Travis R. covers equipment, shafts, and the DORMIED Index data for DORMIED. He is the data co-founder and has been tracking the golf brand market since 2018.
MacGregor is a good golf brand for one kind of golfer: someone who wants well-made clubs at a fraction of major-brand prices and has no interest in what tour players carry. It is not a tour brand and has not been for decades. The MacGregor you can buy today is a direct-to-consumer revival, owned since 2020 by Golf Brands Inc. of Henderson, Nevada, selling a $249.99 driver and a three-wedge set for under $200. The name carries one of golf's great histories. That history explains why you know it. The tests and the prices are what make today's clubs worth buying.
In one sentence: MacGregor is a good-value golf brand revived in 2020 by Golf Brands Inc., selling direct-to-consumer clubs well below major-brand prices, and it is no longer a tour brand.
Is MacGregor a Good Golf Brand?
It depends which MacGregor you mean.
For much of the twentieth century MacGregor was one of the biggest names in golf, and it remained a premier brand into the 1980s. By 1940 Tommy Armour, Toney Penna, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson were playing its clubs, and the company says its equipment has won 59 major championships. That MacGregor no longer exists. It was sold repeatedly, shrunk to a retailer's house brand and eventually mothballed.
The MacGregor on sale now is a value brand sold online, with its own designs and a credible test record at its price. On that basis it is good. It suits beginners, returning golfers, high handicappers, and budget-minded better players who want forged irons without paying for tour marketing. It does not suit anyone who wants tour-proven equipment, broad retail availability or an established fitting network.
Who Owns MacGregor Golf Today?
In the United States, MacGregor is owned by Golf Brands Inc., run by Simon Millington, an Englishman who moved to Henderson, Nevada, in 2017. He bought MacGregor in 2020 and runs the business with his sons, alongside the revived Ram, Zebra and Teardrop brands and a licence for Ben Hogan, signed with owner Perry Ellis in 2023.
The road there was long. The company began in Dayton, Ohio, where a shoe-last maker founded in 1829 made its first golf club in 1897 as Crawford, McGregor and Canby. Ownership then passed to Goldsmith in the 1930s, and later to Brunswick, Wickes, Nicklaus himself, Amer Sports, a British-led consortium, the Parkside Group and, in 2007, Greg Norman. In 2009 the retailer Golfsmith bought the brand rights across most of the world for under $2 million, turning MacGregor into a store brand. When Golfsmith went bankrupt in 2016, DICK'S Sporting Goods acquired its assets, and MacGregor sat dormant until Millington's purchase.
Two details correct answers you may find elsewhere. Many directories still list the old headquarters in Albany, Georgia, but the company's own address is now Henderson, Nevada. And the brand has historically been split by region, with Japan run separately, so ownership outside the United States is not necessarily the same.
Why Did Jack Nicklaus Play MacGregor?
When Nicklaus turned professional, MacGregor was the brand the best players used, and in 1962 it signed him as an ambassador and partner. He stayed for more than two decades, the company produced Nicklaus Signature and VIP irons, and by the early 1980s he was one of its owners.
His most famous MacGregor club arrived late. In July 1985, Clay Long, head of MacGregor's research and development, showed Nicklaus an oversized aluminium putter built for an unusually high moment of inertia. Nicklaus asked if it was a joke. He put the Response ZT in play in 1986 and won the Masters with it. MacGregor had sold about 1,200 putters the year before; the day after Augusta it had more than 5,000 orders.
One correction to the brand's framing: MacGregor counts all 18 of Nicklaus's majors among its 59, but by Long's account Nicklaus won 15 of his first 17 with a George Low Wizard 600 putter. His irons and woods were MacGregor. His putter, until 1986, mostly was not.
Nicklaus sold 80 percent of his stake to Amer Sports in the 1980s and the remainder in January 1992, reportedly frustrated with the company's direction, before starting his own equipment business.
