Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2023 i Golf Magazine

From the Editor I SAW DO THE RIGHT THING, the 1989 Spike Lee film, in a theater with my mother. If you know the picture, you'll understand why it probably wasn't the best motherson movie-night selection we could have come up with. But, aside from a few racy scenes (at least for a 20-year-old to watch sitting next to his mama) and her distaste for some of the language, Audrey liked it. “Do the right thing—that's good advice,” she said afterward. (Mom was never one for nuance or mise-en-scène.) This all pertains to the issue you're holding in your hands—GOLF's latest iteration of its time-honored new gear review franchise, ClubTest—and giving credit where credit is due. In this case, it's Radio Raheem–sized kudos to GOLF's equipment editors Jonathan Wall and…

Up Close with Josh Sens Cameron Smith For the defending Players champion, the LIVing has been easy—even if that means he won't be competing in his own backyard this month at Sawgrass MID-JANUARY, ON THE CLUBHOUSE PATIO OF THE DYE PRESERVE GC IN JUPITER, FLA. Josh Sens: We're coming up on a year since your big win at the 2022 Players Championship. What are your most vivid memories from that week? Cameron Smith: What stands out for me was that it was the first time I'd seen my mom and sister in about two and a half years, so it was a very emotional time when golf really took a back seat. But all the stars aligned, and I played really good golf, even though I wasn't expecting to. I…

Goal: Find the perfect driver and driver setting for more consistency; configure best woods/hybrids setup for my game. You know what's holding back 14-handicaps like me from getting better? A lot. Not enough rounds, not enough practice, not the right kind of practice and not enough consistency. The list goes on and on. But you know what should be high on that list? Not enough education. Are the clubs I'm using really the best for me? One model or one shaft or one draw bias doesn't fit everyone. Then I had a chance to put Callaway's new Paradym line to the test and get the feedback, data and solutions I've craved. School was in session. We started with the driver, and while the Paradym X is going to fix a…

When I tell people I work at GOLF, they assume that means I'm a low-handicap golfer. I'm a 10 who struggles to get over the hump into the single digits. The potential is there, but I trip over my feet to take that next step to low-handicap glory. My game stays where it is because of my consistency. I consistently keep the ball short and relatively straight. Unfortunately, I consistently make the same mistakes too. If I'm going to lower my handicap, short game is the logical focus for me. That's why I decided to give Cleveland's new RTX6 ZipCore wedges a shot. The first thing I noticed was the appearance. Granted, that might not mean much to the end result, but when a club looks appealing to my eye,…

(1) The big story surrounding last year's Cobra LTDx line was an incredible improvement in overall distance loss across all mishit locations in relation to shots hit out of the center. A penalizing miss was almost nonexistent. Ball speed retention remains a key storyline for '23, but it's clear Cobra pulled down hard on the ball speed lever. The Aerojet and Aerojet LS recorded two of the highest ball speeds of any driver in the testing lineup. It's also important to point out the ball speed number is an average of all nine points tested. Gary Woodland raved about Aerojet's speed after signing a multiyear deal with Cobra, but it's always difficult to tell the difference between organic feedback and marketing-speak. Based on what we saw from Aerojet during testing,…

Mitsubishi Vanquish $400 1. The lightweight Vanquish shafts use Amorphous Wire Tech in the butt section for increased activity in the handle and increased ball speed and clubhead acceleration. Fujikura Ventus TR $350 2. The three shafts (Red, Blue and Black) in the Ventus TR line each come with VeloCore Tech and a Spread Tow carbon fabric for improved performance and a smooth feel. Accra TZ Five $300 3. Made with high modulus fiber for a smoother feel and a low-launch ballflight. The low balance point and low torque rating contribute to lower spin. Graphite Design Tour AD CQ $500 4. Comes with Nitta 2G-Namd carbon-fiber material that tightly binds fibers together for a greater energy transfer with a higher launch and mid-level spin. Project X HZRDUS Black GEN 4…

