PGA Merchandise Show Day 2

[ualtim]

The title is a bit of a misnomer as some of the information is from day 1, but I ran out of time last night and had to hit the hay for an early rise this morning. 5:45 AM came quick, but I beat the rush to the parking lot and was able to eat a bit of breakfast before hitting the floor.

Early entry: Today was the early entry day and the PGA of America lead us down to the part of the floor that was reserved for first time presenters. The first booth I stopped at was the Grip Dry by Great Golf USA who produce this neat little circle of plastic that is designed to keep your putter grip dry when you lay it down in the grass to chip. Its a small plastic disc with the diameter approximately the width of a dollar bill that clips onto your putter shaft with ease. It keeps your grip elevated above the wet grass and also allows you to slip a club underneath it so that you can pick it up with out bending over. No website as they are wholesale only but if you want more info their e-mail address is info@greatgolfusa.net

Turf Tiles: The next booth I visited was Turf Tiles by USTEK (www.turftiles.com) who were also a first time presenter. I have been searching for the perfect home putting green for years now and this may be the answer to my search. With other putting greens, if its affordable it is either of poor quality or very small. This green may buck that trend. It rolls to a stimp meter of 9 to 10 (confirmed: I putted on this surface for a few minutes and it is very similar to faster greens I play locally) and the basic kit includes one hole, green tiles, and some fringe/rough/longer grass tiles for chipping practice. They also offer a break kit (6 additional tiles) and expansion kits if you want to slowly expand you personal putting green. The tiles are very durable and snap together with little effort for quick assembly/take down. The product has just been recently released and a 12 piece kit is available for approx $349 retail.

Puttalite: I revisited the puttalite www.puttalite.com pavilion today as the have been running a daily putting contest with $1000 going to the winner. The device that they are trying to sell looks very Star Trekish. There is an arch with a light facing straight down from its peak. The device places a circle of light on the putting surface the size of a standard golf hole that you then putt at. Here is where it gets interesting. Once you roll the ball through the light, you get instant audio feedback to where the ball would have ended up. Center of the cup, right side, left side, or a miss. On top of the audio device, a USB cable hooks into a computer that interacts with the provided software to score your putting stroke and track your statistics. It even has a series of games for multiple players and they eventually plan to have it interact on line so that you can putt against anyone on the net anywhere in the world. At this time, there are only 10 units in the world and 9 of them are at the PGA show. While they are not available yet, the planned retail price is scheduled to be $249.

On a side note, I competed in the contest both days and had a blast. On day one it was a speed contest. You had to sink 6 putts in the least amount of time possible (1 each from 2ft, 3 ft, 4 ft, 5 ft, 6 ft, and 8 ft) The winner did it in 8 seconds. I sank 5 dead center, and 1 in the right side in 11 seconds. Close but no grand. Today it was the same deal without the time limit. I sank all 6 dead center which left me in a tie for first. I am hoping for good news when arrive tomorrow morning to see how I did in the lottery to determine the ultimate winner. The weirdest part of the whole experience for me was the putter I used. Yes! provided the putters, but the only one I could find in 33" was a Carolyne center shafted model. I can't miss with this thing. 12 strokes made, 11 dead center, one in the right side. This show may end up costing me more money than I expected.

Hybrex Shafts: Hold onto your wallets, boys, this shaft is going to retail for close to $400. I ran across the booth and decided to see what this shaft was all about. The Hybrex (hybrexgolf.com) is strictly a hybrid shaft or a fairway wood shaft. The shaft is made mostly out of titanium with a center section that has strategic cuts filled with the composite material. Playing with a titanium blank shaft without the composite material in it, you would be amazed how fragile it is in the bending plane but even more amazed that the resistance to torque is incredibly strong. That is one of the keys to the shaft. Low torque with and intermediate weight that allows you to transition your shaft weight from irons, to hybrids, to fairways, to driver without the great jump in weight from steel to graphite. I got to talk to the designer of the shaft down at the hitting bay, and he claims the torque is as low as the TT DG but at the intermediate weight that you could not get without the exotic materials. What really grabs your attention is when you pick one up assembled into a hybrid head. The model I hit was installed in the Cleveland Hi-Bore hybrid head and you can tell right away this shaft is different. You can really feel the tip of the shaft and the weight of the club head but without the play you would get in a graphite shaft. Once you hit a few balls with it, you do not want to give it back. I probably had that club in my hand for over 20 minutes and was still reluctant to put it down when I left. At this time, Kevin Stadler has in his bag and won last fall with it on the Nationwide tour. Tom Lehman is in the process of transitioning to it and it was supposed to be in his big this weekend. Gentlemen, if you can afford it, this is probably the finest hybrid shaft you will find.

