Author: Tristan Hilton

Nike Releases the VR_S Driver and Woods

Nike claims that there are “None Faster” and holds Speed Trials to prove it.

Bag DropEarlier this week, inthehole started a thread on the forum basically asking what most golfers would rather have, distance or accuracy. While I think many of us say accuracy we know that there is just nothing better than smoking a ball off of the tee and so that is where much of the focus is for club manufacturers.

Recently, many companies have come out with drivers that are lighter with the thought that since they can be swung faster, the ball will be hit further. Nike is no exception and has rolled out the Nike VR_S line of clubs.

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New ATV Wedge and Ghost Manta Putter from TaylorMade

New products from TaylorMade hope to have you sinking more putts and putting it close from any lie.

Bag DropIt seems that every few months TaylorMade has some new piece of equipment coming out. Usually it is some new driver or iron set but this time it’s a new putter and some new wedges.

The new putter, the Ghost Manta, continues TaylorMade’s use of white putter heads and promises to make alignment simple. For the wedges, the company has dropped the xFT (exchangeable face technology), and has introduced the ATV (or All Terrain Versatility) wedge which can be hit from nearly any lie.

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Callaway Introduces HEX Black Tour Ball, Odyssey Metal-X Putters

Callaway rolls out its new five piece ball while Odyssey introduces the Metal-X putter with a two layer face insert.

Bag DropCallaway Golf has always been on the leading edge of golf. The new HEX Black Tour ball continues Callaway’s use of the HEX dimple pattern but adds a host of new features, which the company says separates it from every other ball available, while Odyssey (Callaway’s putter division) introduces yet another face insert for their new line putters.

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Can Keeping Stats Help Your Game?

Is keeping stats just a waste of time or can it actually benefit your game?

The Numbers GameGolf is a game where progress and ability can be measured in many different ways. There is, of course, the raw score; whether one is a scratch golfer or shoots in the 100s, for many of us, this is the only number that matters to us.

However, many golfers take that to another level. For some that means posting their scores and keeping a handicap whereby they can “level the playing field” and compete with others of differing abilities. Others keep different stats to track their abilities and improvement in different areas.

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PING and P2G2 Offer New Putters

P2G2 introduces their line of custom fit putters while PING rolls out the first USGA approved adjustable belly putter.

Bag DropOver the last couple of years in golf we have seen a couple of big trends pop up. One of them has been the introduction of adjustable clubs. Companies such as TaylorMade, Titleist and more recently Callaway have produced drivers, fairway woods, and the occasional hybrid that can be adjusted easily by the user. The other hot trend that we have seen is more and more players, both professional and amateur, making the switch to belly putters. With the introduction of the Nome 405 putter, PING has combined these two trends to bring about the first USGA approved adjustable belly putter.

The guys over at P2G2 also have released new putters with the same aim of fitting players better. While it is not adjustable like the Nome, it promises to correct deficiencies found in nearly every putter model on the market.

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Callaway Introduces RAZR Fit Driver

Callaway jumps into the adjustable club market with the introduction of the new RAZR Fit driver and fairway woods.

Bag DropIn many ways Callaway has always been a pioneer in the golf industry with regards to new technology. They’ve come up with such “out of the box ideas” as the HEX dimple pattern which is suppose to be more aerodynamic and were among the first to offer the ability to easily change shafts in a driver with the i-Mix line of clubs. Back in 2009, we saw TaylorMade introduce the original R9 driver and the adjustability of that club (mainly the ability to alter the face angle) really took off. Since that time other manufacturers have jumped into this new market but until now Callaway had stayed back. That all changed with the introduction of the RAZR Fit driver.

One of Callaway’s slogans with the new driver is “Change your driver, not your swing,” and the RAZR Fit gives you a couple of ways to do this. The first way is with the OptiFit Hosel, which allows the face angle to be altered. The second way is with the OptiFit Weights that can be swapped out to promote the desired ball flight of the player.

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Titleist Updates DT SoLo, NXT Tour, Introduces Velocity, NXT Tour S

The #1 Ball in Golf gets a new family member and a couple of updates to its “everyman’s balls” models.

Bag DropTitleist has updated two of its most popular balls (the NXT Tour and the DT SoLo) as well as adding a new ball to the line-up (the Velocity).

Titleist has been a household name for golfers for a long time and a big reason for that is the quality of balls that they produce (hence the slogan “the number one ball in golf.”) Their top-of-the-line offering is the Pro V1 and Pro V1x and to many those are the gold standard in the golf ball industry. However, not all golfers have $40+/dozen to spend on balls and if we are honest with ourselves, most of us don’t have the game for the Pro V1 or Pro V1x anyway. For us, Titleist has other offerings that may be just what your game needs.

For 2012, Titleist has made some changes to the NXT line of balls with an updated version of the NXT Tour and the introduction of the NXT Tour S. In addition to that the DT Solo has also been updated and another new ball has made its way onto the scene in the form of the Titleist Velocity.

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Belly Putters: The Long and Short of It

Do long/belly putters really give players an advantage?

The Numbers Game2011 was quite an interesting year for golf; sure we didn’t see Tiger return to form (signs are pointing to that occurring this year), but there were a number of things happening that kept golf fans entertained. We were treated to three different number ones in the world in Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood, and Luke Donald and saw four first-time major winners (Schwartzel, McIlroy, Clarke, and Bradley), which is something that we haven’t seen since 2003.

One of the biggest trends that picked up in 2011 was many players moving towards long or belly putters. It had always seemed like the long putter was for old guys or those that got the yips but the idea has become more popular as of late. Recently we have seen Adam Scott put the broomstick in the bag and the move gained even more steam with Keegan Bradley being the first to win a major with a long putter as he captured the PGA Championship in August. Three straight wins and the steady play of other long putter users such as Webb Simpson (who contended for the money title) only added to the intrigue.

Regardless of your feelings on whether or not long putters should be legal, they are here for now and more and more players, both amateurs and professionals, are putting them in their bags. The question is this: are long putters just a fad and something to be forgotten in a few years or are they the real deal? Do they actually help the players using them sink more putts or is just between the ears? We’ll look at some stats from the PGA tour to see if 1) players using the long putter putt better than those with standard length putters and 2) if players who have made the switch improved upon their own putting regardless of where they ranked before.

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