2015 PGA Show: Best New Products List

[mvmac]

I combed the show floor for the latest innovations in golf. Here are the top products that stood out.

For more from the PGA Show, go here,

Ben Hogan Ft. Worth 15 Irons

Ben Hogan’s new line of irons will be available with 44 available loft options that range from 20-to-63 degrees.

The Ft. Worth 15 irons don’t have traditional club stampings on their soles. Instead the Hogan irons have gone with 1-degree increments that allow golfers to pick the set makeup that best suits their game.

The design of the sole is also interesting. The irons are high bounce early and low bounce later. The high bounce portion felt great and helped the club "glide" through the turf when I hit the 31* iron. While they may appear to be muscle back irons, there is a decent amount of forgiveness built into the heads. The toplines are also thicker than most blades and there is a good amount of offset. I would say these irons are closer to a Titleist AP2 than a blade style iron. Very easy to hit and they launch the ball high.

MySwing Professional

MySwing Professional is a wireless, full-body, motion capture driven tool for golf professionals that can be used both indoors and out.

MySwing comes with 17 small, lightweight sensors that attach to various points on the user’s body and the club shaft. The sensors are able to capture the motion data, which is transmitted wirelessly to a tablet where it is stored to be analyzed.

MySwing Professional package also includes straps, a tablet PC with pre-installed software, and a carrying case that also works as a charger for the sensors. The sensors can work continuously for up to four hours between charges.

Other full-body, motion-capture systems can cost $40,000 or more, MySwing will be available to instructors on a rental plan for $199 per month for 24-month rental periods.

The Perfect Putter

The Perfect Putter is a well crafted stimpmeter-looking device to help you practice your putting more efficiently. It's easy to use, y ou read the putt, place the Perfect Putter on the green, place the ball on the number according to the distance from the hole and then let the ball go.

If it goes in, you know your read was correct. If it was incorrect, you know something was off. Going to be a lot of AimPoint instructors buying this.

PING Glide Wedges

I'll admit I'm a little biased with this one but these wedges look great and feel awesome.

Super Stroke Grips

The new + Plus Series putter grip has what SuperStroke calls CounterCore Technology. Basically it's a threaded cap design that lets golfers easily unscrew the cap and screw in a 50-gram weight to provide counterbalancing. I'm a believer in counterbalancing so it's great to see that anyone can try it out on any putter.

TRUE Linkswear

The new Classix and Game Changer Pro lines of TRUE shoes will feature spikes. Don't be worried if you're fan of TRUE shoes, they are still offering plenty of spikeless options and the design and technology (barefoot, close to the ground) that make them the most comfortable shoe in golf is still there in the TRUE Classix. The spikes are just there to appeal to more "traditional" golfers and to tour players. Look for Ryan Moore, Ben Crane, Harris English, Chris Kirk and Oscar Fraustro to be sporting TRUE shoes in 2015.

Arccos Stat Tracker

It's a system of 14 sensors (one that pairs to each club) that instantly tracks every shot in real time using GPS and Bluetooth technology. It's as simple as this: attach the sensors to the grip-end of each club, download the free Arccos app, pair the sensors to your phone, then play. The app track stats like average and longest drives, club usage and distance, greens in regulation and putts per hole. You can glance at your phone during the round if you'd like to see these stats in progress.

[boogielicious]

Cool.  Thanks Mike!

[RFKFREAK]

Mike, what did you think of the Arccos Stat Tracker compared to Game Golf?

[mvmac]

Mike, what did you think of the Arccos Stat Tracker compared to Game Golf?

Thought there were some really cool features to it (instant tracking, nice graphics/stats, easy to use with your phone) and the guys behind it are pretty smart. Biggest difference is that you don't need to tap every shot. Only negative I saw was the weight of the sensor is almost two swing weights. Like we did with Game Golf, Erik and I plan to do some investigating.

[RussUK]

The Ben Hogan irons are nice looking clubs, very traditional, however im not too sure about lofts on the sole rather than the club number. Im easily confused as it is

[jas72]

The Ben Hogan irons are nice looking clubs, very traditional, however im not too sure about lofts on the sole rather than the club number. Im easily confused as it is

My thoughts exactly.  I play Hogan PCs, and love the thin top line at address and of course they have only numbers on them.  I have an idea that they made a mistake in not going with the traditional numbering system.  I also play Taylor Made fairway woods and they have the loft as well as the normal 3 and 5 designations.  Now, if Hogan had put the traditional numbers but also the loft, that would have been OK, but I don't think the majority of us care what the lofts of our irons are.  We go to the range, figure out how far we hit each iron and then use that info on the course.  Time will tell, but I have an idea that the Hogans with only the lofts won't be with us for very long.

