2008 Hot Products

Every year around the end of November and the beginning of December, just when I am writing this article, I never cease to be amazed at how the golf industry develops. It produces new products and sets trends for the golf game, even when one thinks “what else can be done?”

Naturally, some products, whether hard goods or soft goods, should never have been produced or brought to market because they really have no chance of succeeding, whatsoever. But, this is America, and without ingenuity and year-long product launches, where would we be and how would the golf companies stay in business?

Technology continues to thrive in the golf domain. Whether it is drivers, putters, irons, balls or shoes. Advances in designs and materials continue and new products are being introduced almost monthly.

Currently serving as the “buzz” (aka “new trend/ flavor of the month”) and surfacing in the industry, are the interchangeable shaft-clubhead fitting systems. Mix and match drivers from companies like Nike, Nickent, Versus and Nakashima will join Henry-Griffitts, Callaway andTaylorMade already in this field. Can hybrids and fairway woods be next in line?

Now, Nakashima is in development of a driver with an adjustable face angle!

Here you will find products that will not only enhance your golf game, but also improve your total golf domain, outside of just drivers.

Tour Edge Exotics XCG Driver

Whether you’re struggling to get off the tee or bombing, long penetrating shots down the fairway, with its new Exotics drivers, Tour Edge believes they have the solution for added distance off the tee for any type of golfer.

The XCG is an engineering breakthrough that combines a magnesium crown that is twice as light as typical titanium crowns with a heavier hyper-steel body and a titanium cupped face. According to Tour Edge, that combination moves more weight lower and to the rear of the sole than is possible from any current driver on the market. The result, XCG, produces very little spin and a high moment of inertia for longer drives.

The XCG has the fastest ball speed and lowest spin rates I’ve seen in awhile. Not to mention, phenomenal feel, performance and distance. It’s just a fantastic product.

The material’s flexibility allows the XCG crown and neck to absorb more shock on contact, producing a smooth, powerful feeling at impact.

The club’s hyper-steel sole creates a super-high moment of inertia, reducing clubhead twisting on even the most off-center hits. This high MOI can make the difference between the first cut of rough and the fairway, or even between being OB and in play.

The XCG delivers with an X-Quad ultra-light shaft from Graphite Design. The X-Quad’s four-way interweave technology creates a responsive tip, improved stability, and precise control.

The combination of magnesium, steel, and titanium will vault the Exotics’s XCG driver to the forefront of the golf industry.

$399.00
www.touredgegolf.com

Tour Edge Exotics XLD Driver

Tour Edge’s second new driver for 2008 is built for the long ball hitter in all of us. The Exotics XLD is the perfect club for those golfers who are seeking to add yards to their game.

The XLD’s lightweight titanium crown is reduced in thickness, allowing more weight to be shifted deeper into the club. The resulting high MOI and CG create a penetrating ball flight that cuts through the sky like a rocket-guided missile.

A laser-welded beta titanium face is the final launching point for your golf ball. The computer milled face features varying face thickness technology, with a 2.8mm thickness on the outer edges and a 3.3mm thickness on the sweet spot to increase ball speed greatly.

The XLD weighs in at only 295 grams, making it one of the lightest drivers ever created. This is the primary key in club design that promotes a smooth, free swing.

As with the XCD, a Graphite Design X-Quad shaft maintains the club’s emphasis on lightweight, responsive materials, allowing golfers to generate extra clubhead speed from the very first swing.

The bullet-like shape of the XLD is no accident. This geometric design greatly increases ball speed – you too will admit its aesthetics are excellent as well.

$299.00
www.touredgegolf.com

NIKE Sumo 2 5900

The recently updated version, so popular on the Tour currently, is now a six-piece, all titanium driver using 30 grams of discretionary weight in a square shape. As for its moment-of-inertia, it is just 100 grams-centimeteres2 less than the USGA limit.

Additionally, the face height has subtly been reduced to move even more weight to its square corners. The sound has also been softened and because the CG has been moved heelward, it will be beneficial to help average players square the face at impact.

Nike's Sasquatch drivers already featured the SQ PowerBow and SQ Max Back Center of Gravity technologies, and those are incorporated in the Sumo2 drivers, as well. The original drivers addressed MOI, but are now enhanced in the new Sumo2 5900.

The Sumo2 has a traditional appearance when viewed face-on, but has the non-traditional square look from other angles.

The Sumo2 has the yellow soleplate of Sasquatch drivers, is 460cc in clubhead volume and features SasQuatch/Diamana shafts.

Lofts of 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 13 degrees are available.

$479.99
www.nikegolf.com

Callaway Hyper X and Hyper X Tour Drivers

The innovative Hyper X Driver provides a new benchmark in performance with the introduction of Hyperbolic Face Technology™, redefining the look, feel and speed at which golf balls leave the clubface.

The Tour models are designated by half-degree lofts and have square faces for enhanced workability and a more pleasing look at address.

Standard model, $299; Tour model, $329
www.callawaygolf.com

Callaway FT i-brid Irons

The FT i-brid Irons feature a new Fully Integrated Set Design that smoothly transitions from the super game-improvement mid and short irons to the new i-brid design – clubs that blend the control and accuracy of traditional irons with the forgiveness, distance and versatility of hybrids. Perhaps, the most forgiving and playable set of clubs to date from Callaway.

Available in Steel, $1,299; Graphite, $1,499
www.callawaygolf.com

TaylorMade’s Burner XD Irons

Looking for a great set of irons? Look no further. As the golf business leader, TaylorMade has introduced a set of irons that are simply awesome.

Not only do they have great aesthetics, but the performance of these irons, from feel to distance to a great set-up at address, is “nullus secundus” – second to none! With the help of a new shaft and titanium face, they are able to produce and promote faster ball speed and more distance – what every golfer needs!

The Burner XD's titanium clubface is more than just fast; it's also extremely forgiving, thanks to TaylorMade's Inverted Cone Technology, which is clearly visible on the backside of the clubface. ICT expands the part of the clubface that delivers high ball-speed. Between that and the large and stable club head, Burner XD is extraordinarily forgiving and easy to hit.

Additionally, Burner XD's titanium clubface is exceedingly light, and the saved weight is used to move the center of gravity low and deep within the club head. That makes it easy to launch the ball on a high, strong and long flight, promoting the kind of distance that Burner players covet. The 17-4 stainless steel club head and titanium clubface are joined using a method called lip encasement, a process that mechanically unites the two dissimilar materials.

TaylorMade Burner XD irons are available in 3- through 9-, pitching wedge, attack wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge.

$138 per club - steel;
$168 per club - graphite
www.taylormadegolf.com

The Dead-On Putter

The inventor, Phil Vinton, has produced a putter with exceptionally powerful visuals and a unique design. The putter’s components are machined out of solid blocks of stainless steel and aircraft-grade aluminum, using computer-generated solid modeling and CNC manufacturing equipment. The main feature of the putter head is the patent pending True Grip putting surface.

The True Grip putting surface, which resembles smooth sandpaper when viewed through a microscope, is applied to the putter’s heat treated stainless steel surface, and will last a lifetime.

The Dead On putter head also incorporates a set-up dot, and a large internal central cavity which provides an enhanced sweet spot as well as significantly increasing the putter’s moment of inertia (MOI). The tail piece includes a Central Accelerating Arrows alignment system, as well as outer wings, which increase MOI and provide visual assistance in making a proper stroke.

The benefits to the golfer include ease of alignment, tremendous balance and feel, and tactile, as well as audible feedback when making a putt.

$369.00
www.elitesp.com