Category: Hot Topics

PING Introduces G Series

New for 2016, PING introduces the new G-Series family of clubs including three new drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, and even a crossover.

Bag DropAnybody that follows the golf equipment world at all knows that PING has essentially two major product lines, the i series and the G series, and 2016 is a G year. Like the company did with the i series last year, the number has been dropped from the name, so what would have been the G35 is just the G. Like previous iterations of the G series, the one for 2016 is an entire family of products including three new drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, crossovers (utility club), and irons. Read on to get all the details.

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Titleist 716 AP1 Review

Titleist updates the AP1 with more forgiveness and distance.

titleist_716_ap1_heroTitleist has updated their AP1 line with the new 716 AP1 irons as their longest, most forgiving iron ever. The new 716 AP1 design has an unsupported face made of heat treated 17-4 stainless steel that provides more flex for faster ball speed. More high density tungsten in the toe than previous models lowers the center of gravity, improves MOI and increases launch angle. The 716 AP1 line includes a new high launching True Temper XP90 staft. Let’s take a look and see how it performs.

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Where Does Tiger Go from Here?

Tiger will not say he is retiring, but his recent interviews suggest that his dominant years are now in the past. I give my suggestions on how he should become a new improved retired Tiger.

Thrash TalkThe model for a retired golfing superstar has been set. Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer have written what I would call the perfect book on how to do better in your retirement than in your actual career. Now it is Tiger’s turn.

I am not certain that we can agree that Tiger’s career is completely over, but his days of being a dominant force in the game are over. He is now giving interviews in which he says everything right up to “I am retiring.” I can understand the urge to spend time with his kids. Right now with his injuries and how he has played lately they probably bring him ten times the joy of anything golf-related. Add to this, his relationship with his father was so strong, he likely wants to mimic that relationship with his kids. His father was a teacher and now Tiger likely feels the urge to teach his kids as he was taught. Good for him.

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TaylorMade M1 Driver Review

TaylorMade introduces their new multi-material M1 driver with carbon composite crown and new T-Track adjustable weight system.

taylormade_m1_driverTaylorMade introduces its first multi-material driver, the M1 Driver, with a carbon fiber crown and new T-Track adjustable weight system. The carbon fiber crown allows TaylorMade to shift even more weight lower in the head for a lower center of gravity. The T-track’s tungsten weights provide independent positioning to change both spin and flight. Let’s take a look at the new driver and how it performs.

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Who Really Won and Lost the Presidents Cup

The 2015 Presidents Cup was an outstanding event. I review who where the real winners and losers of the event.

Thrash TalkCalling the Presidents Cup a second fiddle in the team match play events might actually be a compliment. The U.S. players versus the rest of the world except Europe was, by all accounts, a complete bore. The Americans have dominated the event since its inception.

So the 2015 playing of the event was vital to the future of the event. Another U.S. blowout and the event was all but finished. What we got was not only an outstandingly competitive event but also excitement from the participants and even a broader discussion about the involvement of two giants who are just now thinking about graceful retirements.

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I’m Not Sorry You Made a Mistake

The comments on ConcessionGate have mostly been limited to who was in the wrong. I take a more in-depth look at how Petterson could have done more for the Solheim Cup by not apologizing.

Thrash TalkIt’s been said that there is no such thing as bad publicity. That even if someone is saying something bad about you, they are still talking about you and therefore it is better than if they never spoke your name. Many different companies and the Kardashians live by this mantra. So when Suzann Pettersen apologized for her role in ConcessionGate, I asked myself if this was really the best decision.

On social media everyone is praising the decision to apologize. Before the apology she was getting roasted by all the American fans, and even a few former European players for her decision. It was hard to find anyone on her side. As the dust has settled a little more now, many people are saying that she was within the rules and Lee was just at fault as Pettersen was. Lee has the moral high ground, but Pettersen was not completely to blame. The action seemed to fuel the Americans and it helped them to produce a Medinah- or Brookline-like comeback to win the event. The incident and ensuing comeback was outstanding theater.

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The Newport Cup Is About the People

The Newport Cup had fourteen SandTrap members meet and find that we had as much fun meeting each other as we did playing golf.

Thrash TalkI have been trying for years now to convince my wife that golf has never really been about golf, but rather an opportunity to hang out with my friends. That if I didn’t play golf that I would have found some other hobby, like wind surfing where I would have gone out to hang out with friends who were just as into wind surfing as I was. The idea is to hang out with people who enjoy the hobby as much as you.

Now the reality is, I did not get into golf because of any friendships. I started at golf because it was something that I could go out and do on my own. All other sports required someone, or a group or people to play. I played plenty of sports as a kid, football, baseball, soccer, basketball, tennis, but they all required someone else to participate. With golf I could go play eighteen holes or go to the putting green all by myself. Nobody needs to hit the ball back to you in golf.

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Should I Buy or Sell My Jordan Spieth Stock?

Jordan is at the top of his game, but does he win more, or has he peaked?

Thrash TalkIn today’s economy it seems that one of the key indices of a healthy market is how the stock market is performing. Currently as China stock market underwent a crash it got me thinking about prospecting. I mainly wonder “If Jordan Spieth were a stock, would I buy or short him?”

There is no question his price in this Golf Street market would be extremely high. Two major wins and two extremely close calls; there is no other way to describe it than to measure it against Tiger’s 2000 season. It was not as good as that season, in fact, not really even that close but it is the closest comparison one can make in recent history. You need to go back to Ben Hogan’s 1953 season to find another to compare it to. Add to this the fact that the 2015 season isn’t over, a win at the season-ending Tour Championship would only add more fuel to a season already full of big fireworks.

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Leupold PinCaddie 2 Laser Rangefinder Review

The $200 laser rangefinder you’d pay double for.

PinCaddie 2 HeroThe debate between GPS systems and laser rangefinders hasn’t ended, and probably won’t for some time. GPS is convenient for a quick glance, and the course mapping is nice, but I always feel a little dissatisfied whenever I use a GPS unit. The touchscreens are generally poor, the distances take a few precious seconds to update (particularly annoying when you’re driving in a cart), and you’re still at the whim and mercy of whoever mapped the course in the first place (not to mention GPS accuracy, cloud cover, etc.).

The GPS systems in use for golf simply cannot match the accuracy of a laser rangefinder, and I’ve yet to come across a GPS unit constructed as well as even an entry-level laser rangefinder. (And that’s without mentioning smartphone app GPS systems, which I find virtually unusable due to the massive amounts of cellular data and battery they gobble up.)

Oh, and did I mention membership fees? What about battery charging? Or course data syncing?

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