Golfing News & Blog Articles

XXIO 12 Metalwoods – Key Takeaways

XXIO 12 is designed for the moderate swing-speed demographic.Technology such as ActivWing and Rebound Frame promise target golfers lost yardsDriver $649.99, fairways $399.99, hybrids $299.99Available at retail on Feb. 11

To fully appreciate the new XXIO 12 metalwoods lineup, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with two new concepts. One is called ActivWing. The second is known as Centripetal Force.

ActivWing is new because it’s a name XXIO came up with for its new metalwood technology. Centripetal Force isn’t really new as it’s part of Newton’s Second Law but I’ll confess it was new to me.

Admittedly, I didn’t pay much attention in high-school science classes.

XXIO says these two concepts, along with a slew of additional technology, give the new XXIO 12 metalwoods some new punch. As with any XXIO release, there’s a lot to dive into.

XXIO 12 Metalwoods: Who Are They For?

XXIO is part of the Srixon-Cleveland-XXIO golf empire under the auspices of Dunlop Sports and Sumitomo Rubber Industries (the SRI in Srixon). Launched in 2000, XXIO considers itself the pioneer in ultra-premium lightweight purpose-built clubs for moderate swing-speed golfers. It’s been a popular brand in Asia from the get-go and has found a solid—and growing—market in North America.

XXIO 12 Irons – Key Takeaways

XXIO 12 is the 12th iteration of the moderate swing-speed-specific XXIO flagship.New tech includes new Super TIX® 51AF titanium face with Rebound Frame.Irons are priced at $199.99 each; a five iron set is $999.99.Women’s packaged set includes driver, fairways and hybrid, priced at $2,999.99.

The good folks at XXIO are introducing the new XXIO 12 irons and metalwoods today, just in case yesterday’s tsunami of product launches wasn’t quite enough for you.

Lightweight equipment designed specifically for what OEMs call “moderate swing speed golfers” used to be a niche. Then it became a thing. Now it’s a full-fledged market segment. And, with apologies to Billy Joel, XXIO did, in fact, start that particular fire. The first XXIO debuted in 2000 and, since then, XXIO has been taking a holistic, grip-to-tip design approach. The company, with some justification, feels it knows this particular market segment better than anyone.

If you’re in the target demographic, the new XXIO 12 irons feature some interesting tech.

Or it could annoy you.

That’s just the way it is with XXIO.

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The post Rule of the Month: Help! My Ball Moved! appeared first on Northern California Golf Association.

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.

TaylorMade Stealth Irons – Key Takeaways

Stealth replaces SIM2 MAX and MAX OS irons.Key tech removes 10 grams of weight from the toe to lower the center of gravity.$999 steel, $1,099 graphitePre-order today, available at retail April 1

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.

TaylorMade Stealth Irons: Higher, Faster, Longer, Lower?

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.

Callaway Rogue ST Irons – Key Takeaways

Rogue ST features four new game-improvement iron sets.All four feature 450 Face Cup designed by AI.Up to 62 grams of tungsten have been added to lower the CG.Sets start at $999.99. Available at retail on Feb. 18.

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?

Callaway Rogue ST Irons: Four New Models

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.

TRICKLE-DOWN TECH

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.

Turning the Tables

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.