This year will be like any other year.  All the major golf equipment manufacturers are releasing their latest game-changing equipment this spring.  Below is a review of the new Callaway X-22 irons.  If you would like to learn more about these clubs go to Callaway Golf.

I hope you find this review informative. I will periodically have reviews of other golf equipment, so check back and see what will be reviewed next.

Historically, in golf, the “woods” were made of wood and the “irons” were made of iron, which is why they were called “woods” and “irons”.  In golf today the woods are made out of titanium and the irons are made out of steel.

In recent years I have heard several golf commentators refer to a 3-wood as a 3-metal.  Why don’t they cal a 5-iron a 5-steel?  To me, the words “woods” and “irons” are more of a classification of the type of club rather than a description of the material the club is made of.

When you go to a restaurant and order a glass of iced tea, is the glass your tea comes in really made out of glass?  Maybe if you’re in a nice restaurant, but most of the time your glass of tea comes in a glass that is made out of plastic, but we still call it a glass of tea.  Then why do some people insist on calling a fairway wood a fairway metal?

Let’s keep it simple.  Let’s all refer to a 3-wood as a 3-wood and a 5-iron as a 5-iron, no matter what material they are made of.  That way in the future, when the club manufactures come up with some new material to make the golf clubs out of, we won’t have to change what we call them again.

Every year at this time the major golf equipment manufacturers are preparing to unveil their latest offering to the golf world by way of new game-changing equipment.  Below is a review of the new Nike SQ Dymo STR8-FIT Driver.  When it becomes available, check out our Austad’s page under golf suppliers.

I hope you find this review informative. I will periodically have reviews of other golf equipment, so check back and see what will be reviewed next.

It has been reported that Tiger Woods will play in next week’s WGC Match Play Tournament.  You would think, after being away from the game for several months, his golf game would be a little rusty and that he wouldn’t have much of a chance to win.  Don’t you believe it.  If he enters a tournament, it’s because he thinks he can win.  If he thinks he has a chance to win, he does have a chance to win.

It ’s not as though he hasn’t touched his golf clubs since last years U.S. Open, which was his last competitive round of golf.  He has been playing a lot of golf at his local club, so physically he should be ready.  It will be the mental side of the game that will be the biggest challenge, but Tiger’s ability to get mentally prepared is the best of anyone in golf today.

Even though he hasn’t played a competitive round of golf  since June of 2008, and his game will probably be a little rusty, he will still be better than most of the players on the PGA tour.  It will be interesting, though, to see how the long layoff will affect him.  For most of us, if we had been away from the game as long as Tiger has, we would need golf instructions to get our game back to anywhere close to where it was when we last played.

After the comments that Tiger’s caddy made about Phil Michelson over the winter, it would be interesting to see Tiger and Phil play against each other. I haven’t seen the brackets for this week’s match play tournament, so I don’t know if they would need to make it to the final match before they would play each other, or if they would meet in one of the earlier matches, but it sure would be interesting.

Everyone is talking about how Tiger’s return will give the PGA tour a boost, but more than Tiger returning to competitive golf, the biggest boost the PGA tour could get would be for a good healthy rivalry to develop between it’s top 4 or 5 players.  It would be good for golf if you always had a Michelson, Els, Garcia, and Harrington always in contention when Tiger was also in contention.  Does anybody remember the PGA Champonship a few years ago when Bob May and Tiger had such a great battle, which Tiger won in a playoff.  That was one of the best tournaments I have ever seen.

That’s what we need on a more regular basis, with some of the top players always battling it out.  Maybe this will be the year when we see that happen.  We can only hope.

If you’re a fan of the TaylorMade R7 drivers, then I’m sure you’ll want to check out the new TaylorMade R9 driver.  It takes “Moveable Weight Technology” one step farther.  Check out the review below of this new driver.  It could be that the TaylorMade R9 driver is what you need to improve your driving ability.

I hope you find this review informative. I will periodically have reviews of other golf equipment, so check back and see what will be reviewed next.

