Contributing Product, Equipment Reviews and more…….
Traveling Golfer subscribers, it is with great pleasure that we introduce you to Alexander Toth.
It was by chance that the 2 of us were paired on a cart at a media outing this past October. It did not take long for us to realize that we had a lot more in common than golf. Both of us passionate fly fishermen and dog lovers! If he isn’t on the course or in a stream there is a good chance that he is playing a few tunes on his 12-string guitar or running around with his Black Lab, Muskoka.
A passionate golfer Alex can be found teeing it up in almost any conditions that we have in Canada. Over the past decade Alex has worked in many facets of the golf industry. At the club level, every capacity from Marshall to Associate Professional to Director of Golf. From a playing standpoint, very accomplished, even having a short stint on Mini-Tour’s in Canada and the United States.
Publisher of Until the Next Tee www.untilthenexttee.com “Writing about golf is a passion of mine. Since 2012, I’ve been writing about everything golf: bags, balls, irons, wedges, drivers while throwing chitter chatter on players and personalities just to spice things up a bit.
Said Alex. “Unbiased and honest is something that you should never have to market yourself as, but genuine, that’s what I offer. Good, bad, or indifferent.”
As the clock struck midnight on January 1st, 2022 it was a signal that golf equipment manufacturers were about to make a boatload of announcements regarding their respective 2022 product cycles.
“I say that there’s no shortage of items to look at, as is the case every year. In fact, it’s a time so busy with press releases that I’ve simply dubbed it…ReleaseFest”.
With that, here are few products to keep an eye on during “ReleaseFest 2022”, plus in this issue of the Traveling Golfer you will see a full review of the new TaylorMade Golf MG3 Wedges, that will give you a sampling of the detail that Alex will get into when reviewing product.
ReleaseFest 2022
Cleveland Golf CBX ZipCore
CBX Zip Core
Technically speaking, Cleveland Golf made their announcement regarding these new wedges back in December. For the longest time I’ve said “Why do we use cavity-back irons and wedges with a blade profile?”. If you struggle with your short-game. I suggest that you take a look at the CBX ZipCore. When launched, I tried their CBX FULL-FACE at the 2020 PGA Show. These wedges were like cheating from anywhere around the green. Especially, from the bunkers.
Fast-forward two years to 2022 and the CBX ZipCore delivers the same short-game benefits in a more advanced design. A “Hollow Cavity Design” delivers a hollow chamber near the heel with added weight in the toe to maximize MoI (Moment of Inertia) “. A contributing characteristic leading to added forgiveness due to a resistance to twisting. To reduce vibration and to aid in feel, Cleveland Golf utilizes a “Gelback TPU Insert” in the head. The face also features “UltiZip Groves” which are deeper, closer together, and sharper. These grooves assist golfers to get all of the spin that they require. For more information, please click here. Cleveland Golf Wedges Zipcore
TaylorMade Golf Stealth Driver
Stealth Drivers
TaylorMade Golf wants to welcome golfers to the “Age of Carbonwood”. But it won’t come cheap. I know what some of you are thinking, didn’t Callaway Golf already do this some time ago, with the C4? The short answer is more or less… Yes. But there are huge differences from then to now.
TaylorMade Golf recently announced their Stealth Plus, Stealth, and Stealth HD Carbonwood drivers. Replacing titanium as the face of these Stealth drivers, you’ll find “60X Carbon Twist Face” which is comprised of 60 layers of carbon sheets that are strategically arranged to “optimize energy transfer”. Better energy is part of a formula that leads to better ball speed numbers and more distance. But the story doesn’t end there.
The face is 40% lighter than seen in the previous generation of drivers (SIM2) and the weight-savings allowed TaylorMade’s R&D team to create a larger face. A larger face means that your less-than-optimal strikes that miss the sweet spot, will be rewarded with a result. Likely better than the swing deserved.
If there’s one aspect of the Stealth driver that perplexes me, it’s the acoustics. Generally speaking, a face designed with carbon would emit a low-energy sound at impact. While I didn’t watch the PNC Championship, I did watch Tiger strike his opening tee shot with the Stealth. The sound at impact had me saying to myself “Did he hit that fat?” and I watched it over and over again. Time will tell. For more information, please click here. Taylormadegolf Stealth Driver
Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K
Odyssey has a few putters’ worth looking at in 2022. In fact, they have multiple releases in the Eleven, White Hot OG, Toulon Design, and the Tri-Hot 5K. It’s the latter that really captures my interest.
Odyssey Tri-Hot putters are fashioned after some of favorite classic designs, but they are packed with a punch. A lot of tungsten weight is employed in the manufacturing of the Tri-Hot 5K, so much in fact that it makes this putter have more MOI (Moment of Inertia) than most mallets in the industry. More MOI means less twisting at impact and that means that your rolls will stay on your intended line longer. For more information, please click here. Odyssey Golf Tri Hot
We hope that you enjoyed this quick rundown of products to look out for in 2022. Alex concluded, “Remember, the quickest way to lower your scores is with a sound short game. I looking forward to sharing more equipment news with all of you in 2022.”
Until The Next Tee!!
www.untilthenexttee.com