Golf Pride CPx $10 each 1. The CPx comes with a specially designed EXO quilted pattern to reduce vibration and maximize hand comfort while also reducing fatigue during the round. Lamkin Sonar+ Black $12 each 2. This comes with Lamkin's Genesis material and FingerPrint Texture Tech in a unique grip pattern for added comfort and a secure hold. The material is softer yet more durable than rubber. Winn Dri-Tac 2.0 $9 each 3. Comes with the latest in Winn's polymer grip technology for a slipresistant feel in all weather conditions and reduced hand fatigue. Lamkin UTX Green/Blue $11 each 4. The UTX Green or Blue comes with Tri-Layer Technology developed for players with fast swings that require extra torsional control and vibration dampening. SuperStroke Traxion Tour $8 each 5. Made…

I was fitted for PING G430 clubs, but what I was really given was a break. My driver was approaching its 15th birthday, and the tech—or, more to the point, its pop— reflected that. I had trouble hitting irons lower than a 6 consistently. I had just one wood—a 7. I had just one wedge. I had been working too hard with this gear setup. And golf is hard enough. Let's start with the driver. James and the PING gang were focused on getting this club right for me. “If we do nothing else today, we're going to get you a better driver,” a PING staffer said. They did, with some notes. We'll get right to what you're wondering: The G430 added 15 to 20 yards at the PING range,…

Goals: Add more distance and consistency to irons and smooth out uneven gapping in my wedges and hybrids/ fairway woods. Before this makeover, mishmash was not only a good word for my set makeup but also for my game. I'm relatively steady, but I also have a steep, sawed-off swing and a left shoulder dip that leads to too many chunked, distance-sapping irons. The dated tech in my bag wasn't helping matters, either. Time to upgrade! It took me all of about one swing with a 0311 Gen5 XP 7-iron to understand what I'd been missing. The ball jumped off the face as if propelled from a rocket launcher. That was thanks in part to a polymer core that helps keep the mass low in the clubhead while also allowing…

(1) The three new ZX MKII driver models from Srixon represent a unmistakable shift in performance compared to past models, especially with the introduction of the new low-spin ZX5 MKII LS head, which produced some of the lowest spin numbers of any driver we tested in the 95 mph clubhead speed range for 2023. (2) Even more impressive, the ZX5 MKII LS produced 250 rpm less spin than Srixon's previous low-spin model when averaging the spin rate across all nine face impact locations. What exactly does this mean? It shows that the improved Rebound Frame has a positive impact on overall face consistency. (3) The standard ZX5 is still considered a lower spinning head and produced, on average, only 100 rpm more spin above the ZX5 LS. The ZX7 offered…

TAYLORMADE'S MISSION has always been to create the best performance-golf products in the world. With their new Stealth 2 woods and P-Series irons, they've implemented changes across the line based on feedback from some of the best players in the world. Beyond player feedback, TaylorMade designers are also pushing the limits of golf club engineering by using new processes and materials in the manufacturing to get more forgiveness, accuracy and distance to every golfer. Stealth 2 drivers The standout feature of the Stealth 2 line is the nano-textured 60X Carbon Twist Face, which has a newly optimized profile on the back of the face that incorporates TaylorMade's famous Inverted Cone Technology (ICT) to better maintain ball speeds on shots hit away from center. This is achieved by moving around layers…

MyStealth 2 Plus Program $730; 9˚, 10.5˚ Custom wedges, putters and golf balls are everywhere you look. But what about custom drivers? In the last few years, major manufacturers have added a new level of customization to the longest club in the bag. For TaylorMade, that level of customization commenced two years ago with the introduction of MySIM2, a program that allowed golfers to personalize every aspect of the driver, down to the face tuning pins. The MyStealth 2 Plus program builds upon last year's MyStealth with new areas to customize, including the crown logo, topline, ring and adjustable sliding weight. TaylorMade also offered six different face colors to choose from with MyStealth. The latest version has expanded the offerings to an impressive nine. Having recently gone through the program,…

Goals: Get more consistency out of the top end of my bag (long irons and woods). I work in golf, but my gear knowledge has always been seriously lacking. When it comes to gear, I might be the least knowledgeable single-digit handicap in the industry. But there's one thing I do know: A proper fitting can significantly improve your game. It didn't take long for my fitting at the Titleist Performance Institute (p. 26) to prove as much. After a few swings with the Titleist T200 irons—and tinkering with a variety of shaft options— I immediately saw dividends. My ball launched higher, stayed in the air longer and landed softer than any clubs I'd hit before. Half an hour in and I was hooked. The long irons posed another question…

