Author: Mike McLoughlin

PGA Tour Live App Review

PGA TOUR LIVE carries every event of the PGA TOUR live and on demand as well as the Web.com and Champions Tours and the Presidents Cup.

PGA Tour Live App 4
Last month the PGA TOUR released a new app called PGA TOUR LIVE. The app allows you to watch live coverage of two concurrent featured group pairings during morning competition prior to the start of the regularly scheduled television coverage. It is available for iOS and Android.

The app also offers live-streaming coverage from select holes after early-round group coverage has concluded, as well as on select weekends. In addition, the app includes video-on-demand content such as subscription-only highlights as well as feature and historical videos in an easy-to-access environment.

The Basics
PGA TOUR LIVE, a subscription-based digital platform service, debuted in the first round of the Quicken Loans National. It’s available on desktop, iOS, and Android devices. Other devices like Smart TV will follow soon.

The coverage is be available first as a seven-day free subscription when you register. After that, the subscription costs $4.99 per month.

The only live golf streaming I’ve previously done has been during the Masters. The Sand Trap.com has partnered with the PGA TOUR LIVE team for the review and after a few days with PGA TOUR LIVE I experienced plenty of pros and a few cons. I reviewed this app based on my experiences with the iOS version on an iPhone 6 and a fourth-geneeration iPad.

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Snell My Tour Ball Review

Dean Snell headed up the development of the Pro V1/V1x for Titleist and TaylorMade’s lineup of balls for years. Now he’s got his own golf ball, and you can have it, too. How does it stack up?

My Tour HeroWhile you may not know the name Dean Snell, there is a good chance you know the names of and have probably teed up the numerous golf balls he’s helped design. After 25 years of experience in the golf industry, Dean Snell’s name is on 38 golf ball patents. He was the designer or co-designer of some of the best performing and most popular golf balls in the industry. While working for Titleist, he was responsible for the ProV1/ProV1x, Tour Prestige, HP2 Tour, and HP2 Distance. After seven years with Titleist, he moved over to TaylorMade as the Vice President of Research and Development where he produced the TP Red LDP, TP Black LDP, Penta TP, Penta TP5, Lethal, Tour Preferred, Tour Preferred X, Burner, Noodle, RocketBallz and Project (a) golf balls. So when Dean Snell came out with his own golf ball, it caught our attention and these balls should definitely be on your radar.

The golf ball market is an interesting place right now. Titleist is obviously still top dog for the “tour” level golf ball with many great offerings from Bridgestone, Callaway, TaylorMade, and Srixon. But, the problem with these balls is that you’re going to pay $44-48 for a premium tour-level performance. In the price-fixing world of golf equipment, all the premium level balls are priced similarly. That leaves the door open for competitors that don’t have to pay the Tour players, can cut out the middle man, and sell their balls directly to the consumer. This is the mission of Snell Golf; to sell Tour-level performance golf balls directly to the golfer at an affordable price point. A Pro V1 for the masses. Interested? Too good to be true? Let’s take a closer look.

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18 Questions with PING Senior Design Engineer Marty Jertson

PING engineer Marty Jertson answers your questions!

Thanks to all the TST members that submitted these questions and thanks to Marty for the great answers. Marty Jertson is a senior design engineer for PING Golf. Jertson is also a PGA professional and has qualified for the 2011 and 2012 PGA Championships. Jertson went undefeated, 4-0 at the 25th PGA Cup in 2011, as the U.S. team defeated Great Britain & Ireland, 17½-8½.

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Mizuno JPX 825 Pro Irons Review

These irons are as forgiving as any true “game-improvement” irons I’ve ever tested, yet provide feel and workability close or equal to most “player’s” irons.

As many golfers know, Mizuno Golf is best know for designing some of the best forged irons in the world. First building their reputation by manufacturing muscle back blades, Mizuno grew to expand their line into forged cavity backs and forged game improvement clubs. The new JPX line is geared for the average player, the player that needs more help with forgiveness and getting the ball in the air. The JPX 825 Pro is the best of both words, combining Mizuno’s pure forged sound with updated forgiveness. Let’s take a closer look.

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TaylorMade RocketBallz Tour Driver and Tour Rescue Review

We’ve seen that the RocketBallz fairway woods are ridiculously long but how do the RocketBallz Tour Driver and Rescue compare?

TaylorMade RocketBallz Driver Tour Intro 1
When TaylorMade first announced that the name for their newest line replacing the Burner series was going to be RocketBallz, the social media universe exploded. There were snickers, jokes, humorous pictures posted, threats to TaylorMade to never buy another club again and predictions that this signaled the end of this dominant golf company that we know TaylorMade to be. All this gossiping really did was give TaylorMade a lot of free advertising and created an enormous buzz around the product. Yes the name may have sounded goofy at first but TaylorMade knows what they’re doing. TaylorMade made more money last year than every other golf equipment company in the world combined. To date, TaylorMade’s market share in metal woods is 50% and their fairway woods make up 75%. The RocketBallz fairway wood is one of the most successful launches in golf history and yes there is also a driver and hybrid that is part of the line.

