SirShanksAlot
We’re back! Miss us? Thought so. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and got what they wanted from Santa.We’re going to continue with our look ahead at 2006 but I thought I’d pass along a few odds and ends first. We’ve talked a bit about the possibility of a TaylorMade golf ball and it looks like it is getting some play on the PGA Tour. I noticed a link to the ESPN website while I was searching through the posts at Golfwrx and it looks like Kenny Perry is giving the new ball a try. I’ll pass along any more info that I can find. Speaking of Golfwrx… I met a member over there that put himself on Ebay in hopes of finding sponsors. His name is Craig S. Mason and he hopes to play on the Tarheel Tour… a 25 event mini-tour. It’s a pretty cool idea if you ask me! Drop him a line at utopiapga@yahoo.com. Ok… let’s get on to Cleveland Golf and what to expect from them in 2006.
The Company
Cleveland Golf has come a long way in the past few years. The company that was once best known for their wedges has now expanded into almost every area of the golf equipment business and their popularity has boomed. 2006 was a fairly successful year for Cleveland Golf and it will be remembered as the year of CMM (carbon metal matrix). Cleveland really took this soft metal and ran with it… producing a few different wedges and irons featuring CMM. The company also kept the Launcher brand alive with the introduction of their new Ti460 driver and matching fairway woods. Cleveland makes some pretty good equipment and 2006 should be another solid year for the company.
The Products – What We Know
Cleveland made a few late season introductions and these products will be carried over into 2006. The Ti460 driver and matching fairway woods were introduced in time for the Christmas rush. These are pretty good clubs but many agree that they aren’t real huge improvements over the previous wood line. The 2004-2005 woods were great and it looks like the company will have a hard time trying to top them. The iron line will remain unchanged as we enter 2006… they seem to have all the bases covered and people like their current offerings. The ladies line was bulked up with the introduction of two HALO hybrids and it will continue to grow with the introduction of a ladies CG11 wedge in February. The current HALO and LDI utility clubs should stick around too.
The Products – What Might Be On The Way
The big thing to watch for is a new driver. I had a nice chat with my Cleveland guy the other day and he mentioned that there should be a new driver on Tour right away… as early as next week. He didn’t really have much info but said that it will have a pretty interesting design. Keep your eyes peeled! A new driver in the spring may bump the current Launcher COMP… it may be moved to a lower price point or even knocked out of the line all together. The Launcher COMP is probably the best composite driver out there right now and it would do really, really well at a slightly lower price.
We also hear rumors of a Cleveland golf ball every now and again. I don’t know if it would be a really wise move though… Titleist owns the majority of the market and a possible TaylorMade entry wouldn’t leave much room for Cleveland. Who knows…
One would have to think that a new iron or two should be on the way. It’s a safe bet that any new entry would feature CMM… Cleveland seems to be pretty high on it (and it’s a good material). Their game improvement area could use another model… perhaps a redesigned Launcher iron with CMM? Maybe something to replace the lower priced TA6? We’ll have to wait and see.
Cleveland is one of those companies that just rolls along and makes good products along the way. They may not lead the way in cutting edge technology but it’s a safe bet that customers will like their stuff. I’m off to hang out on my new couch and play my new video game… thanks Santa! Have a great day and we’ll talk to you real soon.