There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.

What We Tried

VICE Force Golf Bag.

Your Bag Tester

Hi, I’m Harry, and I am a professional golf shoe tester. (Yes, they exist.) I actually test a lot of things at MyGolfSpy and play professionally when I’m not checking and comparing specs on gloves, rangefinders, bags, ball retrievers, etc. You can call me the Director of Soft Goods Testing here at MGS. You can also just call me Harry. That’s fine, too.

 

The VICE Golf Brand

Have you ever found yourself not vibing with any golf brand in the industry? Maybe their style just doesn’t cut it for you?

Richard Bland, Branden Grace and Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra upstaged their more-illustrious opponents on Friday to shoot 7-under 65s and share the lead after the first round of the LIV Golf Invitational-Bangkok.

Jodi Ewart Shadoff went on a run of four straight birdies late in her round Thursday for an 8-under 64, taking a two-shot lead in the LPGA Mediheal Championship.

Tom Hoge made two eagles on his way to an 8-under 63 for a one-shot lead in the Shriners Children's Open.

Jon Rahm overcame early jitters from playing at home and shot a 7-under 64 in the opening round of the Spanish Open on Thursday to sit one stroke behind the leaders.

 

The post Spirit of the Game: Danielle Kang appeared first on Northern California Golf Association.

The Official World Golf Ranking will not make a ruling on awarding points to LIV Golf events until after the series' next two tournaments.

Thanks to our good friend the Worldwide Web, the purveyance of golf equipment is easier, quicker and more convenient than ever.

Point, click, done.

But all that convenience comes at a cost. Try before you buy? Nope. Personal service? Hardly.

Custom fit? That gets a little tricky.

There are always holes in this imperfect world we inhabit. And there are always entrepreneurial-minded people looking to fill those holes. The folks behind a company called Fairway Jockey think they can fill at least a couple of those holes. Additionally, they believe they can provide you with some compelling, and perhaps even innovative, golf club buying options.

PuttOUT and Blast Motion join forces.Blast tracks your face angle and path.Available in two packages.

How good is your putting? Or, in my case, how bad is your putting?

Most golfers really don’t know what they’re doing, right or wrong, without getting a lesson from a pro. But if you’re looking for the next best thing, PuttOUT and Blast Motion will get you where you need to be.

Welcome to the PuttOUT and Blast Motion collaboration.

PuttOUT is a putting training aid juggernaut while Blast Motion has expertise in sensors to record what your swing is actually doing during your round.

Let’s take a dive into what seems to be a smart match between the two companies.

Levin's putting stance has drawn parallels to Happy Gilmore, the main character in the 1996 movie of the same name.

Two of the recent blogs by Danny Maude reminded me why if is so difficult to control the direction and distance for every iron shot. Slope of the ground (side to side or back to front) your weight shift and your swing arc can change your impact point with every different length of iron. You need to adjust your stance, grip and lineup to execute perfect shots up your target line.

Inconsistencies are exactly the reason why mid-handicap golfers need to take a full practice swing before each hit. You need to pay attention to the direction of the club face and the point of impact with respect to the ball position. You have to visualize where your club face will RELEASE your ball. Of course, it’s so much easier to understand your errors when you see the divot after you hit each shot.

Eliminating Angles for Your Irons in Your Setup
Your iron shaft should be setup perpendicular from where your ball is resting. DON’T SETUP WITH A FORWARD SHAFT LEAN. Your wedge shots should be lined up in the center of your stance so your shaft should be pointing at your belt buckle. The ball position for your 6-iron is forward of the center of your stance so the shaft of your club should still be square to the ground but pointing slightly forward of your belt buckle (as below).

Setup with the Face Square
You can add draw or fade with the direction of you swing. You can also add hook or slice with a closed or open face, respectively, so setup with the face of your club square to your target line to understand the impact of a square setup. Every iron is swung in an arc so you need to focus on creating a consistent impact with your club face square and also keeping the impact point of your swing path in line with your target line. Making a complete swing allows you to return your club to square at the bottom of your swing.

Make a Practice Swing Before Every Shot
I rarely see a mid-handicap golfer take a practice swing that duplicates the swing speed and tempo of their actual shot. Each club length will change the outcome of your shots. Inconsistencies in your swing will show up during your practice swing. Just do it!

LIV Golf is forming a strategic alliance with the little-known MENA Tour in hopes of securing Official World Golf Ranking points for its players.

Which is more technologically advanced: a light switch or a pair of shoes with BOA’s proprietary closure system? We all know what a light switch does. At one point, it was revolutionary. Now it’s an afterthought. Conversely, how much “technology” could a pair of golf shoes contain?

