Author: Jack Waddell

Too Little Too Late? The USGA Revisits Square Grooves

Ever since the Ping debacle in the 1980s, the USGA has kept a wary eye out for lawyers as they’ve tiptoed around equipment rules changes. Here they go again.

Bag DropWith the USGA’s recent announcement that they’ve glommed onto yet another corporate sponsor (I wonder how many Open tickets American Express and Lexus bigwigs are getting?) ostensibly to help with legal bills, it would appear golf’s ruling body in the U.S. is feeling frisky.

Last August they issued a 104-page report to club manufacturers indicating that currently permissible grooves allow the game’s best players to impart more spin on the ball from light rough than should be acceptable. While they promised no immediate action, it seems obvious they seriously want to consider an equipment rules change.

My question, and the question of many others, is whether a rules change on grooves is necessary or even advisable. Are they making rules for the top 0.5% of players in the world, or for they rest of us?

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Titleist Launches New Pro V1 and Pro V1x Golf Balls

Here comes the next generation of top line golf balls from the industry leader.

Bag DropEver since well before I took up the game 47 years ago, Titleist has been the most popular ball among the best players and, for most years, the best seller. That’s a remarkable run when you consider all the changes in design and manufacturing over those many years.

It’s also amazing when you consider the many competitors who have come and gone as well as the many who still scrape for a sliver of market share. According to Golf Datatech, a market research company, last year the Pro V1 and Pro V1x had an on-course market share greater than Bridgestone, Callaway, Nike, TaylorMade, Top-Flite, and Maxfli combined.

That kind of market dominance is no accident. Titleist rules because they continue to refine and innovate and produce a superior product. So, based on their overwhelming market share, here’s the story on the balls most of us will be playing this season…

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Adams Golf Launches Insight Drivers and Fairway Woods

Contrary to some opinions, MOI doesn’t stand for “Mighty Odd Implement.” It means “Moment of Inertia” and Adams has joined the race to deliver more of it.

Bag DropAs we wrote in last week’s Bag Drop, MOI appears to be this year’s marketing battleground for drivers with most manufacturers opting to offer two different models.

While some companies have come up with some very odd shapes to increase MOI and thus forgiveness and resistance to twisting on off-center hits, others, like Adams Golf, are introducing high-MOI drivers that actually look like a golf club.

Adams new Insight lineup of drivers and fairway woods keeps to the current trend of multiple model introductions. In fact, there are three versions within the line… BUL (Big, Ugly, and Long), BTY (Beauty), and Belle (for women). Despite the BUL moniker, it doesn’t look anywhere near as odd as some others. Here’s the story…

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TaylorMade SuperQuad and Burner Drivers, Fairways Unveiled

With the 460cc limit on head volume now routine in drivers, the next frontier is MOI or “moment of inertia.” It would seem TaylorMade now leads the race.

Bag DropOver the past few weeks we’ve covered the latest driver introductions by Callaway and Nike, Tour Edge, and Cleveland. Except for Tour Edge, every company brought out two different models at the same time… one more conventional and workable, the other more radical and forgiving.

This week and next we’ll be taking a look at the latest driver and fairway wood offerings from TaylorMade. TaylorMade has also followed the “two model” format.

What’s so interesting about the TaylorMade unveiling of its SuperQuad and Burner drivers at last week’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando is that their stated MOI number for both is very near the USGA limit. And they’re not shaped like a science fair project. Here’s the story…

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Callaway Shipping X-20 and X-20 Tour Irons

The fifth generation of Callaway X-Series irons is now showing up in stores and pro shops and bringing with it a new name and new look for the player’s version.

Bag DropEver since their introduction of the Big Bertha irons in 1994, Callaway has expanded their line with models aimed at the more accomplished player. This trend seemed to culminate in last year’s X-Tour forged irons and this year’s X-Forged models.

The X-Series began in 1997 with the Big Bertha X-12 regular and pro versions and was the company’s first attempt at reaching out to the player who needed less forgiveness than the Big Bertha irons. The next generation X-14 irons became the best selling irons in Callaway’s history.

With the new X-20 line, the “Pro” version becomes the “Tour” version. And with that change comes an entirely different club. Here’s the story…

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Google Earth as a Golf Tool

In the northern reaches of the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the off-season and thus a perfect time to do some time-killing on a computer that might help your game.

I’m not the fastest to catch on to new technologies, but I do my best. That’s why this may not be news to some of you.

But the other day while doing some research for a course review, I stumbled onto some golf-specific uses for Google Earth that I thought were very, very cool. Unfortunately, the course you’re looking for has to be in an area they display in high resolution.

But if it is, from creating your own yardage book to understanding why your approach to that uphill par 3 always seems to come up short, this free net-based program can help you scope courses you play all the time and some you wish you could.

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Adams Golf Launches DiXX Digital Instruction Putter

For those of us who find putting a mysterious, elusive art, here’s a gizmo that can separate fact from feel to tell you exactly why you’re missing all those putts.

Bag DropFor something so seemingly simple as rolling a ball with a flat-faced stick, it’s a sad fact that sooner or later putting bedevils every player. Were you aimed wrong? Did you pull it? Push it? Was it your tempo? Your transition? Do you even have a clue?

Well now, if you have very, very deep pockets, Adams Golf comes to the rescue with answers to all the above. They’ve reached agreement with a South Korean inventor to become North American distributors for the DiXX Digital Instruction putter.

The device, which Adams will unveil at this week’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, looks to me to be pretty amazing. Here’s the story…

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The Architects Golf Club (Lopatcong, NJ) Review

On New Jersey’s western border, just across the Delaware from Easton, PA, lies a golf course that proves a great test doesn’t have to bring you to your knees.

Architects LogoLucky to play so many wonderful courses over the years, I’ve devised my own simple Goldilocks rating scheme. Some are too hard. Some are too soft. Some are just right.

Too hard? Bethpage Black, Winged Foot, Kiawah Ocean. Too soft? The Old Course at 70°F in dead calm from the forward tees with a great caddie and your “A” game working. Just right? Harbour Town, Troon North, and Somerset Hills come to mind.

The latest in my life long list of “just right” is my home club, The Architects Golf Club in Lopatcong, NJ. Here’s as unbiased a review as I can muster given that I love it so…

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Scotty Cameron Unveils Latest Prototype Putters

The Cameron Detour putters created quite a stir with their revolutionary arced sightline. Now Scotty is applying the concept to traditionally shaped heads.

Bag DropWhether you’re a fan of Scotty Cameron or not, you have to acknowledge that his putters are something special. Not only has he succeeded in refining and improving classic designs, he’s been a true innovator with putters like his Futura and Futura Phantom models.

Last year’s introduction of the Detour putters took his innovations a step further. A subtly curved sightline mimics the path the putter head takes on an arced inside-square-inside stroke… the technique espoused by Cameron and Stan Utley, among others.

While the Detour won a lot of converts, it was a radical-looking head shape. Now it appears Cameron is marrying the curved sight line to a more traditional head. Here’s a first peek…

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