IN THE
BAG
1
PRODUCT REVIEWS and equipment news you can use BY BRIAN BEAKY — CG EDITOR
FAST AND FURIOUS
I
n the five months since the virus took over the planet in March, many industries have ground to a halt. Golf, meanwhile, is pressing down on the accelerator. Not only was the PGA TOUR one of the first professional sports to resume play, but recreational golf came back even sooner, at levels many courses hadn’t seen in decades. Manufacturers have taken notice, too, and begun churning out new clubs at a head-spinning clip. In fact, they’re coming out with products so quickly that by the time we post our In The Bag section each month, something new has already been released that takes the game to a new level. In December, we wrote about Titleist’s new T200 irons, a great set for high-single-digit and low-double-digit handicaps who want to up their game, but aren’t totally comfortable with blades. Well, Titleist has since released an all-black set of T200s, as has Cleveland with the sweet new SM8 wedges we reviewed in May. Shoot, just last month we wrote a piece about the best new package sets on the market, and then Cleveland came out with a Launcher Turbo set that might be the best of the bunch. In this issue, we’ve once again tried to take the pulse of the hottest new gear on the market, but the reality is that there is far more of interest than we can fit on these pages. Head into your local Puetz to browse the shelves — or, if you’re in Seattle, to take something out on the range — or click through the lists of new products at PuetzGolf.com. There’s a lot out there — find what’s best for you.
14
AUGUST 2020
2
CLEVELAND
TAYLORMADE
RTX ZipCore Wedge 1
Truss Putters 2
PUETZ GOLF PRICE
C
$149.99 Raw $169.99
leveland’s cavity-back CBX wedges were a revelation when they first hit the market, adding a dose of forgiveness to what has traditionally been one of the least forgiving clubs in a golfer’s bag, as manufacturers chose to focus instead on feel and control. Could the same be done in a Tour-style wedge, though? Pros like 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry don’t traditionally want cavity backs, so instead Cleveland re-engineered the internal structure of the new RTX ZipCore wedge to make it both lighter and stronger, pushing weight to the perimeter of the club and moving the center of gravity closer to the center of the face. The perimeter weighting reduces twisting for more center-face strikes, while that relocated CG means those strikes will have more spin and consistency. Oh, and as for spin, Cleveland also re-engineered its RTX grooves, creating a new UltiZip groove that is deeper and sharper than its predecessor, to maximize spin, and closer together as well, allowing two more grooves to fit on the face. Add in a new heat treatment that extends the life of the grooves as well, and you have a wedge you could be scoring with for years to come.
PUETZ GOLF PRICE
$199.99
T
hese two clubs, the Truss and the RTX ZipCore, pair well together not only because they both have the chance to improve your short game, but because they each serve a similar purpose — packaging game-improvement technology into a club that looks and feels like a more traditional offering. In TaylorMade’s case, they’ve done that by building what they call a “Stability Superstructure” — a triangle-shaped hosel that covers 50 percent more area than a traditional hosel, and connects to the head at two different points. According to the manufacturer, the extra stability provided by this hosel — essentially, a “truss” supporting the clubhead — reduces face rotation by as much as 70 percent, resulting in more on-target strikes with TaylorMade’s patented (and beloved) True Roll face insert. From above, you can’t really see the truss, a fact which has proven beneficial for golfers who like that traditional look, but struggle to keep their putts on-line (especially those with a tendency to miss left). Currently manufactured in two styles — a traditional blade and a fang-style similar to Odyssey’s Seven — both available in heel- and center-shafted models, it’s definitely worth testing out all four to determine which one is best for you.
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