Ok to show a good friend of mine that I do not have a Cleveland bias, here is the Cleveland-free News and Rumors for today…….
You have probably heard of Tad Moore and all that he has done for golf equipment. Tad Moore is probably best recognized for milling the faces of putters and his work with Dunlop/Maxfli/Slazenger. Tad has signed on with Saskatoon’s Cosmo Golf and will soon release the PHYSICS by Tad Moore line of clubs. Cosmo is a fairly small, relatively unknown (Canadians may be familiar with them) component company. I will see if I can get more details on this signing but it could mean big things for Cosmo Golf!
Early numbers indicate Wilson’s new lineup will be a huge success. Advanced orders for spring are up 200% over last year. Many insiders say these new products have been the talk of this weeks PGA Show in Las Vegas.
Lefties will be excited come January or February next year when Callaway will release their Phil Mickelson/Roger Cleveland irons to the public. Word is they will look very similar to Phil’s current 731PM irons. My source says they will be cast and will be available in both right and left hand.
Ernie Els and Adam Scott are testing a 400CC Titleist driver. Titleist has always been more of a traditional company and their current drivers are only 365CC. Rumor has it that the new drivers are deeper and less “pear-shaped” than Titleist drivers of years gone by.
The new Callaway Fusion driver will be 460CC. I will be hitting all the new Callaway stuff next week and will probably do some reviews then.
www.nikegolf.com now has the new Pro Combo Utility Iron specs and pictures. It looks like a combination of the old Cobra Baffler and the Tour Edge Ironwood.
Speaking of Nike, I tried the Nike One Black ball the other day and was very impressed. I would rate it right up there with the Titleist ProV1 and the Callaway HX Tour.
Ping’s contract with Chris DiMarco is up soon. Watch for him to jump to Callaway.
Ok so I have a few Cleveland things too. Chad Campbell has been testing a composite driver. I had heard and reported that Cleveland was considering scrapping the whole project but I guess they have stuck with it. I have heard there is a 50/50 chance of this club ever coming to market. Cleveland has also resigned World #1 Vijay Singh recently which was really a no-brainer if you ask me. Vijay did approach Callaway but wanted his contract to be “driver optional” so he could still play his TaylorMade R7 Quad. Callaway said no.
Jack Nicklaus has been playing the Callaway ERC Fusion driver and Callaway HX Tour ball after chatting with Callaway Staffer Arnold Palmer. Jack has been a fan of a soft balata ball but has been looking for more distance.
There ya go… my non-Cleveland-biased report for the day. I know I will hear about a Callaway-bias now but thats what you get when the Callaway rep comes for a visit!