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Mizuno MP-59 Irons Review

One of the most talked about additions to the Mizuno MP lineup, the MP-59 continues Miznuo’s legacy of awesome looking, superior feeling forged irons with the addition of multi-materials. Let’s see if the MP-59 lives up to it’s hype.

Mizuno Mp-59 Irons Hero 2As many golfers know, Mizuno Golf is best know for designing some of the best forged irons in the world. First building their reputation by manufacturing muscle back blades, Mizuno grew to expand their line into forged cavity backs and forged game improvement clubs. All the while leading in quality, feel and sound. Some golfers fear the idea of playing a forged iron, thinking that it is only be for low single digit handicappers or tour level players. Mizuno Golf is looking to take some of the fear out of forged with their new MP-59 irons. The MP-59 is Mizuno’s latest multi material forged cavity back. The MP-59 integrates a classic look with updated technology for a wider range of golfers.

Even Charles Howell III who grew up playing PING irons, and has always used a somewhat larger club head compared to most pros has made the switch to the MP-59 irons. Last year Howell used a moderate sized club with less offset from Mizuno’s JPX series, the JPX-800 Pro. After testing the new MP-59 irons he quickly put them in the bag based on the initial results. On the other side of the iron spectrum, former muscle back blade users Luke Donald and Jonathan Byrd have also switched to the MP-59’s for a little added forgiveness without sacrificing the club’s esthetics. One great iron for all players? Let’s take a closer look.

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2012 U.S. Open at Olympic: Top 18 Facts and Observations from My Week Inside the Ropes

I was able to spend the practice rounds inside the ropes, watching the best players in the world. Here are my most interesting insights.

The 112th U.S. Open returns to The Olympic Club in San Francisco this week. The Olympic Club is America’s oldest athletic and social club, established in 1860. With 5,000 active members competing in 19 sports, it is the home of many national and international champions.

Small, undulating greens, tight fairways, fairways that slope opposite of the hole’s dogleg direction, severe elevation, and lengthened holes make The Olympic Club’s Lake Course a brutal test for the golfers. Add deep rough, wind and possible fog and the players will be challenged from all sides.

2012 U.S. Open Tiger 18

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Bridgestone 2012 Tour B330 Series Ball Review

If you play golf, then Bridgestone’s probably got a ball for you. Read our thoughts on the premium B330 line.

Bridgestone 2012 B330 Ball HeroMany golfers might be surprised to know that, in terms of dollar market share, Bridgestone Golf has grown to become the number two golf ball in the industry. Bridgestone Golf began manufacturing its first golf balls on U.S. soil in 1990 under the Precept brand, and while it’s only been seven years since the Bridgestone Golf U.S. brand was launched, the company has been producing golf balls since 1935 and they are the number one golf ball producer in Japan.

Bridgestone’s goal is to design a golf ball for every level of player. This is not an easy task since there are so many variations of golf swings. Getting fit for the right ball is just as important as finding the right shaft, lie angle, or grip size. Bridgestone is not only innovating golf ball technology but how golfers get fit for their ball. One thing is for certain, they aren’t afraid to compare their results against their numerous competitors.

For the past couple years, Bridgestone has had teams of ball fitting specialists provide free fitting sessions for golfers around the country. During these sessions, golfers see how the ball they currently play stacks up against a Bridgestone ball. I’m sure their competitors have taken notice. It also doesn’t hurt to have some notable staff players, Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker, and Fred Couples, playing well and getting a lot of TV time.

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TaylorMade RocketBallz Fairway Wood Review

TaylorMade’s RocketBallz Fairway woods are the talk of the golf world, not just for unorthodox name but also for boasting distance gains of at least 17 yards. Let’s see if RocketBallz lives up to the hype.

TaylorMade RocketBallz Fairway IconThe 2012 RocketBallz fairway wood line has received a majority of the buzz from the new products that have been released this year. TaylorMade has been advertising that the RocketBallz 3-wood is 17 yards longer than your current 3 wood. 17 yards longer? For a fairway wood? Really? When I attended a TaylorMade media day late last year I had heard the rumors of the line that would be replacing the popular Burner clubs. I thought the name “RocketBallz” was some insider joke and the actual name would be revealed during the presentation.

As we know that was not the case. RocketBallz was the name of the new line and the TaylorMade executives were proud of their new baby. They even took us outside and rolled out a carpet that was 17 yards long. The script on the carpet read, “This is how long you’re going to hit you new fairway wood”. They reported that 17 yards is what their lawyers told them they could legally claim. They hinted at players seeing gains of 20 yards and more. It was a big claim and truthfully I thought they had no chance of living up to it. In golf, a five yard gain is huge and I thought we had reached the limits to what we could do for making a club “hotter.”

But I may have been wrong, and TaylorMade claims to have re-engineered the fairway wood from the ground up to produce the hottest club in golf.

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