Golf Equipment Reviews

Callaways new online customisation system, udesign™, enables you to design your own unique version of their new RAZR Fit Driver

Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) today introduced its new udesign™ by Callaway personalization and customization platform. udesign by Callaway, an online interactive customization tool, gives golfers purchasing a RAZR Fit® Driver the unprecedented ability to design their own version of the Company's hot new club that is already in the hands of Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Alvaro Quiros.

Featuring an innovative and easy-to-use online interface, golfers can visit www.callawaygolf.com/udesign, to select their color choice on RAZR Fit's clubhead and grip, as well as a myriad of shaft model and other custom configurations. udesign by Callaway presents the opportunity to design one of more than 70,000 unique versions of the award-winning RAZR Fit Driver, giving golfers the ability to express their individualism on the course like never before.

"Golf is already the most personalized sport there is in terms of custom equipment options, and our new udesign by Callaway platform brings personalization to a new and exciting place," said Jeff Colton, SVP Global Brand and Product, Callaway Golf. "The opportunity to design your very own driver in the colors of your favorite team, alma mater or whatever you happen to feel looks best has never been offered on a mass scale. Our research and instincts show that this level of personalization and customization is what golfers want, and we're excited to be the first Brand in golf to offer it."

Accessible to virtually customize RAZR Fit drivers for both Men and Ladies models, the udesign by Callaway process begins with the selection of a right-handed or left-handed clubhead and a range of loft and color choices. With each selection, the RAZR Fit image on screen modifies to embody the latest design choice. After making a color selection, advanced customization options detailing the choice of stock or after-market shaft, its length, grip model and wraps follow. When finished, each user can view multiple angles of their configuration and also send their unique RAZR Fit design to friends and contacts via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Email through a dedicated share function.

Recently introduced to Callaway's staff professionals and brand ambassadors, the udesign by Callaway platform has sent a charge of excitement through a team that was already thrilled with RAZR Fit's performance and look. San Diego native Phil Mickelson chose powder blue and gold in honor of the Chargers. Callaway Staff Professional Alvaro Quiros, now famous for using a RAZR Fit to drive a ball 300+ yards over Las Vegas' iconic Bellagio Fountain, got his first look at udesign by Callaway's options this past week in Augusta. "Give me one in every color and I will match my driver with my apparel," said Quiros, who in addition to being the longest hitter, is also a particularly fashion-forward player on Callaway's staff.

Introduced in December and already a winner on the PGA and European Tours, the RAZR Fit Driver was named Editor's Choice by Golf Digest's annual "Hot List" equipment review. By combining the performance benefits gained from several proprietary technologies with an easy-to-understand adjustability system, Callaway is empowering players around the world to dial in their game with RAZR Fit.

Callaway's RAZR Fit Driver has a new production introduction retail price of $399 and the udesign by Callaway personalization and customization features an additional fee of $50. Certain after-market shaft and grip choices may entail additional costs. The ability to make designs and place orders is immediately available; the first RAZR Fit Drivers personalized with udesign by Callaway will begin shipping in early May 2012.

For more on Callaway Golf Company, please visit www.CallawayGolf.com

Since David Duvall exploded on the PGA Tour scene in the early 90’s, myself and every other golfer in the world has been wearing sunglasses on the golf course.

Even the guys who never wore sunglasses in the past are now opting to dawn shades to not only protect their eyes, but look cool doing it.

In my experiences with shades on the course I had never found a brand that could give me lasting clarity, a good fit and of course, looking cool! They were either too big, scratched too easy or they just didn’t suit the needs at different times of the day. It has been a nightmare to say the least, until now.

Playing golf the other day with a buddy I noticed he was wearing some new shades, the brand “BE THE BALL”. Now at first I thought he was just gesturing to me to back off and play my game, but he was serious, the company name was BE THE BALL – Sport Optics. I was sold simply on the company name, a line from my favorite golf movie Caddyshack, but now I needed to check these out.

As I held the glasses I was surprised how light yet incredibly tough they felt and believe me, I gave them a couple of tough twists and pulls just to see (my buddy didn’t like that).

