QOD Electric Golf Cart Review

QOD – A small and affordable golf cart for those who still appreciate when their good walks aren’t spoiled.

QOD Cart HeroAt first glance, the QOD Electric Golf Push Cart doesn’t look like much. And make no mistake – I mean that literally. The QOD folds up to about the same size as most standard push carts at only 13.5″ x 14.5″ x 17.5″.

Take a closer look at the QOD, though, and you’ll soon notice the LED control panel. Shortly after that, it will dawn on you… the QOD is an electric push cart!

Over the years, I’ve reviewed a couple of electric carts, from Bag Boy and Sun Mountain, but none have been as small as the QOD.

QOD stands for “Quality of Design” and I put that quality to the test in five states over dozens of rounds and more than my fair share of hills, bridges, paths, fairways, and weather situations.

Here’s what I discovered.

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Callaway Rogue and Rogue Sub Zero Drivers Review

After an Epic year, Callaway went Rogue. Promising distance in a forgiving driver, the Rogue borrows Jailbreak and more from its big brother. Let’s see how the Rogue and Sub-Zero fare.

Callaway Rogue DriverCallaway had a huge hit in 2017 with its Epic woods. In particular the Great Big Bertha Epic Driver earned its way into a lot of bags. On several occasions last year, I found myself in foursomes with three or four Epic drivers in play. That’s testament to a very popular driver.

To follow up on the Epic, Callaway debuted the Rogue this year to much fanfare. Like the Epic, the Rogue features “Jailbreak Technology,” those two bars behind the clubface designed to produce more distance through increased ball speed. In the Epic, that technology not only captured the imagination of golfers, it also produced noticeable results.

So when the announcement of the Rogue line came out in January, we took notice. The Rogue driver promised the distance of Epic in a more forgiving package. That would be one incredible combination if the Rogue could deliver.

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Pyramid Putters Aztec Series Blade Review

A new player in the clubmaking industry, Pyramid Putters, hits the market with a brand new putter. We test it and let you know if the new tech works.

PyramidAmongst all the clubs we golfers carry in our bags, the most personalized, or better said the most unique, has to be the putter. Sure, the drivers have added a little color over the past few years and of course there are cavity back irons and blade irons of many types, but for the most part the other thirteen clubs all look relatively the same between manufacturers. The putter on the other hand is unique. Shapes, lengths, forms, and colors can vary wildly. A popular saying amongst many golfers is “I’d putt with a shovel if I could make more putts”. I mean did you ever see the putter Jack Nicklaus used to win the 1986 Masters? Good lord, that thing was ugly.

Because golfers will putt with just about anything this leaves the market for putters and putter manufacturers wide open. If you were looking to be a golf equipment start-up breaking in to the market with a putter would be an excellent start. (And we see this every year at the PGA Merchandise Show.) This means when the opportunity to review a putter comes along many of us who’ve been doing reviews for many years are skeptical.

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Mizuno MP-18 Iron Review

The Mizuno MP-18 irons match their excellent design with even better performance.

MP-18 Irons“Irons to touch your soul.” That is the tagline for the Mizuno MP-18 irons released recently. I’ve been playing a set of Mizuno irons, except for maybe a year, for the past 20 years starting with the T-Zoids so I’m guessing my soul is their target audience. I’ve always looked forward to seeing what they have in store with their latest releases. Back in 2014 I had a chance to review the MP-4’s and have had them in the bag since.

This year, they introduced the MP-18’s as the latest update to their catalog of irons. I was able to get my hands on a progressive set of both the muscle back and split cavity (SC) irons. More and more players are using this type of setup and, with the introduction of new irons and technology, I thought it was time to give them both a try.

How do the new MP-18’s stand up to their predecessors? Do they touch my soul? Read on to find out.

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Titleist 718 AP3 Irons Review

Titleist designed its all new AP3 to combine the best of the company’s popular AP1 and AP2 irons. Making an iron as long and forgiving as the AP1 that is also as workable and great feeling as the AP2 would create one great club. Is the AP3 all that? Well, I truly enjoyed finding out.

Titleist AP3 ironsThe Titleist iron line has traditionally skewed toward the “better” player. With the exception of the AP1, the brand’s irons favored workability and distance control over forgiveness. Previously, there was a pretty big jump from the everyman’s AP1 to the tour-popular AP2. Now Titleist has added a true “mid-AP” iron with the AP3, a “better players’ distance iron.”

Irons in this category are expected to deliver extra distance while still providing the feel and consistency that mid- to low-handicappers need.

