Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Monday 12 December 2011
Before the first ball was hit all the attention was focussed on Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy and their tussle over the Race to Dubai – but Alvaro Quiros obviously had other matters on his mind. The Spaniard, who kicked off his season in style with victory in Dubai in January, completed the double as he overpowered the lengthy Earth Course...
Written by Jonathan Greathead, Senior Equipment Editor on Monday 26 December 2011
If we’re honest, the driver is the club we all get most excited about. There’s nothing better than standing on the tee and bombing one long and high down the middle of the fairway. There’s no doubt 2011 has been a vintage year for new drivers with TaylorMade dominating the market with the new white-headed drivers the R11 and Burner Superfast...
Written by Jonathan Greathead, Senior Equipment Editor on Monday 26 December 2011
Not so long ago you’d have been met with a puzzled stare if you asked a golfer what a hybrid was but now almost everybody has at least one in their bag. Every club manufacturer has a minimum of one hybrid in their range and a few stand-outs of 2011 include the Nike VR Pro, TaylorMade Rescue 11, Callaway Razr Hawk...
Written by Jonathan Greathead, Senior Equipment Editor on Monday 26 December 2011
The short stick may be the most important in your bag and it is also likely to be the most personal. It doesn’t matter if it costs £3 or £300, if it helps you hole more putts then it’s a winner. But the choice out there is vast – from sleek blade putters to large-headed mallets and everything in between. And...
Written by Jonathan Greathead, Senior Equipment Editor on Monday 26 December 2011
So often the forgotten portion of the golf bag tagged onto the end of the irons, wedges can be overlooked when it comes to buying new gear. But with iron lofts getting stronger, specialist wedges are now a distinct part of the bag and as important as any other if you are wanting to score well. This year has been a strong...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Thursday 1 December 2011
Callaway have entered the realm of the adjustable driver with the RAZR Fit – the first in the company’s history to feature an adjustable face angle and moveable weights. The hotly anticipated driver is the result of years of product development from Callaway’s R&D team, who say the engineering issues that an adjustable driver throws into the equation are significant. Therefore, Callaway...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Friday 2 December 2011
Yesterday we brought you the news of the new Callaway Razr Fit driver, the company’s first foray into the world of adjustable clubs. Now we have an exclusive interview with the man behind the design of the new club, Dr Alan Hocknell, Callaway’s senior VP of research and design. Today’s Golfer equipment editor David Connor joined Callaway at Valderrama in Spain earlier...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Monday 19 December 2011
Ian Poulter bagged his second win of the year to end in style with victory at the JB Were Masters at Victoria GC in Australia. The win propelled Poulter back into the top 20 in the world and seen him add to the Volvo World Matchplay title he won in May. Victory sets him up well for 2012, particularly with the Ryder...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Monday 19 December 2011
Lee Westwood won for the second time in two weeks with victory at the Thailand Golf Championship and hailed it as probably the best golf he has played in his career. The Englishman jumped back up to No2 in the world rankings with the win, which kicked off with a sensational 12-under-par 60 on the opening day. He followed that up with...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Friday 9 December 2011
At Today’s Golfer we’re always on the lookout for top quality clubs but equally we like to keep an eye on the bottom line and we reckon that for less than £200 the new Nike VR-S is going to be one of the best value drivers on the market in 2012. TheNike VR-S driver has been introduced to replace the Nike...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Friday 9 December 2011
Nike’s new VR-S irons are designed to give the maximum amount of forgiveness and playability to higher-handicap golfers but as usual with Nike they have also placed huge importance on the aesthetic value. They have been introduced to replace the SQ Machspeed irons which offered excellent forgiveness but didn’t have the aesthetic appeal that other irons on the market had. The VR-S...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Thursday 8 December 2011
Nike have released details of their brand new range of VR-S woods due out in 2012. The VR-S woods, which stands for Victory Red Speed, will replace the SQ Machspeed line for next year. Gone are the square headshapes designed to maximise forgiveness and in their place comes sleeker, more aesthetically-pleasing designs. However, Nike say these are no less forgiving than the...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Thursday 8 December 2011
If you are a fan of the new Ping G20 range of clubs you can now wear it on your sleeve thanks to a G20-inspired polo shirt from Ping Collection. The shirts come in three designs featuring charcoal, graphite, white and inferno red, as well as the G20 logo on the sleeve, to mirror the colour scheme on the hardware launched earlier...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Tuesday 6 December 2011
Love him or loathe him, he gets people talking about the game and Tiger Woods winning at the Chevron Challenge has created a real buzz ahead of the 2012 season. There have obviously been a few changes in his swing and in his own mind as he won for the first time since 2009 but there have also been a few...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Wednesday 21 December 2011
In the Today’s Golfer office we can all remember our reaction when TaylorMade first told us about the name of their new Rocketballz wood range. As you might expect, it raised more than a few eyebrows. Now, it’s not all that often we get a look behind the scenes at the first time Tour pros get their hands on new clubs...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Wednesday 9 February 2011
The new Cobra S3 irons are the latest iron from Cobra to enter the extremely competitive game-improvement category. The S3 irons are designed for a solid game-improvement or mid-handicap player who wants a club with plenty of forgiveness but not at the expense of sleek, aspirational looks. The irons feature what Cobra call E9 face technology which, similar to the technology in...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Wednesday 9 February 2011
Cobra’s S3 Max iron is their latest iron for high handicap players and golfers who look for the maximum amount of forgiveness from their clubs. The S3 Max comes in a hybrid-iron combo set – where the long irons are replaced by hybrids – or a straightforward iron set, and the idea is that they simply make the game easier to...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Wednesday 9 February 2011
The new Cobra S3 Pro irons are the new better-player irons designed to replace the popular Pro MB and Pro CB models. Cobra say the S3 Pro irons take the best of what both the Pro MB and the Pro CB had to offer and combines them in one set. What they noticed is that many of their Tour stars were taking the...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Friday 18 February 2011
Mizuno launched their new JPX-800 range of woods at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando recently hoping to capitalise on the success of its predecessor – the MX-700. Anyone who reads Today’s Golfer will know that we were massive fans of the MX-700 range so it was with some excitement TG’s senior equipment editor Jonathan Greathead travelled to Orlando to find...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Saturday 19 February 2011
Mizuno’s new JPX-800 hybrid has a lot to live up to. Not only does it go head to head with a plethora of new hybrids on the market but it is Mizuno’s follow up to the terrific MX-700 hybrid. At Today’s Golfer we were big fans of the MX-700 so we would need some convincing that the JPX-800 could be better. We’ll...