Is $299 Your Magic Number for a New Driver?

Over the past several weeks I've spoken with numerous golf club manufacturers about their 2010 products. All of them were upbeat, enthusiastic about the new clubs and technologies, and eager to get them in the hands of golfers.

But I didn't talk to anyone who was expecting a surge in sales next year, which is understandable given the fragile state of the economy. Consumers' financial concerns have also led manufacturers to focus on a specific number: $299. That is the key driver price point they are targeting.

The newest clubs with state-of-the-art technologies will still cost more, especially when custom shafts are added, but many companies are trying to release new drivers with proven technologies for less than $299.

While watching CNBC a few months ago, I heard an economist talking about the "trade down" effect in the restaurant business. In a recession, people still want to go out to eat. But instead of going to their favorite restaurants, they choose fast-food chains. (As our wallets tighten, our waistbands bulge.)

The $299-driver trend is a similar phenomenon. For many golfers, it's tough to justify spending more than $500 for a new driver, but $299 is easier to stomach and can still provide a significant upgrade.

My question for you is this: If you are thinking about purchasing a new driver, how important is the $299 price point to you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments area below.

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(Photo by David Dusek)

Cleveland Goes Light and Long with Launcher DST Driver

The lighter your driver, the more clubhead speed you can generate and the farther you can hit the ball.

This simple truth lies behind the design of the new Cleveland Launcher DST driver, which uses a system the company calls Sub 300G Technology.

The Launcher DST comes with a 45.75" Mitsubishi Diamana Red series shaft (3/4-inch longer than standard length) that weighs just 47 grams. Cleveland says the total weight of the club, 292 grams, is about 25 grams lighter than standard drivers. However, it maintains a traditional D4 swing weight, so it shouldn't feel especially whippy. Cleveland also says the Launcher DST will deliver between 3 and 10 extra yards off the tee.

The 460cc head has a traditional pear shape, and because the face has variable degrees of thickness, Cleveland designers were able to move 6 grams of discretionary weight to the lower, rear section of the head. This should increase the moment of inertia and promote higher, straighter shots.

The Draw version of the Launcher DST features a face that is 3° closed and internal weighting that promotes a right-to-left ball flight for right-handed players. The Tour version's head is slightly smaller (430cc) and has internal weighting that promotes a left-to-right ball flight and a face that is 2° open. In addition, the Tour version comes standard with a 64-gram Mitsubishi White series shaft.

In the video clip below, Rob Waters, Cleveland Golf's director of tour operations, explains what happened in Las Vegas when PGA Tour player Kent Jones tried the Launcher DST for the first time.

Look for the Cleveland Launcher DST to hit pro shop shelves in November for about $300.

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Nike's SQ Machspeed Driver Uses Better Aerodynamics to Add Yards

Nike Golf has announced that the square-headed SQ Machspeed driver will be in pro shops in March, 2010. But company representatives say Justin Leonard doesn't want to wait that long and might put the driver in his bag next week at Harding Park Golf Course during the Presidents Cup.

The company says a system it developed called Total Swing Aerodynamics helps the Machspeed increase a player's clubhead speed and add yards to tee shots.

Tom Stites, Nike Golf's director of product innovation, said in a release: "The number one thing that makes the ball go farther is faster ball speed. We've accomplished that through looking at the orientation of aerodynamics throughout the total golf swing, not just a portion of the swing."

Stites compares a club swinging toward a ball to a parachute. "The wider the parachute is, the slower it comes down because air separates around the parachute and causes drag. The same thing applies to the golf club."

By rounding certain areas of the clubhead and designing it to allow air to move more smoothly across it, Nike says the square head of the Machspeed actually has reduced drag.

For shot-shaping flexibility, Nike equipped the Machspeed with the adjustable STR8-Fit system introduced last year in the SQ Dymo drivers. Using an included torque wrench, golfers can unscrew the head and reattach it in one of eight different settings to change the face angle, loft and lie angle of the club. 


