TaylorMade RAC LT Irons Review

The RAC LT irons: the perfect blend of feel and forgiveness? From TaylorMade? Our reviewer thinks so.

Taylormade RAC LT IronTaylorMade’s recent “every iron is a long iron” advertising campaign has done well for the Carlsbad fraternity. Marching to the same beat as their “own the teebox” campaign, the “long iron” campaign has drawn a good amount of attention to TaylorMade’s irons. Look inside the bags of players at your local course and you’re unlikely to find too many playing TaylorMade irons – you’ll see plenty of Titleist, Ping, and Callaway. You may even see more MacGregor (if you count the hand-me-downs), Wilson, and Nike. Despite the fact that TaylorMade ranks highly in sales numbers, their irons just don’t seem to hang around in the bags of better players very long.

Then again, TaylorMade hasn’t had a compelling line of irons for quite awhile, and a good bit of their iron sales were trickle-down from outstanding driver sales… Until now. One step down from TaylorMade’s forged RAC TP line, the RAC LT promises to merge the playability of a cavity back with the workability and sexy looks of a forged blade for the above-average player.

To help write this review I asked Ed Koster, a 12-handicap golfer, to give the irons a thorough workout. His thoughts follow.

Callaway Big Bertha 454 Review

The Callaway Big Bertha 454 may not be Callaway’s top of the line driver now that the FT-3 is out, but it’s a solid everyman’s driver that’ll keep you in the fairway.

Callaway 454I’m a Titleist guy. I admit it. I’ve gone to counseling and it’s not helped. I’ve undergone shock treatments, withstood bribes, and watched Tiger Woods win major after major with “inferior equipment” following his move away from Titleist to Nike. I even saw Phil Mickelson shoot 59 after switching from Titleist. Still, I’m a Titleist guy.

But at the core, I’m a golfer, and one who plays fairly well. The line that separates “good enough” equipment from “perfect” equipment is a blurry one. I’m always looking for a bit of an advantage, and the Callaway Big Bertha 454 has gotten some rave reviews. Though Phil and Annika are playing the next Callaway driver (the recently introduced FT-3), the 454 promises to be an everyman’s driver – good technology that doesn’t require the ability to shoot 59 to handle it.

Aserta Monster Putter Review

The Aserta Monster putter by Parente is dead-on from short range, but is it good enough from long-range to get the job done?

asertasports_logo.gifI have putted with a mallet-style putter my entire (golfing) life. I started out with a Teardrop putter before finally getting an Odyssey White Hot last year. I feel more comfortable with a larger putter (no comments, please!). So when I saw the new Aserta Monster putter, I definitely wanted to give it a shot to see if I could become more consistent on the greens. I quickly realized that “consistency” and the Monster putter go hand-in-hand. I was able to one-putt nearly everything inside of ten feet and even had success on my longer putts as well.

Nickent 3DX Driver Review

Nickent Golf isn’t yet a household name in the golf equipment neighborhood. That might change with products like the new 3DX Driver.

Nickent GolfIt doesn’t take a big name to make a big driver that is big on performance. Case in point: Nickent Golf’s new 3DX Driver. As far as the USGA and R&A are concerned, this is the largest conforming driver you’ll ever play. Is the performance in proportion to the size?

Titleist 904F Review

Titleist’s 904F harkens back to the days of the beloved PT with a touch of new technology to deliver arguably the best fairway wood in the game.

Titleist 904 StudioMany touring professionals and better amateurs have long carried a Titleist fairway wood. The Titleist PT (Pro Trajectory) 970 was highly regarded as one of the best fairway woods ever made. In fact, until Tiger Woods recently put the Nike T-60 fairway wood in his bag, he “had been using a modified version of the steel-shafted, small-headed Titleist PT 970 3-wood for several years.”

Titleist attempted to follow up on the success of the PT with the 980F. The 980F held true to Titleist’s heralded design theme – pear-shaped woods that inspire silent confidence at address. Unfortunately, the 980F failed when it came to more than looks and many pros kept the PT in their bag. The 980 – a solid club in its own right – simply could not overcome its predecessor.

Now we have Titleist’s next offering, the 904F fairway woods. The 904F builds on the same traditional look while offering updated technology and a more refined function. This has resulted in superb handling and playability.

If you’re not a fan of long reviews, I’ll let you stop reading now: the Titleist 904F is the best fairway wood Titleist has ever made and is perhaps the best available from any manufacturer. If you haven’t tried a 904F, you’re doing your game – and your scorecard – a disservice.

MacGregor V-Foil M675 Iron Review

MacGregor has been out of the game for awhile, but with their new MacTec driver and these V-Foil irons, they may have climbed back into the ring.

V-FoilI’ve always thought the strength of my golf game is my putting. But a friend of mine who also was a golf instructor for years tells me that my iron play is definitely my strength. Perhaps that is because my first set of clubs were hand-me-down Browning blades from my dad. I love the the feel and look of great irons, which is why I’ve been using Hogan irons for the last couple of years. I didn’t lose a step when I put the M675 irons by MacGregor in my bag.

Yes! Sophia Putter Review

Yes! puts the traditional blade style putter back in play with the Sophia. And it’s got the vintage appeal and modern technology I’ve been looking for.

Yes! GolfI’ve always had a soft spot for the traditional blade style putter used by Ben Crenshaw and Phil Mickelson, playing such models as the Wilson 8802 and “the” Original Putter by Arnold Palmer. To me, there isn’t a more timeless club. It oozes tradition. Old video footage shows Jones, Palmer, Hagan and Snead using them, yet they’re almost as forgotten as persimmon due to the current trend of mallet putters. Much to my dismay, I haven’t found many blades around anymore, so when I saw that Yes! developed the Sophia, I had to try it.

Death of the 1-Iron

Golfers choosing fairway woods and hybrid clubs are overlooking the 1-iron, making it obsolete on store shelves and golfer’s bags.

1-IronThe 1-iron, also known as the driving iron, is becoming extinct. Golfers opting for the latest hybrids and fairway metals are leaving their 1-irons at home, not trusting the club’s ability to get the ball in the air. Are there any golfers who still use this club?

Joey Sindelar, PGA tour pro, finally did the unthinkable. He removed his 1-iron, a Tommy Armour 845, from his bag at the MCI Heritage after 15 years of service. “I’m a very stodgy, slow-to-move, dumber-than-a-rock kind of guy. I’m very slow to change clubs,” Sindelar said. “But this had to happen.”

TaylorMade to Release New Equipment… Again

r7 TP fairway wood and R5 Dual TP driver to be released. What’s next? The r7 TP quad sided chipper?

r7 TP Fairway WoodTaylorMade has announced they will be releasing r7 TP fairway woods to compliment their r7 line of drivers as well as the r5 Dual TP driver. TaylorMade is currently the number one brand of driver and fairway wood on the PGA Tour.

Instead of pushing a single club, it seems TaylorMade has found a new approach to winning the wood market by overwhelming its competitors and customers with one club after another. While TaylorMade makes fantastic equipment of which I play with and dream about playing with, when is enough enough? Within the last couple of months, they have released five clubs with the moveable or fixed weight system; the r7 driver, r7 TP driver, r7 ht driver, r5 dual driver, and the r5 dual fairway wood. Now they suprise us with the r7 TP fairway woods and the r5 dual TP.