Sweet Stuff
This year’s show was the busiest and most well-attended PGA Show I have been to in the last five years. It’s really a great time to be a golfer!
The technology, just over the past few years, has changed radically. The key point is that with all the new products, whether balls, irons, drivers, shoes, putters or wedges, you can and must be custom fitted. Take advantage of all the new technology and products heretofore non-existent and improve your enjoyment and lower your scores.
Drivers today still lead the demand for equipment sales. Now you can find the right shaft and decide what it is exactly what you want out of a driver in terms of dispersion, sound, feel, shot pattern, draw or fade tendency. Seek and ye shall find.
The stars, aka busiest booths of the Show this year, were most definitely Callaway, Titleist, PING, Cobra Tour Edge and the Garmin booth. Every visit to the PGA Show is exciting, exhilarating and really exhausting. There simply is no way that one person can cover all the exhibits, visit with companies and their sales representatives, which in most cases are the owners, in three days!
Every year I am asked by my readership what were the best products that caught my attention. The following three products, in my opinion, simply stood, head and shoulders above their peers!
Sacks & Parente Series 54 VA ULBP Mallet Putter - $1200.00 Tour Edition $600.00 Players Edition
Both Steve Sacks and Richard Parente know golf. Their experience in the golf business is exceptional. I know of no other putter, past or present, that features patented Ultra-Low Balance Point (ULBP) technology which is defined as a balance point 5” or less from the sole of the putter. This balance point causes the putter head to square and release at impact, delivering exceptional rollout and accuracy, enabling you to make more putts. The Series 54 is available in both a Players Edition and a Tour Edition and features a perfectly flat crown that starts low at the back of the putter and ramps up to the full height of the face to optically eliminating misalignment. Strategically placed tungsten weighting creates an extremely high MOI and moves the center of gravity towards the face to counter the detrimental result of gear effect present in other mallet putters. Suffice to say, there is a lot more to discuss --- especially the accuracy, feel, alignment, shaft component and the two model options available. Wow! What a putter! For more information: www.sacksparente.com
Garmin Approach G80 Premium Golf GPS with an Integrated Launch Monitor and Radar
This unit tracks clubhead speed, ball speed, smash factor, swing tempo and estimated distance. It features a 3.5” sunlight-readable touchscreen display and slim design with quick button access to radar. One of its best features is the practice and game modes which allow you to test your skills and work to improve your game. It also has a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 15 hours with GPS. For more information: www.garmin.com
Garmin S10 – K.I.S.S. Keep It Superbly Simple
You get the distances you need expeditiously and keep your rhythm flowing relative to the speed of play. Extremely user friendly. The battery is long-lasting, and the price is $146.36 on Amazon. To learn more: www.garmin.com
Lighter, Faster Clubs
For clubs, the theme was lighter, faster, more carbon usage and adjustability in clubs. PING’s new G410 Plus, Callaway’s EPIC Flash, Mizuno’s ST190, Bridgestone’s TOUR B XW-1 wedges, Cobra’s King F9 Speedback, Tour Edge Exotics CBX woods and hybrids, plus Exotics EXS clubs, XXIO Prime 9 driver, and Titleist TS2 and TSR 3drew the largest audiences. For shafts, Graphite Designs booth and hitting bay were constantly full. Their new Tour AD VR – designed to “Vanquish all Rivals”, really does! The Tour AD VR shafts are available in 40g R2, R1 and S flex, 50g R2, R1, S and X flex, 60g SR, S and X flex, 70g S and X flex and 80g S and X flex. It’s hard to find a better shaft.
For more information: www.prochoicegolfshafts.com.