LESSONS: MARCH 2023 TRY THIS! Compressing the ball—that's the goal of any iron shot. You'll get distance and shot-stopping spin like you won't believe. The trick is to hit the ball first and the ground second. Here's how. 1. Adjust your setup From a regular lie, make sure that 65 percent of your weight is over your front foot and—most important—your nose is directly over the ball. (You'll see why that's important in a second.) 2. Avoid swaying As you swing the club to the top, keep your nose on top of the ball, like it was at address. Many weekend players tend to move their head (and nose) off the ball. Fact: Your swing will almost always bottom out under your nose, so, when you move it behind the ball…

If cold winter days got you down, the G-Tech Heated Vest ($220; gtechapparel.com) will warm you right back up. All you need to do to stay toasty and cozy is put your hands inside the pockets and grab onto the rechargeable heat bars. No more extra gloves or disposable hand warmers! The G-Tech chest icon serves as the “on” switch and changes color from red (hottest) to orange (hot) to green (warm). While this heated vest can handle athletic performance, it is tailored for everyday comfort too. It's lightweight and sleek enough to wear over a polo and still keep you swinging freely. When conditions call to bundle up, it makes a great layer under your favorite winter coat. This ultimate cold weather piece is available in men's and women's…

$4,364,403 Lydia Ko's winnings in 2022. Tops among LPGA players. In '23, the women will play for a record total purse of $101.4 million. .13 THE INCREASED SIZE, IN INCHES, OF THE INNER CORE OF THE 2023 TITLEIST PRO V1X. THE EXPANSION MEANS 44 PERCENT MORE MATERIAL IN THE CORE, DESIGNED TO LOWER LONG-GAME SPIN AND IMPROVE STABILITY. 6.6 Yards of carry-distance difference between a center strike and eight off-center points on the face of Callaway's Paradym X driver, as measured by a robot at 95 mph. In testing (p. 37), it was one of only five drivers with a single-digit carry-distance loss on mishits. Growing the Game…

Drivers PARADYM $600 / 9.5˚, 10.5˚, 12˚ SMART ADJUSTABILITY AND EYE-OPENING SPEED WE'RE STILL EARLY IN THE SEASON, but it's safe to say Callaway's Paradym is already turning heads. Jon Rahm has put the metalwoods on the map with multiple PGA Tour wins; Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam is raving about the irons; and the putters continue to receive high marks. If this feels like “just another year” for Callaway, it's most certainly not. While Callaway is used to setting the curve in innovation and design, the Paradym line is truly something special. With A.I. and a plethora of carbon fiber leading the way, Callaway's latest woods, irons and putters have the potential to take the industry by storm. They're what you might call a paradigm shift in club design…

Rogue ST Max Driver $450; 9.5˚, 10.5˚, 12˚ The most forgiving model in the line; Callaway used artificial intelligence to optimize speed, forgiveness, launch and spin for the faces of each individual clubhead. There's also a substantial heavy back weighting in the sole with a new tungsten Speed Cartridge to drive weight rearward in the head, which reduces twisting at impact. Rogue ST Max D Fairway Wood $299; 16˚, 19˚, 22˚ To enhance both stability and speed in its fairways, Callaway designed two Jailbreak structures that sit behind the extreme toe and heel portions of the A.I. optimized faces; it's called Batwing technology. The winged design helps reduce speed loss on mishits but maintains speed by keeping the faces flexible. Max D is the draw-biased offering. Rogue ST Max OS…

Launcher XL Driver $250; 9.5˚, 10.5˚, 12˚ Cleveland's take on hitting the driver is a simple one: to make it as fun as possible. The Launcher XL head shape has a staggeringly high MOI and what the company calls a Rebound Frame for enhanced energy transfer back into the golf ball. Also, the driver comes with an adjustable hosel for ballflight control and an optional eight-gram weight placed inside the grip end of the shaft (it's actually oneinch shorter than standard) for added feel. This model fits most golfers. Scan this code to buy Cleveland drivers, irons and wedges at GOLF retail partner FairwayJockey.com. Launcher XL Halo Fairway $180; 15˚, 18˚, 21˚ Featuring a bigger head with a higher MOI for added stability, the XL Halo fairway woods also include…

