With the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando completed last week, most of the major equipment launches for early 2020 have been announced. From drivers to irons to golf balls, Golfweek has covered them all. Check out the following 10 products, a sampling of all the new equipment recently released from major manufacturers that should garner attention as golf season kicks off.
The Tour B balls have an updated cover that helps to produce more distance off the tee and greenside spin. (Bridgestone)
Bridgestone Tour B golf balls (2020)
Price: $44.99 per dozen
Specs: Three-piece urethane-covered balls
Available: Feb. 14
The key technology in the second generation of Tour B golf balls is a new type of urethane used in the cover. Bridgestone calls it Reactiv urethane, and it contains an impact modifier that helps the material do some unique things.
Off the tee, the urethane rebounds more quickly than other urethanes Bridgestone has used to help golfers generate more ball speed and distance. However, on softly hit pitches and chip shots around the green, it absorbs shock and helps the ball stay in contact with the face for a longer period of time. That should help the grooves in wedges generate more spin and greenside control.
Callaway Mavrik, Mavrik Sub Zero, Mavrik Max drivers
Price: $499 with Project X Even Flow Riptide, Aldila Rogue White or UST Mamiya Helium shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align grip
Specs: FS2S forged titanium face with carbon-fiber crown, adjustable hosel and moveable weights
Available: Now
Callaway said the key to unlocking performance in the Mavrik drivers was making a face that delivers more ball speed and enhances forgiveness by protecting ball speed and spin rates on mis-hits more effectively.
To achieve that, each Mavrik driver model’s face is slightly different, with thicker and thinner areas created by artificial intelligence. And there is a different face for each loft of each driver. For example, not only is the Mavrik driver’s face different than the Mavrik Sub Zero face, the 9-degree Mavrik’s face is subtly different than the 10.5-degree Mavrik’s face.
Cobra King Speedzone, King Speedzone Xtreme drivers
Price: $449 with UST Helium Black, Mitsubishi CK Blue, Project X HZRDUS Smoke or Aldila Rogue Silver shaft and Lamkin Crossline Connect grip
Specs: Carbon-fiber crown and sole areas with milled titanium face, moveable weights and an adjustable hosel. Available in black/yellow or black/white
Available: Now
The most unique feature of the new Speedback drivers is the CNC-milled Infinity Face. Most driver faces are forged, soldered onto the chassis and then hand-ground and polished, but the faces of the Speedback drivers are milled using computer-controlled robots. They pass a high-speed bit across the hitting area, shaving off tiny ribbons of material to ensure the face thickness that engineers want is achieved every time.
The 2019 F9 Speedzone drivers had CNC-milled faces too, but the milled faces of the new Speedback drivers extend all the way around the face and into the leading edge, the toe and the topline. Cobra said this enlarges the sweet spot and helps protect ball speed on mis-hits more effectively.
Ping G710 irons
Price: $175 per club with Ping AWT 2.0 steel shafts and Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet Arccos Caddie grips; $190 with Ping Alta CB Red graphite shafts
Specs: Hollow-body 17-4 stainless steel head, plasma-welded maraging steel C300 face, tungsten toe and hosel weights
Available: Now
While the body of each G710 iron is cast from 17-4 stainless steel, the hitting areas are made from hardened maraging steel. Its strength allowed engineers to make it thin, and because the clubs are hollow, the hitting area can flex more efficiently at impact. Ping said the G710 creates the most face deflection of any Ping iron to help golfers generate more ball speed and more distance.
Ping also added pieces of tungsten in the heel and toe areas to increase the perimeter weighting and boost the moment of inertia. Ping said the G710 has a moment of inertia that is 5 percent higher than the G700 model that it replaces, which means it should perform better on off-center hits.
PXG GEN3 T, GEN3 P and GEN3 XP irons
Price: $425 per iron
Specs: Forged 8620 carbon steel body with a HT1770 maraging steel face, dual-core polymer insert, and tungsten and titanium weights
Available: Now
Each 0311 GEN3 iron is forged from a piece of 8620 carbon steel, then the back of each club is milled by a computer using high-speed cutters to create the precise shape engineers envisioned. Like previously released PXG irons, a series of tungsten and titanium weights ring the back of the head, lowering the center of gravity and pulling it away from the hitting area to encourage higher-flying shots that stop faster on the green.
