Golfing News & Blog Articles

Two headlining models: Hona BERES 08 Black and Aizu.BERES 08 Aizu showcases Honma’s signature model offerings of 2 Star through 5 Star including a women’s 3 Star model offering.The entire BERES 08  lineup features drivers, fairway woods, hybrid utilities and irons.

Honma embraces a distinct position within the golf manufacturing world. Throughout the years, Honma has showcased three specific golf club lineups: TR, T//World and BERES, all of which have prominent roles within Honma’s product offerings. Each caters to different golfers. However, they all possess Honma’s DNA: craftsmanship, aesthetics and design and performance. With the new BERES 08, they continue a long heritage of luxurious, master-crafted golf clubs, but with a bold twists.

Honma BERES – RUNWAY, PLEASE

At first glance, aesthetics, craftsmanship and overall design stare you right in the face.

With the BERES 08 Black, you have classic black and gold signature coloring. From pictures alone, it appears to be a showstopper. In order to keep the overall appearance flow, the stock ARMRQ MX shaft features matching black and gold graphics. The design is consistent from the metalwoods down to the irons.

Don’t worry. The star of the show is next.

Aizu, 2 Star through 5 Star and 3 Star Women’s encompass flair. Honma’s master craftsmen bring forth the traditional Japanese “Aizu” Lacquer design with this lineup. Each product lineup within the Aizu model features its own unique, creative color scheme and design. There are two different crown prints on the metalwoods. Additionally, there are designs on the iron cavities. Both bring a fashion show to the golf course.

As you set your goals for the new year, I’d like you to think less about what you want to achieve and more about the person/player that you want to become. 

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t set outcome goals. I think you should know what you are working towards, why and how you are going to achieve it. Time is precious and we need a plan to allocate our time most effectively. Goal setting for golfers can be inspiring and motivate us to put in the effort each day. 

However, if the only goals we have are results based goals, there are drawbacks to the approach, such as:

1. It takes us away from the present

If we focus too much on what we want to achieve, we can miss out on the journey. If you are always doing something now to achieve something in the future, you are not fully experiencing the moment you are living in. If we focus too much on our future selves, we take valuable energy away from being our best selves in the present. 

Phil Mickelson has really been playing well on the Champion’s Tour. We all know that Phil has an amazing short game. He learned it with constant practice in his backyard when he was a kid. Practice really is the best way to ingrain the right swing for every club. Your brain needs to remember it and your body needs to feel it. Was it his short game or his long game that helped him win so many recent tournaments?

Phil has one of the longest drives on the senior’s tour, but it is not always straight and not always landing on the fairway or in bounds. During the second round of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in 2021 he hit 2 tee shots out of bounds on the 547-yard, par-5. That’s two penalty strokes and still on the tee and hitting his 5th stroke. Bernhard Langer won that tournament and became the oldest winner in PGA TOUR of Champions history at 64.

Bernhard and Phil both learned important lessons during that tournament. Bernhard is not the longest driver, but he sure has an amazing approach shot to give himself a chance to sink more birdies.

On the other hand, Phil was 81st in driving accuracy and was well back in that tournament. When Phil was interviewed, he pointed out that he was number 1 in driving distance and his amazing skill in chipping and pitching normally get his out of trouble. On most courses he does not have to worry about driving accuracy as long as he has an open shot at the green to save his game.

Lanny Wadkins was the commentator that day who replied to Phil’s comments: “Life is just much easier from the fairway.”

Your Path is Key

During our offseason, a plethora of gizmos, gadgets and golf equipment funnel through our facility door. We all know the golf industry is cluttered with training aids. There are new ones popping up with each passing month. With time as the enemy, it is impossible to test each one for effectiveness and impact on a golfer’s performance. However, an intriguing product fell into our possession: AI Golf’s Gatekeeper.

As a putting training aid, the Gatekeeper gave us a perfect opportunity to test it out. AI Golf’s slogan for the product, “Your path Is key”, is certainly the focal point of the training aid. Let’s take a look and see if the proof is in the putting.

The Gatekeeper

Endorsed by Stewart Cink, eight-time PGA TOUR winner and 2009 Open champion, the Gatekeeper has four main goals:

Promote perfect pathMinimize face rotationCreate perfect tempoProvide instant feedback

The Gatekeeper offers a unique twist and design. Its “removable cuff” design is integrated into the attachment clasp. This feature allows the device to be used on virtually any putter. Additionally, the Gatekeeper can be used at different heights along the putter shaft. These options make it extremely easy to use and setup.

From a visual standpoint, there is a hint that the designers took inspiration from Star Wars. Remember the Imperial shuttles? Well, the Gatekeeper’s retractable alignment tracks fold up and down just like the wings. This offers a sleek, compact design that is ideal for storing in your golf bag.

I’ve reviewed a lot of golf gadgets over the years for MyGolfSpy: GPS and laser range finders, swing trainers, electronic gadgets and general fitness sensors. In just the past year, I tried the Lagshot, Tag Heuer’s Connected smart watch, the Oura ring and, most recently, the Whoop 4.0 strap.

While conducting the reviews, I started wondering if there wasn’t a better way to accomplish all these goals with one single piece of technology. Do I really need all of these separate apps or are Apple Watch a better does-it-all solution?

I’ll admit that I’m late to the Apple Watch party. In fact, I kept calling it the iWatch for the longest time. But maybe this unfamiliarity is exactly why the Apple Watch kept jumping into my head. Obviously, I knew the Apple Watch existed. I just hadn’t spent time with one. That said, it kept sliding across my mind as the gadget that could accomplish nearly everything a golfer would need.

