In The Bag

BY TONY DEAR • CG EDITOR

How’s your season going so far if, indeed, it’s even begun? While certainly not the worst spring on record or in living memory, March and the first couple of weeks of April had their usual mix of rain, sunshine, frigid temps, blue sky, and heavy cloud cover, so knowing whether or not the weather was going to be fair or foul for your allotted golf time has been a bit of a lottery.

If you woke up to find dark clouds in the sky, deep puddles on the ground, and the needle barely making it above the 45-degree mark, then we hope you were able to find a covered range at least or somewhere indoors where you could play the game virtually. If, however, all was fair and you not only got 18 in but had time for another nine, then lucky you and we hope your game was in decent shape.

Whether you got out or not though, summer is imminent and all of us will be teeing it up sooner or later. When you do, will you pull a Lietzke and uncover a a banana peel underneath your driver headcover (you know the Bruce Lietzke banana story, right?) or will you touch the ground running and reach mid-season form before May is out?

Wherever your game’s at, you know Puetz Golf stocks whatever you need to keep the season flowing or get it off to a good start. Here are 10 items that’ll help.

PUETZ GOLF PRICE • Driver $499.99, 7-Piece Iron Set $1,399.99

Callaway's original ‘Big Bertha’ driver came out in 1991. All steel, its clubhead had a volume of 190 cubic centimeters — significantly larger than the persimmon driver heads that were still around (Bernhard Langer was the last player to win a men’s major — the 1993 Masters — with a persimmon driver) and which they would soon replace. Titanium, every bit as strong as steel but 45 percent lighter, was first used for a driver head by Mizuno in 1990. It quickly took over, Callaway launching the 253 cc Great Big Bertha in 1995. The 290 cc Biggest Big Bertha arrived in 1997. Now, of course, driver heads can be a maximum of 460 cc and club technology, advanced by seriously smart aeronautical and metallurgy engineers, has enabled clubs to become ever lighter, faster, and more forgiving. Callaway’s 2023 Big Bertha driver is 30 grams lighter than the typical driver on the PGA Tour and made with a Triaxial Carbon Crown and Forged Carbon sole that allowed Callaway clubmakers to push the center of Gravity (CG) back and low in the head, increasing the Moment of Inertia (MOI) and thus stabilizing the clubhead when contact is made away from the sweet spot. Callaway’s innovative Jailbreak technology increases the amount of energy imparted at contact and the AI-designed flash face lowers spin to increase carry distance. It’s a similar story in the irons whose titanium face/body and tungsten weight cartridges help you swing the club faster and still get impressive results from off-center strikes. Urethane microspheres inside the hollow body enhance sound and feel.

PUETZ GOLF PRICE • Driver $899.99, Fairways $599.99, Hybrid $419.99

Few companies do lightweight clubs better than Japanese brand XXIO (pronounced Zek-zee-oh). Lightweight is what they’re all about — that, and cool black/ white ads with beautiful people taking private planes on weekend sojourns with clubs in tow — and not forgetting the unmistakably high-end prices, of course. XXIO released Prime — its highest-end range of premium clubs in April, borrowing established tech from previous models and adding new features to help moderate swing speed players stop the decrease of clubhead speed as they age. ‘Rebound Frame’ is an alternating pattern of stiff and flexible zones that focuses more energy into the ball, increasing ball-speed. The Prime Driver has four alternating layers of stiff and flexible zones plus a new Super-TIX 51AF Titanium Flat Cup Face to expand the flex area of each clubface helping to maximize distance. ‘ActivWing’ manipulates airflow around the clubhead during the transition and downswing helping to ensure the clubface meets the ball squarely. ‘Weight Plus Technology’ puts a little extra weight in the butt-end of the club, counterbalancing it and enabling you to swing it with better rhythm and tempo. The SP-1200 carbon-fiber shaft, meanwhile, is light and combines the ideal amount of flex with balance and a kick-point that helps seniors and ladies generate as much power as possible. The fairway woods and hybrids use the same tech plus a floating sole weight pad designed in the shape of a cannon to assist in launching the ball high, even when you strike the ball low on the face.

PUETZ GOLF PRICE • Premier $199.99, Tradition $139.99

The Premiere, designed with input from Footjoy staffers like Adam Scott, Justin Thomas and Webb Simpson, has all the elegance, stability and performance characteristics you’d expect from the flagship shoe of what is commonly regarded as golf’s top shoe manufacturer whose history extends back more than 150 years. The upper is, of course, made with premium full-grain leather (from Pittards, which began producing performance leather for gloves, footwear and other leather goods in Somerset, England, in 1826) that is waterproof (two-year guarantee). The Versa-Trax outsole, together with Pulsar cleats from SoftSpikes, more or less ensures perfect stability from any lie, the Ortholite Fitbed (insole or layer immediately below the foot) provides great comfort, and the Laser Street last gives you a full, rounded-toe and slightly narrow heel, which has become an extremely popular feature with Footjoy wearers on Tour. The Premiere is available in three distinct styles (Wilcox, Packard, and Tarlow), each with multiple colorways. The Tradition is another typically good looking shoe from Footjoy that might be described as the ‘Premiere-lite’. The leather, though still stylish and durable, isn’t quite the same quality as that of the Premiere and offers only a one-year waterproof guarantee. The lightweight, foam midsole provides comfort together with the molded, high-density, EVA Fit-Bed. Like the Premiere, the Tradition uses the Fast Twist 3.0 system to secure the cleat into the sole of the shoe. The most advanced system in the industry, the low-profile Fast Twist 3.0 is very comforatble.