They slide on your face with ease and feel great! A great wrap feel, total eye coverage and again, lightweight is key! I don’t want to notice glasses as I play!

The lenses were out of this world, really! Here are some of the features I looked up on their site.

• 100% optic clarity (De-centered lens)
• HD (High Definition) Lens Technology
• Lenses provide complete UVA & UVB protection
• Frames are made from Grilamid TR-90 & designed using an 8 to 10 Base Curve
• "Formed Fit" for comfort
• Temples & Nosepieces are made from a hypo-allergenic material and coated with an Anti-Bacterial agent for heavy perspiration environments
• BTB Sport Optics exceed ANSI, OSHA & Military Impact Specifications
• BTB Sport Optics Lenses are "Ballistic" rated

OK, OK, I know what’s going on here…just as every other pair of glasses I try that are decent, the better they are the more they cost. So scanning the list of features in these shades I was sure good looking and feature packed was going to be out of my price range. That’s just when my golf buddy said, that’s why he had two pairs, the cost!

These glasses start under 40 bucks and for that you certainly get the best pair of sunglasses at the best price point on the market! As soon I heard the price that went along with the laundry list of awesomeness, I was sold! 

Go ahead check it out for yourself

http://www.btbsunglasses.com/golf-sunglasses-s/117.htm

Oh and when you shoot your best round and look good doing it, you will know what it finally means to “Be the Ball”

T2G Pro

The Nike Pro Cavity with R-Flex steel that you originally sent me, are very nice clubs. I was able to play them without a lot of swing changes. They didn't load and release completely so consequently I had a very straight ball flight much as I had with my original clubs, but with a higher flight and a little more distance (maybe about 5%). Contact on fat shots was just as shocking to the elbow and shoulder as my old clubs, which made the move to graphite seem more like the thing to do.

You had me go to Carlsbad Golf Center to get fitted with the NIKE's. Because I hadn't played a much recently, a lot of the session was spent trying to fix my swing rather than getting a sense of what shafts were better suited for me. But the fitter helped a lot and we ended up selecting the correct length, lie angle and flex of shaft that I needed to gain back some distance. Accuracy was never a big issue as I hit balls fairly straight regardless of shaft flex.

We settled on the NIKE Project X 5.5 flex, standard length and they are the bomb. I haven't hit high tight draws since I was playing twice a week and my handicap was a 4. I've not been able to figure out how to cut the ball as yet, but I feel like I'm on the right path and only a few driving range sessions away from figuring it out. Half and 3/4 shots are still a little problematic with the longer irons, but I need to be able to get to a range to figure that out.

I love the feedback of the graphite when I do hit shots a little on the fat side. I don't get the jarring sensation that I did with the steel shafts. Having a bad left rotator cuff makes these clubs more bearable. These new shafts load and release at just the right time. My old clubs are just too stiff for me to be able to load and release, now that my swing speed has slowed down considerably.

Distance control - With my old clubs in my heyday, my distances were pretty accurate with each club, but in the past several years, it seemed that all my clubs went the same distance no matter what I did. I could have a 140 yards and it seemed that I could hit a 7,6 and 5 iron and they would all end up fairly close to each other. With the newer R-flex steel, those ranges closed to a 8,7 or 6. With the graphite those ranges closed to 8 or 7. I am also able to hit the 4 iron accurately both off the tee and in the fairway, which I never did with my old clubs. Shorter clubs AW-PW-9 seem to get the correct yardages, but as I've said before, the half and 3/4 shots are not consistent as yet.

Accuracy - I've always hit my irons fairly straight no matter what shaft I was using. This has not changed between the old clubs and the new (steel and graphite). What I do see with the Nike Pro Cavity R-Flex Steel and Project X Graphite shafts is that I get a much higher ball flight and more spin than with my old clubs. Balls check up on greens rather than rolling out.

I am a happy golfer again. Still not playing as much as I would like but the new clubs are making the rounds much more enjoyable and my body thanks me for the graphite shafts.

So as your body slows down, drop the ego down a notch and choose the correct clubs and shafts, you will be happy you did...

