Author: Tristan Hilton

TRUE Linkswear “Elements Pro” Review

Is TRUE’s last pair of spiked shoes (perhaps ever?) able to overcome some of the shortfalls of the in-between-years?

True Elements ProSince they first made their debut in 2010, I have been a huge fan of TRUE shoes. I owned a couple of pairs of the first version of the TRUE tours, the original Stealths, the updated Tours, a pair of Protos, two pairs of the Phoenix, the Classix, the TRUE Motion, and, my favorite, two pairs of the Sensei.

With the exception of the TRUE Motion on that list, you’ll notice that all of the pairs that I owned were older models. Part of that, of course, is that I had plenty of golf shoes and just didn’t need a new pair. That being said, there hasn’t been anything from TRUE as of late that really made me want to go out and get a new pair. When the opportunity came up to review the TRUE Elements Pro, I jumped at it to see if they were as good as the older TRUEs that I loved or if, like the TRUE Motions did, would disappoint me.

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New Wedges on the Way from Callaway

After collaborating with Hank Haney, Callaway engineers have created a new wedge that make green side shots easy to play.

Bag Drop If you had to pick one thing that Callaway Golf is known for, it would have to be their woods. With a product line like the Big Bertha, that should come as no surprise. However, one underrated aspect of the Callaway lineup, at least in my opinion, are their wedges. I’ve been a fan of their wedges going back to the X-Forged with the original Mack Daddy Grooves, and I am currently on my second set of the Mack Daddy 2 wedges. When you have somebody like Roger Cleveland at the helm of your wedge department, good things come.

For their newest wedges, however, Callaway has mixed things up. With the new Sure Out wedge, Callaway collaborated with renowned golf instructor and former Tiger Woods swing coach, Hank Haney. The goal of the Sure Out wedge, as you may figure out by the name, is helping players get out of the sand and other less than ideal situations on the course. Read on for the full info on the new clubs.

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Callaway Announces New GBB Epic Drivers and Fairway Woods

Callaway’s newest release promises to bring groundbreaking technology that will have you hitting the ball further than ever before.

Bag Drop A few years back, Callaway made waves in the golf equipment industry when they relaunched one of the more famed lines in their history, the Big Bertha. Since that time, the line has seen yearly updates with new technology coming along the way. The Big Bertha 816 and Big Bertha 816 Double Black Diamond were particularly well received. That being said, since the original relaunch, I would say it fair to call the updates evolutionary, meaning that while they did improve over their predecessors there was nothing that you would necessarily call groundbreaking. With this release, however, Callaway is touting the new Epic line as a huge release with major new technology. Continue reading to see what makes the new clubs so revolutionary and stay tuned to the Sand Trap for our in-depth reviews of the Epic and Epic Sub Zero drivers to see if they really live up to their name.

When I said earlier that the prior updates to the Big Bertha were simply evolutionary, that was not meant as a knock against Callaway. At this point, with the restrictions from golf’s governing bodies on technology, there is only so much you can do and still produce a conforming club. With the new Epic drivers, there are four key technologies at play; some which we have seen before and others which are brand new. Both the Epic and Epic Sub Zero will have the ability to tweak the clubs weight; on the standard Epic this is done through the use of a sliding weight, while the Sub Zero version uses interchangeable weights. Both clubs also feature the new Jailbreak technology along with Speed Step and Triaxial Carbon and Titanium Exo-Cage technology.

Callaway GBB EPIC Driver

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PING G Irons Review

Can switching to a game improvement club really make that big of a difference? Read on to find out.

PING G Irons - HeroLet me start off by saying I have never been a great golfer. Heck, I don’t know if you could say I have even really been a good golfer. At my best I had a 9 handicap index and that was at a time that I was practicing a lot and playing two to three times a week. When you get the opportunity to play that much, it isn’t too difficult to consistently shoot rounds in the low 80s with the occasional 78 or 79. Throughout this time, I probably had a higher opinion of my game and my ability level than was true and I found myself playing clubs that weren’t really the best for me. I played a number of different player’s type clubs and because I was playing a lot, I kind of got away with it.

