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Padraig Harrington and Ricky Barnes both bag the Wilson FG Tour irons, because they offer great  trajectory control and powerful ball flight. The thin topline and square toe design of the head was influenced by Padraig’s feedback.

Watch this video of Wilson Staff’s Mary Nguyen talk about the features of the Wilson FG Tour and new FG 62 irons from the 2011 PGA Merchandise Show Outdoor Demo Day.

www.wilson.com

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PGA Tour rookie Jhonattan Vegas is known for his ability to overpower golf courses, Vegas averaged 309-yard drives with his Nike VR Pro driver at the 2011 Bob Hope Classic.  Equally impressive is the fact that he had two rounds at the Bob Hope Classic in which he averaged 100% in driving accuracy.

Watch this video of Tom Stites, Director of Club Creation for Nike Golf talk about the features of the new VR Pro driver from the 2011 PGA Merchandise Show.

www.nikegolf.com

The new Wilson Staff Di11 iron is the fifth generation in a Di Iron franchise that has fueled Wilson’s market share growth in the super game-improvement iron category. As the tagline reads, “in a world of 1 to 10, this goes to 11.”  Once you hit it, you get it.

Watch this video of Mary Nguyen from Wilson Staff talk about all the technology used in the Wilson Di11 irons from the 2011 PGA Merchandise Show.

The Di11 irons feature technology borrowed from bridges for dampening on mishits and Half-&-Half shafts – half graphite and half steel, for the feel of graphite and precision of steel. Way cool!

Special Thanks to Wilson Staff and Mary Nguyen!

www.wilson.com

The Ping Anser Irons are the first forged design from Ping in over 40 years, which carry the same name of the earlier models Karsten Solheim developed.

In this video watch Ping’s Marty Jertson, Senior Design Engineer talk about the features of the new Anser Forged irons have and how they can benefit today’s golfer.

Special Thanks to Marty Jertson and Ping!

www.ping.com

The “New” CG1 Tour irons unveiled at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show  are designed for consistent ball striking, distance control, and new level of forgiveness never before seen in a blade.

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What makes the CG1 Tour irons unique?
The CG1 Tour irons are a split set design, inspired by PGA Tour players, features cavity back long irons and short iron blades to create the perfect combination of workability and forgiveness.

The split cavity back long irons and muscle back mid/short irons maintain a traditional look while providing extra forgiveness and the workability of a blade.  You get the best of both worlds in a nice looking set of irons.

Tour Zip Grooves
The CG1 tour irons feature Cleveland Golf’s Tour Zip Grooves, which is their milling process that creates pristine edges, increasing “Zip” and shot consistency that conforms to the 2010 USGA groove rule.

Laser Milled
Other features of the CG1 Tour irons is the breakthrough surface roughness technology called Laser Milled. Laser Milling is a process of using a laser to rough up the surface of the irons with with calibrated texture lines milled between each groove. This helps with optimizing ball-to-face friction and maximizes spin within the Rules of Golf.

The CG1 Tour Irons are great looking set of irons and I can’t wait to hit them!

Would you buy a split set of cavity back and blade irons, like the Cleveland CG1 Tour?

Cleveland Golf CG1 Tour Irons MSRP $799, available April 1, 2010

Last week at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show, Cobra Golf unveiled the new Cobra S2 Drivers that offer superior accuracy, distance and forgiveness.

Cobra S2 Drivers (Left: S2 Driver; Right: S2 Driver Offset)

Watch the video to see Doug Roberts, Cobra Golf Principle Design Engineer, explain the different features of the two new S2 Drivers and find out which driver is right for you.

Cobra S2 Driver
The new Cobra S2 Driver offers superior performance in a great-looking package. Its traditional profile and rich, black Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) finish inspire confidence at address. Golfers of all abilities will appreciate its superior playability, performance, feel and aesthetics.

“We went to great lengths with the Cobra S2 Drivers to ensure that they appeal to avid golfers of all abilities who seek superior distance, forgiveness and accuracy with ball flight optimization,” says Tom Preece, Vice President of Research & Development for Cobra Golf.

“The 9 Point Face Technology is designed to allow more shots hit across the clubface to perform as if they were struck in the center of the clubface. Adjustable Flight Technology enables golfers to quickly and easily optimize the ball flight they want via one of three face angle settings, which in turn helps them improve their accuracy and distance. In addition, the Cobra S2 driver features a highly engineered 460cc 6-4 titanium clubhead, which not only effectively transfers energy efficiently to the ball, but is designed to produce the best sound and feel in any titanium driver we’ve ever produced.”

The Cobra S2 Driver ($375 SRP) is available in lofts of 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 11.5 degrees, with the new high performance Fujikura Fit-on Max graphite shaft and a Golf Pride grip. It will ship to golf retailers the first week in February.

