GEAR OF THE YEAR

Looking for new clubs this year? This is the place to start

Now in its third year, Top Gear is firmly part of the TG calendar. It’s the biggest, most comprehensive gear test conducted in the UK, and the ONLY place where you’ll find all the latest 2018 drivers, fairway, hybrids, irons, wedges and putters compared against each other, by multiple testers, with published launch monitor data. And it comes at the time when all the new products are available to buy in pro shops.

There are two reasons why we spend four months arranging and conducting this mammoth test. The first is the interest in the two previous Top Gears, both in print and online, which reinforced how much golfers want to know about the latest equipment, and how it compares to the gear it’s replacing.

Secondly, the golf equipment market changes every year. Most brands (Ping and Titleist are the notable exceptions) work on annual product cycles, which means a raft of new clubs flood the market at the start of the year. So there’s no point us testing drivers in July or fairway woods in September when almost all those clubs have been on sale for months already.

That’s why we’ve put them all in one special issue, right at the start of the golf season – with lots more detail, images and videos – plus some 48 products that didn’t make our Top 10s – at

www.todaysgolfer.co.uk HOW WE DID IT

We asked all the major manufacturers to submit their entire 2018 ranges for testing. Only one, PXG, declined (though you can still find reviews of its clubs on our website). We tested both indoors with a premium ball and outside in a range bay using range balls, as that’s how many golfers will get fitted. We collected a ton of data from every shot, using a Foresight Sports GC Quad launch monitor and then pored over all this info to come up with our conclusions.

OUR LAUNCH MONITOR

We picked Foresight Sports’ GC Quad, as it’s the latest model on the market. Thanks to four highresolution stereoscopic cameras (which capture 10,000 frames per second) we were able to collect thousands of pieces of data not only from the ball, but also from the clubface. We picked it for several reasons:

◆ We were able to record where every shot impacted the clubface, making it possible to analyse where the fastest shots came from and monitor how much ball speed was lost on off-centre shots ◆ It can be used both indoors and outside. That means we were able to create a controlled environment inside at a comfortable temperature to collect data, while using a premium ball. To ensure data was relevant to you, we also tested outside using range balls

◆ By hooking the Quad up to an ipad, we saw where every shot had gone and recorded how it flew

◆ Its portability let us take it to different ranges if we needed to gain more data

Visit www.foresightsports.com for more information.

THE ‘STREET’ PRICE

Throughout Top Gear we’ve always quoted the official recommended retail prices for every club. We’ve still published those, but for the first time, this year we’ve also added the “street price” – the price you’re more likely to find that club at in retail. Those prices have been supplied by leading online retailer Clubhouse Golf (www.clubhousegolf.co.uk)

WHERE WE DID IT

We’ve been testing golf gear at the National Fitting Centre at The Belfry since 2005. It’s a fabulous facility in the heart of the country, with indoor fitting bays for the majority of major brands, plus a team of expert club fitters who will help you choose.

LOADS MORE ONLINE

These reviews represent a fraction of the content we produced during Top Gear. Of the 158 clubs tested, only 110 made it into our Top 10s. You can see everything else at www.todaysgolfer.co.uk