SirShanksAlot
Hey everyone… the name on this post says SirPuttsAlot but it’s actually SirShanksAlot. I’ve lost my password (for like the 100th time) so I’m using SirPuttsAlot’s for now. Some TaylorMade news, mini-reviews and a bit of Hogan info for you today.
We’ve had a few questions about a new TaylorMade V-Steel that is currently on the European TaylorMade website. We talked to TaylorMade today and found out that this club will only be offered in Asia and Europe. The current V-Steel will stay in the line here in North America.
Speaking of TaylorMade… I got to hit some of the new stuff today. I hit the R7 XD and R7 CGB irons and they both felt really good. I thought I’d give everyone a quick review of the two…
R7 XD Iron
– fairly thick top line
– looks similar to O/S from above
– inverted cone technology is visible in the cavity
– very forgiving and very long
– fairly high launch angle
– nice looking iron that should sell very well
– price should be right about the same as the LT
– does not really take the place of an iron in the current line
R7 CGB Iron
– cleaner look than the current CGB
– thick top line
– inverted cone technology visible in the cavity
– has 4 little weights on the sole… two on each side of the logo… they don’t come out
– has a “clicky” sound at impact
– one of the longest irons I’ve ever hit
– very high launch angle… really, really high!
– really easy to hit and very forgiving
– I like this one a lot better than the current CGB… both in feel and looks
– price should be really close to current CGB
Everyone at my shop really liked these new irons. They should both do pretty well next year and should strengthen the TaylorMade iron line. They are both designed for the high handicapper but I could see some mid handicappers having a look at the R7 XD iron. We’ll do full reviews of these once they come out but I thought I’d pass on a bit of info now.
Rumor has it that Sergio Garcia has been playing the Maxfli Black Max ball. It wouldn’t really surprise me though because it looks like TaylorMade/Maxfli is ready to push the Black Max a bit more on Tour. I’ll let you know if I find anything else.
We had an email from a reader asking about any new Hogan woods that could be coming down the pipe. He noticed that an internet retailer had slashed prices on the current woods and was wondering if that meant there were new woods on the way. We got all of our 2006 Hogan books at work the other day and the wood line was exactly the same. This isn’t to say that there won’t be any new woods but it doesn’t look like anything will happen soon. We were told to drop the prices of our C-S3 drivers last week… not because there is a new one coming but because Callaway/Hogan is trying to distance this club from the Callaway drivers. It doesn’t make sense to have two drivers from the same company go head to head… so I think the Hogan woods may be moved into more of a value category. In my opinion, the C-S3 is an average driver at best and it doesn’t really stand a chance against other drivers in the Big Bertha/Cobra SZ/TaylorMade R5 price point.
Speaking of Hogan… I wouldn’t be surprised if Callaway slowly started to phase out the whole Hogan line over the next year or so. I just get the feeling that Hogan is more of a thorn in the Callaway side. The whole Top Flite deal last year was a way for Callaway to obtain golf ball manufacturing capabilities and Hogan was more of a throw-in. Just my two cents…
Thanks to all that have stopped by the SirShanksAlot online store and picked up a shirt. We’re working on some new designs and hope to expand the store in the spring. Want a shirt? Swing by today and be sure to use the coupon code “Fall2″ for $2.00 off your order. We’re also helping the “pictures on golf balls” guys and taking orders for them. Their site should be up soon but in the meantime you can email us and we’ll get you any info you need. These make a great gift!
I think that’s all for today. Like SirPuttsAlot mentioned yesterday, we’re working on a lot of different things right now and we hope to make the site even better. We’ve both decided to really work hard over the winter in hopes that 2006 will be a great year. We both have full time jobs (SirPutts actually has two jobs) but we are going to suck it up and make SirShanksAlot.com even stronger. We love doing this and really like getting emails from our readers. Keep stopping by (and telling others to stop by) and we’ll keep writing! Talk to you soon!