The Nike Machspeed driver will retail for about $360.

Yankee Pitcher Joba Chamberlain's TaylorMade Driver Fitting

New York Yankee's pitcher Joba Chamberline brings the heat when he's on the mound, and when he plays golf. Check out this video of his recent TaylorMade driver fitting at New York Golf Center in Manhattan:

Video by Anne Szeker/GOLF.com

Paul Casey Tweets About Nike's Victory Red Driver

At this time of year, many of the major golf equipment manufacturers hold their annual sales meetings. Numbers are crunched, plans are discussed and new products are often shown for the first time to people outside the R&D department.

Many companies also bring in their tour pros to speak to the troops, hit a few shots, sign autographs and mingle. Paul Casey, a Nike staff player, has been taking it a step further, Tweeting from The Oven, Nike's facility in Ft. Worth, Texas. Here are two from earlier today:

11:29AM At the Oven today. Checking out 2010 product with the sales team.

1:05PM  Pics coming after lunch. Food always comes first.

Casey sent several images of Nike Method putters. At 3:25pm, he Tweeted some shots of the yet-to-be released Nike Victory Red driver.

The orange area behind the face, according to Casey's Tweets, is the Compression Channel. He wrote that it expands the sweet spot of the driver. The driver appears to have STR8-Fit, Nike's adjustable clubhead system that is currently available in the SQ Dymo STR8-Fit driver.

As GOLF.com learns more about this and other yet-to-be released equipment, we'll write about it here.

(Photos by Paul Casey)

Cobra Players Trying New ZL Driver at Liberty National

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Several top Cobra Golf staff players are currently testing the company's new adjustable-face ZL driver here at Liberty National. Among them are Geoff Ogilvy, Ian Poulter, Camilo Villegas and J.B. Holmes. In fact, Ogilvy and Villegas have both Tweeted about trying the club.

According to Brian Parker, Cobra's manager of tour promotions, Ogilvy saw the club as a prototype, but Tuesday was given the final product for the first time. The Aussie had been using a Cobra S9-1 Pro D (10.5°), but after just one afternoon's practice with a ZL (9.5) set 1° open with an Aldila RIP 80X shaft, he is planning to use the club this week in the Barclays Championship.

(Alidla's RIP shaft will be available in 2010.)

"The club is easier to draw and easier to fade [than the S9-1]," he said during his practice round this morning. "But it's harder to hit it really wide."

The ZL driver has a titanium face and body, but the crown is made from weight-saving carbon fiber. A weight plug—which is not adjustable—has been positioned on the lower-back portion of the club to increase the moment of inertia, lower the center of gravity and create a higher initial launch angle. Using an included torque wrench, the ZL driver will allow golfers to set the head into one of three different face angles – 1° open, square or 1° closed.

Cobra's ZL driver will be available to the public November 1.

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(Photo by David Dusek)

The Most Important Golf Club in Your Bag

During the PGA Championship, I wrote about the new Nike Method family of putters and the new Scotty Cameron California line of putters. Several readers wrote that $250 or $300 is too much money for a putter. Others pointed out that during a typical round, an amateur player might use his or her putter 28-35 times per round.

I e-mailed several GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teachers and asked them the following question: What is the most important/valuable club in a weekend player’s bag? 

Here's what they wrote:

Brian Mogg, coach of Y.E. Yang and director of the Brian Mogg Performance Center at Golden Bear Golf Club at Keene's Point in Windermere, Fla.
The putter is the most important/valuable club in the bag. However, the actual cost to the manufacturer to build a putter is much less than a large-headed driver with a graphite shaft. Your putter is vital and important and worth every penny if it works, but proportional to what it costs to make it should also be looked at.  This is why $250 seems high-priced for a putter.

Mike Bender, coach of Zach Johnson and master instructor at the Mike Bender Golf Academy at Timacuan Golf Club in Lake Mary, Fla.
Without a doubt, the most important club in the bag is the driver.  Have you ever heard of a golfer incurring a penalty on a putter? If the average amateur golfer hit to his typical distance, but you put him in the middle of every fairway, he'd better his handicap by a mile.

