GEAR TEST SCOTTY CAMERON

BY ALEX GALLEMORE

I’ m one of the many of Scotty Cameron putter fans out there, so when he announces a new Select line up it feels like Christmas all over again, even though it’s January. Some of you might think I’m sad about getting excited over a putter but it’s all about the craftmanship and detail. To be honest I doubt the 2023 Super Select Series will make me hole more putts than my 2010 Newport 2 but that isn’t the point. We all get excited over new things: cars, watches, clothes and bags come to mind. Mine just happens to be putters!

Scotty Cameron has built upon his tourproven success of 2020’s Special Select line and will be introducing 10 new Super Select models in 2023, which will be launched in two worldwide releases – the first in March and the second in May

Scotty has pushed his blade and mid-mallet designs even further with better performance, new milling techniques, refined shapes, improved multi-material construction and cutting-edge weight distribution to deliver a Select line superior to any before it. The result – Super Select.

“With the new Super Select putters, the name just fits. I’ve been creating putters for a long time, and after each line rolls out and gets played, new ideas emerge. There’s always a better way. I try to make all the refinements I can to bring more performance to players, to give them more confidence and, in the end, hopefully more success. Key to the 2023 Super Select family are the new ‘Plus’ models, which I introduced on Tour last year, then crafted into a few limited release models to really showcase this new higher-MOI blade design. Now, we have three new ‘Plus’ options in a few of our most popular designs. Additionally, I’ve brought back the GOLO name and shape in a new size. Familiar models like our Newport, Newport 2, Squareback 2, Fastback 1.5 and Del Mar all have our new dual-milling for a great feel off the face that combines the feel of a deep mill with the consistency across the face of mid-mill. Inspired by putters made for tour professionals, I have introduced new I-beam necks and various cosmetic upgrades to the finish and graphics. I’ve tried in every way to make these Super Select putters live up to their name.”

– SCOTTY CAMERON

It’s driver season again... where the brands flood the market with campaigns to entice your hard earned cash for the quest of extra distance. The driver that has been making the most noise leading up to the 2023 PGA Show has been Callaway and their latest line up called Paradym.

Callaway threw down the gauntlet in 2017 with the Epic driver, which housed their breakthrough Jailbreak technology. Two vertical bars behind the face provided not only performance but face stability. Callaway added artificial intelligence to create a more forgiving face in their Flash model and this paired with modified Jailbreak technology has been the tech backbone of their drivers. So they needed to find something different as things were starting to look very similar just disguised with clever marketing. It’s hard for manufacturers to push the envelope each year to deliver a new driver that outperforms its predecessor as the regulations set by the R&A and USGA are tight to say the least, especially with the outcry that Tour pros are making classic courses look like pitch and putt golf due to their ever increasing driving average. I bought the Epic when it came out in 2017 and it remains the benchmark driver I test all the others against. As you would expect, all the models since then have got slightly better but not one has been able to tempt me to upgrade … until now! Having listened to the Callaway sales pitch on the Paradym I was thinking, ‘here we go again, more clever sales and marketing but no real tech breakthrough’. Until they showed the 360 carbon one-piece body design!

I’m a golf nerd when it comes to tech and really appreciate the challenges manufacturers face when it comes to club design. Making a driver appeal to all abilities is a science and art-form in one. The key tool is weight distribution. Saving weight in certain areas and adding it to other spots can dramatically affect the performance. That is why I woke up during the presentation when I saw the artificial intelligence-designed 360 carbon body. Callaway can now move essential weight in the most precise way possible to enhance the characteristic of the club.