Recent life events have changed things. A change in job has made it impossible to play the amount I had previously. Add in the fact that my wife and I welcomed our first child into the world, and the free time has dropped significantly. There is nothing more frustrating in golf than getting to the point where you feel you are starting to put things together only to see it all go away. Due to this, I decided that I needed to face reality so to speak and not play clubs meant for players better than me. I know that I am not going to be playing as often as I like, so I need to make sure that the clubs in my bag are helping me and not hurting me.

Having the opportunity to review the new PING G irons has given me the chance to see how big of a difference Game Improvement irons could help my game. Read on to find out if the irons have lived up to their promise.

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Titleist SM6 Wedges Coming in March

A favorite among many, Titleist has updated the Vokey wedge lineup with the new SM6.

Bag Drop Over the last handful of years, one of the biggest trends in the golf industry has been the creation of equipment fit to the needs of the golfer using this. Obviously, where this is most evident is with drivers, where through the use of technologies like moveable weights and adjustable shafts, the golfer can fine tune the club to their swing. Wedges are now starting to follow suit. While there are any wedges with an adjustable shaft or a movable weight (yet) more and more companies are offering a greater variety. Instead of just four or five loft options mixed in with a couple of bounce options, companies are going to more lofts with a greater variety of bounces and grinds.

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Ben Hogan Golf Expands Line-up

After relaunching the brand last year with a unique set of irons and wedges, Ben Hogan Golf is expanding the lineup with a new set of irons and their first hybrids.

Bag DropLast year we saw the relaunch of one of the most storied golf companies, Ben Hogan Golf. The company took a unique approach; instead of offering traditional iron sets 3-PW or 4-GW they decided to offer the clubs every single loft from 20° to 63°. The initial offering from the company was comprised of a single set of irons, the Fort Worth, and the TK Wedges. The clubs, and especially the irons, were designed with a better player in mind, and now the company is expanding its offerings to include irons that are a bit more forgiving as well as the introduction of hybrids to the lineup.

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TaylorMade Completes the Family With the New M2

On February 19th, the TaylorMade M family will be complete with the M2 driver, woods, and irons.

Bag DropIf you watched any of the AT&T Pro Am at Pebble Beach this year, you’d have noticed that all of the TaylorMade Staffers were wearing the same hat with “FAM1LY” across the front and M2.19 on the side. That is because on February 19th (Friday), TaylorMade will be completing the M Family of Clubs with the M2 series. Unlike how the R11 replaced the R9 or the Titleist 915 series replaced the 913 series, the M2 is an addition to the current line up rather than being a replacement. The M2 series of clubs is composed of a new driver, fairway woods, and irons.

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TRUE Linkswear Announces TRUE Elements

After a few quiet months, TRUE has announced its newest shoe.

Bag DropAfter a couple of quiet months that led some on the Sand Trap to speculate that the company might have gone under, TRUE Linkswear has announced their newest shoe. A favorite among many for their ultra comfortable shoes, TRUE shook up the lineup last year with the introduction of their first spiked golf shoe. Regardless of spikes or no spikes, the focus for TRUE has always been to create golf shoes that help golfers enjoy walking. With features such as a zero heel drop to being waterproof to being super lightweight, TRUE continually produces some of the best shoes (not just golf shoes) available. Now, seven years after the company started, they are continuing in their mission of helping golfers enjoy the walk with their new TRUE elements hybrid golf shoe.

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PING Introduces G Series

New for 2016, PING introduces the new G-Series family of clubs including three new drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, and even a crossover.

Bag DropAnybody that follows the golf equipment world at all knows that PING has essentially two major product lines, the i series and the G series, and 2016 is a G year. Like the company did with the i series last year, the number has been dropped from the name, so what would have been the G35 is just the G. Like previous iterations of the G series, the one for 2016 is an entire family of products including three new drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, crossovers (utility club), and irons. Read on to get all the details.

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