/ Geoff Shackelford
It was a lively Saturday at Pebble Beach but with most of the amateurs sent home Sunday should make for a fun finish. I hope we get to see a good pin on the 11th hole, an unfairly maligned par-4 in my view.
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The new Tour Edge 722 series features two driver models.The E722 is for players seeking maximum forgiveness.The C722 is a compact, low-spin offering.Retail price is $399 and $429 respectively.
With the release of its 722 series drivers, Tour Edge is again asking, “Are you an E or a C?”
Is that a personal question? Probably not.
The “E or C” thing speaks to the two families within the Exotics 722 line. On one hand, we can say each of the new Exotics models is designed for a different type of golfer. On the other, we would point out that it’s not much different than anybody else’s story.
Most of the industry prefers suffixes (LS, MAX, etc.) while Tour Edge uses a single-letter prefix to convey the same information.
So to put all of this in its proper context: the E in E722 is for Extreme. As you should be plenty aware of by now, that means higher MOI, increased forgiveness, that sort of thing.
The new Tour Edge 722 series features two fairway metal and two hybrid models.The E722 is for players seeking maximum forgiveness.The C722 is a compact, low-spin offering.Retail price is $229-$299 depending on model.
With the Exotics 722 fairway metals and hybrids, Tour Edge is sticking with its dichotomous “are you an E or a C?” query.
Put another way—when searching for fairway metals and hybrids, which pairing do you prefer? Shallow faces with more forgiveness or a compact footprint and adjustability? If it’s the former, Tour Edge will tell you to look at the E722 models. Conversely, the latter should lean toward the C722 offerings.
The tradeoffs are more nuanced than that but you get the gist. And I guess if you prefer to keep the analysis to a minimum, remember the “E” is for Extreme and “C” stands for Compact.
As members of the same family, the E722 and C722 fairway metals share several key pieces of technology. Likewise, each model features a couple of distinct attributes.
PING has introduced the i525.The i525 replaces the i500 as the company’s signature “player’s distance” offering.The irons promise more speed and greater consistency.MSRP starts at $205 per iron. Retail availability starts March 24.
PING i525 Irons
The PING i525 iron is emblematic of the company’s typical no-nonsense approach to design (and marketing, for that matter). With PING, there’s usually not much in the way of fanfare. Occasionally, they give us something we can see—Turbulators and Hydropearl finish spring to mind—but more often than not, PING hides its best work under the hood and under the radar.
It’s the consequence of a Moneyball-like strategy that doesn’t rely on hitting a home run with each new release. Summed up by PING’s Director of Product Design Ryan Stokke, “We don’t find that one design attribute makes a great club.”
With that in mind, it won’t surprise you to learn that performance gains between the i500 and i525 irons weren’t made with a single leap but rather a series of small steps that touch on nearly every aspect of the design.
More Speed
Given that the PING i525 resides solidly in the “player’s distance” category, it makes sense that improving ball speed would be one of the design goals. That’s typically easy enough to accomplish given that the industry has no qualms about adding gaining distance via the bending machine. So the more nuanced part of the discussion is that PING was able to make the i525 iron longer than its predecessor without jacking lofts or sacrificing performance in other areas.
The extra speed comes by way of changes to the construction of the iron. With the i525, a forged maraging steel face is robotically plasma-welded to a 17-4 stainless steel body. The fundamentals of the construction aren’t uncommon in the player’s distance category or even the game-improvement space for that matter.
Golf.com’s Michael Bamberger assessed Phil Mickelson’s attack of the PGA Tour and majors making money off the player backs and suggests Lefty’s never talked better but also may be going about this the wrong way. In making his point, Bamberger also inadvertently hinted at another potential problem Mickelson created for himself.
The fellas playing MLB, in the NFL and in the NBA, have an appealing level of individuality, but they are union workers playing team sports. They have, really, a completely different mentality.
