The 2018 Gear Guide - Colorado AvidGolfer

2018

GEAR GUIDE

By Ted Johnson

“MORE OF THE SAME, ONLY BETTER” seems to be the theme of 2018. Drivers offer optimum custom fitting options. Irons now feature super-thin, highly flexible faces thanks to the varying materials that go into their construction. Wedges not only have varying grooves depending on their face loft, but now have different head shapes.

It can be confusing, yes, but the purpose of all these design improvements is to inject a dose of pure confidence into your swing. Good technique helps but you’ll get less damage out of the mishits, which is why today’s clubs clearly outperform their five-year-old predecessors.

And as far as balls go, we mixed in some usual suspects with offerings from companies whose products offer high-tech design and performance at considerable savings.

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April 2018 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

2018 Gear Guide DRIVERS

Callaway Rogue Sub Zero $500 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Better players will love distance, higher handicappers the forgiveness.

Why: Its max size means max sweetspot, and “jailbreak” titanium bars behind the face are an ejection seat for tee shots.

Cobra F8 $500 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Techies love its milled face inserts for precision, and also for its high and long tee shots.

Why: More traditional head shape and traditional “crunch” sound will appeal to – you guessed it – traditionalists.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | April 2018

TaylorMade M3/440 $400 Appeal: ★★★ Drool factor: New Twist Face technology in face gives center-of-face performance on mis-hits.

Gear heads will love to fiddle with its 13,000 fitting options.

Why: TaylorMade continues to tinker with famed M-line of woods that you see so much on the pro tours.

Ping SFT $400 Appeal: ★★★ Drool factor: Anti-slice interior weighting turns a big miss into another fairway hit.

Why: You’re ready to get serious about the game.

You want to love golf, but you need help. This is a high-tech driver for the aspiring newbie.

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Knuth Golf High Heat 257+ $500 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Conforms to latest “time-on-face” standards, so entire face brings “3-trampoline technology” to your tee shots.

Why: You don’t care about brands, you care about results. Here’s a driver that yields bigtime results in eye-catching shape.

Cleveland Launcher HB $300 Appeal: ★★ Drool factor: For many, similar performance to other “high-tech” clubs but at less cost.

Why: Old School “grab-and-hit” club—nothing to adjust on the head. Back-weighting means larger sweetspot, higher launch, less spin and more distance.

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LAND ROVER

DENVER

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EVOQUE

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1-800-NEW-LAND-ROVER | 6160 S Broadway • Littleton, CO 80121 www.LandRoverDenver.com Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/LandRoverDenver

Every Land Rover and Range Rover vehicle comes with a 5-year, 100,000 mile limited warranty and a 165-point inspection. Original in-Service date is the earlier of new-vehicle retail sales or in-use date, as reported to or by Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC. See your local authorized Land Rover Retailer for complete terms and conditions of the limited warranty and service coverage.

2018 Gear Guide FAIRWAY WOODS + HYBRIDS

Callaway Rogue Sub Zero $280 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Lightweight carbon shell saves weight, resulting in larger sweetspot. Titanium “jailbreak” bars behind face for high ball exit speed.

Why: Perfect for long fairway shots into par-5s.

Ping G400 hybrid $230 Appeal: ★★★ Drool factor: High-launch capability off a sidewalk thanks to steel face and a sole heavier than most.

Why: Mountain golf often means playing off tight fairways to firm, firm greens. You want something to land like it’s attached to a parachute.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | April 2018

Ping G400 Stretch $270 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Lighter than many similar clubs, and the forgiving maraging steel face means big sweetspot and a high launch.

Why: Having driver troubles? Facing a lot of tight fairways? Go with the Stretch.

Callaway Rogue X hybrid $250 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Easy to hit hybrid with “jailbreak” face for hot launch off a cupped face that increases forgiveness.

Why: Need some distance out of the rough?

Consistency issues? This is a straight & true copy machine.

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TaylorMade M3 $300 Appeal: ★★★ Drool factor: Pro-style head and interior weights that can be set for draw or fade bias.

Why: Better players like the sleek, slightly smaller head on tight fairway lies.

KZG H370 hybrid $180 Appeal: ★★★ Drool factor: Slight offset gives confidence by reducing slices. Comes in lofts from 18 to 42 degrees, so goodbye 3-, 4- and 5-irons. Maybe the 6, too.

Why: Because you need something that’s more consistent on second shots to long par 4s.

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2018 Gear Guide

IRONS

Mizuno JPX 900 Hot $900 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Slightly oversized, but heads with Chromoly 4140 steel faces only 2 millimeters thick launch shots like an F-22 off a carrier deck.

Why: A set of bazookas conceived in a very traditional, refined look.

TaylorMade M CBG $1,200 Appeal: ★★★ Drool factor: Tungsten weights & sole slots bring higher launch, more consistency and distance, and yet you still get that “got-it-all” feel.

Why: Because you want all the high-tech features without looking like you're swinging a beginner’s club.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | April 2018

Titleist AP1 $1,000 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Hollow 4- and 5-irons for greater spring in faces. Thin faces in rest of set for control and feel. A game improvement club but with lots of style.