TaylorMade launches new R9 driver

• Friday, 16 January 2009
• Neil Tappin

The new TaylorMade R9 driver

TaylorMade has announced the launch of its revolutionary new driver, the TaylorMade R9. By giving players the ability to manually change the face angle as well as the centre of gravity, the TaylorMade R9 represents a new dawn in golf club adjustability.

A specially engineered wrench allows players to change the face angle, lie and loft into one of eight different positions. Importantly, when the face angle closes the loft increases to ensure optimum carry. As the face angle opens the loft decreases to deliver a controlled, penetrating ball flight.

There are also three weight ports in the head (positioned in the heel, centre and toe) and it comes with one 16 gram and two one gram weights. Players can use the same wrench to change the position of the weights promoting different flight shapes.

By combining the adjustability of the face with moveable weight technology, the TaylorMade R9 has 24 different options so that every player should find a set-up that feels comfortable at address and delivers a consistent shape and trajectory.

The triangular shaped head of the R9 is just 420cc which TaylorMade describes as ‘modern and traditional’.

The TaylorMade R9 driver will be available with a new Fujikura Motore stock shaft. This features a High Inertia Tip that should generate more speed through impact for greater distance. However, there will also be a TP version of the R9 head that will be available in nine different custom shafts including the following: Aldila Voodoo, Mitsubishi Fubuki, Matrix XCON 5 and Matrix HD6.

How many strokes do you “throw away” because of poor putting, by either missing short putts or 3-putting?  When I’m talking about 3-putts, I’m not talking about the times you leave yourself a first putt of 100 feet.  It’s pretty hard to not 3-putt from 100 feet.  I’m talking about the times you 3-putt from 30 feet or closer.  These are the distances you should be able to get your first putt close enough to be able to make the second putt.

The people who seem to never miss short putts or never 3-putt, either have great touch on the greens, or they have come up with a technique that helps them have better touch on the greens.

I am a feel putter and usually don’t have a problem with 3-putts, but, like everyone else, there are times when I struggle with my lag putting.  Whenever that happens, I go back to a technique I have used for over 20 years, and before long I’ll be back on track.  It’s easy to do and doesn’t take much practice before you see results.

If you struggle with lag putting, try this golf instruction tip.  Basically, all you have to do is estimate the length of your putt and then take your putter back one inch for each foot of putt you have and follow through one inch for each foot of putt.  For example, if you have a ten foot putt, take the putter back ten inches and then follow through 10 inches.  The only adjustments you need to make are for uphill or downhill putts.  This is not a putting stroke that is totally absent of feel, but a putting stroke that will assist you in improving your feel to help you get more consistent with your distances.

3-putting is only one aspect of poor putting.  The other is missing short putts.  Most people I know that miss a lot of short putts, usually take their putter back too far and then decelerate the club head when they come through the ball.  It doesn’t matter what club you have in your hand, if you decelerate the club through impact, you will not hit a good shot.  When you decelerate the putter, you tend to push or pull the putt.  The only way to keep the ball on line is to accelerate the putter through impact.  You may think, “How can I accelerate the putter on a 3-foot putt?”  If you use the tip I gave in the paragraph above, you had better accelerate or you won’t get the putt to the hole.  If you take the putter back 3 inches on a 3-foot putt, you will automatically accelerate through the ball, which will keep the ball on line much better.

I have seen a lot of people who are struggling with their putting think that if they buy a new putter it will cure their putting problems.  A new putter is not likely to fix a bad putting stroke.

Try this golf tip and see if it helps.

We all would like to hit the golf ball longer and straighter off the tee.  With the technology that has been available for the past several years, that has been a little easier to do.  Callaway Golf has been one of the industry leaders in the advancement of that technology. Callaway has a new driver available for 2009 called the FT-9.  Check out the review below of the new Callaway FT-9 driver.  If you’re in the market for a new driver, this may be the one that will give you everything you need.

I hope you find this review informative. I will periodically have reviews of other golf equipment, so check back and see what will be reviewed next.

