Golfing News & Blog Articles

Do you know what the second most popular U.S. shoe brand is?

If you said Skechers, you’re either lying or made a really good guess. But the truth is the truth. Outside of NIKE, Skechers is the best-selling casual shoe brand in the United States.

Why then, when looking for a new pair of golf shoes, is the brand with the giant “S” logo often an afterthought?

When I was in middle school, I was obsessed with NIKE and Air Jordan. I am, to some degree, still that same 12-year-old kid who just wanted to have the coolest shoes. If NIKE and Jordan were the top of the sneaker pyramid, it always felt like Skechers was at the bottom.

To me, Skechers were always just the shoe that janitors wore (no offense intended, I was a janitor all through college to support my family). And my opinion largely stayed that way until I started testing and reviewing golf shoes for a living.

There‘s a lot of cool gear in the golf world that doesn’t always fit 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

Core Golf—a practice app with video drills and the ability to track your progress.

Your Reviewer

John Kennedy, a casual golfer who really only has one skill (hit ball hard) and needs to refine every other part of his game.

Core Golf Basics

Core Golf’s boldest claim is that “it’s like having a golf coach in your pocket.” Broadly speaking, it is, without the logistical and safety implications of having a tiny, squishy human stuffed into your clothes.

I mean, how many times have you accidentally sat on your phone? All you have to decide is if the app is better for you than an actual coach.

Introduction

TaylorMade revamped their TP5 and TP5x models as part of their $100-million investment into their golf ball-related business which included buying the Nassau ball plant in South Korea and huge investments in R&D. Over the last three years, TaylorMade has built a new state-of-the-art indoor test range and completely remade its outdoor test area with Trackman units to capture performance data for every stage of ball flight.

The TP5 and TP5x now have what TaylorMade calls “Speed-Wrap”, a new technology that TaylorMade claims produces “significantly faster with a better feel and a softer feel.” This is done by allowing the material to control the sound without affecting speed. As sound often directly relates to feel, the new TP5 and TP5x can be firmer without feeling or sounding, well, firm. Finally, the initial three layers are now progressively firmer, allowing them to “truly perform like completely different products.” 

So, of course, we wanted to get the new TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x golf balls into the hands of our testers to get their feedback.

The Testing Opportunity

We selected five golfers to test the TP5 or TP5x and also get their thoughts on the new Pix models. 

TaylorMade TP5 and TP5X First Impressions

Sure, golf balls can be a little boring for a “First Impressions” section but there is something to be said about shelf appeal. When our testers unboxed their golf balls, this is what they had to say.

Davis Riley won a subdued Colonial by 5 strokes over Scottie Scheffler and Keegan Bradley for his first individual victory on the PGA Tour.

GOLF's editors discuss Scottie Scheffler's arrest investigation and preview this week's U.S. Women's Open at Lancaster Country Club.

The post Tour Confidential: Scottie Scheffler arrest videos, U.S. Women’s Open preview appeared first on Golf.

PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray died by suicide, his family said Sunday. "Life wasn't always easy for Grayson," his parents said. "... We know he rests peacefully now."

Richard Bland he won the Senior PGA Championship in his senior major debut, closing with an 8-under 63 for a 3-shot victory at Harbor Shores.

Nacho Elvira parred his final seven holes to hold on for a one-stroke victory at the Soudal Open in Belgium on Sunday.

Professional golfer Grayson Murray, who won the Sony Open earlier this year in Hawaii, has died, the PGA Tour announced Saturday.

Known for their bright colors and matte-finish golf balls, Volvik has released their new “tour-level” golf balls, the Volvik Condor series. The Condor and Condor X aim to compete with other top-end balls at a more competitive price.

About Volvik

Volvik is a Korean company founded in 1980. “Volvik” stands for “Fly to Victory,” with “Vol” in “volare” meaning “to fly” in Italian, taking “Vi” from “victory” and then combining that with the “K” from Korea to create the mashup name Volvik. They own their own R&D center and two golf ball manufacturing facilities, where they make ionomer-covered golf balls and, soon, urethane balls. It wasn’t until 2012 that Volvik expanded into the U.S. market through a joint venture. 

Now they have a wholly owned U.S. division which could be considered a relaunch of the brand in the U.S. Volvik has the second-largest golf ball market share in Korea and exports to more than 50 countries. They hope to gain further traction in the U.S. market with their new balls and matte finish technology.

The Testing Opportunity

We are looking for nine golfers to test, review and keep two dozen golf balls from Volvik’s lineup. We will select three golfers each to test the Condor X, Condor and XT Soft golf balls.

The Volvik Condor is a three-piece, urethane-covered ball that Volvik classifies as high speed and low spin with softer feel and longer distance.

Angela Stanford, 46, became the first player to successfully defend the LPGA Senior Championship title, closing with a 3-under 69 in breezy conditions on Saturday for a 3-stroke victory over Cristie Kerr in Hurricane, Utah.

Davis Riley hold a four-shot lead over surging Scottie Scheffler at the Colonial, where hearts were heavy following news of the death of fellow tour player Grayson Murray.

Ernie Els and Greg Chalmers share the lead by a stroke heading into final-round play at the Senior PGA Championship.

Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray passed away on Saturday morning, commissioner Jay Monahan announced. He was 30 years old.

The post PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray passes away at 30 appeared first on Golf.

Both the Mizuno JPX 923 Forged and JPX 923 Tour are on sale right now at GOLF's sister site, Fairway Jockey.

The post These popular forged Mizuno iron models are on sale appeared first on Golf.

Wild Spring Dunes, the newest creation from the Keiser Family, will feature two 18-hole golf courses designed by Coore-Crenshaw and Tom Doak.

The post Bandon Dunes family announces new 36-hole Texas golf resort appeared first on Golf.

Gary McCord landed the ultimate golf dream job: broadcasting the Masters on TV. But his first meeting nearly undid it.

The post You need to hear the story of Gary McCord’s ‘smarta–‘ first Masters TV meeting appeared first on Golf.

Some big names are battling it out for the final spots on Team USA's Olympics squads — and some big names are bound to get left at home.

The post Team USA’s final Olympics spots? Furious races are brewing appeared first on Golf.

Arnold Palmer’s letters weren’t only for winners. A player who lost in heartbreaking fashion might also have received a comforting message.

The post Why Arnold Palmer’s personalized letters meant so much to so many appeared first on Golf.