From Tiger's return to who wins all the majors and the FedEx Cup -- and everything in between -- we look ahead through the one-of-a-kind eyes of America's Caddie.
We can say one thing for sure about the new Stealth irons: TaylorMade is going to sell a lot of them.
How they’ll perform against a stacked and loaded pack of game-improvement irons is an open question, however. Looking back over the past four years’ worth of Most Wanted testing, TaylorMade’s game-improvement offerings have been, to put it kindly, meh performers. The M4 finished third overall in 2018 but, since then, the SIM, SIM MAX, SIM MAX OS, SIM2 MAX and SIM2 MAX OS haven’t sniffed the medal podium.
In last year’s Most Wanted testing, SIM2 MAX was high and long but it was neither the highest nor the longest. It finished smack-dab in the middle of the pack in overall performance which, for a performance-distance brand like TaylorMade, is decidedly off-brand.
Despite all that, the SIM2 MAX line was a huge seller for TaylorMade which is decidedly on-brand. Realistically, TaylorMade could throw damned near anything out there in 2022 and it’d be a top seller. But to the company’s credit, the upgrades to the TaylorMade Stealth irons are aimed squarely at the SIM2 MAX shortcomings.
The SIM2 MAX finished seventh out of 14 in our game-improvement testing. All in all, it was an OK iron.
TaylorMade Stealth fairway wood and hybrids offer increased forgiveness and launchTwo models: Taylormade Stealth fairway wood and Stealth Plus fairway woodPrices: Fairway woods starting at $329.99 | Hybrids starting at $279.99
TaylorMade Stealth fairway wood and hybrids. We’ll get to the obligatory features and benefits in a moment.
But, first, the most pressing question: “Where’s the beef … um … carbon?”
Sorry, wrong campaign. But presuming you’ve read the 2022 Taylormade Stealth driver article first, I’m sure it’s what you were wondering.
If this truly is a new era, one where carbon overtakes titanium as the material of choice, why not invite fairways and hybrids to the party?
There’s a good reason. Several, actually.
TaylorMade Stealth drivers feature 60x carbon-fiber facesThree models: Standard, Plus, HDPrices: starting at $579.99
With the introduction of the Stealth driver, TaylorMade is welcoming golfers to the beginning of the Age of the Carbonwood.
In one sense, the Stealth driver represents the culmination of a 20-year research and development effort described by TaylorMade as the “20-year journey.” In another, TaylorMade is just getting started with carbon-face technology.
In the language of innovation, TaylorMade sees Stealth as the start of a new S-curve. Metaphorically, the Stealth driver is the start of a new race where TaylorMade is already out of the blocks and its competitors are slogging their way through the qualifying heats. If it isn’t clear, in my version of this metaphor, “qualifying heats” represent titanium-faced drivers.
The bottom line is that, with the introduction of the Stealth Carbonwood, TaylorMade sees itself as not so much ahead of the curve but starting an entirely different one. While that may sound like a bit of a stretch for golfers accustomed to big promises and little in the way of actual gains, we’ve long stated that real gains are invariably the result of new materials or new manufacturing techniques. The TaylorMade Stealth driver includes heavy doses of both.
On one hand, the Callaway Rogue ST irons story can be summed up quite succinctly: AI design and a butt-load of tungsten.
But if you’re not into the whole brevity thing, Rogue ST is a roadmap to Callaway’s iron strategy going forward. Callaway now boasts 12 to 16 distinct iron sets, depending on how you define combo sets. With that many, you can exercise control over retail space and consumers’ attention. If you can’t find a Callaway iron to fit your game, then golf might not be for you.
But Callaway also runs the risk of overwhelming golfers with too many choices. The new Rogue ST irons sit squarely on the game-improvement end of the spectrum but do game-improvement golfers really need four options?
It’s easy to forget but Callaway irons run on a two-year product cycle. The new Rogue ST irons replace the Mavrik iron series which was released in February of 2020. It’s also easy to forget the Mavrik line featured five distinct irons sets: the standard Mavrik , Mavrik MAX and Mavrik Pro, plus two models designed for women, the Mavrik MAX W and Mavrik MAX W Lite.
Callaway is streamlining the Rogue ST line and is changing the naming convention. The Rogue ST MAX is now the core iron in the lineup, replacing the standard Mavrik. The Rogue ST Pro replaces the Mavrik Pro.
Callaway Rogue ST MAX hybrid leverage revamped Jailbreak design.Four models: Rogue ST MAX, ST MAX OS, ST MAX OS Lite and ST ProRetail price starting at $279.99
With any full family release, you expect plenty of overlapping technology. That holds true with the Callaway Rogue ST Max hybrid which incorporate Jailbreak ST, Speed Tuned Tungsten weighting and AI Face Optimization as seen in the Rogue ST drivers and fairway woods.