Cobra S2 Driver Offset
The new Cobra S2 Offset Driver offers golfers the outstanding performance of the Cobra S2 Driver in a maximum draw-biased design. This 460cc 6-4 titanium driver is geared toward mid- and high-handicap golfers who are looking for maximum forgiveness and a high-launch, draw-biased (anti-slice) ball flight that yields superior distance.

The Cobra S2 Offset Driver ($325 SRP) is available in lofts of 9.5, 10.5 and 11.5 degrees, with the new high performance Fujikura Fit-on Max graphite shaft and a Golf Pride grip. It will ship to golf retailers the first week in February.

Justin Leonard, 2010 PGA Outdoor Demo Day

At the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show Outdoor Demo Day, I  spoke with Nike Golf’s Justin Leonard about what he’s been doing since the Presidents Cup to keep the momentum going, what his workout regime is like during the golf season, and what Justin does in his spare time when not golfing.

Shortly after its introduction, Bridgestone Golf’s J33R 460 quickly earned the nickname “Spin Killer” from consumers throughout the U.S. for its ability to dramatically reduce spin for explosive distance. At the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show, Bridgestone Golf unveiled its new J38 460 Driver with improved construction for added forgiveness, and the same great low spinning performance for which the J33 woods were known.

Watch the video and learn about the features of the updated line of J38 metal woods from Bridgestone Golf.

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The new J38 460 Driver boasts Bridgestone’s proprietary Rigid Sole Design (R.S.D.) Technology providing a firmer sole designed to produce higher launch and lower spin off the tee, with enhanced feel and sound. In addition, the J38 460 features a new Extended Crown Profile from its shallow face for an ever lower and deeper center of gravity, resulting in higher launch and lower spin for longer carry and maximum distance.

The J38 460 utilizes a 6-4 titanium head construction with a thin crown wall section, allowing discretionary weight to be moved to the perimeter for additional forgiveness on mis-hits. In addition, the 460cc head size combines with an enhanced face thickness to provide additional forgiveness and create a higher MOI producing more distance.

“The J38 woods will continue with the heritage of low spinning and high launching heads to maximize distance while expanding the forgiveness across the entire face for more distance on mis-hits,” said Danny Le, Golf Club Marketing Manager – Bridgestone Golf, Inc.

The J38 460 Driver is available in 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5 degrees of loft and comes standard with a Fujikura® Motore F1 65 graphite shaft and Golf Pride® grips. Custom shaft and grip options will be available. The Bridgestone J38 460 Driver will feature a street price of $399 (MSRP $449) and will be available at golf specialty stores and green grass retailers nationwide in March 2010.

http://www.bridgestonegolf.com

At the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show Outdoor Demo I was lucky enough to talk to John K. Solheim, Vice-President of Engineering for PING Inc, who is the grandson of Ping founder Kartsen Solheim.  In the video John talks about the next generation of the G series metal woods, the G15 driver and hybrid.

For more information visit http://www.pinggolf.com

Special thanks to Ping and John for the interview!

The 2010 PGA Merchandise Show Outdoor Demo Day held at Orange County National Golf Club, featured some of the latest golf equipment from all the major club manufacturers.

MANTYS Motorized Golf Cart For One

I saw a lot of interesting new products, like the Mantys a new dynamic motorized cart for one. The Mantys is not your average golf cart, it’s a motorized four-wheeled cart, where the rider stands rather than sits, and steers by shifting weight from one foot to the other. The Mantys kind of reminded me of the Segway combined with cross country skies, but minus the gyroscopes. I’ll be posting video of the Mantys in action later.

Miyazaki Shafts Outdoor Demo Day

Did you ever want to get an aerial view of the Outdoor Demo Day?

For the first time ever SRI Sports will flew the Miyazaki Golf Shafts M-1 Airship over the massive circular demo range capturing the sights and sounds of the world’s largest professional equipment testing event. Watch the video courtesy of Miyazaki Golf Shafts M-1 Airship.

Some of the new clubs I got to check out were from Bridgestone Golf, with their new J38 460 CC Driver, J38 Forged Cavity Back Irons with Magnesium, and J38 Dual Pocket Cavity Back Forged Irons.  Below are some of the basic specs for these clubs to be released in March, and I’ll have more details later this week.

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Bridgestone J38 460 Driver features:

• Extended Crown Profile from shallow face promotes low and deep CG for high launch and low spin for longer carry and maximum distance
• 6-4 titanium construction with thin crown wall section allows discretionary weight to be moved to the perimeter for added foregiveness
• Fujikura® Motore F1 65 Shaft

Bridgestone J38 Forged Cavity Back Irons features:

• Midsize premium forged 1020 carbon steel
• Magnesium composite enhances perimiter weighting for more forgiveness on off-center hits and dampens vibration for better feel
• Tapered sole design for versatility in shot making

Bridgestone J38 Forged Dual Pocket Cavity Back Irons features:

• Midsize premium forged 1020 carbon steel
• Dual Pocket cavity benefits:
• Removes discretionary weight to the perimeter for more forgiveness
• Provides more mass directly behind the hitting area for better feel