Odds and Ends

It’s been pretty quiet the past few days on the equipment front, but don’t worry, I’ve got a few releases, stories, and opinions to hold you over during Masters Week.

This week’s Bag Drop takes a hodgepodge look at some newer releases, driver shaft adjustability, an equipment maker in bankruptcy and the lowly wedge grind – it’s worth looking into, you’ll see.

Callaway Tour Authentic Line
Wish you could play the same equipment the Callaway Tour staff plays? Well, now you can with the Tour Authentic line. Included in the Tour Authentic line are the FT-5 driver, some sweet-looking muscleback irons, the X-Prototype that were designed by Roger Cleveland, the X-Forged wedge with the Phil Mickelson grind and an Odyssey Tour Milled Putter (an Odyssey milled putter without an insert – I’m in!).

Finally, you can put your new Tour Authentic clubs in your new Tour Authentic Staff Bag and let everyone know you are ready for the Tour (or at least have equipment ready for the Tour).

Adjustable Clubs
Some of the biggest news of the spring has to deal with driver shaft adjustability technology. The folks at Callaway Golf have the I-Mix, TaylorMade has the CBG Max Limited and Nickent has the 4DX Evolver and I’m sure more are on the way. Is this good for golf?

From a fitting perspective, this is great for the golf industry as golf retailers no longer have to have numerous demo clubs taking up space as now you can quickly swap out various head and shaft combinations to match up with your swing characteristics. From a consumer perspective, I’m not so sure. For one, at least right now, these drivers are not cheap. Perhaps as time goes by, the price will drop some, but we can’t be sure.

Also, while there are a number of golfers who know their club specifications better than their anniversary date, I’m unsure if the average golfer is going to get more frustrated with one of these drivers when their current shaft “doesn’t work” and they just run back to get another one screwed in while on their quest to find longer, straighter drives rather than spending time practicing and taking lessons in order to improve. This will be an interesting trend to follow.

Sonartec Goes Belly Up
Sonartec looked like a rising star in the hybrids and fairway woods market for the better player. Nick Price used their fairway woods as did David Duval. Todd Hamilton used a Sonartec hybrid in his win at the 2004 British Open and further introduced the golfing masses to this little company that made quality clubs.

However, unable to keep up with demand after the Hamilton win, some bad business decisions plus a new owner (Peter Pocklington) have put Sonartec in bankruptcy and is leading up to what will be an interesting court battle between the co-founder, Toru Kamatari and the new owner. Stay tuned to this ongoing saga.

Grinding Away
I must admit, I’ve never really paid attention to wedge grind (for more on what bounce and grind is, we have some information here). To me, it was something I always attributed to being something only available to Tour players and something that would do very little for my game.

However, its becoming a bit easier for the average golfer to have their wedges adjusted just like the pros or to get custom wedges made for you. Companies like Scratch Golf can make you custom wedges based on three different head styles, eighteen various grinds and six finishes. Ping Wrx can also give you five different grinds for your wedges (based on model). For as much as you use your wedges, not getting them customized for your swing is potentially leaving some shots on the course.

Final Thoughts
I hit my first outdoor bucket of balls off grass on Saturday afternoon while it was a balmy 60° here in Minnesota and all I can say is this: it’s good to be back! This past winter, while we didn’t get a lot of snow, was much colder than the past few winters and that seemed to make my cabin fever and wanting to play and demo new clubs worse. Thankfully, the snow and colder weather is mostly gone and courses are starting to open in the upper Midwest.

Now I just need to figure out which clubs to demo first.