[GatorFan05]

Mike-

Was there anything in the line of Range Finders ??  I Find it hard to spend $300.00 on a range finder !!  Didn't know if there was anything less expensive in the works ??

[billchao]

My thoughts exactly.  I play Hogan PCs, and love the thin top line at address and of course they have only numbers on them.  I have an idea that they made a mistake in not going with the traditional numbering system.  I also play Taylor Made fairway woods and they have the loft as well as the normal 3 and 5 designations.  Now, if Hogan had put the traditional numbers but also the loft, that would have been OK, but I don't think the majority of us care what the lofts of our irons are.  We go to the range, figure out how far we hit each iron and then use that info on the course.  Time will tell, but I have an idea that the Hogans with only the lofts won't be with us for very long.

I'm thinking the lofts are largely for the company's benefit. Since they offer so many irons with single degree increments, it'd be a lot easier to keep track of everything by stamping what loft the club is rather than just an iron designation.

[jas72]

I'm thinking the lofts are largely for the company's benefit. Since they offer so many irons with single degree increments, it'd be a lot easier to keep track of everything by stamping what loft the club is rather than just an iron designation.

Maybe so.  I have no idea if my 5-iron is 28° or 31°.  I have heard, though, that there is no industry standard and there has been a gradual change over the last decade or so.  Lofts have decreased somewhat from the 60s and 70s so companies can tout that their irons are longer.  I have been playing for over 40 years and can normally tell just by looking what iron someone has in their hands. Not so any more.  I'll see a pro hit a 7-iron on TV that I'd almost bet was a 5-iron just from looking at it.  As I said, a number with a loft would be OK, but I am not sure what a 37° designation means to the average golfer.  I could be way off base and this is the wave of the future, but time will tell.

[mvmac]

The Ben Hogan irons are nice looking clubs, very traditional, however im not too sure about lofts on the sole rather than the club number. Im easily confused as it is

I agree they're nice looking but disagree they're traditional. Thicker toplines and more offset than most musclebacks, "pocket" cavities for perimeter weighting and wider soles with a unique grind/bounce.

I personally don't think the different numbering would take that long to get used to. They also have an app to help with the fitting process.

Mike-

Was there anything in the line of Range Finders ??  I Find it hard to spend $300.00 on a range finder !!  Didn't know if there was anything less expensive in the works ??

Didn't have that much time to look at range finders but all the ones I saw were $300 or more. Found this Leupold one for $200.

[billchao]

Lofts have decreased somewhat from the 60s and 70s so companies can tout that their irons are longer.

That's not really why lofts have gotten stronger. Iron and ball designs have changed dramatically, which altered launch conditions. Today's irons are longer because they are better clubs, not because today's 6 iron is 4° stronger than one from 40 years ago.

As I said, a number with a loft would be OK, but I am not sure what a 37° designation means to the average golfer.  I could be way off base and this is the wave of the future, but time will tell.

An iron designation with loft numbers is a lot less arbitrary than iron numbers. It really doesn't matter if your pitching wedge is stamped PW, W, 10 (iron), or 45°. The bottom line is you know the distance that you hit that club.

[jas72]

That's not really why lofts have gotten stronger. Iron and ball designs have changed dramatically, which altered launch conditions. Today's irons are longer because they are better clubs, not because today's 6 iron is 4° stronger than one from 40 years ago.

An iron designation with loft numbers is a lot less arbitrary than iron numbers. It really doesn't matter if your pitching wedge is stamped PW, W, 10 (iron), or 45°. The bottom line is you know the distance that you hit that club.

Totally in agreement with your last statement. Range time will give you the distances. I can just hear the announcers now:  "What did he just hit into the 8th green there, Roger?"  "Gary, it looks like it was a 37°."

[GolfLug]

That's not really why lofts have gotten stronger. Iron and ball designs have changed dramatically, which altered launch conditions. Today's irons are longer because they are better clubs, not because today's 6 iron is 4° stronger than one from 40 years ago.

An iron designation with loft numbers is a lot less arbitrary than iron numbers. It really doesn't matter if your pitching wedge is stamped PW, W, 10 (iron), or 45°. The bottom line is you know the distance that you hit that club.

So no more hitting a '6' iron 190 yds?

[mvmac]

Who cares about the lofts being stamped on the clubs. Dave, Erik and I helped PING name their cool new wedges RIP bounce.

[saevel25]

Who cares about the lofts being stamped on the clubs. Dave, Erik and I helped PING name their cool new wedges  RIP bounce.

Maybe my next set of Edel Wedges should have "GLIDE" stamped on them

[Golfingdad]

Maybe my next set of Edel Wedges should have "GLIDE" stamped on them

Or, perhaps your next set of Edels should be Pings?

[saevel25]

Or, perhaps your next set of Edels should be Pings?

If they fit my swing better than Edel's they would be in consideration.