PUETZ GOLF PRICE • $184.99

MJ (can we call Michael that?) is an ultra-keen golfer, of course, and very, very cool — he opened his own 18-hole, Bobby Weed-designed course called Grove XXIII (23 was the number he wore for the Chicago Bulls) in Hobe Sound, Fla. in 2020, which is nice. So, it’s no great surprise the golf shoes that bear his familiar styling are also pretty…er… happening, slick, fire, stylish, lit, dope, etc. Nike says the ADG 4 was a direct request from Jordan himself, adding that the shoe “infuses an incredibly classic silhouette with retro Jordan flavor.” A ‘silhouette’ is, as you’d imagine, the basic outline/shape of the shoe. The ‘retro Jordan flavor’ comes from the famous Tinker Hatfield-designed elephant print on the heel — the elephant ‘skin’ first appeared in 1988 on the Air Jordan 3, the very shoe that Jumpman made its debut — and the Jumpman logo inside. The ADG 4 is an attractive blend of classic, cool, and functional. The full-grain leather upper is soft and supple and Nike’s lightweight, durable, foam called ‘React Technology’ makes this an incredibly comfortable shoe or, as Nike says, it ‘delivers a smooth, responsive ride’. The rubber sole has what the company calls an ‘integrated traction pattern,’ which is a rugged-looking pattern of nubs that provides a solid grip even on wet turf. The ADG 4 is available in six colorways: Football Grey/Alabaster/White/University Blue, Wolf Grey/Smoke Grey/White, White/Black/White, Grey Fog/Cement Grey/Burnt Sunrise/White, White/Pure Platinum/Fire Red/Black, Black/ Cement Grey/Metallic Silver/White, and sizes 3.5-16.

PUETZ GOLF PRICE • V6 $299.99, V6 Shift $399.99

It’s difficult to imagine how distance-measuring devices continue to get better with each new model, but they do. As if Bushnell’s Tour V5 wasn’t all the rangefinder you’d ever need, the Kansas City-based company has found ways to improve it. Granted, the improvements are fairly small and might not excite the V5 owner, but for those looking to update their 10-year-old V2, 2023’s V6 is very impressive and a clear winner on the PGA Tour where, Bushnell claims, well over 90 percent of players use its products. It goes without saying the V6 is extremely accurate — to within a yard. And while its competitors have an average range of around 800 yards, the V6’s extends to 1,300 yards. It’s unlikely anyone (not even Long Drive champion Kyle Berkshire) will ever hit a drive, or an approach shot quite that far, but it’s good to have if you need a distance to the halfway hut, or if you use your rangefinder away from the golf course. It’s always confidence-building to know when your device has locked on to your target and the V6 not only vibrates (JOLT) but also flashes a red circle on the LCD display. The V6 is also the most weather-resistant rangefinder Bushnell has made (IPX6 — meaning it can resist high-pressure, heavy sprays of water). The Slope-enabled V6 has all the above with the added Slope feature which enables you to compensate for elevation changes (just remember to turn this feature off in competitions as it’s not USGA-conforming).

PUETZ GOLF PRICE • NX10 $229.99, NX10 Slope $279.99, NX7 Slope $199.99

In the second century, the Romans used a nifty device called a ‘Dodecahedron’ to measure distance, but it was a Scottish company that developed the first rangefinder we might recognize as such about 1,500 years later. Laser rangefinders have been used for golf since the mid-1990s and, though they might be ubiquitous now, they were slow to catch on. The first models were, not surprisingly, basic but expensive. In 2013, golfing entrepreneurs Clay Hood and Jonah Mytro saw a gap in the market for rangefinders whose quality was comparable to that of the industry’s best, but which were considerably more affordable. They formed Precision Pro in California, recorded triple-digit growth during the company’s formative years and disrupted the market sufficiently to force major players to lower their prices. Hood and Mytro moved their company to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2017 to have a more central location and have continued to release quality products at reasonable prices. The NX10 has a sturdy build, optics as clear as anything else available today, and is likewise as accurate as its competitors. What sets Precision Pro rangefinders apart though, besides the price, is the extensive range (38) of removable ‘skins’ that allow you to customize the look of your rangefinder. The NX7 first appeared in 2017 but was refreshed in 2021. The tech may be a notch below that of the NX10, but it has everything most golfers will ever need. Precision Pro also offers a 90-day money-back guarantee and free battery replacements.

