Category: Clubs

Adams Golf has become known primarily for their presence on the Champions Tour and for making some of the most forgiving irons and hybrids in the game.

More recently they’ve leveraged their success in hybrids to pioneer integrated hybrid/iron sets as we wrote about here. That they’re the leading hybrid brand on the combined PGA, Champions, and Nationwide Tours is extraordinary given their limited professional endorsements.

Given this background, I was somewhat surprised last fall when at a press gathering I was introduced to and hit their new forged iron, a true player’s cavity back blade. I was impressed. That’s why when the chance came to do a full review of these clubs I jumped at it. Here’s what I found out…

Continue reading “Adams Idea Pro Forged Irons Review”

Scotty Cameron, in the mind of some, has been on a bit of a trip lately. As a long-time advocate of an absolutely anti-Pelzian “inside-square-inside” putting stroke, last year Scotty pushed his belief to the forefront with the odd-looking “Detour” putter. I reviewed the Detour favorably last December, and I still use it in a regular rotation with my Red X mallet.

This year, Scotty has further pushed his belief that a good putting stroke moves in an arc by sticking a mini-Detour sight curve on the back of his rather classic Newport putters. Introduced in January as prototypes for market, the putters were released in late March.

Though I’ve always been more of a mallet guy myself, the Newports with the stuck-on sight curve look enough like mallets that I decided to give them a try. Read on to see whether the Newport Detours replaced my original Detour or took a detour of their own…

Continue reading “Scotty Cameron Newport Detour Putters Review”

Moment of inertia (MOI) represents a club’s resistance to twisting on off-center hits. The higher the MOI, the more distance and accuracy you get when you miss the sweet spot. It’s an attribute that has set off a marketing numbers race among club manufacturers as they begin to push towards the limits set by the USGA.

Tour Edge, based in Batavia, IL, has become something of an interesting maverick among club manufacturers. Founded in 1985 by former club pro David Glod, they have gradually built a solid reputation for delivering innovation and performance in clubs that don’t come with a premium price tag.

So, while they have created a premium-priced line of clubs under the Exotics moniker like the Exotics CB2 3-wood we recently reviewed here, their core line of clubs under the Bazooka designation are solid, playable, affordable sticks. So how does their newest high-MOI driver stack up? Here’s the review…

Continue reading “Tour Edge Bazooka GeoMax Driver Review”

You may have seen the Tour Edge advertisement for their new Exotics CB2 fairway wood that boasts of a guarantee that you will gain an additional 20 yards compared to your old fairway wood. It’s a pretty bold statement and one that is sure to grab golfers’ attention as we all strive to add additional yardage to our game.

I had the opportunity to test the CB2 to see if this small company from Batavia, IL might have the best fairway wood you’ve never heard of.

To be fair, my current fairway wood is a Titleist 904F with a True Temper Dynamic Gold steel shaft, so I was bound to gain some additional distance just by switching to a lighter head and a graphite shaft. Just how much distance was a bit surprising. Did it make me reconsider my steel-shafted ways? Read on to find out.

Continue reading “Tour Edge Exotics CB2 Fairway Wood Review”

A pair of new drivers from Callaway Golf hit golf shops earlier this spring. Though they share the company’s Fusion multimaterial technology, the two 460cc big sticks couldn’t be much more different.

The FT-5 is a refined, evolutionary update to the FT-3 driver from mid-2005. Meanwhile, the FT-i (the i is for inertia) is something completely different, sporting the aggressively odd square shape that has, along with the Nike Sumo2 and Nickent’s 3DX Square, drawn so much attention to square-shaped drivers this year. The differences are more than cosmetic, as each driver will appeal to a certain type of player.

Read on to see which one might be best for you.

Continue reading “Callaway FT-i/FT-5 Driver Review”

Some have called 2007 the year of the square driver. After all, big names in the golf industry – Callaway and Nike – have pushed square drivers on the market with others (Nickent) following. And hey, the logic behind pushing weight to the back corners makes sense. These facts have led some to claim that within five years, all drivers will be squarish in shape.

But not so fast! Feedback from demo days is that the square drivers are shorter than the traditional drivers. And, since they’re engineered hit the ball straighter, the better players who likes to shape their tee balls aren’t taking to the shorter, straighter, squarer drivers at all.

With all the hype, it’s easy to overlook the more traditional drivers from companies like Titleist. This April, Titleist followed up on their 460cc 905R with the fairly traditional 907D2 and the triangular 907D1. Both designed for the better player – and neither at all resembling a box – the 907 line continues Titleist’s “two-driver” strategy.

How do these drivers stack up to the competition? Is a triangle better than a square? Which of the two is better for you? Read on to find out.

Continue reading “Titleist 907D1 and 907D2 Driver Review”

Nike has been in the iron business for a while now and have had the chance to release a few generations of clubs. While Nike doesn’t have the long history of other club manufacturers, they are producing some very good equipment, some of which is used by the best players in the world.

Stewart Cink and K.J. Choi have in their bags Nike’s new CCi Forged irons. Built with minimal offset, a thin topline, a high level of workability, and the classic forged feel, these irons are a good complement to their cast counterpart.

Can their performance match the slick brushed-steel look? I have had a chance to give these clubs a whirl for the past several weeks and I’m ready to send their report card home in the mail.

Continue reading “Nike CCi Forged Irons Review”

One of the first geometry-based drivers on the market, the Cleveland HiBORE has changed the shape of the tee game and set the tone for what has become a new era in driver head shape. Now in its second version, the HiBORE XL and XL TOUR attempt to prove once again that Cleveland is “Taking Distance Driven Geometry to a New Level.”

The HiBORE XL gets a lot of attention. After all, a former #1 ranked golfer and two-time winner in 2007 plays it: Vijay Singh. As most of you know, Vijay ditched the original HiBORE last year in favor of the 460 Comp only to come back and win with the XL this year at the Mercedes Championships and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Whether or not the original HiBORE was to blame for Vijay’s down year in 2006 we may never know, but the driving show Vijay put on Sunday at the Arnold Palmer is proof that the HiBORE XL can earn its keep.

Continue reading “Cleveland HiBORE XL and XL Tour Driver Review”