Some companies would have you believe that the right pair of shoes can help you hit the ball further and shoot lower scores. So what in the name of Bill Bowerman is going on here?

BOA Technologies believes it has an answer. More importantly, its crack team of Ph.D-equipped researchers is charged with creating a repository of information that assesses the impact of various closure systems on a range of athletic movements. In 2018, BOA constructed a performance laboratory at its Denver, Colo., headquarters. The directive was simple: gather evidence that the academic community would accept which supported a clear and definitive performance benefit on footwear that leveraged BOA’s unique performance fit system.

Easier said than done.

WHAT IS BOA?

 

The Korn Ferry Tour released its 2023 schedule on Tuesday with changes that already had been in the works, starting with a minimum $1 million purse for the regular season, with $180,000 to the winner.

Tiger Woods saved three Hero World Challenge spots for tournament exemptions, and it is widely expected he will play for the first time since 2019.

Captain Zach Johnson says Tiger Woods will be a part of the United States' 2023 Ryder Cup team in some capacity.

The PING G425 Max driver won the coveted MyGolfSpy Most Wanted Driver title this year, finishing first in accuracy and second in forgiveness.

But it ain’t perfect.

PING G425 Max Driver  Details

We tested the PING G425 Max as part of the 2022 Most Wanted Golf Driver test. Its predecessor, the G410, struggled a little in the 2021 Most Wanted Golf Driver test, finishing seventh overall. However, PING responded with the new 26-gram tungsten movable CG shifting weight. Combined with a T9S+ forged face, an eight-position hosel and the Arccos Caddie Smart Grip, this driver checks all the boxes for features. 

The G425 Max driver has neutral, draw and fade settings to work for a wide range of players. That alone helped move this club up the list. Ribbing inside the club head helps with feel and sound. The feel thing worked quite well. The sound is another story (check out our tester feedback). Overall, the look of the G425 is sleek with the Turbulators on the top of the club being pretty prominent.

Pros

Very high MOIBuilt-in adjustabilityEight-position hosel for loft and lie adjustmentArccos Caddie Smart GripT9S+ forged face

Cons

Turbulators have mixed reviews from an aesthetics standpointSound is harshNot the longest driver of 2022

How We Test 

The PING G425 Max driver was part of the 2022 Most Wanted Driver test. Testing involved 38 drivers, 35 golfers (of all different playing abilities), 400 hitting sessions and thousands of golf shots. To help ensure accuracy across the board, we used the Foresight GC Quad launch monitor, known for high levels of accuracy. In addition, all golfers hit with the Titleist Pro V1 to golf ball help eliminate some variables. 

The ClicGear Model 4 performed strongly in the 2022 MyGolfSpy Best Golf Push Cart testing and the Bag Boy Nitron Auto Open wasn’t that far behind.

Which is the best for you?

Verdict

The ClicGear Model 4 finished second in our 2022 Best Golf Push Cart Test, behind the Rovic RV1S, largely on its durability. This thing is built to last.

The Bag Boy Nitron Auto Open finished fifth place overall. Despite its impressive stability, it lacks in features and durability.

How We Test

When we tested the ClicGear Model 4 and the Nitron Auto Open push cart, we also looked at 18 other products. One of our experts reviews all of the contenders to ensure consistency in the ratings. This project took 23 hours and focused on data parameters like stability, durability, features, maneuverability and folded size.

TaylorMade Stealth took top spot for the best game-improvement iron in 2022. But why?

There was so much hype surrounding the release of the Stealth line that we couldn’t wait to test them as part of the 2022 MyGolfSpy Most Wanted Game Improvement Iron Test. With TaylorMade having quite a handle on the distance and ball speed game the last few years, we weren’t concerned about yardage and carry on these clubs. What surprised us was the accuracy.

Take a look at why the TaylorMade Stealth irons were named the best game-improvement iron in 2022 and whether you should be giving them a try.

TaylorMade Stealth Iron Details

The TaylorMade Stealth irons are really not as revolutionary as the new release of the TaylorMade Stealth woods. This iron does not feature carbon in the face or anything crazy like that. It’s simply an upgrade from the SIM 2 Max. However, a few things were worth upgrading from the SIM 2 Max. The Stealth iron features a cap-back design with toe-wrap construction. The result is slightly better feel at impact and much more forgiveness. The weight repositioning gives the club a very low center of gravity, higher launch and tons of accuracy—in fact, the best accuracy of all the irons in this category.

TaylorMade isn’t about fixing something that isn’t broken. The Speed Pocket technology made it through another round of R&D and it shows up in the Stealth irons as well. You will find an ECHO Damping System to help take away harsh vibration on missed shots. The Stealth claims to have a forged-like feel compared to other game-improvement style irons.