All three new Aerojet drivers from Cobra are built to do one big thing: boost ball speed to help all types of golfers hit it farther. I started my test with the Aerojet LS, the dream driver for long hitters like Bryson DeChambeau and longdrive champ Kyle Berkshire, both of whom lent a hand in the club's design. And without belaboring it—and I certainly labored it in my test/trial—the LS seemed downright unfair. Because it's a low-spinner and packs a bevy of tech to help the clubhead move faster in the air and increase clubhead and ball speed, I found it to be just the driver for long hitters who want to be even longer. My best results came when I swung harder (that was kind of crazy and fun),…

ST-Z 230 $500 / 9.5˚, 10.5˚ LOW SPIN AND A NEUTRAL FLIGHT FOR THE BETTER PLAYER Drivers ST-X 230 $500 / 9.5˚, 10.5˚, 12˚ DESIGNED WITH A DEEP FACE AND SLIGHT DRAW BIAS ST-X 230 PLTNM $550 / 10.5˚, 12˚ LIGHTER MATERIALS TO HELP YOU GAIN MORE SPEED Mizuno's 2023 line of clubs, including the ST 230 series woods, JPX923 irons and S23 wedges, round out a collection of products that offers endless fitting opportunities specifically designed to help different segments of the golfing population, from Tour players all the way down to higher handicap golfers. When Mizuno set out to design these clubs, they utilized data collected from their one-of-a-kind swing optimizer and fitting software along with feedback from their Tour staff and technical advisors to produce clubs that…

The G430 line of woods and irons are about more than just forgiveness. When it comes to the drivers, PING engineers cranked up the speed with the help of a shallower and thinner VFT forged face design packed with the same Spinsistency technology the equipment manufacturer first debuted in its previous generation fairway woods and hybrids. The complexly curved clubface features a modified roll profile with less loft on the lower portion to normalize spin, increase ball speed and offer more consistent distance. In similar fashion, the G430 irons bring together sharper looks and more distance thanks to a new and more flexible face structure that reacts like a big trampoline to get the ball flying higher and farther. As a bonus, every club in the PING G430 line has…

Blueprint Irons $1,039 / 7-PIECE SET With short blade lengths, less offset and narrow soles, PING's Blueprint blades are the choice for high-caliber PGA Tour winners such as Tony Finau and Louis Oosthuizen. The forged 8620 carbon heads have machine-milled faces and grooves, giving precise ball strikers the spin and flight control they need. These are for the elite. Scan this code to see how the new PING G430 drivers fared in robot testing in a special video on GOLF.com. PLD Milled Putters $485 Recognizing that not every golfer can spring for a $1,300 custom putter, PING created PLD Milled to fill an important slot in the putter program. The four Tour-inspired models in the matrix are fully machined from forged 303 stainless steel and undergo four hours of milling…

Battle Ready Putters $299 In addition to the stealthy looks and high-tech material combinations, the Battle Ready putters use a Pyramid Face Pattern to help improve ball velocity, launch angle, spin rate and skidding. The putters also have two adjustable heel-toe weights in the sole to finetune weight and performance for all players. 0211 Putters $179 PXG's fresh take on visual alignment aids is called “runway reticle.” The arrow-like design on the crown of the 0211 is designed to help with face awareness and control throughout the stroke. Cast from 303 stainless steel, each model comes with milled Pyramid Face Patterns to help improve ball speed on mishits for better distance control on putts of all lengths. Scan this code to read more in-depth reviews and ratings of all PXG…

Goals: Narrow the dispersion of my worst shots while improving my gapping throughout the bag. Contrary to popular belief, life as an exceedingly, boringly, flounderingly average golfer is not glamorous. The golf existence of a 12.3, per the USGA, is not filled with center-cut drives and greens in regulation but, rather, with mind-numbing, skull-rattling inconsistency. Off the tee was one area of particular concern—but not with the ZX MKII, whose sweet spot felt roughly the size of a two-by-four. Heel and toe hits that would normally result in massive misses suddenly started working back toward the center. Center-face strikes produced a neat little fade. After a few minutes, I was hooked. The center on the MKII might not be larger than any other 460cc driver on the market, but it…

(1) The latest carbon-fiber face structure attached to Stealth 2 is designed to retain ball speed on those common misses, and, based on what we observed during robotic testing, it more than lives up to the hype. TaylorMade's Stealth 2 and Stealth 2 Plus were the fastest driver models we tested on the Golf Laboratories robot. In some cases, Stealth 2 beat some competitors by 3 to 4 mph, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 yards. Golfers who tend to miss low on the clubface will find minimal distance loss on drives hit on the lowerthird area. Launch angles and spin rates were both higher among other models tested. What makes those numbers even more impressive is the fact that it's an average of all nine points on…