When I was playing the PGA Tour, officials had just started to keep detailed stats, and the No. 1 putter was Morris Hatalsky. For being the best putter, he was nowhere near the top of the money list. But guys like Greg Norman, Tom Kite, Bruce Litsky, Nick Faldo, and Mark O'Meara were, and none of them could be considered great putter like Ben Crenshaw, Lorin Roberts and Brad Faxon.

The saying should be putt for show and drive for dough.

John Elliot, director of golf instruction at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club in Ocala, Fla.
The question can be answered a couple of different ways depending on the word valuable. Valuable can mean most expensive, which would be your driver, or most valuable can mean the club that has the most influence on your score, which is your putter.

Mike Perpich, River Pines Golf Club in Alpharetta, Ga.
"For the weekend golfer, the wedges are the most important clubs. The 52°, 56°, and 60°. Stats show that even the best putters in the world only make about 15% of their putts from 15 feet, so pitching and chipping the ball closer when you miss the green is a big deal. Since most club players are only going to hit four to six greens per round, pitching and chipping the ball well is absolutely critical."

Steve Bosdosh, The Members Club at Four Streams in Beallsville, Md.
A 24° hybrid is the answer for average golfers. They will putt about the same regardless of putter and slice drives with a $500 titanium driver or an old persimmon model. But get them to use a 24° hybrid in place of fairway woods and long irons and most golfers will get down the fairway faster and near the green in fewer strokes. All else being equal, that will help them shoot lower scores.

So as you can see, while no one disputes the importance of good putting, there is plenty of debate over which club is the most important in your bag, even among the experts. So what's your view? What is the single most important golf club to you? Write your answer in the comments area below.

Miguel Angel Jimenez Getting to Know His Ping i15 Driver

The golf equipment that you'll be lusting for next season is hitting the PGA Tour now. There are plenty of new drivers, irons, wedges, putters and balls being passed around the range.

Last week I had a chance to speak briefly with Miguel Angel Jimenez, the ponytail-wearing, cigar-smoking Spaniard who always seems to be hanging around the top of the leaderboard in major championships. When I asked him about his new Ping i15 driver, he said he really liked the club but needs to spend more time with it. Close, personal time. 

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Video: This Week in Gear - July 21, 2009

In this eisode of This Week in Gear, learn all about the clubs that Stewart Cink used to win the 2009 British Open, as well as Mark Calcavecchia's new Ping driver, the Ping G15.

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Ping Shows i15 and G15 Drivers to Pros Before British Open

In the days leading up to the British Open, Ping Golf started showing its newest drivers to tour professionals.

The Ping i15 is designed for players who are seeking more playability off the tee, while the Ping G15 is meant for players who want a forgiving driver that is designed to hit the ball straight.

Golfers who currently play the Ping G10 driver will find that the G15 (left in photo) maintains ball speed on off-center hits more effectively. The G15 also spins the ball less than the G10 and launches it at a slightly higher angle, which should help increase carry. An external weight pad moves the center of gravity lower and deeper to improve launch conditions. Although both clubs will set square at address, the G15 will be available in both neutral and draw versions.

The shaft of the Ping G15 has a balance point closer to the handle area, which allowed designers to leave more mass in the head without sacrificing the overall balance of the club. Big deal you say? Well, more mass delivered at the same speed yields more power, which increases ball speed across the entire face.

The i15 (right in photo) is intended for high-swing-speed players. The crown and face of the club are slightly more rounded than the G15 for greater energy transfer on shots hit in the center of the face. The center of gravity is low, but more forward in the head than the G15, so drives hit with the i15 should fly slightly lower, with less spin and a more penetrating trajectory.

The face of the i15 driver is square at address, but the internal weight of the club encourages a fade to help heavy-hitters avoid missing left.

If any players use the G15 or i15 at Turnberry this week, The Shop blog will be sure to let you know.