So, in the spirit of exploration, I ordered an Apple Watch. It was time to find out once and for all if this watch was the must-have piece of golf technology.

Apple Watch Golf Apps

Phil Mickelson, who qualified by winning the PGA Championship, will join the other three major winners in the field at the Jan. 6-9 Sentry Tournament of Champions.

As you finish the final 30 yards of every hole that you play, ever golfer has an equal chance to minimize their strokes. Strength is taken out of the equation for success. It all comes down to skill and intelligence. Your goal is to land on the green and sink your ball in 2 or less putts. Don’t play this game unless you spend time to practice the easy part of this game. Sharpen your chipping skills to get it close and then sink it in 1 or 2 putts.

Chip it Close
When your ball is within about 30 yards, all you need is the right club loft with a good “putting” stroke to hit your ball close to the hole. Think of your short chips as a putting stroke. You don’t need power but you do need a consistent cadence to swing through the ball with a putting stroke that will direct your ball directly at the point on the green where you are aiming for the right roll-out.

Your point of impact for your chip needs to be at the bottom of the arc of your swing. You are not trying to take a divot. You are only trying to direct your ball with enough power to let it roll out to the hole. Choosing the right lofted club is easy to figure out IF you practice with all of your higher lofted irons and wedges. You need “a feel” for each club for flight and rollout.

Putt it Close
Sort out the slope and break on the green before you chip and then again when you setup for your putt. Know the speed of your greens. Stare at the hole while you make your practice swings TO LET YOUR BRAIN TUNE INTO THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SWING needed to pass the hole. Always putt to the high side as your ball will drop down to the hole or at least stay closer to the hole for an easy 2 putt.

If you can improve your chipping and putting game, you should be able to cut 9 to 18 strokes out of your score for every round of golf. Practice with GOLFSTR+ for your trailing wrist control with a slight lag when you chip and a flat leading wrist when you putt. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Last month, we asked you to take our What’s in the Bag survey. Here’s a first look at some of the insights we gathered from your answers.

In Part One, we’re taking a broad look at what clubs our survey takers had in their bags, not by brand (at least not yet) but by club type.

Drivers

Observations

Right off the bat, 93.63 percent of those who answered the survey carry one driver. No surprise there. We’d say that’s …  pretty normal. It’s also not completely abnormal that 1.49 percent don’t carry a driver at all. Those that don’t bag drivers likely struggle to keep their driver in play. It’s a guess but a pretty solid one.The 1.79 percent who said they carry two drivers probably have a standard driver and a par-3 or “keep it in play” driver.Out of curiosity, we’d love to hear if you carry more than two drivers. Why? Who hurt you? Are you trying to pick your favorite? One for rain, one for sun? What is it?It’s also worth mentioning that  2.09 percent of survey responders carry a mini driver.

Fairway Woods

Observations

As we mentioned above, more than 93 percent of respondents play at least one driver. When we dive into fairway woods, the results are a bit more varied.The 3-wood is the most popular among those who have at least one fairway wood in their bag. Seventy percent of those who carry a fairway wood have a standard (14.5- 15-degree) 3-wood in their bag. The 5-wood is the next most popular.The 7-wood is carried by 13.23 percent of golfers who have at least one fairway wood in their bag. That number will likely increase in the coming years.High-lofted 11-woods are offered by only a few brands and, not surprisingly, are a rare find in your golf bags.

Hybrids

Observations

Seventy-six percent of respondents said they carry at least one hybrid. The 4-hybrid is most often used, followed by the 3.Of the golfers who carry at least one hybrid, almost 21 percent of them carry a 5-hybrid. This was an interesting little nugget. We weren’t expecting it to be that high.There was nothing remarkable to note about the higher-lofted hybrids. Higher lofts fall off dramatically after the 5.

Utility Irons

Observations

Just over 20 percent of golfers who took the survey carry at least one utility iron. That’s less than one-third of golfers who carry at least one hybrid.While higher-lofted hybrids weren’t as popular, higher-lofted utility irons fared better. The 2 was the most popular utility iron and 3 followed right behind.There are some who are still determined to carry a 1-utility iron. Thanks, Titleist.

Irons

Observations

The 4-PW is the most popular set configuration among our survey takers, accounting for nearly 30 percent of all sets. The 5-PW comes in second.The 6-GW is more popular than the once-standard 3-PW and that’s likely because no one makes a 3-iron anymore.

Wedges

Observations

Last, but not least, wedges. Not everyone carries a pitching wedge. We suppose that’s a little surprising. But nearly everyone who does carry a pitching wedge plays a set-matched pitching wedge

The sand wedge is a bit more popular than the gap wedge among our survey takers. That may change in the coming years as the gap wedge is becoming a necessity with increasingly stronger lofts.Just under 60 percent of your gap wedges are set-matched, meaning nearly 40 percent are opting for something like a Vokey, Callaway JAWS, MG3, etc.Only 82.23 percent of golfers carry a lob wedge. We say “only” because, even though that’s still a high number, it’s the only wedge type where usage rates are sub-90 percentSand and lob wedge lofts skew heavily towards specialty wedges with only a single-digit percentage of golfers choosing set-matched versions. Folks … at SW and LW lofts, almost nobody is milling grooves in their set-matched wedges. You should almost certainly be playing something else.

Stay Tuned. In the next coming weeks, we’ll dig deeper in your bag to better understand what’s in it.

The post What’s In The Bag Survey Results Part 1 appeared first on MyGolfSpy.