SG Shotgun: I will have to get this picture on line tonight as you will not believe the description or you can check out the website (www.SGPutter.com). This putter is currently machined out of aircraft grade aluminum and looks just like its name sake, a shot gun. There are two round barrels with a shaft angled out from in between the shafts. As crazy as it looks, it has quite a nice roll to it. I was making putts with ease at the booth and getting a very good roll. I do not know if I could go around with it sticking out of my bag, but if your sinking putts with it who cares?

Tour Edge Exotic CB2: We have all heard the hype coming from our friend up in the Great White North about the TEE fairway woods so I decided to go see for myself what it was all about. When I got in line at the hitting bay, the rep starts talking up the CB2 fairway woods right away. Tour Edge is guaranteeing that you will gain 20 yards with the CB2! With some improvements on the previous models titanium cup face, Tour Edge has the COR up to the Max allowable by the USGA and R&A. Now the rep is telling me stories from demo day and bout the club pro who was hitting the 13* 3W out over 280 yards. Too good to be true, right? Wrong! When I got up to the mat, I started destroying the ball with a 15* 3W. Shot after shot, line drive balls that had a nice low trajectory but with a steady rise. We only had a 100 yards or so before the balls would hit the end of the range, but I would hazard a guess that I was out driving some of the drivers I had hit the day before. This club is the real deal. The CB2 is not in stores yet, but regional distributors should be receiving them this week. The bad news? Retail $350. The old model is dropping down to $250 retail. This is one hot fairway wood, Rock was right (and that statement pains me more than you know but its true.)

Bushnell: I attended the Bushnell press conference in which they introduced their new model, The Medalist with Pinseeker technology (bushnellgolf.com). Previously, the Pinseeker technology was only available in the high end models, but the Medalist is expected to retail at $299 when it is released in March. For those with older models, you are well aware how hard it is to get a good distance to the flag when you have a more reflective target behind the pin. The Pinseeker technology allows the units equipped with it to ignore the more distant target and lock in on the closest target which will be the pin. Finding the flag just became a whole lot easier and a bit more affordable.

Adams Golf/Dixx Digital Instruction Putter - My first though was Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack. The Digital Instruction Putter (www.dixxgolf.com) looks like a putter with someone's PDA in place of a 2-ball alignment aid. Inside that little box is a set of gyros that measure all of the movements and angles of the putter from set up until stroke completion. Just like Al Cervik, there is an alignment bar on the screen that will turn from red to green when you have the putter at the proper angles to start your swing. Unfortunately, it will not read the green or line up the putt up for you. What it will prove is a complete analysis of your putting stroke from set up to follow through. There are a series of menus to work through that instantly tell you just how good or bad your putting stroke was. Phenomenal technology, but obviously not legal for USGA and R&A play. It is a tad expensive at just under $500, but if your looking for a putting coach and love the technology this may be what your looking for.

Well, that all for now. I will be working to get some photos on to the page this evening so that you can see what I have been talking about the past two days. Enjoy.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Thanks for the great info 'tim.

Those turf tiles look pretty neat. Did the ball roll nice and true or did it hop around when it went over were the tiles snap together?.

[ualtim]

Originally Posted by ThatCanadianGuy

Thanks for the great info 'tim.

Those turf tiles look pretty neat. Did the ball roll nice and true or did it hop around when it went over were the tiles snap together?.

That was one of my initial concerns, but the ball rolled really well across the seems. They had one of the break modules installed at the show and it worked pretty good as well. It may not be as nice as some of the high end products, but its a whole lot better than the ones at the low end. The greatest feature, to me, was the longer grass tiles for chipping. With one tile removed, you can chip from just about any distance you choose. Now if I can just get the spousal unit to buy off on it.......

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by ualtim

Tour Edge Exotic CB2: We have all heard the hype coming from our friend up in the Great White North about the TEE fairway woods so I decided to go see for myself what it was all about. When I got in line at the hitting bay, the rep starts talking up the CB2 fairway woods right away. Tour Edge is guaranteeing that you will gain 20 yards with the CB2! With some improvements on the previous models titanium cup face, Tour Edge has the COR up to the Max allowable by the USGA and R&A. Now the rep is telling me stories from demo day and bout the club pro who was hitting the 13* 3W out over 280 yards. Too good to be true, right? Wrong! When I got up to the mat, I started destroying the ball with a 15* 3W. Shot after shot, line drive balls that had a nice low trajectory but with a steady rise. We only had a 100 yards or so before the balls would hit the end of the range, but I would hazard a guess that I was out driving some of the drivers I had hit the day before. This club is the real deal. The CB2 is not in stores yet, but regional distributors should be receiving them this week. The bad news? Retail $350. The old model is dropping down to $250 retail. This is one hot fairway wood, Rock was right (and that statement pains me more than you know but its true.)

I want an apology from every last mofo in this place. I told you, these things are the real deal. THE REAL DEAL.

I can't wait to hit the CB2, if it's 20 yards further than the TEE model from today. Insane.

Thanks again, 'Tim.