Drivers TSR1 $600 / 9˚, 10˚, 12˚ LIGHTWEIGHT WEAPON WITH A RED-HOT DRIVER FACE TSR2 $600 / 8˚, 9˚, 10˚, 11˚ IMPRESSIVE SPEED AND ROCK-SOLID STABILITY TSR3 $600 / 8˚, 9˚, 10˚, 11˚ A STUNNING PROFILE WITH ENDLESS ADJUSTABILITY TITLEIST FOLLOWS A DIFFERENT release cadence when compared to its peers, which means you've likely seen the TSR2, TSR3 and TSR4 woods already. The TSR1 is a new addition for 2023, but we'll get to it in a moment. As the most-played woods in the professional ranks, Titleist has continued to produce winning products that not only benefit Jordan Spieth, Max Homa and Will Zalatoris, but also every handicap. Loaded with proprietary materials and technology, the equipment manufacturer continues to push the limits of equipment design with its ATI-425 face and…

Scotty Cameron Super Select $449 Paint fill is almost nonexistent on Super Select to give it a clean look. But there's a design benefit as well. Cameron wanted to save weight from certain areas on the head, so he took it out of places like the neck and bombs in the cavity to net around 10 grams of discretionary weight, which was then placed between the heel-toe weights. For some golfers, the notch design might look familiar. It was first introduced with the popular Mil-Spec as a way to efficiently adjust loft and lie without negatively altering the neck. Scotty Cameron Phantom X $429 With a myriad of different heads and neck types, Scotty Cameron's Phantom X line takes adaptability to the next level. Each individual model provides golfers with…

DON'T THROW IT! Chunking a chip might tempt you to hurl your wedge into the next zip code. Don't. One, it's a bad look, even worse than the shot; two, it's dangerous; and three, you might lose the club (not to mention a few friends). LOVE THE COURSE That means raking bunkers, filling divots and fixing ball marks. Always. Yes, there's a slight learning curve for each technique, but you don't need $1,000 lessons from Butch Harmon to show you the way. HONOR THE CODE We get your love of hoodies and joggers, but, for those clubs that require you to wear something more traditional, we refer you to that old Nike slogan: Just do it. Fighting for your right to denim is not a hill worth dying on. —Josh…

PLAY SMART WE ALL LIKE keeping our own card, but consider the alternateshot format when you can, for these reasons: 1. It saves time. Alternate shot is played with four people but only two balls are in play. You get around at the pace of a twosome— ideal for when you're chasing daylight. 2. It forces you to use new strategies. In alt shot, you have to consider your teammate's strengths and weaknesses as well as your own, forcing you to think a couple shots ahead. Fun stuff! 3. It requires teamwork. Golf is inherently an individual sport, but, in alternate shot, you give up control on half the outcomes. Unnerving? Sure. But learning to work as a team will make you a stronger player when you're out there on…

G: For you, what is one physical skill that has translated well from football to golf? RB: Being able to flip my hips. Turning my hips and hitting through the ball with that explosion that you have to have in football, that short-distance explosion, helps you on the golf course. I believe a lot of football players have built-in attributes that are perfect for golf. You've got speed, strength, mental focus and the short-distance explosion. G: Is there anything from football that doesn't help? RB: The muscles. [Laughs.] They hold you back a bit. G: On your journey toward becoming a single-digit handicap, what's the best piece of advice you've received? RB: If I had to pick one, wow—I think the most important thing I've learned is that the clubface…

PAY A LITTLE BIT too much attention to detail and it's really easy to find yourself distracted by TAG Heuer's Calibre E4 Golf Edition watch ($2,650; tagheuer.com). The luxury watchmaker's newest golf offering is, simply, a supercomputer for your wrist. Every pixel on the Calibre E4's vibrant 42-millimeter face is packed with the sort of real-time tracking information, health data and on-course feedback every golfer needs to get the most out of their game. Loads of digital data points guide your every course-management decision and swing, providing you with up-to-the-second info from tee to green. But strap on the Calibre E4 and you'll notice something surprising. These features—the ones worthy of mission control at NASA—turn out to be focus enhancers, not geek-out, on-course distractions. Yes, the E4's tech is mind-boggling,…

