Golfing News & Blog Articles

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.

Odyssey Putters, #1 in everything

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.

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.

Honma BERES – RUNWAY, PLEASE

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.

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. 

Phil Mickelson has really been playing well on the Champion’s Tour. We all know that Phil has an amazing short game. He learned it with constant practice in his backyard when he was a kid. Practice really is the best way to ingrain the right swing for every club. Your brain needs to remember it and your body needs to feel it. Was it his short game or his long game that helped him win so many recent tournaments?

Phil has one of the longest drives on the senior’s tour, but it is not always straight and not always landing on the fairway or in bounds. During the second round of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in 2021 he hit 2 tee shots out of bounds on the 547-yard, par-5. That’s two penalty strokes and still on the tee and hitting his 5th stroke. Bernhard Langer won that tournament and became the oldest winner in PGA TOUR of Champions history at 64.

Bernhard and Phil both learned important lessons during that tournament. Bernhard is not the longest driver, but he sure has an amazing approach shot to give himself a chance to sink more birdies.

On the other hand, Phil was 81st in driving accuracy and was well back in that tournament. When Phil was interviewed, he pointed out that he was number 1 in driving distance and his amazing skill in chipping and pitching normally get his out of trouble. On most courses he does not have to worry about driving accuracy as long as he has an open shot at the green to save his game.

Lanny Wadkins was the commentator that day who replied to Phil’s comments: “Life is just much easier from the fairway.”

Your Path is Key

During our offseason, a plethora of gizmos, gadgets and golf equipment funnel through our facility door. We all know the golf industry is cluttered with training aids. There are new ones popping up with each passing month. With time as the enemy, it is impossible to test each one for effectiveness and impact on a golfer’s performance. However, an intriguing product fell into our possession: AI Golf’s Gatekeeper.

As a putting training aid, the Gatekeeper gave us a perfect opportunity to test it out. AI Golf’s slogan for the product, “Your path Is key”, is certainly the focal point of the training aid. Let’s take a look and see if the proof is in the putting.

The Gatekeeper

Endorsed by Stewart Cink, eight-time PGA TOUR winner and 2009 Open champion, the Gatekeeper has four main goals:

The Gatekeeper offers a unique twist and design. Its “removable cuff” design is integrated into the attachment clasp. This feature allows the device to be used on virtually any putter. Additionally, the Gatekeeper can be used at different heights along the putter shaft. These options make it extremely easy to use and setup.

From a visual standpoint, there is a hint that the designers took inspiration from Star Wars. Remember the Imperial shuttles? Well, the Gatekeeper’s retractable alignment tracks fold up and down just like the wings. This offers a sleek, compact design that is ideal for storing in your golf bag.

I’ve reviewed a lot of golf gadgets over the years for MyGolfSpy: GPS and laser range finders, swing trainers, electronic gadgets and general fitness sensors. In just the past year, I tried the Lagshot, Tag Heuer’s Connected smart watch, the Oura ring and, most recently, the Whoop 4.0 strap.

While conducting the reviews, I started wondering if there wasn’t a better way to accomplish all these goals with one single piece of technology. Do I really need all of these separate apps or are Apple Watch a better does-it-all solution?

I’ll admit that I’m late to the Apple Watch party. In fact, I kept calling it the iWatch for the longest time. But maybe this unfamiliarity is exactly why the Apple Watch kept jumping into my head. Obviously, I knew the Apple Watch existed. I just hadn’t spent time with one. That said, it kept sliding across my mind as the gadget that could accomplish nearly everything a golfer would need.

So, in the spirit of exploration, I ordered an Apple Watch. It was time to find out once and for all if this watch was the must-have piece of golf technology.

Apple Watch Golf Apps