Category: Clubs

Callaway golf has fallen on some hard times lately. With the announcement of its intention to cut 12% of its workforce, it is obvious that things are not really going according to plan. I have to say some of Callaway’s offerings in the past few years have left a little something to be desired in my opinion. The Callaway FT-iQ looked more like a spaceship than a golf club, the FT- i wasn’t much better and the FT-9 looked like it was made from used parts the developers found lying around.

I long for the days of the Big Bertha. I remember when I first started playing golf, Callaway’s Big Bertha line of drivers and fairway woods were by far the industry leaders. No other manufacturer was close in those days, Callaway reigned supreme. But a lot has changed since then, Callaway got a little weird, someone at TaylorMade thought painting a driver head white would be cool; and the rest they say…is history.

Continue reading “Callaway RAZR Fit Fairway Wood Review”

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. 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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Building on the extremely popular i15 line of hybrids PING introduces the innovative i20 hybrid line. I was very lucky to get the opportunity to test the i20 hybrid and there are definitely some key changes that PING has made that improve both the performance and look of these new hybrids. PING has a very loyal following amongst serious golfers because of the custom fitting options they offer, as well as the consistent performance their clubs produce. Through the years I have used numerous PING club offerings and after using this hybrid I am left feeling they continue to churn out very reliable and high performing clubs.

Along with the i20 PING also released G20 hybrids targeted to higher handicap players looking for more forgiveness and they also released an Anser line of hybrids. PING states that these multiple hybrid models are for golfers of all abilities with loft options that give you the opportunity to add the combination of hybrids that helps you to play your best.

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If one pays enough attention to the golf world, and more specifically the equipment industry of the golf world, it is easy to see that there are numerous trends. For example, one such trend is an increase in the use of belly and long putters. Keegan Bradley was the first player to ever win a major using one and now three of the last five had one in the bag for their major victory (Bradley, Simpson, Els). Another trend is the increased focus on speed that companies now have. We have seen companies creating lighter drivers for a good while now and the idea behind it is that the faster the club can be swung the further the ball will go.

Until now, this concept has not really been applied to irons. This is exactly what Nike has done with the new VR_S Forged irons.

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Since Nike burst onto the golf equipment scene roughly a decade ago, they have been one of the more forward-thinking, technologically advanced companies around. They were among the first manufacturers to introduce square drivers with their SasQuatch line and jumped into the adjustability game early on with the original version of the Str8-Fit hosel.

Lately, all of the rage has been making the drivers as light as possible. The idea is is that the lighter they are the faster they can be swung and therefore the further the ball will go. The VR_S is Nike’s newest entry into this category of driver. The claim by Nike is that there are “none faster” and the company even held “speed trials” at golf shops around the country letting golfers around the country compare their current driver to the VR_S. Read on to find out if Nike has winner.

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When TaylorMade introduced the R11 irons, they claimed they were the only irons worthy of the R11 name. Of course the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of R11 is the very successful white matte drivers that have blanketed golf courses lately. It is very hard these days to play in a foursome that does not have a golfer with the R11, R11s, or RocketBallz driver in their bag.

TaylorMade has been translating the technology originally targeted for woods into irons for some time now. In this seasons offering there are already both Rocketballz woods and irons, and the very popular Burner series has also had both woods and irons. R11 looks to be taking off where the R9 irons were previously placed.

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The 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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Adams Golf doesn’t really have much of identity right now. They’ve stopped airing the “number one hybrid on the Champions Tour” commercials (or maybe I’ve stopped watching Golf Channel at 2 AM?), and they don’t really have a repetitive nomenclature. They’re not revered for their huge revenues like Nike or TaylorMade, and they don’t have the rich history of Titleist or Mizuno.

I could complain about the naming of Adams’ clubs from now until Tiger Woods passes Jack’s record, but to dwell on that would be doing to complete disservice to the irons that Adams has been putting out recently. Clubs like the Idea Pro Black MB, the Idea Black CB2, and the Idea MB2 have been laying the groundwork for Adams’ venture into the crossover realm of player’s clubs and GI clubs. They’ve entered the world in between, where clubs can be forged from 8620 carbon steel yet still have the offset needed to get the ball into the air.

The name of the game in the category that these clubs reside is simple: you can hit these clubs. Your swing looks worse than that of President Obama? You can hit these. (And if the President is reading this, a lefty set is available.) Hovering around a 10 handicap? You can hit these. Nearing scratch golf? You can hit these golf clubs. Read on to let me convince you.

Continue reading “Adams Idea Black CB3 Irons Review”

Short of only the TaylorMade Rocketballz, this year’s Adams Fast 12 fairway woods are some of the most hyped in the business. They have feature after feature designed specifically to give golfers the most distance, not only on-center strikes but on off-center hits as well. It remains to be seen if their sale to TaylorMade-Adidas helps or hurts the company, but in recent years Adams has been putting out some of the best woods in golf, and this year seems to be no different.

With features such as second-generation Velocity Slot Technology (which includes a slot within a slot), Speed Coat design of the shaft, and Speedline aerodynamic design, Adams is not short on innovation. Adams is calling the Fast 12 fairways woods their “longest and most forgiving” yet, and are even claiming that Kenny Perry gained 35 yards. They say that the improved slot enhances launch conditions for more carry and greater distance.

This is a lot of hype for a company that has made it’s marketing staple over the last decade “number one hybrid of the Champions Tour.” Read on to see if they can back it up.

Continue reading “Adams Speedline Fast 12 Fairway Wood Review”