Buzz: the gotta-have-it equipment golfers are talking about
WOODS
Designer Clay Long used a new method to line up the center of gravity with the center of the face in the NICKLAUS Airmax DPT 460 (left). It utilizes a four-piece forged construction (face, crown-skirt, soleplate, hosel) versus the casting process used in traditional titanium driver design. It comes in lofts of up to 15 degrees ($300, nicklaus-golf.com)…. TOUR EDGE offers a driver with movable weights. the V25 driver (above, right) has a cupped-face design that includes two weight ports and 10 interchangeable weights ($300, touredge golf.com). … A favorite of better players, SONARTEC is targeting slower swingers with the LS-99 fairway wood, which features higher lofts and an Aldila NV 45-gram shaft ($200, sonartec.com).
IRONS
TITLEIST tweaked its tour-popular forged cavity-back iron line with the 695CB (below). In addition to stronger lofts, the main change is a z-shape channel in the cavity designed to push the center of gravity in line with the center of the face ($900, titleist .com)…. YONEX introduces the Cyberstar C280, which features a thin face backed by a graphite insert in the cavity ($750, yonex.com).
BALLS
PRECEPT, the average-golfer-friendly brand of BRIDGESTONE famous for two-piece balls like the Lady S3 and the Laddie Xtreme, looks for more of the same with the XP3. the XP3’s softer core is designed to match the impact reaction produced in tour-level balls–without tour-level swing speeds ($20, orange, yellow and white, preceptgolf.com).
SHAFTS
STULZ GOLF’s Nano arrow (right), used by Brad Bryant in his first Champions tour win in march, features a triangular midsection designed for shaft stability ($250, stulzgolf .com)…. UST has expanded its ProForce V2 line to include a hybrid model ($65, ustgolfshaft.com)…. GRAPHITE DESIGN’s YS and Purple ice shafts have been upgraded. The Purple ice extends its weight range from 56 to 93 grams, and the YS Type II line has a stiffer bend profile and higher torque (gdintl.com).
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