IN THE BAG

$449.99

As is the case with most golf equipment, Scotty Cameron usually has a two-year shelf life. But the Special Select Line enjoyed a third year at retail thanks to COVID-related supply-chain issues. Its successor, the Super Select, was introduced in January and though a lot of golfers won’t notice much difference between the two, Cameron aficionados surely will. For starters, there’s a new neck — the ‘I Beam’ that Cameron describes as having a ‘racier, industrial look that allows for the removal and targeted repositioning of weight from the neck to the heel and toe of the putter head.’ Another significant enhancement is a second pass of the drill-bit over the face during the milling process, which levels the peaks of the original deep-milling creating a slightly deeper sound as well as softer feel. Six Super Select models are currently available. The Newport and Newport 2 are shaped blades with heel and toe weights. They are very similar to past versions, but the Newport Plus and Newport 2 Plus, while the same length from heel to toe with the same heel/toe weights, are slightly longer from front to back. They also have an area of 303 Stainless Steel removed from the sole which is replaced by 6061 Aluminum. That pushes weight to the perimeter and raises the club’s MOI meaning the clubhead will twist very little at impact if the strike is imperfect. Four additional models — the Del Mar, GoLo 6, GoLo 6.5 and Fastback 1.5 will be released in May. Scotty Cameron is a line that moves fast, so visit Puetz Golf before it’s too late.

The Paradym’s titanium-free body is new and is as exciting as Callaway’s past Jailbreak Technology or A.I.-design they introduced in recent years — it’s considered another genuine breakthrough. The all-carbon chassis of the driver is made with Triaxial Carbon in the crown and Forged Carbon in the sole making it 45 percent lighter than a typical titanium body. The newly designed Jailbreak frame is 33 percent lighter than that in the Epic Speed, and a new A.I.-optimized titanium face is designed to boost ball speeds and improve consistency. There are three Paradym drivers — Paradym, Paradym X and Paradym Triple Diamond. The Paradym has a 15-gram Adjustable Perimeter Weight to manipulate shot-shape, launches high and is the most forgiving of the three. The Paradym X has no sliding weight but internal weighting that gives the club a draw-bias. The Triple Diamond is for the better player — more compact head, low spin, launches low. There are two Paradym irons — Paradym and Paradym X. Both have 455 Stainless Steel heads, with a forged Cup Face and Speed Frame that connects all points of the head without preventing the face from flexing. The hollow bodies are filled with Callaway’s Urethane Microspheres to soften impact. The Paradym is a players’-distance iron with more compact heads and a relatively thin top line. The Paradym X is a game-improvement club with strong lofts and up to 79 grams of tungsten (the Paradym has 67 grams) placed low in the head to create a high launch and increase the club’s MOI.

PUETZ GOLF PRICE

$449.99, $429.99, $429.99

In the early 1990s, entrepreneur Robert Bettinardi owned a manufacturing company that used CNC machines to mill steel for hydraulics companies. At the time, putters were typically built by welding the neck and head together, but Bettinardi believed he could create a club from a single block of steel. He approached Callaway and was soon building all its putters. In 1993, he began a five-year relationship with Scotty Cameron Putters while also working for numerous other OEMs. Five years later, he opened his own shop — Bettinardi Golf — whose putters featured the patented Honeycomb face pattern ensuring a perfectly flat surface. Bettinardi had other alliances with Ben Hogan Golf and Mizuno but, since 2008, has built putters only for the Bettinardi Golf brand in its Tinley Park, Ill., facility. There are currently six ‘families’ of Bettinardi putters headed by the Studio Stock Series. The five different 2023-24 Studio Stock models (six including the Studio Stock 16 Left-Handed Putter) are each milled from a single block of 303 Stainless Steel. They feature the company’s Roll Control face-milling that helps prevent the ball skidding immediately following impact and are given a Diamond Blast finish to prevent glare from the sun. The darker BB Series putters (eight models with the left-handed BB1) have an aggressive FlyMill face pattern which creates a super-soft feel, while the four Queen B models (five with the left-handed Queen B 6) are finished with a distinctive caramel-copper PVD coating and feature a miniature-Honeycomb face-milling pattern that enhances feel.

The SM9 Wedge was launched in January 2022 and featured an updated version of the Progressive Center of Gravity design introduced in its predecessor. A longer hosel (higher lofts), thicker topline and a metal pad added to the back of the toe pushed the club’s Center of Gravity (CG) higher and further forward promoting the flatter trajectory. Better players prefer this to keep the ball below the wind. The new wedge offered increased spin by cutting micro-grooves in between the wider, deeper grooves, while those grooves were given a heat-treatment to make them more durable. Six grinds were made available at the initial launch: F, S, M, K, L and D. The T, popular with Tour players, was added in June. There were nine lofts (46-62 degrees), three finishes —Tour Chrome, Brushed Steel and Jet Black (Raw as a custom option) and visitors to Vokey’s WedgeWorks could choose between six toe-engraving and various stamping options. You can also customize the loft, bounce, grind and BV wings logo paint-fill. Australia’s Cameron Smith won the 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions after finding his new SM9s in his locker at Kapalua three days before the first round. The current Open champion (now a LIV Golf player) is one of 26 Titleist-contracted pros using the SM9. In January, Titleist/Vokey announced the Jet Black Premium model which would be treated with a titanium carbide vapor to prevent them from chipping and stop wear lines appearing on the face and sole. Vokey is certainly standard setting.

Motorized Cart 7

PUETZ GOLF PRICE

$1,599.99

Motorized Golf International (MGI) was born in 1993 at Caddymatic Australia. While powered trollies had become popular in the UK, they were struggling to get a toehold Down Under where the vast majority of golfers walk. It wasn’t until, MGI’s founder, Ian Edwards, designed his own remote-controlled Tornado trolley in 2000 that the company really began to take off. Numerous successful models followed, before the most successful trolley of all — the Zip Series (X1, X3, X5, Navigator) was launched in 2017. The pandemic saw a significant rise in the number of people playing golf in the USA and the number using powered trollies with the Zip Navigator being a particularly popular model. By 2018, the company’s 25th year of doing business, the ZIP Series had become available in 23 countries around the world. In 2019, responding to customer’s calls for something a little heartier to meet the challenge of longer, more remote and extreme courses, the Zip Navigator AT (All-Terrain) was launched with an impressive list of features — check these out: dual swiveling independent front wheels; full-directional and speed remote control; patented Gyroscope Straight Tracker Technology; downhill speed control; twin 230-watt calibrated motors powered by a Lithium battery; all terrain tread rear wheels; fully-foldable rear fifth wheel; USB charging port; and adjustable ergonomic T-bar handle and bag. Amazing right? And all this is lightweight coming in at only (with battery) 37 pounds. MGI has been touring the golf expo circuit and turning heads across the U.S. in 2023 establishing themselves as the market leader.