The face, forged from a harder stainless steel, is just 1.5 millimeters thick. An internal channel has been milled around its perimeter to broaden the sweet spot, and it is laser-welded to the body.
Srixon’s Q- Star golf balls (Srixon)
Srixon Q-Star golf balls (2020)
Price: $32.99 per dozen
Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered ball available in white and yellow
Available: Now
The FastLayer core in the updated Q-Star is soft in the center and gradually grows firmer toward the outer areas. While many balls have a single or a dual-core design, Srixon said the FastLayer core is like having thousands of layers, giving golfers a softer feel at impact with better energy transfer for more distance.
The Q-Star’s urethane cover features an aerodynamic 338-dimple pattern that the company said helps make the ball more stable in windy conditions. At the same time, the urethane should help golfers generate more spin and enhance feel around the green.
TaylorMade SIM, SIM Max, SIM Max D drivers
Price: SIM: $549.99 with Mitsubishi Diamana S Limited or Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green shaft and Golf Pride Tour Z grip. SIM Max and SIM Max D: $499.99
Specs: Carbon-fiber crown and toe section with urethane-injected titanium face, moveable weight (SIM) and adjustable hosel. 45.75 inches standard. Available in 8, 9 and 10.5 degrees (SIM); 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees (SIM Max, SIM Max D)
Available: Feb. 7
To create more speed, TaylorMade did three things to improve the aerodynamic qualities of the SIM drivers (SIM stands for shape in motion). First, the carbon-fiber crown’s height was elevated so air that slides over the topline stays close, which improves efficiency. Second, the back of the sole swoops upward more sharply, also to improve airflow efficiency.
The final piece of the equation was adding a keel to hold a weight in the back of the sole. The weight boosts the moment of inertia and makes the club more stable on off-center hits. And instead of extending it perpendicular to the face, which would punish the club aerodynamically, it was made asymmetrically and tilts toward the toe.
Titleist T400 irons
Price: $185 per iron with True Temper AMT Red steel shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 Lite+ grips; $199.99 per club with Mitsubishi Fubuki MV IR graphite shafts
Specs: Hollow-bodied irons with forged SUP-10 stainless steel face and internal tungsten weights
Available: March 27
Last August, Titleist debuted the T300 for mid- and higher-handicap golfers who want more distance and forgiveness. Now the company is releasing the new T400, a super-game-improvement club that is bigger, more powerful and more forgiving than any other club in Titleist’s stable.
Each T400 iron is hollow, and the 5-iron through 7-iron feature a thin, forged SUP-10 stainless steel face that is shaped like an L, wrapping under the leading edge and extending into the sole. It flexes easily at impact to create more ball speed, especially on shots struck low in the hitting area.
Tour Edge Exotics EXS 220 driver
Price: $349.99 with Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow, Fujikura Ventus 4T Core or Fujikura Air Speeder shaft
Specs: 8-1-1 titanium face and body with carbon-fiber crown and adjustable weight system. Available in 9.5, 10.5 and 12 degrees of loft.
Available: Feb. 1
The key to the Exotics EXS 220 is shaving weight from places that do not enhance performance and moving it to spots that do. For example, the Exotics EXS 220’s crown and two panels in the sole are made using carbon fiber because the material is strong and extremely light. And the 8-1-1 titanium face is not only thin and flexible, it’s lighter than the faces in previous Tour Edge Exotics drivers.
As a result, designers were able to increase the head’s depth from face to back and add a 9-gram weight to the back of the sole. This increased the moment of inertia by 20 percent from the previous Exotics EXS driver. That means the club will twist less on off-center hits and help golfers hit straighter shots.
Wilson Staff D7 Forged irons
Price: $999 (4-PW) with KBS $-Taper Lite steel or True Temper Catalyst Black 80 graphite shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips
Specs: Forged 8620 carbon steel, urethane-filled inner chamber and slots in the sole
Available: Now
The distance-boosting technology for the Staff D7 Forged irons is in the sole, where two rows of Power Holes were designed behind the leading edge. They are small slots, each covered by a polymer to stop grass and debris from getting inside the heads, that allow the face to flex more efficiently at impact to create more ball speed.
To enhance feel, Wilson created an area inside the lower portion of the back of the head and filled it with vibration-dampening urethane. It’s called a Power Chamber and should help produce a more solid feel when golfers strike the ball.