For more articles on driver fittings, visit rankmark.com

Titleist 910D3

Scratch Finishing first in this class showed the continuing feeling that Titleist is a club for players with low handicaps.

Low Handicap Just missing the top spot, the Titleist D3 was virtually equal in rating with the D2 and placed second overall. The difference being looks.

Average Handicap The D3 had high marks for every category except for consistency which is why the D2 rated higher.

TaylorMade R11 TP

TaylorMade Burner Superfast TP

Titleist 910D2

Scratch The larger club face and head shape had this club finishing tied for second in this category, leaving the more standard shaped D3 in first.

Low Handicap The Titleist D2 finished one tenth lower than the D3 and barely missing out in a tie for first place. In these tests the club's only mark that was not even with the others was looks.

Average Handicap The D2 was tied for first in this group in accuracy, distance but again suffered from a lower mark in looks.

Callaway Razr Hawk

Low Handicap For the low handicap golfers, the Razr Hawk's characteristics were evenly divided though all scoring categories.

Average Handicap The average handicap golfers gave the club higher marks for feel, consistency and distance.

High Handicap The high handicap group put this club in first place with very high marks for sound and feel. The other categories were almost identical.

Nike SQ Machspeed

High The high handicap class liked pretty much across the board but they especially liked the looks.

Boccieri Heavy Driver

Low Handicap These golfers gave the Heavy Driver good marks for feel, distance and consistency. It was one of the higher rated clubs for accuracy.

High Handicap An interesting note, the club did not place with the average handicap golfer but did in the high handicaps. Tied for third, it received high results for looks while getting lower marks for accuracy and the scores for feel, sound and distance were about the same.

Cleveland Launcher TL310

Scratch The average golfer liked the feel, consistency and distance of the TL310.

Ping G15

High Handicap The Ping G15 is always a contender in driver testing and it placed high in this test also. The only thing that kept it from the top was looks according to our testers.

Average Handicap Oddly enough, it was the sound that kept the average handicap testers from ranking this club higher.

High Handicap The Ping G15 results were, for the most part, even. Feel and accuracy were slightly higher.

Mizuno JPX 800

High Handicap The Mizuno driver also made the cut with the high handicap golfers. They liked the look and sound of the club but gave it low marks for feel. Consistency and distance were tied in the middle of the driver's results.

TaylorMade R11

Average Handicap Tied for first with 3 other clubs, this club's results had similar result characteristics as the low handicap group.

TourEdge Exotics XCG4

Srixon Z-STAR

Average Handicap Looks, feel and accuracy were the strong points of this club for average handicap golfers. They also liked the sound which was the highest mark for this club.

Nike VR Pro

Callaway Diablo Octane

High Handicap The Diablo did well in looks but fell short in consistency, something we did not expect in this class of golfers. The other categories were pretty equal.

TaylorMade Burner Superfast

Low Handicap The low handicap marks were pretty even, with 4 tenths separating all categories.

Average Handicap This class of golfers like the look and distance versus the other categories with look being the highest.

High Handicap Again the look carried the Burner to a higher position. The remaining categories were very close to each other.

Bobby Jones Workshop Superlite

Nicklaus ML4

Average Handicap The category results for the ML4 were even with the exception of sound which lower the overall standing in the average handicap grouping.

High Handicap Again, for the this group was sound but it still placed well due to strong showing for feel and accuracy.

Bobby Jones Workshop Edition

Every week before my golf group tees off we have to determine who is going to hit first or who has the “honor.”

One of us will usually take out a golf tee and toss it into the air and whoever it points at will be first, toss it once more for second and so on. And most times before we are done completing this act the group behind us is already in vocal giddy up mode, mentioning how nice it would have been to do this faster or before we got to the first tee. Now there is an answer to this problem, “The Starter Coin.”

