Swing when you’re winning
Can the latest golf tech improve your game faster than if you were playing without it? T3 hits the green to find out
I’ve always maintained that golf is the hardest sport in the world. Not like a gruelling 10-hour triathlon physical test, but for a physical and mental battle, when it’s just you and your gear against the elements (such as wildly varying surfaces and wind conditions), golf is the hardest. It can be an incredibly frustrating game when it isn’t going your way, but it’s also one of the most rewarding when you manage to fire a perfect iron shot close to the flag. That’s what makes golf so addictive. But it also gets harder the lower your handicap. There’s less margin for error, and all it takes is one shot out of bounds to ruin your scorecard.
Of course I still love the game, but my handicap has crept up to 14 over the past few years so I need to stop it from getting higher. With help from T3, I’ve rounded up some of the latest high-tech golf gear to see if it can give my game a much-needed boost.
ON THE RANGE
Practice makes perfect, so I hit the range with the Ojee Talon Mk 2 golf training device. Ojee says, ‘To swing like a pro, first you need to set up like one’. I feel like you need to be a pro just to understand the Talon Mk 2 – it’s a faff to set up. One how-to video later on YouTube, though, and it all makes sense. With the device plugged into the butt of my 7 iron, the Ojee informs me (in real time) of my spine and club shaft angle at address, and the difference between the two. The Talon Mk 2 calls this the ‘Ojee angle’ and believes this angle should remain the same for each club, regardless of their different lengths.
The Talon Mk 2 ensures my setup is consistent for each club in the bag. I work through all of my clubs and hit more than 100 balls, but practice on the range is hot work. Thankfully I’m wearing an Adidas Adicross No-Show Polo Shirt (£54.95, adidas.co.uk) that does a good job of wicking away any moisture from my body.
I’ve arranged to play a mate for 18 holes this afternoon and have the Smart Scope V2 GPS golf watch to give me very accurate yardages to the greens, making me feel confident that I’m using the right club each time. Unlike other golf GPS watches that show courses when you arrive on the first tee, you need to download the Smart Scope app to your smartphone or desktop and download/sync courses to the watch. The V2 GPS is quite a brick on my wrist, but I can also attach it to my golf bag so that it doesn’t impede swing.
NOT ANY OLD IRON
If I’m honest, I’m not good enough, on an average day, to be hitting the current clubs I have. They’re fine when I’m on form and striking it well, and my low-handicapper clubs mean I can control and ‘shape’ the ball from right to left (draw), or left to right (fade), to hit the ball around dogleg fairways or around trees to greens. Due to a general busy lifestyle I don’t play golf every week. Nowadays it’s every month and my form has become sporadic, so I need gear that’s more forgiving every time I play.
This is what makes the TaylorMade M3 irons so attractive. They’re still aimed at the serious golfer, but offer more distance, forgiveness and control. There’s lots of metal and meat in the clubhead and they’re noticeably heavier than my current clubs. The clever RibCOR, Face Slots and Speed Pocket tech combine to get the ball up in the air regardless of how pure your strike may be.
The face is incredibly reactive and the ball nearly explodes into the sky when I hit it in the sweet spot (the centre of the face). I notice the launch angle of my shots is near-perfect, and that more shots are straighter.
My driving can be my weakness, so I’m hoping TaylorMade’s new M3 Driver will get me back on track. It’s TaylorMade’s most technologically advanced driver, featuring a five-layer carbon composite crown and new Y-Track and Hammerhead Slot; the Y-Track has moveable weights, so I can customise the driver to hit the ball higher/lower, and counteract fades/ draws, while the Hammerhead increases the sweet spot to improve strike rates.
WEAPON OF CHOICE
The M3’s secret weapon is something called Twist Face tech. TaylorMade’s extensive research (its boffins studied data from more than half a million shots) proved that most mishits were high-toe and and low-heel shots. Twist Face combats this classic mishit and, with clever angles and ball spin, brings the shots back on line. Does it actually work? You bet your ass it does! I’m straighter than ever off the tee and hitting fairways more than the trees in my first outing with the M3. I also drive it over 300 yards downwind on the big par five, which is a satisfying 40 yards past my partner.
Golf’s a game of inches and any movement during your swing can spell disaster. A strong base is key and this starts with solid footing. I’m trying out Under Armour’s Spieth 2 golf shoes,
the taylormade m3 irons offer more distance, forgiveness and control