In March 2005, with the help of PGA Tour Player Padreigh Harrington, sports footwear brand HI-TEC launched what it considers to be "the world's most innovative golf shoe technology ever." And now after 11 years of working together, Hi-Tec's newest and most expensive shoe is the CDT Super Power Tour. This is the same shoe that Harrington currently wears and we feel that it qualifies as one of the most interesting golf products on the market today.
The biggest selling point to these shoes aside from their cool modern look, would be that they add distance, power, and accuracy to your golf game, literally! At first this sounded a bit ridiculous to us, but the tests and stats are there to prove it!
Researches at Hi-Tec recorded and analyzed Harrington's foot movement not only with high speed film but also utilizing force platforms and specially developed analytical software. Together they came to the conclusion that the longer a player's center of gravity can continue towards the target, the more energy is directed there - improving distance, power, and accuracy. They also found that a large part of this energy is channeled through a players feet, and can be majorly effected by many different factors that rely on the design of the golf shoe. The measurement of energy used in this research is called Longitudinal Stability Index (LSI).
The results of Harrington hitting a 5 iron were as follows: Bare Feet - 65%, Hi-Tec Custom V-Lite shoes - 78%, NEW Hi-Tec CDT Power shoes - 94%
In tests conducted at the 2004 US Open, Harrington, using the same club and ball as in 2003, but using the CDT Power shoes, increased his ball speed from 166 mph to 173 mph. He was also hitting the ball consistently longer and in December of 2005 and was the leader in driving distance on The European Tour with an average of 320.6 yards. Needless to say he still wears the shoes today, and agrees that these are some of the best performance enhancing shoes in golf.
We are of the opinion that if they look and feel great, why not see if they can add the distance, power, and accuracy they claim to give as well.
The new 2009 X Forged irons will be part of a large update coming from Callaway in the next few months. They will also be releasing new X-22 and X-22 Tour irons, along with the new FT-iQ, FT-9, and Big Bertha Diablo drivers.
The irons will contain a forged 1020 carbon steel construction, flighted CG design, progressive dual notch weighting, and project x flighted shafts.
We will provide more detailed pictures and news as they become available. For now everyone is expecting great things from an update of an already reasonably easy to hit, blade style iron.
The Callaway Forged X Prototype Blade was apart of the Tour Authentic release and cannot be overlooked. They come from a company that has based their goals on forgiveness and not necessarily the workability achieved from a blade, which is why they are only offered in limited amounts.
If you can find a set, they will feature a X-Muscle flighted design which places the center of gravity in the shorter irons at the highest muscle point and progressively moves it to the lowest point in the longer irons. This allows for trajectory control which moves to the lowest in the long irons for high, soft landing shots.
They are also made from soft 1020 carbon steel and are forged by the famed Endo manufacturing facility. All in all these irons offer a good balance of forgiveness and feel when it comes to the blade style category.
The new Cobra S-9 pro-s will come in a deep face and a standard(shown below) face.
It has a changeable weight port on the sole of the club.
The new standard version is a bit deeper than last years pro-s head and sits slightly open at address.
These drivers will come with the matrix ozik x-con shaft and have true lofts. They also use the new black finish that is becoming increasingly popular amongst high end golf club manufacturers. We have grown to like this look and hope to see it used more often. It seems to show less dirt and scratches, and looks great. Their expected release date is sometime around February 2009.
Nike will soon be releasing the Dymo series drivers for 2009
Sources claim that these new drivers have better feel, forgiveness, and added distance.
These Dymo Drivers will be replacing Nike's SQ line-up, which was not all that great in our opinion.
These new clubs will be offered in STR-8 Fit(above left) and Square(above right). The STR-8 Fit system is said to be similar to the Callaway I-MIX drivers in that they will be able to easily change shafts based on your own preferences. Needless to say its pretty exciting that Nike may be venturing into some decent driver designs.
These Titleist ZM Forged Irons are very similar to the Titleist ZB irons. The main and just about only difference is that these clubs maintain the same blade back throughout the entire set. The ZB's on the other hand are a progressive blend, similar to the Nike Pro Combos. Both are great sets of irons and very slick looking. You just need to decide if you want a more forgiving club in your higher irons or if you want the extreme blade stlye workability throughout.
The F2 and F3 are the newest in fairway woods for the Titleist 2009 line up. The main differences are in head shape and size.
The F2 has a more "fairway" styled head with an extended face that produces higher launch with mid spin. (thinner) Available Lofts: 13.5°, 15.5°, 18.5°
The F3 has a more "tee box" styled head with a deep face that produces mid launch with low spin. (thicker) Available Lofts: 13°, 15°, 18°
These are still relatively new so we haven't had a chance to hit them yet, but if they retain the same tour precision that Titleist Fairway Woods are known for, they should make for some very solid clubs. They also look great and have a chrome finish that appears to be the same that's used on the 909 Drivers.
Ping Rapture V2 Driver is a great club and as always we love Pings determination to fit the club to your own specifications. It's part of the new 2009 Rapture V2 series.
- Materials: 460cc titanium body with external tungsten weight pads located in back, near heel and toe.
- Specifications: Available in lofts of 9, 10.5, 12 and 13.4 degrees. Standard shafts are the Ping TFC939D (in flexes of Ladies, Soft R, R, S, and X) and Mitsubishi Diamana Blue (in flexes of R, S and X).
- Fitting variables: Loft, shaft flex/type, shaft length, grip size/type, swing weight.
The Ping Rapture V2 hybrid is another great club coming from the Rapture V2 2009 series.
Specs:
- oversize hybrid
- scoop back
- 17-4 stainless body
- tungsten insert sole
- super steel face insert
- high launch - low spin
The main difference in the new V2 are the new loft options 17°, 20°, 23° & 27°. Ping seems to be wanting to market to those who want the option of replacing even a few more of their higher irons with hybrids.
Overall this is a very clean looking and well performing club, and is definitely a top choice when compared to the other hybrids currently on the market.
The Ping Rapture V2 Fairway Wood is an addition to the new 2009 Rapture V2 series. Again this entire series is very solid all around, and we love the customization ping has always been known for.
Specifications:
- Materials: 17-4 stainless steel body with tungsten sole plate.
- Available in 3 (171cc, 16 degrees of loft), 4 (169cc, 17.5 degrees), 5 (165cc, 19 degrees) and 7 (160cc, 22 degrees) woods. Standard shafts are the Ping TFC939F (Ladies, Soft R, R, S, and X flexes) and Mitsubishi JavlnFX (R, S and X flexes).
- Fitting variables: Shaft flex/type, shaft length, grip size/type, swing weight.
Next Page »