Callaway FT-9 driver By Bob Warters …what we and Mickelson think
Callaway’s latest FT-9 driver (left) and oreiginal FT-5 which it has superceded Sole and face of the FT-9 Crown of the Ft-9 THOUGH disappointed with his scores of 76 and 73 to miss the cut by several shots, Phil Mickelson, the World No.3, was pleased with the performance of the latest Callaway driver in his bag - the FT-9 replacing the FT-5 with the full sanction of the USGA which has only just approved it. My coach Butch Harmon and I have been working on keeping my driver under control,” said Mickelson “and this one allows me to get the ball to move softly and cut but not go hard left for me with such a hard cut. It barely moves.” The FT-9 has been created by Callaway to make it easier for players to work the ball while getting maximum distance off the tee. It features a carbon composite body and titanium face with Hyberbolic Face Technology to make it more forgiving. With its slightly open face angle and a lower, more penetrating ball flight, it can also be customised for a neutral or draw trajectory. It goes a little longer than the FT-5 driver, Mickelson claims and comes off the face faster with ideal spin. While the original FT-9 club had been approved Mickelson’s left-handed version with a few minor changes needed approval. Apparently, he averaged 290.6 yards off the tee, 12th best in the field, and hit 46.4 percent of fairways,to be just outside the top 50 in driving accuracy. Sadly his putter went cold and he’ll be hoping it warms up for this week’s celebrity-sprinkled AT and T event at Pebble Beach. Seattle-based ex-pro Tony Dear, one of Golfmagic’s equipment testers (with a 95-100 mph swing-speed and average driving distance of 235-245 yards), says former Callaway FT-5 owners will fast become firm friends with the FT-9. “My only wonder is questioning if there is sufficient difference between the two to justify parting with another substantial pile of cash for the new club. Looking down at address, the two appear very similar; black with traditional rounded shape. “But the FT-9 has what it calls external web weighting (which determines the position of the centre of gravity and thus trajectory and shot shape) visible at the back of the sole. The FT-5’s standard Fujikura E-150 has been replaced with the Fujikura Z-COM 60 which looks sleek and represents a nice upgrade. The bend point is higher, the launch therefore slightly lower.” He adds: “The composite crown produces a sound unlike that of all-titanium drivers; lower, quieter, not so explosive. That might not be to everyone’s taste but it would be wrong to assume the FT-9 isn’t long. According to the monitor, I carried it a 10-degree stiff-shafted version within a yard or two of the new Callaway Diablo and was able to hit a greater variety of shots with it.”

When you step up the plate, it’s important to remember that a fully swung bat can quickly become a dangerous proposition. If you lose your grip on the bat, you can end up really hurting somebody. Whether it ends up hitting the umpire, your first baseman, or somebody in the crowd, all precautions should be taken to keep the bat in your hands where it should be. Especially if you have a forceful swing, make sure you take extra precautions to hold onto the bat all the way through your swing.

One of the best ways to achieve this enhanced grip is through high quality batting gloves. These will not only ensure your grip stays strong and the bat stays where it’s supposed to be, but it will also help with shock absorption. When you hit a baseball going with a good deal of speed, it can deliver a tremendous amount of force through the batter’s hands and arms. If you’re wearing gloves, they can absorb some of this shock. If you’re going to be up to the plate all day, gloves can really take some of this strain off your body.

There are many people who steadfastly believe that golf can only be learned through consistent practice. Others still believe that a perfect golf swing can be taught to a patient student by a qualified golf instructor. But for all those individuals who want to learn how to golf without the help of an outside person, invest in golf instruction videos. These videos will teach you in an easy, step by step way how to achieve that perfect golf swing. If you’re sick of slicing into the woods but don’t want to pay a private instructor, consider going with the instructional videos.

People might be skeptical that a video can teach them how to play a solid game of golf, but there are certainly benefits to be had from this kind of instruction. With a DVD, you can pause the video at any time or re-watch particular sections of the tape. But as with any new skill, instruction alone is not enough. Experience, rather, is the best instructor and the truest test of retention. With that in mind, watch the videos to gather all the pertinent pointers and then grab your clubs and hit the green!