John Robins: “Make equipment launches more relatable for bad golfers!”

Bad Golf's John Robins examines the latest equipment launches.

As hundreds of pieces of new golf equipment are revealed for 2023, Bad Golfer and Beef’s Golf Club host John Robins calls for club reviews to become more relevant to the average player.

Imagine if we talked about anything else the way we talk about the release of new golf clubs…

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It’s golf’s silly season

Yes dear reader, as you may have noticed golf manufacturers have new clubs hitting the shops, and so begins the silly season in the golfing calendar. And the most absurd bit is that despite all the hyperbole I still get excited to watch it all unfold and find out what is the best driver or best golf iron! I’m not a complete grinch about shiny new things but I like to think I keep something of a level head whilst skimming through some of the PR speak.

When Rick Shiels’ Taylormade Stealth 2 driver video dropped of course I ran downstairs like a kid on Christmas day and got my favorite breakfast ready before hitting play. Oh, tell me how it feels Rick! How does it sound?!

Hungry for more, the videos just kept coming. Will Peter Finch get an improved launch angle from the Ping G430?! What does Matt Fryer think of the slightly different color of the Callaway Paradym?! Gimme!

I’ve now watched half a dozen trusted YouTube golfers test the Paradym driver and each video was entertaining, informative, and let’s be honest, utterly irrelevant to my golf game. I cannot think of a more useless piece of information to the golfing world at large, than how many RPM a top-level golf pro gets from a driver while using their shaft, their ball, their loft, their swing and their testing facility.

And yet still I watch. Why? Well because I love these channels and I’ve been watching them gain an extra yard a year with each new release since I was in short trousers. But even they must feel a bit tired of the whole merry-go-round.

More realistic testing

Herein lies my main problem with the launch of new products: How much are companies actually willing to showcase your game? After all, we’re the ones buying the things.

Because they’re so keen for the new kit to look like a spaceship or supercar, they never show people like you or me hitting them. What I wouldn’t give to see Taylormade invite a 75-year-old senior who still plays their 2007 Burner (£40 on ebay) to test it out against the Stealth 2 (£529). Or if Srixon put their new ZX Mk II irons (£1,099) in the hands of someone who still swears by their Z-545s (£199 on Golfbidder). Now there’s a video I’d love to watch!

The cannier amongst us might keep a note of a name or two and wait until the price drops when technology is miraculously improved upon yet again next year. Or, better still, pay an independent fitter a flat fee to recommend a number of the best secondhand golf clubs from the last four or five years’ releases.

But for those of you enchanted by such breakthroughs as the “Multi-Plateau Variable Face Thickness Design” or “Harmonic Impact Research”, you’re going to need to do some overtime to earn the necessary funds with the RRP of some of the new models almost reaching £600.

I’ll very much be enjoying the new Cobra Aerojet driver (RRP £429) regardless of whether its “raised skirt” (ooh er!) gives me another 2mph of club head speed because Cobra very kindly send me one to show, in fairness, just what it looks like when it’s “seamlessly aerodynamic head” makes contact with the tee box before the ball. Fore!

You can read even more of John Robins’ thoughts in his Diary of Bad Golfer columns and watch the progress of his game on the Bad Golf YouTube channel.

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John Robins and Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston create the dream golf club with the help of the listeners and a host of star guests in one of the best golf podcasts, brought to you by Crowd Network.

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