(1) Compared to the previous Rogue ST line, the Paradym and Paradym X produced, on average, 200 rpm less spin at 95 mph. A reduction in spin can lead to more carry distance, provided the spin rate isn't consistently sub-2,000 rpm. (2) The Paradym X was one of only five drivers we tested with a single-digit carrydistance loss (6.6 yards), a statistic that looks at the carry delta between center strikes and the other eight locations (average) we tested on the face. For golfers who struggle with inconsistent contact, the X provides an abundance of ball speed retention. Even better? All three toe and heel locations produced an average carry-distance delta of just six yards. To put that number into perspective, some drivers we tested had carry deltas between 10…

Wedges RTX6 ZIPCORE $170 / 46˚–60˚ PLENTY OF ZIP FROM EVERY CONCEIVABLE LIE WEDGES ARE LIKE TIRES, they need to offer superior grip and control under any condition the environment throws at them; and, just like a fresh set of tires, Cleveland's latest wedges are packed with technology to take your short game to new heights. RTX6 ZipCore wedge Although the RTX6 wedges might offer the look of a traditional wedge, tradition is not the word I would use to describe all of the engineering packed into these short-game tools. As the name suggests, ZipCore is back but, this time, with an improved internal geometry that replaces heavy steel with a low-density core to remove unnecessary weight from the hosel and the heel side of the wedge. This weight savings…

IF THERE'S ONE THING we love about Cobra Golf, it's the company's willingness to push the envelope in terms of form, function and design to help golfers of all skill levels. The company is not afraid to take risks, and, no matter what player type you are, it's a sure bet that there's a team huddled somewhere at Cobra HQ, working hard to help make sure you are getting the most from your game. The new 2023 Aerojet line of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons live up to that mantra, offering technology for every type of player seeking more speed, distance and forgiveness. Aerojet drivers Well, if the name wasn't already a dead giveaway, a key component of what makes the Aerojet faster is its new aerodynamic shaping that…

Air-X Driver $249; 9.5˚, 10.5˚ The lightest construction in the Cobra family, Air-X is designed for beginners and players with smooth tempos in need of extra pop. Other game-improvement features include heel weighting and a large, fast sweet spot that imparts greater speed no matter where you make contact. The driver tips the scales at just 277 grams. King Forged RF MB Irons $1,399 / 7-PIECE SET Codesigned with Rickie Fowler, the blade is forged from 1025 carbon steel and then machined using a 100 percent CNC-milling process. From start to finish, it takes 155 minutes to produce a single head. The lack of offset and ultra-compact profile scream scratch golfer, but a slug of tungsten in the toe adds extra stability and feel at impact. King Forged Tec Irons…

Goals: Find more accuracy with driver, consistency and playability with irons and versatility with wedges. Ever since I got fit for clubs the first time, I've played Mizuno irons. Naturally, I was pumped to draw the Japanese athletic company for ClubTest, but, this year, there's more to be excited about than just their irons. For the driver, I was fit into the new ST230 Z line. The key behind these clubs this year is the new CorTech Chamber, which Mizuno says was its “missing piece.” The chamber is a molded stainless-steel weight encased in TPU material positioned on the sole, just behind the face. It allows the sole to flex at impact, adding speed and forgiveness. I was already pretty maxed out from a speed perspective with the driver, but…

(1) This is going to sound like a broken record, but PING's G430 line is built on some of the best stability in the marketplace. The average carrydistance loss across all three models is 9.3 yards—the smallest delta produced by any manufacturer in our robotic testing process. Starting with the most obvious observation feels like we're burying the lede, but there's something really interesting in this year's numbers. PING's fully loaded G430 LST is geared for low launch and spin, which tends to come at the expense of off-center strikes with a more forward center of gravity. In the past, the Max model was the way to go for inconsistent contact. Not so fast, my friend! With a single-digit carry distance delta (9.7 yards)—we take the geometric center carry number…