PUETZ GOLF PRICE • $349.99

Based in California and in business since 2011, Voice Caddie has produced over 30 laser rangefinders as well as portable launch monitors, GPS units and, since 2014, the T Series of watches. The T9 is the newest addition and comes equipped with shot and putt-tracking that keeps track of your score. It has a full-color touchscreen (1.2 inches), provides yardages to the front, center, and back of the green, and has advanced features such as ‘Active Green’ that rotates the green according to the direction you approach it from, thus increasing the accuracy. It also has V-Algorithm 3.0 that automatically gives the Slope measurement. Additionally, with Green Undulation (can you guess what that does?), Putt View, gives you an arrow showing the direction of the putt’s break. The Smart Green function moves the green reflecting your position, while giving you a better grasp on the speed and line of your putt. The cool Practice Tempo Mode allows you to set your ideal swing tempo and compare it to subsequent swings. Track shots and analyze all your important stats following your round with the free MyVoiceCaddie app. Move the pin on the green to show its exact position on any given day. There are no fees or subscriptions necessary, and you can measure your distance and 40,000 courses worldwide. You can choose from a variety of watch faces and the unit comes in two colors — black or gray. The battery lasts for 10 days in watch mode and 27 holes in golf mode.

PUETZ GOLF PRICE • $54.99 per dozen

As golf equipment buyers know, improvements in new gear are hard-earned and rather small — how do you keep improving a ball that has been the Tour and market leader since it was launched more than 20 years ago? Titleist, like most other manufacturers to be fair, insists it never launches a new product that isn’t better than what came before. The major difference between the 2023 Pro-V1 and its predecessors is the ‘high-gradient’ core that is relatively soft in the middle but gets increasingly firm as you move outward. This type of core has become increasingly common in high-end balls and reduces spin with the longer clubs. Lower spin, though generally desirable, won’t give you greater distance alone. It needs to work together with the ball’s aerodynamics that are determined by several elements, most importantly, the number, size, and depth of its dimples. The three-piece Pro-V1, ideal for most golfers, has 388 tetrahedral-design dimples — unchanged from 2021, while the firmer-feel, higher-flight, four-piece Pro-V1x has 348 — also unchanged. While the ball’s core is regarded as its engine and changes within it affect how far the ball travels, short-game performance is dependent on the cover material — in Titleist’s case a proprietary Themoset Urethane that mixes two urethane components, which are cast onto cased golf ball cores and then cured. Recognizing the Pro-V1 and Pro-V1x’s short game characteristics — greenside spin, feel and control were ideal, Titleist was loath to make any changes to the process this time.

PUETZ GOLF PRICE • $49.99 per dozen

The eighth generation of the Japanese manufacturer’s popular, premium, three-piece Z-Star is a family of three balls and features the new FastLayer DG core which, like the Titleist Pro-V1’s High-Gradient core, is soft in the middle and harder on the outside. Unlike Titleist, however, Srixon has altered its cover technology updating the signature coating that is engineered to maximize the ball’s greenside spin. Spin Skin-Plus digs deep into your groves of your irons and wedges to create the spin that stops the ball quicker on the green. The new Z-Star has what Srixon calls a ‘338 Speed Dimple System’ that seeks to create less drag and more lift to boost distance. It’s also designed to make the ball fly straighter, even in a steady wind. The Z Star has a compression of 92 and is optimized for driver swing speeds of 90 mph and up. The Z Star XV is also a three-piece ball but designed for even higher ball speed and, therefore, greater distance. It has the same FastLayer Core, Spin Skin-Plus and dimple configuration as its standard sibling, but a thinner cover and higher compression — 102. It is designed for players who swing a driver at more than 100 mph. The Z Star 8 Diamond gives you the best of both worlds, combining the cover thickness of the Z Star with the Z Star XV’s compression. It too features the FastLayer Core, Spin Skin-Plus and dimple design, but the compression/ cover thickness dynamic provides another option for today’s equipment-savvy golfer.

PUETZ GOLF PRICE • $49.99 per dozen

Like the Srixon Z Star, Callaway’s highly successful Chrome Soft ball comes in three models — standard, X, and X LS. The Carlsbad-based company invested over $50 million in developing a system of 3D X-Ray machines that measure every part of the ball ensuring every single one is manufactured to the tightest tolerances (1/1,000th of an inch). That guarantees the claims Callaway makes about its flagship ball are true for each one that leaves the factory. The latest version of the standard Chrome Soft is a three-piece unlike its four-piece predecessors and, though soft golf balls are rarely fast/long golf balls, Callaway has managed to make the Chrome Soft a little softer while increasing the distance it can travel by losing one of the mantle layers. The resulting larger core — called the ‘Hyper Elastic SoftFast Core’ — gives ball speed a boost. A new Tour Aero design with the company’s HEX-shaped dimples keeps the ball stable in the wind, and the ultra-soft urethane cover is designed to optimize greenside spin, feel, and control. The four-piece Chrome Soft X is quite a bit firmer (though still part of the Chrome Soft because, well ‘Chrome Soft’ sells) than the standard version with a compression in the mid-90s, and the most-played Chrome Soft on Tour. The four-piece X LS is a little softer than its predecessor, but the new core gives it a slight distance boost. The intriguing part is its new softer cover which generates a little more greenside spin.