What Does MacGregor Sell and What Does It Cost?
Nearly every category, cheaply. The range runs from complete package sets for beginners to forged irons, and even component heads for clubmakers, all sold direct through the brand's own site.
Prices as of September 2026: the Tourney MAX driver is $249.99, which the brand promotes as MyGolfSpy's best driver under $400. The MT Tourney three-wedge set is $179.99, a price we looked at as a direct shot at golf's price inflation problem. The forged Toney Penna Tour MB irons, named for one of the players who made MacGregor's name, are $699.99 a set. The MACSPD irons run from $124.99 to $659.99 depending on configuration, and complete men's package sets run $349.99 to $499.99.
That positioning is deliberate. As we have written, MacGregor is defending the last affordable tier in golf.
The clubs are made in China. MyGolfSpy has reported that the foundry forging MacGregor's heads also forges Ben Hogan's, and the iron designs come from independent designers including Austie Rollinson, who designed the MT-86 irons between roles at Callaway and Titleist.
How Do MacGregor Clubs Perform in Testing?
Better than the price suggests, which is the whole case for the brand.
Our own coverage found the Toney Penna CB among the longest irons in the test. The Tourney MAX driver sells on its recognition as MyGolfSpy's best driver under $400, and the brand displays a MyGolfSpy 2024 Editor's Choice mark. Our look at the MacGregor iron range covers the lineup in more detail.
Keep the evidence in proportion. A strong result in one test is encouraging, not conclusive, and a value brand is tested less often than the majors. What the record supports is that MacGregor's clubs compete on performance at their price. It does not support treating them as equals of the best from Titleist or TaylorMade.
Does Anyone on Tour Use MacGregor?
Not in our data. None of the 285 tour bags in DORMIED's WITB database contains a MacGregor club. That is what you would expect from a direct-to-consumer brand with no tour staff, and it is the clearest sign that the MacGregor of Nicklaus, Hogan and Nelson is history rather than a current credential.
How Is MacGregor Trending on the DORMIED Index?
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Global DORMIED Index rank | 79th of 215 |
| DI score | 1.5 |
| Monthly global searches | 8,100 |
| Month-over-month change | +22.7% |
| Three-month change | +6.0% |
| Year-over-year change | 0% |
Source: DORMIED Index, August 2026 snapshot. The DI score is a brand's global search interest relative to the most-searched golf brand, which scores 100.
Seventy-ninth of 215 with 8,100 searches a month is a strong position for a value brand, and it reflects how much the name still means. A flat year and a rising quarter describe steady interest rather than a surge. The name does the work of getting searched; the question for Golf Brands is how much of that search it can turn into sales.
What Do People Ask About MacGregor?
Who owns MacGregor golf clubs?
In the United States, Golf Brands Inc., run by Simon Millington and based in Henderson, Nevada. It bought the brand in 2020 and also owns Ram, Zebra and Teardrop and licenses Ben Hogan.
Are MacGregor clubs good for beginners?
Yes. Complete men's package sets run $349.99 to $499.99, and the value-first range suits new and returning golfers well.
Did Jack Nicklaus use MacGregor clubs?
Yes. He signed with MacGregor in 1962, later became an owner, and won the 1986 Masters with its Response ZT putter. MacGregor counts all 18 of his majors among the 59 won with its clubs.
Where are MacGregor clubs made?
In China. MyGolfSpy has reported that MacGregor's heads come from the same foundry that forges Ben Hogan's.
Is MacGregor still in business?
Yes. It lay dormant after Golfsmith's 2016 bankruptcy, was revived in 2020, and now sells direct to consumers.
How much do MacGregor clubs cost?
As of September 2026, the Tourney MAX driver is $249.99, the MT Tourney three-wedge set $179.99, and the forged Toney Penna Tour MB irons $699.99 a set.
Where is MacGregor Golf based?
Henderson, Nevada. Many older directories still list Albany, Georgia, the company's former home.
