Golfing News & Blog Articles

Given that PING’s release cycles are longer than the industry average and that the G430 lineup launched last January, you probably weren’t expecting a new PING driver in 2024.

Surprise! The G430 MAX 10K driver has joined the family.

PING G430 MAX 10K – What’s in a Name?

First, let’s be clear that the G430 MAX 10K expands PING’s G430 lineup. It doesn’t replace anything currently on the market.

So what is it? The “10K” speaks to a MOI (moment of inertia value) that pushes above 10,000. On paper—more accurately, in PING’s CAD software—the G430 MAX 10K’s actual MOI value is closer to 10,100 but CAD values don’t always translate to the finished part.

The larger point is that PING’s naming convention errs on the side of caution and, other than the lightweight HL build, every finished G430 MAX 10K part will be above the 10,000 MOI mark.

Today’s PING Blueprint T and S irons launch story should be marked for posterity.

It is, we believe, the first launch story of 2024 where the acronym AI or the word optimize or maximize will not feature prominently. In fact, other than in this paragraph you’re reading at this very moment, they won’t appear at-freaking–all.

It’s refreshing to get back to talking about golf clubs created by regular people. Sure, those people have advanced degrees and they used a computer and all. But the new PING Blueprint irons have a human feel to them.

HAL hasn’t taken over this ship. Not yet anyway.

On the other hand, PING is right upfront about these new Blueprints. They’re not for everybody. In fact, you could say that, other than the elite ball striker, they’re hardly for anybody. But pieced together in the right set?

Since the first pictures of TaylorMade Qi10 drivers leaked, there’s been plenty of speculation about the name.

Is Qi a play on AI?

Is TaylorMade using the Chinese pronunciation of Qi, which gets us to Chi-ten—a driver so good it’s like cheating?

Nope and nope.

Bummer on that 2nd one. It would have been fun.

The new Taylormade Qi irons prompt a rather obvious question.

If TaylorMade’s new driver is the Qi10, why aren’t their new game-improvement irons also Qi10?

We’ll tell you the answer in a bit. But for you non-TaylorMade fans out there, it might just jolt your long-held beliefs.

And jolting long-held beliefs appears to be a theme with 2024 iron releases. After years of using raw distance and forgiveness as game-improvement iron talking points, OEMs appear to be pulling in the reins ever so slightly. They still love their distance but messaging is shifting towards – gulp – accuracy.  

And TaylorMade, long considered by online warriors as the key culprit in wacky distance claims to the point of it becoming a cliché, is actually leading the accuracy charge.

With the TaylorMade Qi10 driver family, the “Q”, “i” and “10” tell a specific and applicable story. That is, a quest for inertia, specifically 10,000 points of it. I was hoping for something closer to “Chi-ten” as in, “this line is so good, it’s like cheatin’.” Opportunity officially missed but I wasn’t on the naming committee.

That said, the TaylorMade Qi10 fairway woods and hybrids (or “rescues” as TaylorMade typically labels the category) maintain the Qi10 designation, though this tech story doesn’t revolve around a push for industry-leading forgiveness.

TaylorMade Qi10 Key Technologies

To varying degrees, TaylorMade uses the following technologies in the Qi10 family of fairway woods and hybrids: “Infinity” Carbon Crown, Twist Face, Speed Pocket (thru-slot), asymmetrical V Steel Sole and Aero Hosel, in addition to adjustable moveable weights in the Qi10 Tour model (more on that in a bit). 

Many of these are carried over from previous generations and continue to serve a similar purpose. 

The standard array of fixings includes the V-Steel sole which helps provide clean turf interaction from various lies (tee, fairway, light rough) while the Speed Pocket is designed to increase face flexibility (and help preserve ball speed) on shots struck low on the face. It’s not lost on TaylorMade, or the industry at large, that this is where most amateur golfers tend to make contact with many fairway wood shots, particularly those off the fairway or with tight lies. 

Tiger Woods announced Monday that his longtime partnership with Nike has ended after 27 years. The partnership included 15 major titles and 82 PGA Tour wins.

After 27 years with the brand, Tiger Woods announced the end of his relationship with NIKE Golf. The split ends one of the most lucrative partnerships in NIKE’s history.

The split, though unsettling, has been rumored for a while. The rumblings started at the 2022 Masters when Woods was seen sporting FootJoy shoes rather than his signature NIKE silhouette. Woods has continued to wear Nike apparel the past several years but was no longer using the brand’s clubs after they left the hard-goods business in 2016.