In addition, this might be the first time a product has more models (four) than keystone technologies (three). That’s just a fun little fact you can break out during your next family Zoom call.
Hybrids are still the mini-van of the golf equipment industry. They’re not sexy and probably never will be. But the beauty is in the utility and versatility.
Typically, by the time we’re talking about hybrids, it’s alongside a shorter list of new technologies as compared to inline fairway woods and drivers. It’s simply a matter of mass properties.
The Callaway Rogue ST driver family consists of four modelsWhile the shapes have been refined, all feature the full complement of Callaway technologyRetail price is $549.99
I’m going out on a limb here but I predict the Callaway Rogue ST lineup will prove to be the best drivers made by a food and beverage company this year.
I’m kidding (a little) though, with more than half of its revenue coming from TopGolf, it’s likely Callaway will make more money selling fajitas and Bud Light than it will from its golf clubs.
What a world.
To be sure, money is money, Callaway is making a lot of it, and it all counts, but with its reach expanding further away from the golf equipment space with each new year and acquisition, it’s going to be interesting to see how Callaway decides to prioritize its expanding catalog of businesses in the coming years.
Welcome to Part Two of exploring the 2022 Odyssey putters. Part One covered the 2022 Odyssey White Hot OG and Toulon Design putters.
This time around, we will be checking out the 2022 Odyssey Eleven and Tri-Hot 5K putter lines. This time, Odyssey really earns that “new” moniker. Some of these putters do have classic Odyssey head shapes but both lines really represent a new direction in Odyssey putter design.
Getting to the specifics: Like its predecessor, the Odyssey Ten, the Odyssey Eleven mallet features unique materials and new geometries. Here is a Tri-Hot 5K tip to help you avoid my erroneous assumption: The Tri-Hot 5k is not a redux of the 2010 Ti-Hot line. Sorry to those of you looking for titanium putters. Metal is a big part of the Tri-Hot 5k build story, though.
First, let’s take a deeper look at the Odyssey Eleven.
Callaway is introducing three new Chrome Soft models featuring Precision TechnologyChrome Soft, Chrome Soft X and Chrome Soft X have all been refreshedRetail price is $49.99/dz
Callaway Chrome Soft golf balls with precision technology.
If you’re an avid MyGolfSpy reader, that’s perhaps not the first thing you think of when it comes to the Callaway Chrome Soft family of golf balls but Callaway is so confident in its increasing ability to produce consistent, defect-free golf balls that it’s stamping a “Precision Technology” logo on every box of 2022 Chrome Soft, Chrome Soft X and Chrome Soft X LS golf balls.
Under Chip Brewer’s leadership, Callaway has embraced the idea of the Mongolian reversal. If you’re unfamiliar with the phrase, think of it as flipping the script or turning weakness into strength and, in the process, one-upping competitors. With that in mind, it’s fitting that Callaway, the company whose golf balls are basically the reason why off-center cores are a part of the golf ball conversation, now is leading the charge to quantify the impact of what it calls “COs” or concentricity offsets.
I’ll be honest. I didn’t see that coming.
Callaway Rogue ST Fairway Woods leverage new batwing Jailbreak design.Three models: Rogue ST MAX, ST MAX D and ST MAX LSRetail price $349.99
One could make the argument that the Callaway Rogue ST fairway woods offer a more compelling tech story than the 2022 Rogue ST drivers.
There, I said it.
And if you look at the 2021 Epic Speed/Epic Max and 2018 Rogue fairway woods, the Rogue ST fairway woods are less like their predecessors than the accompanying driver releases. Will those changes fundamentally alter performance? That’s the real million-dollar question.
For its part, Callaway states that, compared to anything on the market, the Rogue ST is clearly the “leading fairway wood in performance.” The caveat here is that, like every other manufacturer, Callaway tests its new product against existing equipment. Fortunately, 2022 Most Wanted testing is already underway.
Stay tuned.
Today, we get our first look at the 2022 Odyssey White Hot OG and Toulon Design putters. Actually, that’s only half of our Odyssey story today. I also have the scoop on the new Odyssey Eleven putter and the potentially game-changing Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K line.
But don’t jump over there just yet. We have a bunch of Odyssey putters to cover right here first. 2022 looks to be a big year for Odyssey. If 2022 is anything like 2021 was for them, “big” should probably be replaced with “huge” or “all-time.” From the tours to the shops, Odyssey smashed 2021.
Let’s take a quick look at last year before we jump into what Odyssey has in store in 2022.
As I said, before we dive into what is new for Odyssey in 2022, it’s worth revisiting 2021. As you can see from the graphic above, Odyssey continued to dominate all professional tours. I do mean all tours. Sure, Jon Rahm using a White Hot OG Rossie S to continue his winning ways was a highlight but his success was not an outlier for Odyssey users. Odyssey staffers and non-staffers made a bunch of money with Odyssey putters in 2021.
