Callaway X Hot Pro Driver Review

Callaway promises their new X Hot series of woods to be among the hottest available, read on to find out if we agree.

Callaway X Hot Pro DriverOver the last handful of years, Callaway Golf has released numerous drivers trying to appeal to golfers of all abilities. This year, Callaway has trimmed down its offerings to three drivers; there is the RAZR Fit Xtreme (the sequel to last year’s RAZR Fit) and the new X Hot and X Hot Pro. The RAZR Fit Xtreme offers the most adjustability of Callaway’s three drivers and is aimed at the better player. The X Hot line, on the other hand, is aimed at golfers seeking a little more in the way of forgiveness and a lot more in the way of distance. Callaway claims this to be their hottest driver and with the X Hot line their focus is very much on hitting the ball a long way.

In fact, the company’s focus on distance is so high that this year that they have assembled their “X Team” of long hitters. For every 325+ yard drive that is hit by a Callaway staffer, they are receiving a “bomb patch” to put on their bag and a special “4 bills” patch is out there for those who smash one over 400 yards. While most amateurs won’t be hitting the ball quite as far as that, Callaway says that this club will have you further down the fairway than ever before. Read on to find out if this club is really a hot as they say it is.

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Mizuno MP-T4 Wedge Review

Mizuno’s newest wedge, the MP-T4 aims to help golfers go after more pins with multiple lofts in a sleek package.

For many, there is nothing better than getting a new driver in the bag. The thrill of hitting a new big stick is an awesome one, especially when you pipe it down the fairway past all of your buddies. If you ask me though, while hitting the big drive is nice, sticking it in close to the hole or making a crucial up and down to save par and keep the round going is even better. To do this though, you have to have confidence in your short game and having the right wedges in the bag is a big part of that. Mizuno’s newest wedge, the MP-T4 looks to fill that spot in the bag. Read on to find out if their attempt was a success.

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iliac Golf by Bert LaMar

Bert LaMar’s growing company looks to add some flare to yourself and to your golf bag with an array of one-of-a-kind golf accessories and apparel

Bag DropSince 2005 iliac Golf by Bert LaMar has sought to offer the avid golfer something special.  80-90 players on the PGA Tour players use some iliac Golf products and do so as a personal choice; they simply love the unique design and quality of the wool and leather head covers and clothing designs. Most of the golf resorts in the USA now stock iliac Golf products and in the United Kingdom and Ireland, from its launch in 2011, iliac Golf by Bert LaMar can now be found in an ever increasing number of top golf courses across the region.

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18 Questions with PING Senior Design Engineer Marty Jertson

PING engineer Marty Jertson answers your questions!

Thanks to all the TST members that submitted these questions and thanks to Marty for the great answers. Marty Jertson is a senior design engineer for PING Golf. Jertson is also a PGA professional and has qualified for the 2011 and 2012 PGA Championships. Jertson went undefeated, 4-0 at the 25th PGA Cup in 2011, as the U.S. team defeated Great Britain & Ireland, 17½-8½.

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Volume Three Hundred Fifty

Sang-Moon Bae breaks through on Tour and we say goodbye to Ken Venturi.

Hittin' the LinksIt was a sad week in the world of golf with the passing of Ken Venturi. Mr. Venturi was always one of my favorite guys in the booth. It is too bad he was even too ill to attend his well deserved induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He will certainly be missed.

In this edition of HtL we begin by paying respects to Ken Venturi, then find out why golf is still bigger than Tiger Woods, and check out some of the week’s best quotes. Also, we take a look at a road less traveled, peruse the new Blair O’Neal swimsuit calendar, and do a wrap-up of the week’s events. Read on!

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Nike VR_S Covert and Covert Tour Drivers Review

It’s good enough for Rory McIlroy, is the Nike VR_S Covert good enough to make your bag?

Nike Covert Driver Tour SoleMoment of inertia.

It was the name of the game about five years ago, thanks to square drivers, perimeter weighting, and a USGA restriction on the industry’s previous CoR and clubhead inroads. MOI was capped eventually, but even before hitting the max the OEMs turned away en masse. We haven’t seen anything quite so boxy in a while, and objectives seem to have turned. Companies got sidetracked towards adjustable hosels, colorful crowns, and innovative aerodynamics.

But it’s back. Ever since Karsten Solheim designed the original Anser putter way back when, the golf industry has been trying to find new and creative ways to distribute weight to the edges of the clubhead. Not just with putters, but with cavityback irons and woods as well. Until now they had to resort to odd shapes (namely, squares or triangles) or heavier tungsten inserts.

Nike says the Covert, and its rear cavity, has changed the game. Let’s take a look.

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TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2 Driver Review

TaylorMade updates their Rocketballz line with the addition of the Stage 2 Driver. I take it for a spin to see how it performs and check out if it is really better-ier.

RBX Stage 2 DriverRecently, TaylorMade has released two different driver and woods product lines. Last year it was the R11s line and the extremely popular Rocketballz line. For the 2013 season TaylorMade switched it up and released the R1 line and continued with the Rocketballz line, dubbing them Stage 2. It is my belief that the success of the Rocketballz driver surprised TaylorMade. At my club among golfers who used TaylorMade drivers the Rocketballz ruled over the R11s by a two to one margin. The Rocketballz price point is a bit below that of the R11s but still provided a great experience.

Hoping to continue with the fantastic success of the Rocketballz driver TaylorMade has released the Rocketballz Stage 2 driver. TaylorMade has taken some of the adjustable technology and crown graphics that they offered in the groundbreaking R1 driver and they added speed providing a driver with more control and distance. It is always a challenge to follow up such a successful club but leave it to TaylorMade to give it a try.

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Why Tiger was Wrong, Sergio was Right

Tiger wins but in the process exchanges some verbal blows with Sergio over an etiquette dispute, see why I think Tiger was wrong and Sergio was right, but not innocent.

Thrash TalkAs with most stories there are two sides to be told. This case is no different, especially since the two sides were separated by fifty yards. The scene of this controversy was The Players Championship in the delayed third round in the final pairing of Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia.

On the second hole, Garcia, away and hitting his second shot in the fairway was distracted by the gallery that was gathered around Tiger’s drive in the left pine straw. Several seconds prior to Sergio’s swing, Tiger pulled his fairway wood out of this bag and the crowd reacted favorably to his choice to go for it. This favorable cheering distracted Sergio and caused him (his own words) to miss the ball way right into the trees on the right. Sergio bogeyed the hole.

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Tour Angle 144 Review

An exciting new training aid designed to help the golfer during set up, the backswing, the downswing, and even chipping. Join me as I take the new Tour Angle 144 for a spin.

Tour Angle 144 They say that there is a sucker born every minute, for me, that directly applies to golf training aids. I am drawn to them like a bee to honey, I just cannot help myself. With a garage full of them now you would think that I would have learned my lesson, but with the glimmer of hope that that next aid will be the key to longer drives and pin seeking irons, probably not.

When I was given the opportunity to review the Tour Angle 144 I was extremely excited to get the opportunity to try out a new and exciting training aid. I first saw the Tour Angle 144 at the place that I see most of the training aids that I am drawn to: Golf Channel. The commercial itself was not very clear on how it helped the golfer other than in getting them in the proper set up. Therefore I didn’t give it much of a second glance.

Once I was selected to do the review I did some more research and I was pleasantly surprised that it did more than just help the golfer in their set up position. Join me as I take a look at the very surprising device.

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