Category: Clubs

Mizuno Golf is a company long known for creating some of the games’ best irons. In particular, the MP series has an almost cult following for their sexy looks and buttery feel. In the past, the MP irons were reserved for only the games absolute best players, or at least they should have been, considering their small size and punishing nature. For those needing a bit more help than the MP series could offer, Mizuno offered the MX and, more recently, the JPX series of irons. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with those lines, they did lose some of the appeal of the sleeker MP irons. Recently, however, the line between MP and JPX has been blurred as the company has created more player friendly MP irons. A few years back now, the company debuted the MP-H4 irons, whose aim was to deliver the look and feel of an MP iron with unmatched forgiveness. I was lucky enough to be the one to review those irons, and I must say that I really liked them, and even made a hole-in-one with them. However, the increased forgiveness came with an increase in size that resulted in a look that wasn’t quite right. The company now has the successor to the MP-H4 in the MP-H5. The new set looks trimmed down from the previous version but still promises to deliver all of the forgiveness.

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Wilson has been around the golf industry for more than 50 years. During my introduction to the game all most guys would talk about were Wilson clubs. During the late nineties and early 2000’s the brand lost its way a little. Very nearly fell off the map completely. In the last few years Wilson has made a comfortable home for itself just below the brands spending much more than itself on marketing but just above the bargain clubs. Now they are making a play to move up again into the higher end segment and spending more on marketing and club design.

So when I tell people that I am using a Wilson driver the first look is sort of precious. “Why?” is the typical question. I wanted to try the new Wilson D200 driver, to see how Wilson as a club making company was progressing. How would this driver stack up against many of the other drivers that flood the market today. I am particularly intrigued by this driver because it is priced just below the other high end driver on the market and I am always on the lookout for a good deal. I started this review hoping to answer the question can a club company with a great clubmaking history make a driver perform at a similar level to the other entrants to the market. Let’s see if I could answer that question.

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Over the last few years, PING drivers have been gaining more and more popularity. Part of that may be due to the fact that one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, Bubba Watson, is a member of their staff. Like many companies, PING has a couple of different driver lines, each aimed at a different group of golfers. While there have been options such as the Anser driver or the short lived K series, most of PING’s products are either part of the “i” series or “G” series. The “i” series has typically been viewed as the line for the better player, while the “G” series is more for the weekend warrior. While some of that still holds true, the lines are becoming more and more blurred and it isn’t uncommon to see the better player, including the likes of Bubba Watson, with the “G” series driver in the bag.

With the G30 driver, PING has their most radical product offering to date. Known more as a traditional company, it isn’t often that their clubs have technology not seen on other clubs. The company was among the last to go to adjustable hosels as standard for their drivers, and even at this point there are other hosels that are much more advanced and allow for more settings. Also, you aren’t going to find any movable or sliding weights on this club that will let you fine tune the club’s center of gravity. What you will find, and what’s not on any other driver currently available, are “Turbulators.”

Read on to find out exactly what Turbulators are, how they work, and whether they lead to a driver that’s worth putting into your bag.

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When you talk with most golfers and you ask them who has the best irons, Mizuno will come up at some point in the conversation. Mizuno has consistently delivered great irons for decades. The MP line of irons from Mizuno is traditionally dedicated to “player” irons. My regular set of irons before doing this review is the MP-4 which was reviewed here. There are days when the MP-4s tend to be on the demanding side for a golfer of my caliber. So when the opportunity came to review the MP-15 I was extremely excited to give them a whirl.

The MP-15 are designed for the golfer like me. A golfer who is looking for just a little bit more forgiveness than the MP-4 but remaining loyal to the forged iron and the feel that they provide. The recommended handicap range for golfers using the MP-14 is zero to eight which I fit in nicely. In addition to the classic look that Mizuno typically provides the designers threw in some very cool bells and whistles to help your ballstriking. With that lets get into the review.

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At the beginning of 2014, Callaway made a rather large splash in the driver world with the reintroduction of the Big Bertha driver. The return of perhaps the most iconic name in the company’s history was met with great success. The Big Bertha Alpha was a first of its kind driver that allowed golfers to change the vertical center of gravity of the club. The standard version of the club was also popular and allowed golfers a wide array of features that could be fine tuned to fit their games best. I was lucky enough to be the staff member that reviewed the Big Bertha driver, and it was one that found a home in my bag for a long period of time. However, it eventually did lose it’s spot to a different Callaway driver, the FT Optiforce 440, which I had reviewed just a little while before the Big Bertha.

Enter the Big Bertha V Series. While some might figure because of the name that it is meant to replace the 2014 Big Bertha; that actually isn’t the case. It is really the replacement to the FT Optiforce which I loved so much. The first thing that I noticed about the V Series driver is that many of the bells and whistles of the Big Bertha were missing. For example, there are no sliding weights or Gravity Cores. In fact, the only adjustment that can be made is at the hosel, as the club features the Optifit  hosel which has become standard on Callaway clubs. However, don’t let the lack of features fool you, this is still a club that packs a punch. Read on to get the full review.

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What do you want a fairway wood to do? Do you only play it from the short grass when you need to reach the green from a long way out? Is it your go-club off the tee when your driver becomes untrustworthy?

I have long had a love-hate relationship with fairway woods. Some handle hitting off the tightest of lies with no problem, but provide such a shallow face that hitting off the tee causes undue angst. Others look like mini drivers and handle tee shots like champs, but getting the ball airborne off the fairway is a much less likely proposition.

So when the first spy shots of the 915F came out and I started reading about its features, I was immediately interested in finding out if the F could retain its playability off the turf in its new larger footprint. Maybe, the 915 could fit the bill for the elusive all around fairway wood.

For this review, I had a 15° 915F with the stock Mitsubishi Diamana M+ Red 60 shaft.

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In early 2014, Callaway released the Big Bertha Alpha driver. With it, they introduced the ability to adjust a driver’s center of gravity up or down through their patented Gravity Core. While this was an innovation in driver adjustability, the club itself didn’t really find its way into the hands of the masses.

The second generation of the Big Bertha Alpha is here, with the introduction of the Big Bertha Alpha 815. Callaway claims that this club establishes a new driver category: a driver that maximizes distance with low spin and is still forgiving. It’s a pretty bold claim by Callaway, but they feel that they have created a driver that will be a good fit for most golfers.

Is it the real deal, or just marketing hype? Read on, to find out.

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It seems like the trend nowadays for equipment manufacturers to find the latest technological innovation and rush production on a line of clubs. This often results in multiple lines released in the same calendar year, all touting to be the longest and most accurate club in the market. It can be hard for the consumer to keep up with all of these product lines and determine which one is aimed towards their skill group. In the end, many golfers simply dismiss the manufacturers’ claims as marketing fluff.

Titleist is not one of those companies. They have a modest equipment lineup compared to other manufacturers, and typically release product lines about every two years. This gives them time to really develop their clubs and the technology that goes into them. The result is usually a club that is more refined, but also one that consumers can buy with confidence, knowing that it won’t be replaced by the next big thing several months down the road.

The latest hybrid release for Titleist is the 915H and 915Hd. The company claims that they are the longer and more forgiving than any of its predecessors. Titleist’s slogan for their 915 line of clubs is “Distance without compromise.” Is it just marketing jargon, or do they deliver? Read on, to find out.

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