As 2018 draws to a close, it is but fitting that we look back on the season that was and examine the new equipment releases that made the biggest impact this year.
The technology that powers golf clubs has never been more advanced and manufacturing processes are now so good that almost anything the designers can dream up can be built and mass produced at price points that are palatable to the consumer. To make this list, the clubs must exhibit class-leading technology or be unique in the category. Most important, the included technologies need to distinguish the product from others in the category and the product must be well received by the public at large.
Drivers
Drivers are the recipients of the greatest amount of technology of any golf club made today. They are also the most widely received because, let’s face it; there’s something seductive about being able to hit the golf ball further than you’ve ever done so before. Given the regulations that govern the performance of the golf ball off the driver’s face, engineers have begun looking at the driver as a holistic package, searching for minute improvements that can make a difference in how far we hit a golf ball.
Fitting has become of utmost important in this game of millimeters. Most manufacturers offer at least two head styles and a variety of shafts and grips to enable the golfer to fit the club to his/her swing most precisely.
Callaway Rogue/Rogue Subzero
The Rogue and Rogue Subzero take the key technologies pioneered in the Epic line of drivers last year and have made them easier to use without a loss of distance. That’s a fine line to walk as more of one tends to result in less of the other. Not the case here. With six different shafts from two global markets, we are spoiled for choice with the Rogue drivers. A proper fitting is essential to make sure you achieve your potential with either club.
Ping G400 Max
The G400 Max is a bit of an outlier in the scheme of drivers. Seldom has a super game improvement driver found so much favor with professionals and top amateurs, yet this is precisely what Ping has achieved with the G400 Max. It’s not a one-fits-all driver and for those that require something different, Ping also offers three other variants; the slightly smaller G400 and G400 LST and the draw biased G400 SFT.
Wedges—Titleist Vokey SM7
The Vokey SM7 is more evolutionary than revolutionary since it takes the progressive CG design of the SM6 and takes it even further in the interest of absolute performance. To augment the performance of the ball off the clubface, Titleist has a selection of six different sole grinds, the most of any manufacturer in golf today, to suit every golfer profile in every conceivable playing situation. It is simply the best.
Irons—PXG Gen 2 irons
PXG spearheaded the development and sale of iron heads that were constructed using hollow heads with very specifically located centers of gravity. Before this, irons were made of one-piece forgings or castings or multi-piece construction with different materials used for the frame, face and weighting. Hollow construction methods allow for faces with high coefficients of restitution for faster, more consistent ball speeds across the clubface. PXG’s one downside is the high cost of entry but other than that, these are phenomenal irons. The Gen 2 irons differ with slightly massaged head shapes and a different, higher performance foam in the head which, according to PXG, enables higher ball speeds than in the gen 1 irons. Their science has since been validated with similarly designed irons coming to market from TaylorMade and Titleist. The age of the hollow-bodied iron is well and truly here.
Hybrids—TaylorMade GAPR
The GAPR makes this list because there is really nothing else like it on the market. Although it competes in the same space as other hybrids, the GAPRs are unique because they are much closer in design to irons than fairway woods. This addresses the concerns of golfers that want a more iron-like ball flight with their hybrids and often have difficulty hitting more wood-like hybrids consistently. TaylorMade offers three different head styles in the GAPR range for three distinct ball flights and includes their adjustable hosel to further fine-tune the club’s flight characteristics. It doesn’t quite redefine the hybrid market, but it offers a bit of something for everyone looking to bridge the distance gaps between their longest iron and shortest fairway wood.
Putters—Evnroll
Besides precisely locating the center of gravity in an optimum location to control skid and hopping when the ball leaves the putter face and insert technology that aids in this quest, there have been few revolutionary technologies that have made their presence felt on the market today. Guerin Rife is one putter designer that has made it his life’s work to help us get the little ball into the hole and his newest line of putters dubbed Evnroll perform like no other putter on the market today. The asymmetrical grooves on the faces of his putter actually help straighten out your mishits on the green; hits on the toe and heel magically make their way back to the center. There’s a video on the Internet of a robot putting three golf balls (one struck in the center, another on the heel and the third on the toe of the putter) which end up in exactly the same spot. Remarkable. There is nothing like it on the market today.
Titleist TS2/TS3
The TS2 and TS3 drivers from Titleist make this list by virtue of being the highest-performing drivers that Titleist has ever produced. Their D-series of drivers focused on looks, feel and workability and placed less emphasis absolute performance. All that has changed this year and the TS2 and TS3 drivers offer as much performance as any driver on the market today. This makes Titleist’s new drivers a must-hit if you’re in the market for a new big stick. You have a choice of four shaft offerings from 50-65-grams and if neither of them works for you, you can custom order a shaft that works for little or no extra money.