R35

PS....i have a hard time believing that the CB2 is longer, i really do. If you see the guy again, tell him that you have a friend that's up in Canada and he's SUPER skeptical that it could be better. Give him my contact info, Id be more than happy to demo it.

[ualtim]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

I want an apology from every last mofo in this place. I told you, these things are the real deal. THE REAL DEAL.

I can't wait to hit the CB2, if it's 20 yards further than the TEE model from today. Insane.

Thanks again, 'Tim.



R35

PS....i have a hard time believing that the CB2 is longer, i really do. If you see the guy again, tell him that you have a friend that's up in Canada and he's SUPER skeptical that it could be better. Give him my contact info, Id be more than happy to demo it.

He is not just saying its 20 yards longer, Tour Edge is guaranteeing it. There is a sticker on the sole. I was killing that thing right off the deck with my first swing. I am in the process of uploading the photos and thats one of the ones already on the page. Go to ualtim's "whats in the bag" photos to see whats posted so far.

[Rockford35]

Still, make the offer.

Uh, what the hell is this?



R35

[ualtim]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

Still, make the offer.

Uh, what the hell is this?


R35

That is one genuine SG Shot Gun putter. Interesting, huh? I wrote up a brief description above. From the complany's literature, "Its hard to miss with a Shot Gun". As crazy as it looks, it actually rolls the ball really well. The sound is a bit different oweing to its aircraft grade aluminum construction and the sound tubes that give it the Shot Gun name.

I figured that you would like it......

[Augster]

Great photos Tim!

That photo was the one that stood out most for me. That putter is so fugly, I just KNOW I'll be playing with it. LMAO!

I really don't want to go to the website, because if it's affordable, I'll be playing it. Did you get to putt the blue one Tim? What kind of sound/feel etc.?

I don't owe you any apology of the sort Rock. Right after I bought and hit lights out with my Exotics driver, I bought the 3 wood and played all season with it. I love it. Though, I may have to step up to a .830 COR 3-wood. Sadly. Wishon has had them for a couple years I think, and now Tour Edge has gotten there also. Pretty for sure.

EDIT::

I just hit up their website, no price or anything on the SGPutter. How much are they asking Tim? They have like a burgundy one on the site. What other colors? Thanks!

[Pa Jayhawk]

Interesting putter. They had an infomercial putter like 5-6 years ago for one that was similar called the "Green Gorilla", with only one tube. The idea was you were supposed to get a truer roll I believe. The problem was it caused the ball to hop terribly. Here is the old review with a picture.
http://www.hamegg.org/main/article.php?sid=155

[ualtim]

Originally Posted by Augster

Great photos Tim!

That photo was the one that stood out most for me. That putter is so fugly, I just KNOW I'll be playing with it. LMAO!

I really don't want to go to the website, because if it's affordable, I'll be playing it. Did you get to putt the blue one Tim? What kind of sound/feel etc.?

I don't owe you any apology of the sort Rock. Right after I bought and hit lights out with my Exotics driver, I bought the 3 wood and played all season with it. I love it. Though, I may have to step up to a .830 COR 3-wood. Sadly. Wishon has had them for a couple years I think, and now Tour Edge has gotten there also. Pretty for sure.

EDIT::

I just hit up their website, no price or anything on the SGPutter. How much are they asking Tim? They have like a burgundy one on the site. What other colors? Thanks!

He told me $89, but that could be wholesale. They had a silver, blue, black, and maroon at thshwo. I hit with the blue one, very muted sound almost tinny.

The Tour Edge CB2 is .830 COR.

[ualtim]

Originally Posted by FKA Pa Jayhawk

Interesting putter. They had an infomercial putter like 5-6 years ago for one that was similar called the "Green Gorilla", with only one tube. The idea was you were supposed to get a truer roll I believe. The problem was it caused the ball to hop terribly. Here is the old review with a picture.
http://www.hamegg.org/main/article.php?sid=155

What they have done with the shotgun is increase the diameter of the tube so that the center of the tube is above the center of the ball to avoid the hop issue. The ball rolls really nice off of the face.

[Scotty01292]

Tim... Do Bettinardi have a booth? If so, what's the Mizuno bettinardi C-01 like? Any chance of some pics if you visit their booth?

Thanks

[ualtim]

Originally Posted by Scotty01292

Tim... Do Bettinardi have a booth? If so, what's the Mizuno bettinardi C-01 like? Any chance of some pics if you visit their booth?

Thanks

Mizuno had a conference room, but I unfortunately did not get in there. Sorry about that. Bettinardi would have been in there if anywhere as they did not have their own booth.

[ualtim]

Nuts, my first post is too long to include photos so here there are.

Turf Tiles:






The Puttalite:




Hybrex Shafts:



SG Shotgun:




Tour Edge Exotics CB2:



Adams/Dixx Putter:


Enjoy,

ualtim