Why: When you need more forgiveness in your irons. Not your typical game-improvement set.

Mizuno MP-18 MMC $1,200 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: It took three years for the famed company to get this high-tech design right: hot titanium face forged into carbon steel head for eye-popping distance.

Why: You want that classic size and look but you also want that added juice off the face.

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Honma Beres IS-06 $3,000 Appeal: ★★★ Drool factor: This famous Japanese company turns out works of art disguised as clubs meant for slower swing speeds.

Why: Irons 4 thru 8 have three slits in sole for flex and distance, and 50-gram shaft means amazing pop. Slower swingers will see a difference.

Ping iBlade $1,200 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Ping is so good at building modern features into classic looks. Here: thin soles, classic heads with elastomer in face for feel and distance.

Why: Colorado's the high desert. Lots of wind.

You want that boring trajectory into your target.

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2018 Gear Guide WEDGES

Cobra King Black $120 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Thicker face means more mass higher on club, so mis-hits travel further.

Why: It’s larger with variable grooves so it emanates confidence when in the sand or tall greenside grass.

Mizuno T7 $150 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Boron-infused carbon steel face gives ridges on grooves longer life for best spin throughout life of club.

Why: Serious players use wedges for full swings more than any other club. These grooves last for high spin throughout their life.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | April 2018

Callaway Mack Daddy 4 $150 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Two different types of grooves, depending on the loft, and they have milled ridges for prominent grab.

Why: You want spin? I got your spin right here.

(Just ask Phil Mickelson.)

Titlest Vokey Design $150 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: With six sole grinds, including the Tour-popular D grind, it helps to get fitted for your most common playing conditions.

Why: It’s No. 1 among pros around the world for a reason, and serious golfers abide.

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Cleveland CBX $130 Appeal: ★★★ Drool factor: Progressive head shapes, so stronger lofts are smaller, higher lofts are larger—and all have perimeter weighting and lighter shafts.

Why: It’s all for more confidence in those scoring shots near the green.

Wilson PMP Raw $120 Appeal: ★★★ Drool factor: Soft carbon steel for feel of memorable Robert Mendralla wedges in years past – Seve’s favorite. Soft ridges between grooves add spin even on soft shots.

Why: Legal square-groove design reduces water and grass infringing contact out of rough.

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2018 Gear Guide PUTTERS + BALLS Callaway Chrome Soft X $45 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: New Graphene DualSoft core results in good distance even off moderate swing speeds.

Great consistency from driver to wedges, and decent spin.

Why: Nothing has bit into Titleist's Pro-V1 line like the Chrome Soft, which costs less.

Optic Golf Z3 $350 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Align the toe of putter to the ZNeck and then Z-Neck to the heel and—voilà!— your face is precisely square to your target-line.

Why: You want the soft feel and look of a “blade” with alignment aid of today’s big mallets.

Odyssey Toulon Design $400 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Former head golf club designer at TaylorMade took his own putter line – his real passion – to Callaway. Diamond-mill pattern in face induces pure contact.

Why: For the serious golfer wanting consistent forward roll on all green surfaces.

Ping Sigma G Tyme H $200 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: The aluminum face insert is backed by an elastomer that resonates pleasantly in the ear while transferring more energy to the ball.

Why: It has perimeter weighting, easy alignment and other benefits of high-tech mallets— but for less money. coloradoavidgolfer.com

Bettinardi BB Series $300 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Velvet softness off a milled carbon steel face in a matte black finish that makes you consider buying it a seat next to you when you fly.

Why: You want that confidence to stroke the ball on those glassy downhill putts.

TaylorMade Spider $300 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: It’s in the hands of many PGA Tour and LPGA pros because it induces that straightback, straight-through stroke.

Why: So easy to line up, yet offers good feel (which is sound) and proper roll with no skid. In short, less three-putts.

Wilson Infinite $100 Appeal: ★★★ Drool factor: Consistency. Comes with a 104gram counterbalanced grip, and the oversize head has a large sweet spot—all resulting in consistent distance.

Why: You want all the benefits of modern mallet but at a lesser cost.

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Snell MTB Black $32 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Threepiece construction with urethane cover from the man who used to design TaylorMade balls.

Why: It’s hard to find a better value for those who want off-the-tee distance and high spin.

Bridgestone BXS $45 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: New SlipRes cover is softer than previous models so has more feel on long iron shots. Scuffs less than other highperformance balls yet has high spin.

Why: Bridgestone has 400 PhDs working in its Japanese headquarters. They know all things rubber, as seen in his premier ball Srixon QStar $25 Appeal: ★★★★ Drool factor: Perhaps the perfect ball for the mid-handicap golfer who wants performance and value.

Two-piece construction offers spin, distance and feel.

Why: It’s hard to find a better value. That is all.

Vice Pro+ $25 Appeal: ★★★ Drool factor: 4-piece urethane cover with 360 dimples gives lower, boring ball flight but still grabs the greens.

Why: Order online and use the company’s “Ball Recommender” to find the right model for you. This is their high-performance model.

April 2018 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER