Written by The Open 2011 on Thursday 14 July 2011
Scarves, wooly hats and the occasional rescue club tweak – it’s all in an Open Championship week for TaylorMade’s Tour Manager Sean Brady, as we found out when we spoke to him on the brand’s swanky white Tour van. “Our American friends don’t often come with any cold weather gear, so there’s lots of requests for sweaters, waterproofs and scarves. Yeah,...
Written by The Open 2011 on Thursday 14 July 2011
Callaway’s Tour stars have made some alterations to their equipment for this week’s Open Championship, in order to combat the tricky conditions that await them at Royal St George’s in Kent. With the players’ driving abilities likely to be tested to the full, multiple-Major winner Phil Mickelson has added an X-Tour hybrid (18 degrees) to his bag which will hopefully guarantee...
Written by The Open 2011 on Wednesday 13 July 2011
TaylorMade’s top Tour players were on fine form ahead of this week’s Open Championship when they came together for an evening that combined golf and darts with some friendly banter. Six teams of two players were challenged to hit various scores on a giant dart board from a distance of 50m, and the two sides with the highest scores went through to a play-off. And it...
Written by The Open 2011 on Tuesday 12 July 2011
Reigning US PGA champion Martin Kaymer says he feels well-prepared ahead of this week’s Open Championship at Royal St George’s. The classy German, who told us he felt he should have won on his last outing at the French Open earlier this month, also felt a week off in between that event and this week’s flagship tournament was good preparation. TaylorMade staffer...
Written by The Open 2011 on Tuesday 12 July 2011
Defending Open champion Louis Oosthuizen is confident in his ability to tackle Royal St George’s this week, especially if the wind blows as it did last year at St Andrews. The South African produced an impeccable display in the wind and rain-swept Home of Golf 12 months ago, and he believes his shot-making ability will stand him in good stead this...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Sunday 10 July 2011
Better player irons have moved on considerably from the days when all good players played pure bladed clubs, and the Cobra S3 Pro irons are a terrific example of this. In essence they are the amalgamation of two previous Cobra sets, the Pro CB and the Pro MB and this allows good players to enjoy all the feel and workability of...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Sunday 10 July 2011
In recent years Cobra have been one of the leading brands when it comes to transcending the better-player and game-improver categories and the new S3 irons have carried on that mantle. Aimed at the game improver, the S3 irons feature game-enhancing properties such as progressive offset and cavities but the head profile is one that even some better players could find...
Sunday 10 July 2011
Mizuno may be better known for their better player bladed irons but that doesn’t mean they don’t make some great game-improvement sets, such as the JPX-800 irons. These are the most forgiving irons Mizuno have ever produced, according to the manufacturer, but unlike many sets targeted at the high handicapper these aren’t overly chunky or wide-soled. They performed admirably in our 2011...
Written by Jonathan Greathead, TG Senior Equipment Editor on Friday 8 July 2011
TaylorMade have added to their portfolio of putters by introducing the new Raylor Ghost Series, which consists of three new models. As you would expect, there is a blade, mid-mallet and mallet offering and each one features a white head that contrasts well on the greens, making it easier to align the putter and achieve more consistent results. But it’s not just...
Written by TG Staff Writer on Wednesday 6 July 2011
Last week prior to the AT&T National at Aronimink in Pennsylvania Titleist began seeding their new 712 range of irons with their Tour pros. Titleist call this their Tour validation process and allows them to get feedback from the best players in the world before the product is made available to the general public. In total 19 Titleist players put the new...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Tuesday 5 July 2011
Last week at the AT&T National in Pennsylvania Titleist began seeding their brand new 712 iron range with their Tour players ahead of a launch towards the end of the year. Titleist say this is a vital part of the process where they get feedback from some of the best players in the world before releasing the irons to the general...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Tuesday 5 July 2011
Before any golf club from a major manufacturer hits the shelves to be picked up and bought by amateur golfers it goes through a rigorous testing schedule on Tour – and none more so than Titleist equipment. The company have just shipped a number of prototypes of their new 712 iron range to their army of players on the PGA Tour where...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Monday 4 July 2011
Frenchman Thomas Levet experienced arguably the best day of his golfing career by winning his national Open title at Le Golf National. The Titleist staff player proved that brains will more often than not triumph over brawn round the tricky Parisian course as he displayed excellent ball control – including a sublime approach over water to the 18th green so set...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Monday 4 July 2011
A brand new set of Titleist 712 AP2 irons and a new Scotty Cameron Fastback putter helped American Nick Watney to his second Tour victory of the season at the AT&T National and Aronimink. Watney had just put the new irons and putter in the bag last week and the change immediately came up trumps, particularly on the greens, as he...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Friday 1 July 2011
We would all love to be able to hit a pure set of forged blade irons – and they don’t come any more pure than the Nike VR Pro blade. Built for excellent ball strikers, the VR Pro Blades feature one of the thinnest toplines and soles in golf today and a soft stainless steel construction for outstanding feel. This all adds...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Friday 1 July 2011
Wilson are well known for their strong heritage in better player irons but these days they make some great game improver sets, such as the Wilson Di11. They are designed with distance and forgiveness in mind and feature a large cavity and wide sole for a high launch. This allows lofts to be cranked slightly stronger than normal for more distance without...
Written by David Connor, TG Equipment Editor on Friday 1 July 2011
Benross have been on the Today’s Golfer radar for a few years now because of their growing reputation for producing good quality clubs with very reasonable price tags. Their latest iron offering is the Benross Quad irons, designed to be as forgiving as possible and to inspire confidence over the ball. The design sees more weight placed in the extremities of the...
Written by Jonathan Greathead, TG Senior Equipment Editor on Thursday 30 June 2011
IJP Design has partnered up with golf accessory supplier PRG to supply a new range of bespoke putter covers for the 2011 Major Championships. The partnership unveiled Ian Poulter’s limited-edition custom-designed putter cover ahead of The Masters in April, and then a Captain America-themed product was produced for the US Open. With the Open just around the corner, golf fans can expect...
Written by The Open 2011 on Wednesday 29 June 2011
With Rorymania now in full swing, all eyes will be on the 22-year-old Northern Irishman to see how he copes with going in as favourite for The Open Championship at Royal St George’s next month. Tens of thousands will be following McIlroy round the Links with millions more watching him on TV around the globe. Today’s Golfer caught up with the new...
Written by Jonathan Greathead, TG Senior Equipment Editor on Wednesday 29 June 2011
Motocaddy has become an official partner of the Tour Fit for Golf programme, a scheme designed to improve the health and performance of golfers. The programme was launched in conjunction with The European Tour Performance Institute and has been devised by JJ Rivet, the Biomechanics Consultant to the European Tour. Rivet’s work proves that carrying a bag or pulling a trolley changes your...