Titleist bills the new AP3 iron as its longest and fastest player’s iron ever. The AP3, which fits between the AP1 and AP2, is intended to provide some of the forgiveness of the former with some of the shotmaking ability of the latter for players wanting more distance and forgiveness without sacrificing feel. Add one and two and you get three. Now the name makes sense!

AP3 truly represents the best of both worlds. We’re giving you the distance and forgiveness of a game improvement iron packed into the look and feel of a player’s iron.

Josh Talge, VP Marketing, Titleist Golf Clubs

That’s a pretty tall order. The AP1 is very popular among mid- and higher-handicap players (though the long irons sometimes find their way into the bags of better players). The AP1s strong suit is forgiveness and ease of getting the ball in the air. The AP2 is widely played on professional tours and by a sizable number of lower handicap players, where its feel and consistent distance pays dividends. Can the AP3 really combine the best of both worlds?

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Volume Five Hundred Twelve

Justin Thomas wins the Honda Classic.

Hittin the Links Welcome back to another week of Hittin’ the Links!

This week was a fun one. Although Justin Thomas left with the hardware, Tiger Woods played his best golf in quite a long time, fishing T12 at PGA National. Thomas, not to be outshined, won the event under fading daylight on the first playoffs hole.

We’ll have plenty of Honda Classic coverage, plus a check-in on the LPGA Tour, a few bits of USGA news, and a little Ryder Cup coverage.

Let’s hit the links.

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A New Twist: TaylorMade rolls out M3/M4

TaylorMade has released its M3 and M4 families of woods and irons. Twist Face Technology in the woods promises to help correct for off center contact, while RIBCOR is aimed at helping you get more distance with your irons.

Bag DropNow available in U.S. golf shops, TaylorMade’s M3 and M4 families feature technology packed woods, Rescues, and irons. Here is a slightly shortened version of the TaylorMade media release on the launch, starting with the drivers.

TaylorMade’s Twist Face technology, featured in both the new M3 & M4 drivers, is TaylorMade’s solution to counteract golfers’ most common misses, more specifically, those resulting from the high toe and low heel impacts.

To counteract the high-toe miss (a hook), the driver face has been “twisted” open (loft increased and face opened) on the high-toe to help straighten ball flight. Similarly, to counteract the low-heel miss (a slice) the driver face has been twisted closed to de-loft and close the face in the low heel area. Ultimately, TaylorMade’s Twist Face technology delivers a corrective face angle when hit off-center for longer, straighter shots.

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Volume Five Hundred Eleven

Bubba Watson wins at Riviera.

Hittin the LinksWelcome back to another edition of Hittin’ the Links! This week we’ve got stories from all across the world.

Starting in Southern California, we’ll take a look at Bubba Watson’s win at Riviera, his 10th on Tour. We’ll also journey east to Florida, where Tiger Woods has entered another tournament, spin by Georgia where Augusta is planning a course change, and finish with a pair of tournaments in Oman and Australia.

Let’s hit the links!

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Callaway Apex MB (2018) Irons Review

Rumor has it Sergio Garcia’s switch to Callaway played a role in the company’s introduction of these irons. If so… Thank you, Sergio!

Callaway Apex MB 2018 HeroWhen Callaway acquired the Ben Hogan brand all those years ago, better players were curious what would come of the Hogan designs, names, and ethos. Callaway was, at the time, producing great clubs but was seemingly focused much more on game-improvement and super-game-improveement irons, while the Hogan brand targeted primarily better players with simple, austere designs that evoked a sense of history and longevity over fanciful new technology and flash. Would Callaway use the Hogan IP to bolster their better player lineup, or did they just want the Apex name and the Hogan designs, patents, etc.?

For a few years, many feared it was the latter, as few clubs Hogan-like clubs were introduced, and even as recently as 2016 the “Apex” name was stamped onto clubs that didn’t resemble the old Hogans very closely. But, over the past several years, Callaway has seemingly boosted their stable of PGA and LPGA Tour pros. They’ve continued to introduce irons aimed at the game-improvement and super-game-improvement segments, but they’ve also strengthened their commitment to players clubs with wider releases of clubs designed for the better player.

After a series of irons like the Apex Pro and the 2014 Apex MB, the 2018 Callaway Apex MB fully returns to the Ben Hogan roots. Easily the best looking irons Callaway has released within the last decade (hey, this is my review, after all!), the Apex MB unabashedly says “I’m not giving you a ton of help, but if you can handle me, I’m going to be your new best buddy.”

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