Nothing like PGA golf on a Monday! Hopefully they wrap it all up today because finishing on a Tuesday would just be weird!
Some good emails from our readers. One of them asking about the Titleist 735 irons. I have nothing more on these right now… forged stainless combo set, available May/June, possible chromed version called the Titleist 635. Our reader asked if these irons had a bore through shaft… from what I have seen and heard, they don’t. I should be seeing them in person pretty soon and I will let everyone know when I do!
Another email about another new iron… the Cleveland CG4. News on this iron has gone cold… it is suppose to be the replacement of the current TA7. I will dig and see what I can find. An interesting aside though… Cleveland slashed the price of the TA2 the other day. I ordered a set for a customer… 2-PW for half of what the 3-PW cost originally. If you want a solid “players” iron at a great price… check these out.
A reader asks about cloned irons… which is funny because I just started on a Buying Guide section on this topic. Here is a quick overview. A clone is basically a cheap copy of a popular brand name club. They usually look fairly similar to the real thing but lack the technology of the real thing. These irons are still a decent choice for a higher handicap… the golfer that only plays a few times a year and doesn’t want to spend the money on the real thing. These players usually can’t feel a difference between a clone and the real thing anyways. Put it this way… if you are a serious player or plan on playing a lot with hopes of improving… get the real thing. I see so many people buy a clone, use it for a bit, then come in and buy another set. Add the price of those two sets up and you might as well just get the real thing. If I were a consumer on a tight budget, I would look at a used or demo set of a brand name before I would get a clone. I would also look at a component company too… these companies often create their own designs but don’t have the big brand name to drive sales. Companies like Wishon (www.wishongolf.com), Snake Eyes (the clubs that SirPuttsAlot plays) or Innovex Golf (www.innovexgolf.com) are companies that make great stuff without the marketing and hype. Those would be worth looking at too. Also keep resale in mind… clones have NO VALUE in the resale market.
A few questions about shortening a driver to gain control. This is a good way to help keep the ball straight… just don’t shorten it too much! Shortening a shaft too much can do a few things… it makes the shaft stiffer (your “R” flex might become closer to a “S” if you’re not careful), and you also might make your driver into a 3 wood. I see customers all the time that want to take 2 and 3 inches off their driver in hopes of curing a slice. If you are going to do that, why not just hit a 3 wood? It’s shorter and easier to control. A half inch or an inch…. sure. 3 inches? Might want to rethink that one! If you want a driver that short then get it specially made… you need to watch the shaft flex in that case. As for altering swingweight when shortening a driver; there are different things you can do with lead tape and weights to keep the swingweight. Any good club maker can do that for you. Thanks for the emails!
Ever wonder why Ping Golf has yet to make a hybrid club? Well rumor has it that there is one in the works. I will do some research and see what I can find.
www.maxfli.com now has information on the new Black Max golf ball. I have heard nothing but good things about it and it is really, really nice to see hype around the Maxfli name again!
Well… time to watch the golf. I hope everyone has a great day. Sorry that there hasn’t been many reviews lately… all of our energy is focused at getting the new site up. Once it’s up, the reviews will follow!