Golfing News & Blog Articles

Dustin Johnson is trying to find his game. Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy want to elevate theirs in 2022. How will each fare as a busy part of the year begins?

TaylorMade is overhauling their classic Spider putter design with the new Spider GT.

Such a design deviation is not a new thing for TaylorMade. We’ve seen their putter designers upset the Spider apple cart a couple of times in recent years. Take the Spider FCG and its forward center of gravity design as one example. Although the Spider FCG did deviate from the classic Spider weight plan, it maintained the overall Spider design. Add to that the Spider Mallet, the Spider Blade, the Daddy Long Legs, the Spider Mini and so on. Lots of variation on the design but the overall Spider plan remained mostly intact.

The new TaylorMade Spider GT putters kick that design standard to the curb.

The funny thing is that this radical design change is not a total surprise. Those of you paying close attention over the past few release cycles may have seen the change coming. The TaylorMade Spider S was an outlier when it launched in 2020 but now can be viewed retroactively as a harbinger of the Spider GT design.

What has changed?

OTTO: Bridgestone’s Autonomous Ball-Fitting Machine: Key Takeaways

OTTO is Bridgestone’s new ball-fitter on wheels.OTTO leverages 15 years of Bridgestone ball-fitting data and a proprietary algorithm.Walk-up use at a driving range or indoor facilityFree to use

Say hello to OTTO, Bridgestone’s autonomous ball-fitting machine. He’s new, he’s unique, he needs no operator and is completely self-contained. Think of it as the R2D2 of ball fitting.

And may The Force be with you.

If nothing else, OTTO is unique. It’s a self-contained, operator-less machine that will watch you hit three driver shots. And then, according to Bridgestone, it’ll automatically process your swing data and fit you into a golf ball quickly, easily and with no human interaction whatsoever.

The tech that makes OTTO possible presents an interesting story and is the result of 15 years’ worth of Bridgestone ball-fitting data. Just how accurate it is, however, remains an open question.  Let’s get down to some answers.

OTTO: The Autonomous Ball Fitting Machine

Bridgestone says OTTO can fit you into a Bridgestone golf ball after just three swings. And you won’t need a person there to watch you or even run the machine.

Titleist has announced the Vokey SM9 wedge lineup.The new models feature higher centers of gravity to deliver a flatter trajectory with increased spin.Retail price is $179.99. Available March 11

No matter where you are in the world … U.S. or Canada or Tokyo, Seoul … Vokey wedges are ubiquitous. One out of every two wedges on the PGA TOUR is a Vokey and 60 percent of Tour winners last season had at least one Vokey wedge in the bag. With the release of the Vokey SM9, you should expect more of the same.

Success, of course, isn’t without its challenges. Innovative opportunities within the wedge category aren’t nearly what they are in the driver space. Folks, this is not the era of the Carbonwedge. Advancement, improvement—whatever you want to call it—within the category is methodical by nature. For Vokey, that challenge is further complicated by a roster of Tour pros who would be more than happy with the status quo.

If nothing else, kudos to the entire Vokey team for continually pushing to improve a product for which simply not screwing it up would be plenty good enough.

With that said, let’s focus on what Titleist believes are three big-picture benefits of the Vokey SM9 line.

ShotScope H4, ProLX and ProLX+ – Key Takeaways

H4: ShotScope shot tracking for the non-watch wearerProLX+ combines H4 with an updated laser rangefinderH4: $149.99; ProLX+: $349.99; ProLX (rangefinder only): $249.99Available March 31

The new-for-2022 ShotScope H4 and ProLX+ should be music to the ears of non-watch-wearing golfers everywhere.

Ever since appearing on the scene in 2017, ShotScope’s wrist-mounted devices have been the choice of stat-tracking golfers who didn’t want to lug their phones with them. But it had no answer for golfers who hate wearing watches.

Other than to say, “Here’s ARCCOS’s number.”

The new H4 unit and the unique combo that is the ProLX+ laser rangefinder aren’t groundbreaking technology. But for the Scotland-based ShotScope, both products represent creative ways to get into, or onto, more golfers’ bags.

Thomas Pieters sealed his sixth European Tour title with a one-shot victory in a thrilling final round of the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

A new year of golf is upon us, does that mean it’s time for a new ball? We know that golfers regardless of level can benefit from playing a single type of ball every round, but what ball will be best? While there can’t be one ball that will be best for every golfer, we can at least use data to give a decent start. Through countless hours of testing and shots, the balls on this list deserve your consideration.

1. Titleist Pro V1

The Key Point: If you want quality, consistency, and performance ball after ball, the Pro V1 remains a no brainer.

This shouldn’t surprise anybody. For two decades, the conversation around the best premium ball to use has always begun with the Titleist Pro V1 and this list will be no different. Both in the Ball Lab and robot ball testing, the Pro V1 is the model of consistency and performance, taking top marks in both settings. The ball’s profile meets the widest variety of golfers of the Titleist lineup and rarely would ever be a bad choice. The Titleist Pro V1 comes at a price premium, but for many the value is still there for the level of trust it provides. It remains one of the best golf balls you can buy.

Flight: Mid-low – Feel: Medium – Spin: Mid

CHECK PRICE

Hudson Swafford won the American Express for the second time in five years Sunday, breaking a late tie with an eagle in a closing-round 8-under 64.

Danielle Kang posted the low score Sunday at 4-under 68 and sprinted away to a 3-shot victory at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on Sunday.

Aaron Jarvis picked golf over soccer. And now, with a win at the LAAC, he's got a spot in the Masters and The Open at St. Andrews.

Aaron Jarvis made birdie on the final hole Sunday for a 3-under 69 and a one-shot victory in a tense ending to the Latin America Amateur Championship

Scott Jamieson retained a one-shot lead going into the final round of the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi after a four-under-par 68 on Saturday ahead of Shane Lowry and Thomas Pieters.

Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Mitsubishi Electrict Championship at Hualalai for the third time.

Lee Hodges, along with Paul Barjon, took advantage of a late tee time on Saturday to miss the worst of a windy day and share the third-round lead at The American Express in La Quinta, California.