The busiest time in the golf equipment world, historically, comes after we turn the page on the calendar and welcome in a new year.
Manufacturers love to showcase the newest gear at the PGA Merchandise Show, get snow-bound northerners excited about buying clubs and offer something new to players who live in Florida and the sunbelt.
Recently, however, brands have started releasing some gear in late summer, trying to get a jump on things and stocking store shelves before the start of the holiday season. While the COVID-19 pandemic has played havoc with supply chains and made several companies re-arrange factory floors in order to maintain social distancing, there have been several big releases since the beginning of August.
Below are some of the noteworthy woods, irons, wedges and putters that have been released since August 1.
Ben Hogan
Ben Hogan GS53 Max driver (Ben Hogan)
Gear: Ben Hogan GS53 Max driver
Price: $355 with Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue or UST Mamiya Helium shaft
Specs: Titanium chassis with carbon-fiber crown, tungsten sole weight and an adjustable hosel
“Most of that weight was re-positioned into a triangular tungsten weight in the back of the sole. The combination of the lighter crown and the weight in the sole pulls the center of gravity lower and farther back, away from the face. As a result, the GS53 Max should help golfers achieve a higher launch angle off the tee with less spin for increased distance.” Read more
Callaway
Callaway Big Bertha B-21 driver. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Gear: Callaway Big Bertha B-21 driver
Price: $499.99 with Callaway RCH shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet Soft grip
Specs: A titanium body and face with carbon-fiber crown and an adjustable hosel. Available in 9, 10.5 and 12.5 degrees
“The Big Bertha B-21 has a carbon-fiber crown that saves weight and an adjustable hosel that allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the stated loft. The secret sauce that helps slicers hit straighter shots, however, is something you can’t see.” Read more
Callaway X Forged CB irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Gear: Callaway X Forged CB irons
Price: $200 each with Project X IO steel shafts and Golf Pride Z grips
Specs: Forged 1025 carbon steel body with 17-4 stainless steel face and tungsten weights
“The body is made from soft 1025 mild-carbon steel for a soft feel. But instead of creating the X Forged CB as a one-piece forging, Callaway designed the clubs to be hollow. That allowed designers to add a piece of tungsten inside the head in the toe area that offsets the hosel’s weight. As a result, the ideal hitting area is pulled more into the center of the face.” Read more
Callaway Mack Daddy CB wedges. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Gear: Callaway Mack Daddy CB wedges
Price: $129.99 each with KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 shaft and Golf Pride SG-1 grip
Specs: Cavity-back wedges in even lofts from 46-60 degrees
“The Mack Daddy CB is larger than most conventional wedges, including Callaway’s Mack Daddy JAWS wedges. By giving the club a cavity-back design, shifting more weight to the outer portions of the head, Callaway enhanced the moment of inertia (MOI) and made the clubs more stable on mishits. The perimeter weighting also helps to reduce spin and promote more backspin.” Read more
Cleveland
Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT Premier putters. (Cleveland Golf)
Gear: Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT Premier putters
Price: $159.99
Specs: Stainless steel heads with variable-density grooved faces
“SOFT stands for Speed Optimized Face Technology, so while the gray satin PVD finish will make a white or yellow golf ball’s color pop, the differentiating feature of these putters is their milled faces.” Read more
Cobra
Cobra King Tour irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Gear: Cobra King Tour irons
Price: $1,299 (4-PW) with KBS $-Taper 120 steel shafts
Specs: Metal-injection-molded 304 stainless steel with tungsten weight and thermoplastic polyurethane insert
“The King Tour irons are made using a metal-injection-molding process, as with the King MIM wedges. It involves super-heating 304 stainless steel powder to 1,340 degrees Celsius and then injecting it into molds. Cobra said that as the metal powder cools, the grains of steel pack more tightly together than they would during a typical forging process.” Read more
Mizuno
Mizuno JPX 921 Forged irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Gear: Mizuno JPX 921 Forged irons
Price: $1,399 (4-GW)/$175 per club with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 120 shafts and Golf Pride MCC +4 grips
Specs: Grain flow forged 4120 Chromoly
“The JPX 921 Forged is the first fully forged iron from Mizuno made from Chromoly. Mizuno has used the material in irons before because it is extremely strong, but the Chromoly in the 921 Forged is softer and more forgeable. Still, it is stronger than the boron-infused 1025 carbon steel used in the previous generation of JPX Forged irons. That let Mizuno make the faces thinner and the pocket cavity behind the hitting area slightly wider. The result: The sweetspot is larger even though the new irons are smaller.” Read more
Mizuno JPX 921 Tour irons. (Mizuno)
Gear: Mizuno JPX 921 Tour irons
Price: $1,299 (4-GW)/$175 per club with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 120 shafts and Golf Pride MCC +4 grips
Specs: Grain flow forged 1025E mild carbon steel
“But while Tour players told Mizuno the JPX 919 Tour was stable on off-center hits for a compact iron, a few said it could be challenging to shape shots and curve them in desired directions. To fix that and add workability, engineers shifted some of the mass from the toe to the head’s perimeter.” Read more
Mizuno ES21 wedges (Mizuno)
Gear: Mizuno ES21 wedges
Price: $200 each with KBS Hi-Rev 110 Black Wedge shaft and Lamkin ST Hybrid grip
Specs: Forged 1025, boron-infused carbon steel faces attached to hollow-bodied 431 stainless steel body with a wide sole and a standard sole option. 54, 56, 58 and 60 degrees.
