so we excluded them. On all prompts Callaway’s visibility was 70.7%. Callaway also ranks first when prompts naming other brands, or mentioning sets, are removed.
Is SCHEELS ahead of DICK’S Sporting Goods?
They are effectively tied. SCHEELS leads on share overall, 25.3% against 22.7%, and the two were level in August. When prompts that mention sets are excluded, DICK’S leads on share and SCHEELS leads on visibility.
How many prompts were used?
The study uses 195 of the 284 tracked golf prompts, each run about 30 times. The full list is in this page’s structured data and summarized in the appendix.
How was the data collected?
Profound runs a saved set of prompts through ChatGPT on a schedule. 5W analyzed the runs that returned a shopping result. See the limitations above for what the data can and cannot show.
Appendix: prompt inventory
The report uses 195 of the 284 tracked golf prompts, each run about 30 times in August and September 2026. The full list of prompts, grouped by product area with shopping results for each, is published in this page’s structured data. Shopper types in Table 7 are assigned by keyword and are approximate.
| Product area | Prompts | Shopping runs |
|---|---|---|
| Drivers | 29 | 460 |
| Putters | 28 | 206 |
| Irons | 21 | 278 |
| Complete sets | 19 | 353 |
| Fairway woods | 19 | 397 |
| Hybrids | 16 | 200 |
| Wedges | 16 | 138 |
| Golf balls | 14 | 190 |
| General, brand and technology | 33 | 125 |
| Total | 195 | 2,347 |
| Shopper type | Prompts | Shopping runs |
|---|---|---|
| No specific shopper type | 79 | 683 |
| Beginner | 45 | 716 |
| Low-handicap or tour-level | 19 | 173 |
| Senior | 17 | 307 |
| Women | 14 | 216 |
| High-handicap | 10 | 104 |
| Slicer | 7 | 127 |
| Mid-handicap | 4 | 21 |
| Total | 195 | 2,347 |