Now Woods, who indicated he is ready to play more competitive golf in 2024, is an apparel free agent.

Woods started his partnership with Nike upon turning pro in 1996, making a reported $500 million over the life of the partnership. His initial multiyear contract with NIKE was reportedly worth $40 million, which was the richest endorsement deal for a professional athlete in history at the time.

Woods renewed his contract three times in his career, including when he signed a 10-year extension in 2013 worth a reported $200 million according to The Oregonian. 

The new Cleveland Launcher XL 2 drivers come with maybe the best artificial intelligence catchphrase of the 2024 product launch season.

You can’t spell GAINS without the “AI.”

Hey, I didn’t write it.

But the catchphrase is indicative of where the golf equipment world is now. It’s an artificial intelligence world, boys and girls. And if you don’t have a supercomputer iterating the crap out of your designs, you’ll find yourself lost in the smoke.

(OK, that one’s on me.)

There are several things to like about the new Cleveland Halo XL fairways and hybrids.

First, given Cleveland-Srixon-XXIO’s past performance, these new Clevelands should fare pretty well in this year’s MyGolfSpy testing.

Second, given trends in AI design technology and corresponding OEM pricing, these new Clevelands should represent a pretty decent value.

And, maybe most importantly, Cleveland is taking a gap-centric approach to how you should transition from your driver to the longest iron in your bag that you feel pretty comfortable hitting.

And not for nothing, you know how we at MyGolfSpy love anything that’s gap-centric while also being #datacratic.

Mizuno has extended its T24 wedge lineup to include a blue color-up option.

Coming on the heels of the T24 wedges arriving on the market last September, the light blue wedges include black, gold and white paint fill. They are available for all of the same lofts, grinds and bounces as the previously released finishes, excluding a left-handed option.

The original finishes are denim copper, raw and soft white satin, available in 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58 and 60 degrees. There are five grind options: S-Grind (46- through 52-degree models), D-Grind (54- through 58-degree), C-Grind (56- through 60-degree), X-Grind (58- and 60-degree) and V-Grind (56- through 60-degree).

The T24 lineup features a few enhancements from previous Mizuno wedges including loft-specific grooves, a more compact head shape, a thinner topline and greater versatility as they transition from lower-lofted to higher-lofted models.

Made using 1025 carbon steel with a boron kicker, the new shape uses more mass slightly higher on the toe in order to bring the launch angle down and improve spin. The Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 is the stock men’s shaft while the Recoil ESX 460 F1 is the stock shaft for the women’s model. The black/gray Golf Pride MCC is the stock grip.

What We Tried

The 2023 Titleist T-Series irons in a blended combo set. This included the T100, T150 and T200.

Who Tested Them?

My name is Jamie Danbrook and I am MyGolfSpy’s Forum Director. A lefty playing off a seven handicap, I would rate my iron play as a strength. I don’t suffer for distance but I am not going to refuse a little extra help and some more distance if I can get it.

Every iron has a purpose and there is a purpose for every iron.

This is what has become abundantly clear throughout my time using the Titleist T-Series irons and it all started with the fitting. However, I have to go back a little further to connect all the dots.

In 2018, prior to joining the MyGolfSpy Forum staff, I was selected as a member to test and review the PING i210 irons for the MyGolfSpy Forum as part of a member testing opportunity. As I had been using the PING iE1 irons, I thought the transition would be easy. It wasn’t but eventually this set of i210 irons became my main set for the next four years.

Having played several great rounds with them and created fond memories my eyes began to wander and I soon looked for a change. I wanted to take in the full forged iron experience and transitioned to a set of Sub 70 659 TC irons. The desire to have that perceived superior feel of forged irons and feeling I had the iron ability to play something with a little less tech, more feel. I wasn’t concerned with any distance loss and, in fact, I didn’t notice much, if any. However, as with the PINGs, I had early struggles with these new irons.

Chris Kirk posted an 8-under 65 for a 1-shot victory over Sahith Theegala at the PGA Tour's season-opening Sentry in Hawaii on Sunday.

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With one swing at a super-fast Kaplaua, Max Homa entered the PGA Tour record book with a mammoth drive on the 7th hole.

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Here's the payout breakdown, total purse and winner's share for The Sentry in Hawaii, the PGA Tour's first Signature Event of 2024.

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Nearly four months after he had brain surgery, 2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland will return to the PGA Tour at next week's Sony Open.

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