“While the black ion plating is eye-catching, it’s what you don’t see that makes all the difference with this wedge. It’s hollow, with the grain flow forged boron-infused carbon steel face and neck portion welded to a 431 stainless steel body. The boron blends with the carbon steel to make it harder, which should prolong the grooves’ sharpness without sacrificing the soft feel.” Read more
PXG
PXG Blackjack putter. (PXG)
Gear: PXG Blackjack putter
Price: $395
Specs: Milled aluminum body with tungsten weights
“By designing the head using a frame made from aerospace-grade aluminum, PXG engineers saved a significant amount of weight. That allowed them to reposition and concentrate more weight in the back heel and toe areas in the form of tungsten bars and in a back section. As a result, the center of gravity is pulled back away from the hitting area, the moment of inertia increases and the Blackjack resists twisting on off-center hits more effectively. That means even a putt struck outside the center of the face has a better chance to roll along the intended target line.” Read more
TaylorMade
TaylorMade P-770 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Gear: TaylorMade P-770 irons
Price: $1,399 (3-PW) with KBS Tour steel shafts and Golf Pride Z-Grip grips
Specs: Foam-filled, hollow-bodied construction with a forged 4140 stainless steel face and 8620 carbon steel body and tungsten weight.
“TaylorMade filled the hollow area between the thin, forged 4140 stainless steel face and 8620 carbon steel body with Speed Foam. It is a light material that absorbs vibrations to enhance sound and feel. The foam does not inhibit the face from flexing at impact, so golfers still get the ball-speed benefits of a hollow-bodied club for increased distance.” Read more
The TaylorMade P-7MC. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Gear: TaylorMade P-7MC irons
Price: $1,399 (3-PW) with KBS Tour steel shafts and Golf Pride Z-Grip grips
Specs: Forged 1025 carbon steel with machined face
“The P-7MC is forged using TaylorMade’s new, five-step Compact Grain Forging process. The key feature is a 2,000-ton press than forces the grains of steel to pack more tightly. TaylorMade said this process, along with extra mass positioned behind the center of the face, should enhance the feel at impact.” Read more
The TaylorMade Spider FCG putter. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Gear: TaylorMade Spider FCG putter
Price: $350 with KBS CT Tour stepless shaft and Super Stroke X Traxion Pistol 1.0 PT grip
Specs: Compact mallet with copper and tungsten weights and grooved copper face insert. Available in 33 inches, 34 inches and 35 inches, right-handed and left-handed.
“FCG stands for forward center of gravity. Unlike previously released Spider putters, which featured a center of gravity that is well behind the hitting area for increased stability, the Spider FCG’s center of gravity is much more forward. This was achieved by designing 70 percent of the head’s overall weight (247 grams) to be in the front, as opposed to only 43 percent of the Spider X’s weight being in the front.” Read more
Titleist
The Titleist TSi3 driver. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Gear: Titleist TSi3 driver
Price: $549 with Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Black, Mitsubishi Tensei AV RAW Blue or White, or Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX shafts
Specs: 460-cc titanium construction with moveable weights and an adjustable hosel.
Available: Nov. 12
“The biggest difference between it and the TSi2, however, is a moveable weight track in the back of the sole. The track has five settings. Affixing the weight into the H1 and H2 positions moves the center of gravity to encourage a draw. When the weight is in the T1 or T2 setting, the TSi3 has a fade bias. The N setting in the center stands for neutral.” Read more
Titleist TSi2 fairway woods. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Gear: Titleist TSi2 fairway woods
Price: $299 each with Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Black DC, Mitsubishi Tensei AV RAW Blue or White, or Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips
Specs: Stainless steel body with an adjustable hosel.
Available: Nov. 12
“Titleist has added channels behind the leading edge in the sole of fairway woods for years, but the TSi2 was given an updated version with shorter walls. You can’t see inside the fourth-generation Active Recoil Channel (ARC) because it is covered by a polymer to keep grass, dirt and debris out, and it may sound like a minor detail, but making the channel walls shorter helped Titleist protect ball speed on shots struck low in the hitting area. At the same time, shorter walls are lighter, which creates more discretionary weight.” Read more
Titleist’s CNCPT CP-03 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Gear: Titleist CNCPT CP-03 irons
Price: $500 per club
Specs: Hollow-bodied irons with internal tungsten weights and forged faces
“The body is cast from 17-4 stainless steel for strength, and the face is forged from a metal that Titleist is not willing to name. According to the brand, sourcing the material takes months, and its strength allowed designers to make the L-shaped faces very thin. By wrapping the face under the leading edge, Titleist said, ball speed is protected more effectively on low-struck shots.” Read more
Tour Edge
Tour Edge E521 driver (Tour Edge)
Price: $229.99 with Mitsubishi Fubuki or Aldila Rogue shaft and Lamkin Z5 grip
Lofts: 10.5, 12, 15 degrees
“Tour Edge also gave the Hot Launch E521 driver a new sole designed to lower the center of gravity. Called a Houdini sole, it pushes more weight down and away from the hitting area while allowing for the addition of a weight in the heel area. Combined with extra offset, it should encourage the face to close more easily on the downswing. That should help slicers avoid the right rough more often.” Read more
Tour Edge Hot Launch E521 ironwoods (Tour Edge)
Price: $89 per club with KBS Max 80 steel or Mitsubishi Fubuki HD graphite shafts and Lamkin Z5 grip
Lofts: 3-iron through pitching wedge, with attack, gap, sand and lob wedges also available
Each club features a hollow-body design that allows the 17-4 stainless steel face to flex more efficiently at impact for increased ball speed and added distance. Tour Edge also pushed the center of gravity 10 percent lower and 15 percent further back to encourage higher-flying shots.” Read more
