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Nike VR_S Covert and Covert Tour Drivers Review

May. 20, 2013     By     Comments (2)

Nike Covert Driver Tour SoleMoment of inertia.

It was the name of the game about five years ago, thanks to square drivers, perimeter weighting, and a USGA restriction on the industry's previous CoR and clubhead inroads. MOI was capped eventually, but even before hitting the max the OEMs turned away en masse. We haven't seen anything quite so boxy in a while, and objectives seem to have turned. Companies got sidetracked towards adjustable hosels, colorful crowns, and innovative aerodynamics.

But it's back. Ever since Karsten Solheim designed the original Anser putter way back when, the golf industry has been trying to find new and creative ways to distribute weight to the edges of the clubhead. Not just with putters, but with cavityback irons and woods as well. Until now they had to resort to odd shapes (namely, squares or triangles) or heavier tungsten inserts.

Nike says the Covert, and its rear cavity, has changed the game. Let's take a look.

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TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2 Driver Review

May. 20, 2013     By     Comments (0)

RBX Stage 2 DriverRecently, TaylorMade has released two different driver and woods product lines. Last year it was the R11s line and the extremely popular Rocketballz line. For the 2013 season TaylorMade switched it up and released the R1 line and continued with the Rocketballz line, dubbing them Stage 2. It is my belief that the success of the Rocketballz driver surprised TaylorMade. At my club among golfers who used TaylorMade drivers the Rocketballz ruled over the R11s by a two to one margin. The Rocketballz price point is a bit below that of the R11s but still provided a great experience.

Hoping to continue with the fantastic success of the Rocketballz driver TaylorMade has released the Rocketballz Stage 2 driver. TaylorMade has taken some of the adjustable technology and crown graphics that they offered in the groundbreaking R1 driver and they added speed providing a driver with more control and distance. It is always a challenge to follow up such a successful club but leave it to TaylorMade to give it a try.

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TaylorMade RocketBallz Stage 2 Fairway Wood Review

May. 7, 2013     By     Comments (2)

RBX Stage 2 FWLast year TaylorMade made a huge splash with the announcement of their Rocketballz fairway wood. They advertised that golfers would get seventeen more yards by making the switch to this oddly named club. It debuted to a huge success with numerous professionals and amateur golfers alike making the switch to this new technology.

In 2013 TaylorMade has now released an update to the Rocketballz line with Stage 2 fairway wood. The marketing campaign has termed the new line Rocketballz-IER. With the advent of social media they have added #IER and added the -IER to all of the TaylorMade professional staff bags. Much of the underlying technology that made the initial Rocketballz a success is packed into the Stage 2 clubs and they have also added some new features which TaylorMade claims added an additional ten yards to the club. Although to be fair in terms of advertising this claim is made with a ball speed of 150 MPH which is much greater than any of the weekend warriors I play with, myself included.

For this review I was given a 15 degree fairway wood, with a graphite Matrix RocketFuel stiff shaft. Join me as I go through the details of this RBZ Stage 2 fairway wood.

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PING G25 Irons Review

Mar. 14, 2013     By     Comments (8)

Ping G25When I think of PING my first thought is to the revolution that they brought to the market with cast cavity-back irons, the PING Eye2. Since that time PING has continued to make irons every type of player - from the average to the touring pro. It is my opinion that PING has one of the most loyal fan bases of any of the club makers, and anytime a new iron set is released there is bound to be excitement. With the announcement of the new G25 irons PING has once again created quite a stir.

The newest offering from PING, the G25s are a slight change from the G series of irons that PING has traditionally been offering. It seems they have taken feedback from golfers that the top line and sole width had been getting too large and decided to have the designers change it up a bit with the G25s. Even with all the cosmetic and performance changes PING wanted to make sure it was a high performing and forgiving iron that would appeal to golfers of all skill levels.

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Mizuno MP-64 Iron Review

Feb. 10, 2013     By     Comments (1)

Mizuno MP-64 HeroIn the golf world these days, everything is about advertising. Every few months one company or another is debuting the latest and greatest in golf technology. It is promised that this new technology will add an insane amount of distance to your game as well as being even more forgiving than whatever is in your bag.

Mizuno Golf, for the most part, has not really followed this route. Of course they advertise, but more than most companies, they let their products speak for themselves.

While they may not be the biggest or most hyped name out there, their clubs, and more specifically their player's irons have developed some what of a cult following for being among the best available. It is clubs in this category that really are the heart of the company, and this is because to many they have a feel that is superior to nearly everything else around. Sure they make some really good game improvement clubs, and their woods and wedges are also top notch, but when golfers think of Mizuno they think of small, compact irons with buttery soft feel.

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TaylorMade R1 Driver Review

Feb. 8, 2013     By     Comments (7)

taylormade_r1_driver_address.jpgIn recent years nobody has done a better job creating buzz with the release of their new line of drivers than TaylorMade. TaylorMade has such a huge presence on the PGA Tour and they take pride in their stable of players using and promoting their latest equipment. The release of the R1 driver from TaylorMade is exciting because of how much customization the driver provides to both the golfer and the club fitter.

TaylorMade launched the R1 by telling golfers that this was their most adjustable driver they had ever made. A golfer can adjust the loft, the face angle, and the shot shape all with a single wrench.This means a golfer can go into their local pro shop and have a clubfitter tune the driver to their swing without having to switch drivers. Also if a golfer changes their swing they do not have to change drivers, they can simply adjust the R1 accordingly.

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Titleist 913 D2 and D3 Driver Review

Feb. 6, 2013     By     Comments (3)

Titleist 913 D2 TechIt's been a few years since I reviewed theTitleist 910D3 Drivers, and in that time frame Rory McIlroy has won a pair of majors with both the 910 and the 913 before jumping ship for a great big bag of money. Titleist tends to take the approach of not overpaying for talent, with the inkling that they'd rather spend their money making better golf equipment for the serious player.

The 913 D2 and D3 drivers are the latest in the line of Titleist equipment, and feature an evolutionary leap forward from the 910, further refining all that the 910 did right and improving on the soft spots with a hotter clubface and more consistent launch characteristics between the two drivers.

Join me as I take a look at the Titleist 913 D2 and D3.

Mizuno MP-H4 Iron Review

Jan. 19, 2013     By     Comments (11)

Mizuno MP H4For the last few years now, Mizuno has maintained a lineup of clubs that included two different families of irons. For better players, there is the MP line of clubs which offer great feel and workability but little in the way of forgiveness. For players seeking more forgiveness, Mizuno has also offered a game improvement line; first it was the MX line and in more recent years, the JPX line. With the release of the new MP-H4 irons, Mizuno has blurred the line between players and game improvement irons, and let me tell you, it's a good thing.

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Odyssey Metal-X Two Ball Review

Jan. 5, 2013     By     Comments (2)

Metal-X Two BallI've been the type of golfer that switches putters a bit more frequently than I should. For some reason I like to tinker a bit and the grass always seems greener on the other side of the pro shop.

When the new Two Ball putters were announced I was, of course, intrigued. During my iterations of putters one that I did try and actually used for probably longer than any other putter was the classic Two-Ball from years ago. I was eager to get my hands on one to see what they could improve with a putter that has been very popular and remains in the bags of golfers across the globe.

Read on to see what I thought about the newest addition to the Two Ball family after putting it to some extensive use.

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