Drivers 0311 GEN5 $299 / 7.5˚, 9˚, 10.5˚ ALL-AROUND PERFORMANCE IN AN UNDERSTATED LOOK 0311XF GEN5 $299 / 9.5˚, 10.5˚, 12˚ EXTRA FORGIVENESS AND STABILITY TO BOOT Fairway woods 0311 GEN5 $249 / 13˚, 15˚, 18˚, 21˚ EASY SPEED WITH A SLIGHTLY LOWER LAUNCH ANGLE PXG'S GEN5 SERIES IS ENGINEERED to help golfers quickly and easily find the right models for their game by placing clubs into distinct categories throughout the line. “We absolutely killed it with these clubs,” PXG founder and CEO Bob Parsons has said, emphatically. “Gen5 is better in every way possible. From explosive distance to tight dispersion to the oh-so-sweet feel of forgiveness on every shot, these clubs are a master class in performance.” Although their game-changing irons are the backbone of PXG's core lineup, the…

Drivers ZX5 MKII $499 / 9.5˚, 10.5˚ CONFIDENCE-INSPIRING PROFILE LOADED WITH FIREPOWER ZX5 MKII LS $499 / 8.5˚, 9.5˚, 10.5˚ LOWEST SPINNING OFFERING IN THE NEW DRIVER LINEUP ZX7 MKII $499 / 9.5˚, 10.5˚ COMPACT PROFILE WITH ADJUSTABLE HEEL-TOE WEIGHTS THE FULL LINE OF SRIXON MKII (pronounced “mark two”) clubs were designed around delivering more power at the most crucial part of the golf swing: impact. With updated technologies from top to bottom, golfers are going to experience more efficient energy transfer on every shot in the metalwoods and better feedback with the updated iron line that was created with direct input from Srixon's major-winning group of staff players, including Hideki Matsuyama and Shane Lowry. A key design detail of the MKII series is the matte-black finish on the metalwoods,…

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Goals: As a mid-single-digit handicap, my goal with any new clubs is to help minimize misses, gain distance with my longer clubs and help control excessive spin. For GOLF's '23 ClubTest, I got to visit The Kingdom, TaylorMade's headquarters and Tour-fitting facility in Carlsbad, Calif., for a day of testing the brand's newfor-2023 offerings, including the Stealth 2 woods and P-Series irons. The experience did not disappoint. My biggest issue off the tee, and with longer clubs, is too much spin that robs me of distance. And it was very clear from the start that, of the three Stealth 2 driver models, the Stealth 2 Plus was going to be the club that offered the lowest spin opportunity and the extra ability to dial in the center of gravity—all thanks…

(1) Consistent spin isn't something golfers ask for when they start testing the latest driver wares, but it's a benefit that can mitigate penalizing misses. Robotic testing confirmed there's an uptick in tighter spin rates across the entire face, especially in the high toe section. The result is a tighter carrydistance delta for high toe misses. (2) The carry-distance delta between center and high toe went from 12 yards (when averaging all three TSi models) to nine yards with TSR. This improvement can be attributed to the tighter spin rates we saw during testing. In layman's terms, it means you can miss the center and not have to worry about seeing a significant distance drop-off from this common mishit location. (3) TSR and TSi produced nearly identical ball speed numbers…

Lessons THINK / PLAY / LIVE: THE ENLIGHTENED GAME BACK TO BASICS THE LONG BUNKER SHOT. Nobody's a fan, but it's not impossible, even when using your everyday sand swing. The trick is to take one more club—use your 9-iron. That's more than enough to cozy one up to the flag from long range. But there's one setup adjustment: Lower the handle to help the club glide through the sand. Then follow the steps pictured at right. Bernie Najar is the director of instruction at Caves Valley GC in Owings Mills, Md.…

TIM COOKE ONE THING TO THINK ABOUT TO FLUSH A WOOD FROM THE FAIRWAY. There's nothing better than getting home from long range, right? The key here is attack angle. Picture a nail puncturing the equator of the ball, level to the ground. Then hammer the nail straight through at impact. ALL MISSED PUTTS SHOULD FINISH 12 TO 18 INCHES PAST THE HOLE. That's some pretty timehonored advice, but there's nothing wrong with finishing a foot short of the cup, either. Whatever stops you from threeputting—that's priority No. 1. WHAT'S BETTER: GRIPPING THE CLUB IN YOUR PALMS OR FINGERS? In the fingers. But firmly in the fingers. None of this “grip the club like it's a little bird” stuff, especially if you're a fast swinger. BRADY RIGGS It's important to…