Golfing News & Blog Articles

Wilson Launch Pad 2 Driver, Fairways and Hybrids – Key Takeaways

Like its companion irons, the new Wilson Launch Pad 2 Driver, fairways and hybrids are niche products. Only more so.

While Wilson’s new family of metalwoods is aimed at a specific slice of the golfing population, it’s a pretty substantial slice. In fact, it’s the slicer’s slice. That is to say, if you’re a slicer and no amount of practice, lessons or prayer will make that slice go away, the new Launch Pad 2 metalwoods might be able to help.

On the other hand, the Launch Pad metalwoods are pretty much a one-trick pony. If they don’t fit you, they really don’t fit you. The results won’t be disastrous but Launch Pad was designed to fix a specific problem. If you don’t have that problem, well …

There is, however, one possible exception.

Wilson Launch Pad 2 Metal Woods: The Next Generation

They always say to never buy the first generation of a new car. Give it a year, they say, so the manufacturer can work out the kinks.

Wilson Launch Pad 2 Irons – Key Takeaways

The new Wilson Launch Pad 2 irons are strictly a niche product. Granted, since they’re a super-forgiving hybrid-style iron, that niche is pretty substantial. But still, despite the fact it’s silly easy to hit, it’s not an iron that will appeal to everyone.

There are a few players in the super-game-improvement hybrid iron category. The Wilson Launch Pad 2 joins Cleveland’s Launcher XL Halo, COBRA’s T-Rail, the Hot Launch E522 and a handful of others. It’s not a new or even revolutionary idea. But, for the right golfer, the hybrid-style iron could be the perfect elixir for round-killing, joy-sucking and turf-tearing chunks.

How does the Wilson Launch Pad 2 fit into the hybrid iron-style hierarchy? Let’s take a peek.

Wilson Launch Pad 2 Irons: The New Turf Rider

For as long as man has been hitting little balls with ill-shaped sticks, other men have been trying to make sticks that will do the job easier. Hybrid-irons are no different. You can go back in Wilson’s catalog to the mid-1980s and check out its hollow-body TurfRider irons.

“TurfRider’s broad, sweeping sole puts weight down low and that helps get the ball airborne … TurfRiders are offset to get your hands ahead of the ball and help in setting up for square contact. For ease of play and consistency of feel, TurfRiders use frequency-matched Ultralite shafts.” 1986 Wilson catalog

A week ago, a Saudi-backed league to rival the PGA Tour was gaining momentum. Then Phil Mickelson's thoughts became public, and everything unraveled in an instant.

Have you ever wondered why you play a wonderful round of golf on one day and your next round is a disaster? Or how you birdie one hole and then double bogie the next? We all know that our mental outlook must share some of this blame, but have you considered the fact that slight changes in your grip, stance and ball position may be causing your problems.

Your best opportunity to hit with a longer shafted club for longer driving distance is from the tee box. The surface is perfectly flat so there are fewer variables to worry about. You want to hit your longest shot so your driver is the best solution as long as your driver is behaving properly on that day. Of course it’s not your driver’s fault if its misbehaving.

We all hit drives off a tee where the ball lifts off at the right angle and flies to an amazing distance directly up our target line while we pose in the perfect position wondering how we ever made such a perfect shot. For those perfect shots your grip and stance and ball position must have been in perfect harmony with your physical swing sequence which most likely is not exactly the way you see a professional golfer swing on TV. As a matter of fact every golfer (including the professionals) have their own characteristic swing to suit their physical strength and flexibility. Don’t be afraid to sort out the grip, stance and ball position for your body and mind.

Determine the Your Ideal Personal Setup for Each Type of Club
Sort out your best swing setup at the practice range and make note of them for each type of club. Changing either your grip, stance and ball position will also have an impact on each of the other parameters. Be ready to experiment to sort out the best combination for each type of club but don’t go too far from the norm.

Grip: The basic grip for your driver, woods, hybrids and irons is to grip with both hands so that the V between your thumb and first finger point up to your tailing shoulder. Test the impact of a stronger or weaker grip by shifting the V back or forward when gripping each type of club.
Stance: Normally you should stand with a balanced pressure on both feet with a rearward shoulder tilt for your driver and level shoulders for an iron. You may find that you are swinging your irons like a driver and often hit the ground before the ball. Test your iron swing by placing more pressure on your leading foot because that is the position you want at the point of impact. You should also test the effect of closing or opening your stance by moving your tailing foot off your target line.
Ball Position: For your driver you should be lining up your ball off the heel of you leading foot and moving the ball further back to the center of your stance as you increase the loft of the club. You should also narrow the gap between your feet when you use your wedges. You are not looking for power with your wedges, but you do want to impact the ball before the ground

Despite "incredible momentum," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said he has "zero complacency" about the Saudi-funded rival league and that any players on the fence must "make a decision."

The Solheim Cup is going to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in 2024, the first time it is holding a significant women's event after four times hosting the Presidents Cup.

The post 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Logo Unveiled appeared first on Northern California Golf Association.

Two-time major champion Zach Johnson is taking over as Ryder Cup captain, according to The Associated Press, as he will lead an American side trying to end 30 years without a victory on European soil.

Black Satin Cleveland Smart Sole 4 Wedges – Key Takeaways

What’s new with the new Black Satin Cleveland Smart Sole 4 wedges? The answer, like beauty, is skin deep. It’s a new PVD black satin finish for Cleveland’s current iteration of specialty wedges.

From a tech standpoint, there isn’t anything new to talk about. But these silly-easy-to-use wedges do tend to be a tad polarizing. For some reason, super-wide-soled chippers or sand irons really get into the craw of the GET LESSONS crowd. A very small portion of this article will address the new finish, but the rest of it?

Well, the pot is just sitting there begging to be stirred.

Black Satin Cleveland Smart Sole 4 Wedges

Since its introduction in 2013, the Cleveland Smart Sole wedge lineup has been on a three-year lifecycle. That means we likely won’t see Smart Sole 5 until this time next year. And Cleveland, like other OEMs, loves giving its products a late lifecycle kick in the pants with a new finish.

PVD gets a bad rap but don’t get the idea it’ll wear off after a couple of range sessions. We’ve said it before but it bears repeating: PVD—Physical Vapor Deposition—may not be as premium as Diamond Black Metal or QPQ but it does last.

It has been exactly one year since Tiger Woods crashed his SUV in Los Angeles, a frightening wreck he admits he's lucky to have survived. Here is everything Woods has said and done in the year since.

The 2022 Honda Classic features a number of golfers that have had success in the Sunshine State, including 2020 champion Sungjae Im.

The Masters? The Open Championship? As fans marvel at Tiger Woods' recovery and anticipate his return, larger questions remain about the circumstances of Woods' 2021 accident.

The next event on the PGA Tour is the Honda Classic in Florida. Here's how you can watch all of the action on ESPN+.

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So much for that 10th at Riviera deep dive I was wrapping up today when Phil Mickelson said he’s taking “time away” from the game.

But in saying golf "desperately" needs change, the defending PGA Champion also revealed he’s just about the money. Still.

That plus the best Tweets. Available to all including non-subscribers who can remedy that here.

Phil Mickelson issued an apology on Twitter on a Tuesday, in which the six-time major champion said he was sorry for recent comments he made about the PGA Tour and organizers of a Saudi-financed breakaway league.