Phil Mickelson The Latest To Add The Long Putter

Phil Mickelson has always been a golfer that tinkers with his golf clubs. He infamously brought 2 drivers one year to the Masters and then to another no drivers. This year he added a 2-iron for the U.S. Open among others but today he really outdid himself, Mickelson was spotted at the Deutsche Bank Championship gaming a long putter. Even fellow Tour players were shocked to see how many players were testing out the new belly putter. Ian Poulter and Aaron Badgley got into a discussion via Twitter whether the putters should be banned or not.

There has been lots of talk over the controversial long putter, whether it’s legal, or if it gives some players an unfair advantage allowing them to anchor a club to their body. My take is if they haven’t ruled against it in the last 20 years they aren’t going to start now. Although with all the putters latest successes golfers who may be struggling with their short game are going to take another look before they start criticizing.  In the last month alone the long putter went 3 weeks with 3 consecutive wins including one major championship. Adam Scott, Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley rounded out the group of players putting with the putters. How many more converts will there be? It may be too early to say.

If you are wondering what putter Phil was using today at the Deutsche Bank Championship it was a Odyssey White Ice Sabertooth with a White Hot XG insert and it measured right at 45.5"

TaylorMade Introduces R11 Irons

After a long awaited unveiling TaylorMade finally gave the consumers what they wanted, the R11 Iron. With one of the most used Drivers on Tour, R11, TaylorMade new they had something special on their hands. With just as much success with the rest of the R11 series we knew the irons would be no exception.

Smartly designed to be the all around iron for the vast majority of players with it's classic styling but all the technology of a forgiving set of irons. The first thing that you will probably notice about the R11 irons is the red precision weight port, which guarantees precise swing weight and center-face center of gravity location in every iron throughout the set. This goes back to their core design goal of making an iron set that would have consistent feel and performance with the right amount of forgiveness.

Set to arrive in golf retail stores September 1st, they can easily be pre-ordered before then.

Summer's New Golf Clubs

        This spring marked a multitude of new golf equipment from some of the best manufacturers in the market. Some manufacturers saved the best for last including Ping, Adams, Callaway, and Wilson.
Ping plans on releasing their new driver the G20 later this summer. What to expect from this new driver is a good blend of forgiveness and power. Heavier than the previous G15 mode, helping add more force at impact for power shots off the tee. The face of the driver is expected to be extended to add forgiveness on those hits that don't meet the center of the face.

        Adams also plans on adding a new driver to their line up, the 9088 driver. The 9088 is apart of their lightweight series, adhering to the theory that the lighter the club the easier it is to swing and the better the swing path becomes and eventually better swing speeds. Set to release this summer it weighs under 300 grams one of their lightest golf clubs to date.

Callaway plans on updating a few of their favorite golf clubs from this season including the Diablo Octane driver and D.A.R.T. putter. Both these will be coming out with new limited edition designs donned with a new coat of black pain. They also plan on resurrecting Ernie Els putter from his win at the South African Open, the Odyssey PT 10 putter. This putter is an updated version of the PT 92 which was released last October. These will also be enjoying a limited run on the retail market.

        Wilson plans on launching a new set of irons, the FG Tour V2. A succession of the popular FG TOur irons. Already played by PGA Tour pro Kevin Streelman. Not a whole lot has changed in the irons besides a few updates for better transitions and a slightly less offset design.
As the golf clubs become available I will update their links to a trusted online retailer GolfClubs.com.

Hank Haney's Move To TaylorMade

TaylorMade has a new member to their golf team. Golf's legendary swing coach Hank Haney has been added to the TaylorMade family. He joins fellow athletes including Martin Kaymer, Ryan Palmer, Dustin Johnson, Paula Creamer and others. Haney will now be teaching with TaylorMade equipment and wearing their logo on his hat. Haney is best known for his work with Tiger Woods who he coached from 2004-2010. Haney's students have won every major championship in professional golf.

Adams Golf Growth

Adams Golf has quietly released some of golf's best equipment this season. They established themselves in the putter market with their purchase of Yes! Golf in January. Buying such an innovative and established company already in the putter market has led Adams to easily roll out their relaunch of the company. It will stay independent from Adams just like Odyssey did when it was acquired by Callaway.

This April they released the Redline series of game improving irons. They made the Redline series with the  idea to let golfers hit the ball longer. 8 golf clubs encompass the set including Adams Golf best selling hybrids.

Even on Tour they have been popular with Brandt Snedeker winning the Heritage Open during Easter Weekend winning it with his Adams Pro A12. Used by other Tour favorites such as Appleby, Fowler, and McDowell. Adams is an overall fan favorite but where they really shine is their hybrids.
Only 23 years old this company has grown to be a presence on not only the PGA Tour but in golf bags across the globe.

20Xi Nike Golf Revolution

Nike's latest innovation from the "Oven" is the 20Xi golf ball series. What's so great about a new collection of golf balls? Well this time Nike has actually redesign how a golf ball is constructed. Instead of using a traditional rubber core Nike created a new resin core which they describe as RZN. This type of construction allows for simpler layer to be produced which in turn creates a better golf ball for players. The pro's of the new 20Xi is the distance off the tee and control around the greens. With two different options including the 20Xi-S created to help in the spin control department and the 20Xi-X specialized for distance optimization.
 

GolfClubs.com Contest

Ready for Spring's newest golf equipment? Well just in time for manufacturers newest gadgets and upgrades GolfClubs.com is giving away a $100 gift certificate to their online store. Easy to enter you either have to like them on Facebook or follow the on Twitter. Enter by May 16th for your chance to win-no purchase necessary, US only. Good luck golfers