It’s a little more complicated than George Crump and friends building a course in the pine barrens and you are more than free to admit this makes no sense, but Josh Sens has the lowdown on golf’s first significant decentralized autonomous organization.
LinksDAO sold more than 9,000 NFTs in and initial offering for $11 million in Ethereum. The “grand experiment” is the vision of Mike Dudas, a Stanford start-up entrepreneur hoping to buy a course and create a community of members. Initial buyers of the NFT’s merely bought the right to buy into the next purchase.
Nor will the money raised by the NFT sales be put toward buying a course. It will be used instead to fund other DAO operations, including course scouting, acquisition planning, marketing, legal compliance, community development and more.
Dudas concedes that there is a still a way to go.
After intense, last-minute negotiations, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia has been named title sponsor of the Saudi International. Terms of the deal were not announced.
More alarming for the PGA Tour and European Tour should be the continued addition of players to February’s field. Besides now having commitments from five of the world top 10, they’ve added Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert. The allure of the Asian Tour!
The gold rush and late adds seem to be fueled by the PGA Tour’s “stand” against the existential threat, which included creating the widely-mocked PIP and granting of releases with meager consequences for players passing on the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It’s a far cry from last summer when players were supposedly going to face membership expulsion for jumping ship. But the Saudis went out and got themselves some Asian Tour co-sanctioning and the snowball is picking up speed.
As Rex Hoggard notes here in the best possible light, the Tour was “slow” to grand competing event releases. If that’s the best they’ve got in their arsenal, it’s going to be a long year at the Global Home.
The PIF has assembled an impressive field at this point and sets up the potential for some fascinating names finding their way into the AT&T Pebble Beach field. As in, half the Champions Tour, all Korn Ferry grads, and definitely some Beljan’s and Uresti’s. Shoot, at this pace they may be the headliners!
Two headlining models: Hona BERES 08 Black and Aizu.BERES 08 Aizu showcases Honma’s signature model offerings of 2 Star through 5 Star including a women’s 3 Star model offering.The entire BERES 08 lineup features drivers, fairway woods, hybrid utilities and irons.
Honma embraces a distinct position within the golf manufacturing world. Throughout the years, Honma has showcased three specific golf club lineups: TR, T//World and BERES, all of which have prominent roles within Honma’s product offerings. Each caters to different golfers. However, they all possess Honma’s DNA: craftsmanship, aesthetics and design and performance. With the new BERES 08, they continue a long heritage of luxurious, master-crafted golf clubs, but with a bold twists.
At first glance, aesthetics, craftsmanship and overall design stare you right in the face.
With the BERES 08 Black, you have classic black and gold signature coloring. From pictures alone, it appears to be a showstopper. In order to keep the overall appearance flow, the stock ARMRQ MX shaft features matching black and gold graphics. The design is consistent from the metalwoods down to the irons.
Don’t worry. The star of the show is next.
Aizu, 2 Star through 5 Star and 3 Star Women’s encompass flair. Honma’s master craftsmen bring forth the traditional Japanese “Aizu” Lacquer design with this lineup. Each product lineup within the Aizu model features its own unique, creative color scheme and design. There are two different crown prints on the metalwoods. Additionally, there are designs on the iron cavities. Both bring a fashion show to the golf course.
GolfMagic.com’s Andy Roberts listened to John Daly on the Full Send podcast so we don’t have to and shared a key exchange. The topic was Tiger’s jab at John Daly for taking a cart and a purported apology from Woods at the recent PNC Championship dinner.
Sitting behind a beer, ashtray for his diabetes-assisting cigarettes and a plate of fried chicken, Daly offered this regarding Tiger:
"Yeah, but he didn’t know the facts because the media, ‘the media’ (sarcastic gesture) didn’t tell him I had diabetes and I had a bad two knees and my hips out and all this stuff," Daly said on the podcast.
"He apologized to me at dinner the other night. I mean, he’s fine. I love Tiger."
You know John is right. No one could look at him sitting there smoking, drinking and looking like a man just a few years under 100 and know he’s unwell.
As you set your goals for the new year, I’d like you to think less about what you want to achieve and more about the person/player that you want to become.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t set outcome goals. I think you should know what you are working towards, why and how you are going to achieve it. Time is precious and we need a plan to allocate our time most effectively. Goal setting for golfers can be inspiring and motivate us to put in the effort each day.
However, if the only goals we have are results based goals, there are drawbacks to the approach, such as:
1. It takes us away from the present
If we focus too much on what we want to achieve, we can miss out on the journey. If you are always doing something now to achieve something in the future, you are not fully experiencing the moment you are living in. If we focus too much on our future selves, we take valuable energy away from being our best selves in the present.
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