If Mickelson really wants to affect change the most effective thing he could do is get 150 or so Tour players to stage a sit-down strike on the eve of, say, the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Then get that group to agree on media rights, purse distribution, governance structure and a million other things.
Good luck with that.
There has been some talk about Phil getting Tony Romo money to talk golf on TV. He’d be good at that, but it would bore him. It’s easier to imagine him as the commissioner of a golf league. Which one is hard to say just now.
Former PGA Tour pro Mark Lye is out at SiriusXM after making several controversial comments during a radio show Saturday about women's basketball and the WNBA.
Do you like themed golf apparel?
Like it or not, this is the trend and perhaps no brand tailors its look to a given tournament better than PUMA.
PUMA’s Conservation collection is launching this week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Aligned with PUMA’s Forever Better campaign, it call attention to the use of recycled materials as part of PUMA’s promise for a more sustainable future.
PUMA Golf’s 2022 Track Series kicks off with The Waste Management Open this week. this Thursday in Pheonix. It is their first of eight planned collections designed to highlight the best “tracks” played over the 2022 PGA Tour schedule. This theme is the Conservation Collection is tailored around Arizona’s native plans, and that means cacti and assorted spikey stuff found in the desert.
The PUMA Conservation Collection consists of polos shirts, and funky-looking hats to fit nearly ever style (that might be a stretch).
It seems to me that a mad puppy threatens golfers. The gentility that wants its course called a “championship course”. I am not thinking of any particular course, but I hear this foolish phrase constantly used. Most courses are not fit for a championship, never will be fit for one, never will get one and nobody wants to see one there. Then, why in the name of goodness should we set up this nonsensical standard and then spoil our courses trying to live to it. BERNARD DARWIN
It seems to me that a mad puppy threatens golfers. The gentility that wants its course called a “championship course”. I am not thinking of any particular course, but I hear this foolish phrase constantly used. Most courses are not fit for a championship, never will be fit for one, never will get one and nobody wants to see one there. Then, why in the name of goodness should we set up this nonsensical standard and then spoil our courses trying to live to it. BERNARD DARWIN
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
The FootJoy Fuel golf shoe.
THE TESTER
My name is Adam Beach, owner of MyGolfSpy. I have a passion for the golfer. If you are going to spend your hard-earned money on something, I want to test it for you. I don’t want you spending a dollar unless it improves on what you already own.
WHY ARE WE TRYING IT?
Because, dammit, they look good! But let’s find out if the performance matches up. The FootJoy Fuel is the first FJ shoe I have seen in a long time that I might actually wear.
WHAT IS THE FOOTJOY FUEL?
It’s FootJoy’s latest attempt to get more “modern” or, as the kids say, have that “drip.”
Jon Rahm is still on top. But Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland made moves, while Harold Varner III and Tom Hoge announced their arrivals.
It seems to me that a mad puppy threatens golfers. The gentility that wants its course called a “championship course”. I am not thinking of any particular course, but I hear this foolish phrase constantly used. Most courses are not fit for a championship, never will be fit for one, never will get one and nobody wants to see one there. Then, why in the name of goodness should we set up this nonsensical standard and then spoil our courses trying to live to it. BERNARD DARWIN
Tom Hoge, one of seven players who had at least a share of the lead headed into the final round, surged past Jordan Spieth en route to a win at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am Sunday, the first PGA Tour title for the 32-year-old who played collegiately at TCU.
Overnight leader Harold Varner III eagled the par-5 18th by sinking a long putt to overtake clubhouse leader Bubba Watson and win the Saudi International in dramatic fashion.
Jordan Spieth put himself into the mix Saturday, shooting a 9-under 63 -- a career low at Pebble Beach. He also took a shot near the edge of a 60-foot cliff.
Leona Maguire had seven birdies and two bogeys for a 67 to capture the Drive On Championship, becoming the first Irish winner in LPGA Tour history.
After withdrawing from the Saudi International after just one round of play, Bryson DeChambeau took to social media to urge all those concerned with his body's health to "chill."
