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PING i20 Irons Review

May. 18, 2012     By     Comments (17)

PING i20 BeautyPING's successful line of G-series irons has focused on maximum forgiveness for all players, but it's i-series has been geared specifically to players who are looking for a middle ground between the G-series and the blade-like S-series. The i20 irons attempts to satisfy that audience by utilizing a series of designs that make the long irons forgiving and high-launching while blending in more-penetrating mid and short irons offering control for precise shot making. PGA Tour player Mark Wilson won the 2012 Bob Hope Humana Classic the first week he had the new PING i20 irons in the bag. Not a bad introduction for PING's latest i-series offering. The i20 is for players as good as Mark Wilson all the way to your average mid-handicapper. Following in the tradition of previous models the i20 is a cast golf club with a progressive set design that delivers for a lot of forgiveness with a ton of playability.

It was great for The Sand Trap to meet up with PING Senior Design Engineer Marty Jertson to learn more about these irons at the PGA Show in Orlando this year. Marty not only knows how to design great performing clubs but he can also play himself, qualifying for the Justin Timberlake PGA Tour event twice and qualifying for last year's PGA Championship. The Sand Trap was able to get some of the finer technology details from that most golfers don't know about.

Posted in: Clubs, Review Comments (17)

PING i20 Driver Review

May. 18, 2012     By     Comments (7)

PING i20 Driver BeautyPING's 2009 i15 driver was aimed at players ranging from low single digit handicaps to players at the tour level and ran into some design issues. The CoG (center of gravity) was fade biased, and the bulge was too pronounced making it too hard to control even for most tour players. There was a small following of players that loved it because it was lower spinning and since the CoG was closer to the face, the ball came off hot. PING learned from this endeavor when engineering the new PING i20 driver. PING has also been able to broaden the handicap range for the i20 making the i20 a forgiving "players" driver. The newest i-series driver is still targeting players looking for a lower launching, lower spinning driver but with the needed forgiveness that the i15 was lacking.

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Callaway RAZR X Black Driver Review

May. 2, 2012     By     Comments (14)

Callaway RAZR X Black DriverI must admit, when I was first asked to review this driver, I was very excited. I had heard about the new Callaway RAZR X Black from advertisements and in golf magazines. I am an avid Callaway driver user; I have the 2011 Callaway RAZR Hawk and the Callaway Diablo Edge Tour driver as well. The RAZR X Black is this season's new hot club following in the footsteps of this years RAZR FIT driver. At my local golf store this club is on the shelf, but there are not very many on display because it is selling quite well.

Callaway has gone through a bit of a lull but I think with the latest line of drivers they are coming on strong. Let's see how the RAZR X Black driver stacks up, shall we?

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Benderstik Training Aid Review

Apr. 15, 2012     By     Comments (14)

Benderstik Banner What if I told you that after the first five years of playing golf the odds of lowering your handicap by three strokes or more, is unusually rare? It almost never happens. The reason is because golfers revert back to our old habits. That's why trying a tip in the latest golf magazine or listening to the Golf Channel doesn't improve people's games. Here to help is golf's new training aid, the Benderstik. It's designed to help you consistently working on a better motion by giving you instant feedback.

The Benderstik is literally a stick that is adjustable, bendable, and has a large foam ball attached to one end. It can be set it up for each golfer's individual swing needs and if you revert back, there will be immediate feedback. You can set the Benderstik in the ground and adjust it where your head is against the foam ball to work on keeping your head steady or adjust it to avoid hitting the foam ball in the backswing or followthrough.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 Review

Apr. 14, 2012     By     Comments (3)

tiger_woods_13_cover.jpgAs I do nearly every year, I was quick to pony up a good deal of cash for the new Tiger Woods PGA Tour video game. Like with most good video games I've been engrossed with it since the day I bought it, but that doesn't mean I love the game.

There are good things. For instance, the online country club feature is awesome, and we here at The Sand Trap have set up country clubs for Xbox 360 and PS3 to take advantage of that. But there is a plethora of shortcomings, not only in this game but in the series overall, and there simply has not been enough of an effort to overcome those. Numerous decisions clearly illustrate that EA Sports values the form over function when it comes to this game, and that comes at a detriment to the gameplay.

This year's edition is available for $60 for PS3 and Xbox 360, and there is a Collector's Edition for $70 also sold for both systems. We've already arrived to the first downside of Tiger 13, which is that last year's game was also available for Wii, Windows, Mac OS X, and iOS. Kinect and Move are supported, but I have neither so I won't be commenting on them. Read on to see if the price was worth it.

Tour Edge Exotics XCG5 Fairway Wood Review

Mar. 21, 2012     By     Comments (3)

Tour Edge Exotics Fairway PromoThis seems to be the year where fairway wood technology is the topic of conversation. Top companies are making distance claims, going longer, lighter, adding slots on the crown, slots on the sole to achieve a boost in distance. Tour Edge may not have the big marketing budget of some of these companies but they have a steady history of great fairway woods and the New Exotics XCG5 is one of the hottest, most innovative 3-woods on the market.

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Pipoe Review

Jan. 22, 2012     By     Comments (8)

Pipoe StackSearch the Internet for "golf training aids" and you'll find a variety of gadgets that attach to your body, your club, the ground, your golf bag, etc. You'll find flimsy and bulky devices ranging in price from $5 to $500. These training aids usually only fulfill a couple purposes, whether it's fixing swing plane, ingraining an effective putting stroke, or improving swing speed. Hopefully from this review we'll see how the Pipoe differs by offering an affordable, multi purpose practice aid to golfers, that can be used for as long as you play the game.

AimPoint Swinkey Review

Nov. 29, 2011     By     Comments (4)

SwinkeyThe lyrics for the song used to help advertise the children's toy the Slinky included the line that "for fun it's the best of toys."

If the Swinkey - dubbed "The Golfer's Toolbox" - were the product being marketed by a song, the line would read "for golf it's the best of tools" or something, and except for the fact that many would be unable to get the damn song out of their heads, it wouldn't be far from the truth.

Training aids in golf are expensive. That's because if you're in the market for a golf training aid, you're more than likely able to afford an expensive one. At $99, the Swinkey is an expensive training aid if you view it as "a stick." But the Swinkey is more than a stick, and this review may convince you that $99 is a reasonable price.

Atlantic City Country Club (Atlantic City, NJ) Review

Nov. 21, 2011     By     Comments (3)

ACCC Logo"Stay out of the bunkers" is the warning from the starter on the first tee, which also happens to be the putting green at Atlantic City Country Club.

By the end of the day, I'd have said, "stay out of the marsh," as the holes that wound along the coast proved to be exceptionally difficult on a particularly windy October day. With gusts around 35 mph, and blowing directly toward the water in most cases (and this is the prevailing wind, according to a local expert), the teeth of the course are really exposed on the back nine.

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