For the golfers who want a faster and cooler way of picking the hitting order, “The Starter Coin” has it all for them. Not only does the coin look great, it has four distinct areas on the coin that will determine your group’s hitting order to begin the day or if you want to quickly select a new pecking order during the round, even on the busiest of courses.The coin only weighs 1.5 ounces and is a nice oversize so it will easily be found in any golf bag or pocket.It comes with seven unique, fun and sometimes funny phrases on the magnetized ball mark located in the middle of the coin; I had mine etched with “ That’s how I Roll and The Proof is in the Putting.”

The “Starter Coin” can be a gentleman’s way to start the gentleman’s game or for the golfer who has to have the latest and greatest to show off his new toy; this coin is for everyone. It’s truly the way of the future as the old tee flip is an archaic method that is in desperate need of replacement and “The Starter Coin” is the solution.

For pricing and information you can visit www.startercoin.com or on facebook at www.facebook.com/startercoin

Written by Tees2Greens Editorial Contributor Scott Stubblefield 

I have been in the market for a push cart for about a year or so.  I normally use a motorized cart, but I have some golf pals that enjoy walking, so I thought it would be good to have one since my shoulder isn't crazy about me carrying my clubs anymore.  After researching different brands and styles, I went with the Wilson TRIO push cart.  I'll be honest, cost was the determining factor in this choice.  Paying over $200 for another brand was not in my budget, so I went with what I thought was best value for the features I was looking for.

The TRIO is relatively light and easy to assemble.  At just under 9 lbs, you can lift it without too much effort while folded, and fully set up it's a breeze to push around.  In the inital set up you need to attach the 3 wheels and secure the handle on the base...none of that requires any extra tools.  Once set up, it's a 3 step process to go from folded to ready to push.  First, unfold the wheel bar, then pull the red base bar until it sets up against the wheel bar...attach the silver clasp and secure.  Then adjust the handle and secure it at the base.  Now you are ready to put your clubs on!

I have a Callaway stand bag and it was easy to secure.  There is a strap at the base and one at the top.  Your bag cradles into two plastic bases and the straps click in place...they are both adjustable.  The handle area has a place for a scorecard (the box calls it "deluxe" but it's really nothing special), a place for a ball, and a beverage holder.  The beverage opening is small but it did fit a 16oz. water bottle.

As you can see, the base is sort of a rectangle instead of just one long bar.  I'm not sure if that helps offer some stability, but design is just fine with me.  In fact, I have this crazy idea that I could build some kind of box and use it to move things around in my yard!  Heck, maybe you could even convert it into a stroller!

The tires seem to be some kind of high density foam, so there is no fear of a flat tire!  The seemed to roll well on the grass and gravel cart paths.  I did find myself going through some thicker rough and after I muscled through it, about 50 yards later one of my wheels fell off.  A rock had lodged in the wheel opening and it undid the lever that secures the wheels.  It was an easy fix and I had no other troubles.  Sometimes it seemed like wheels were slanting, but it could have just been my eyes.  For people that like to push their carts ahead, the TRIO seemed to less willing to roll on its own.  I should also note there is a foot brake.

After finishing the round it was very easy to fold the cart back up. 

Here you can see it fits very easily into the back of my small SUV.  I read in some other reviews that if you have a regular trunk you may have to take the wheels off in order to fit both clubs and cart.  It is definitely bulkier than the more streamlined and more expensive cart models, but if you are looking for some good value, I'm not sure you can beat the TRIO!

I paid $99.99 at www.rockbottomgolf.com   I used a free shipping code that saved me $18.  In seaching today I found the same cart for $89 at www.costco.com  (note, you have to be a Costco member to puchase!) - this also included shipping.  Since I'm not a member it wouldn't work for me, so the Rock Bottom price was the second best.  On average these sell for around $118.  If you are a sale shopper like me, I think you'd be hard pressed to find as sturdy of a cart for under $100.

I am giving the Wilson TRIO push cart an enthusiastic 4.5!  Minor deductions for being slightly bulky and for my tire falling off.  If you're looking for a streamlined storage cart (and have the money to spend), this might not be the one for you, but I can easily put my clubs right on top of it and still have room for shoes, balls and clothes in the back of my car.

I am looking forward to using my Wilson TRIO on beautiful summer days!