The Sand Trap » Review

TaylorMade RocketBallz Stage 2 Fairway Wood Review

Michael C. Hepp — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:00:36 +0000

Last 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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Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 Review

Jamieson Weiss — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Around this time one year ago, I wrote a review of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, using a copy of the game I bought myself. I've been a loyal consumer of the Tiger Woods series of video games since about 2002, when the games were much, much simpler.

After a few off years, Tiger 13 was a step in the right direction, and Tiger 14 continues that. There are some bad things, and a few things that had me ready to snap my controller in half, but I can say with certitude that Tiger Woods 14 is the best game to date.

It keeps Augusta National, which was introduced in the 2012 version, and has expanded to include all four major championships (the real names, not just "Summer Major Championship"). The LPGA joins the PGA Tour, and more courses are included standard that in recent year.

More importantly, for the first time since the mid-2000s, former PGA Tour pros are in the game. Tiger 14 includes an assortment of major champions, including Arnold Palmer, who joins Tiger on the cover. The game retails for $60 on Xbox 360 and PS3, or $70 for the Collector's Edition (if you buy the regular edition, you can always upgrade to the collector's via DLC, for about $20). Kinect and Move support remain, though I have neither, so I won't be reviewing them.

Let's dive in.
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PING G25 Irons Review

Michael C. Hepp — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:52:33 +0000

When 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 JPX-825 Irons Review

Michael C. Hepp — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 15:00:58 +0000

When you ask most golfers about Mizuno irons the general feedback is that they make fantastic irons for professionals and low handicap golfers. Mizuno has a long history stretching from the 1980's of making forged blades that had an almost cult like following. Mizuno has not had much of a reputation for making game improvement clubs for mid and high handicappers, although they have made irons targeting this group they have not been overwhelming popular as the better player clubs have been.

Of course Mizuno has a great reputation not only with good players but also with the PGA Tour as well. Much of the MP line of irons are designed with the tour players input. However with some new offerings specifically the JPX line, Mizuno seems to be trying to take their great reputation into the game improvement arena. For mid-handicappers Mizuno is now offering the JPX-825 Pro irons which are targeted at six to eighteen handicappers. These irons give the forgiveness of game improvement irons but the feel and playability that the lower handicap golfers prefer. In addition to these irons Mizuno now offers the JPX-825 irons targeted for golfers with a handicap from ten to twenty eight.

For this review I was given a set (4-PW) of JPX-825 irons with True Temper Dynalite Gold XP S300.
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2013 TaylorMade Ghost Spider S Putter Review

Michael C. Hepp — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:00:01 +0000

When Sergio Garcia first started playing the TaylorMade Monza Spider putters I can remember reading golf forums where most where making some disparaging remarks about the look of the putter. However once the putters hit stores and people got a chance to putt with them, the comments all but disappeared. The simple fact was the putter helped golfers to make putts. Through the years TaylorMade has brought many of the changes to the Spider line of putters, mainly the “ghosting” of the putters, as well as some other technology improvements that I will discuss in the review.

The Spider putters have never been built to look beautiful, they have been designed to make putts. Most golfers that I now who own a Spider putters really like them and have used them for a long period of time. That generally says something good because a putter is one of the easiest clubs to switch in a players bag.

The adjustments to the 2013 TaylorMade Ghost Spider S are minimal but they continuously improve the line to help golfers make more putts. In this review we will take a look at the new and improved 2013 TaylorMade Ghost Spider S.
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Mizuno MP-64 Iron Review

Tristan Hilton — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 15:20:04 +0000

In 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

Michael C. Hepp — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:16:12 +0000

In 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

Erik J. Barzeski — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

It'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.
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I’m Caddie Tour GPS Review

Danny Ottmann — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:00:00 +0000

I subscribe to the K.I.S.S. method (Keep It Simple Stupid). On the golf course I rely on my stock ball flight unless I am absolutely forced to move the ball one direction or another. My first thought on every short game shot is what is the simplest way to play it, and I always try to err on the safe side with any shot decision. So it's safe to say I am not exactly Phil Mickelson. So when I was asked to review the I'm Caddie Talking Golf GPS, one if the simplest golf GPS devices on the market, I thought this gadget might be right down my alley.
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Mizuno MP-H4 Iron Review

Tristan Hilton — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 17:53:34 +0000

For 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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