Category: Review

Mizuno claims that “the MX-700 possesses the lowest and deepest COG, has the largest MOI, and is by far the longest and most forgiving driver in Mizuno’s history.”

After reviewing Mizuno’s MP-600 last year, I was very interested in seeing what the company would do with their “average player” follow-up to the MX-560. The knock (and the only knock in a lot of people’s minds) against the 560 was the sound. It had a very loud and unpleasant impact sound.

As the “MP” implies in Mizuno’s lineup, the MP-600 is intended as a driver for better players. It features a neutral to open face angle at address and little or no slice correction (other than Mizuno’s Fast Track weighting system, that is). The MX-700, with its “MX” moniker, is aimed at any golfer looking to maximize distance, get a little help launching the ball, and reduce, if not eliminate, a slice.

So does the MX-700 live up to its billing? Read on to find out.

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Nike’s latest line of irons, Victory Red, comes in muscleback, split cavity, and full cavity versions. The Split Cavity set appealed most to me with its promise of workability coupled with a little more forgiveness than the muscleback.

I like to move the ball a fair amount when I play. In fact, that’s one of the things that I find most enjoyable about golf: picturing a shot and then executing it. While I don’t always pull off the shot that I’ve envisioned, when I do it’s a feeling as good or better than shooting a low score. So when I’m in the market for irons, I’m looking for a set that I can work when I want to. Still, I’m a realist… I need some forgiveness, too.

The Nike Victory Red Forged Split Cavity irons (aside from having way too long of a name) are designed to help players work the ball, positioned squarely in the middle of the Victory Red workability-forgiveness continuum. Common sense would tell you that the muscleback blades offer far more workability and less forgiveness than the full cavity irons. All of that perimeter weighing in the cavity backs helps reasonably well struck shots go straight, forcing the player to make more of a concerted effort to purposefully move the ball left or right. It’s reasonable then to expect that the Split Cavity irons would offer a nice blend of workability and forgiveness.

Nike makes a point of emphasizing Tiger Woods’ role in developing the VR irons. The obvious assumption is that if the world’s number one golfer had a hand in creating the clubs, then they must be very good clubs, indeed. Let’s find out if that’s the case.

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It’s fun to see some new up-and-coming equipment companies come out with some pretty innovative products designed to help lower your golf score.

One of those companies is Roenick Golf, who have come out with a pretty ingenious idea for a putter that not only incorporates some nice customization features but also an alignment-aid system that should help you drop a few more putts per round and give you some added confidence every time you stand over a putt.

I’m not the biggest mallet guy in the world, to put it mildly so even with the above features, I was pretty skeptical that the Crossbow had any chance of securing a spot in my very small putter rotation, yet alone make to my bag.

Read on to find out if I had to eat a little crow about my thoughts in using a mallet putter.

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We’ve all seen the ads. We’ve all seen the large number of TaylorMade staffers with “R9” sewn on the sides of their hats or visors. We’ve had it beaten into our heads that TaylorMade owns the tee box. Oh, wait, that was a few years ago. What are they saying these days?

“Until now.”

That’s their new slogan. “Until now, you’ve never had a customized driver.” Or something like that.

Logic aside (I’ve had customized drivers because I’ve gone to get fitted for my drivers), the message is clear: TaylorMade is big on customization, and the R9 not only offers “MWT” for “Movable Weight Technology” but their new hosel adjustment feature, dubbed “FCT” for “Flight Control Technology.”

Suffice to say even if TaylorMade doesn’t own your tee box, they own the most acronyms. Does all of this FCT and MWT make a difference in the R9 driver? Read on to find out.

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More than four years after the original TaylorMade r7 brought movable weights to golf, TaylorMade released what is most likely the last of the line this winter – the r7 Limited TP. It emerged a few months after the non-TP model, which hit stores in mid-September. TaylorMade also produced a limited edition of the Limited for Patriot Golf Day, which sported a Patriot Golf Day logo on the toe, the image of an F-16 jet etched onto the sole, and a specially-designed headcover in red, white and blue.

TaylorMade is known for releasing many models of clubs in rapid succession, which is why we have the r7 Limited TP review after the R9 driver’s release (which will be reviewed, itself, shortly). Every time a new model comes out it tends to lower the retail price and resale value of the previous models. This can be frustrating to TaylorMade owners who want to upgrade and find that their old model has lost resale or trade-in value. On the other hand, virtually any golfer can find a recent model of TaylorMade driver that fits their game for a relative bargain.

So what kind of golfer will most benefit from the r7 Limited? Read on to find out.

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For years now, TaylorMade has been one of the industry leaders in golf club design and manufacturing. They continually put out some of the best golf equipment available. Though they are probably best known for their drivers, with such past beauties like the r7, they also have made some absolutely fantastic fairway woods over the years as well.

I still think back to when my father first came home with his first Raylor or his Tour Spoon. They were great clubs and well ahead of their time.

I’ve never had a 3-wood I’ve completely trusted. Many of my playing partners have that “go to” fairway wood that they know will find the short grass when the chips are down. Such a club would be a great find as it would take some of the pressure off my driver. So as you can expect when I heard I had one of the new R9 TP 3-woods coming my way I was full of anticipation. I already had a Burner TP 3-wood in my bag and I was ready to put the new one to the test to see if I needed to switch.

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