Identical to the approaching of Outdated Man Winter and jolly outdated St. Nick, golf’s Launch Season is considered one of life’s certainties. And similar to a snowstorm, it begins with a flake or two (witness the Cleveland HiBore XL). Subsequent come the flurries and a light-weight dusting (Sub 70, COBRA, et al), simply sufficient for these of us dreaming of a white Christmas.
Come January, nonetheless, we’re in for Snowmageddon.
Shoveling by all that … snow … is daunting so now could be pretty much as good a time as any to organize for what’s coming. It’s straightforward to be overwhelmed however similar to your neighbor with the snowblower, we’re right here to lend a serving to hand.
Launch Season is loaded with myths, realities, fact and customary misconceptions which can be stated many occasions, some ways. Within the spirit of the season, we’ve made a listing, checked it twice and, similar to Santa, we’ve culled the naughty from the great.
So fireplace up the sleigh, fellow GolfSpies. Let the Reindeer Video games start.
Fable #1: Let me guess, one other 10 yards?
This fable is up there with Frosty the Snowman however not in the way in which you’re considering.
We’ve scoured OEM advertisements, press releases, official statements and personal conversations and we’ve discovered one thing outstanding.
OEMs are NOT promising you 10 extra yards with their new drivers. They haven’t for a protracted, very long time. They’ll let you know longer, straighter, quicker, but when yow will discover me an advert, press launch or any respected OEM saying, “Our new driver gives you 10 extra yards,” I’ll roast my chestnuts over an open fireplace.
Actuality #1: It’s about your mishits
Let’s get this on the desk now so there’s no misunderstanding.
The principles are the foundations and the foundations place onerous and quick limits on balls and CT. CT stands for Attribute Time and the USGA limits how lengthy the ball can keep in touch with the clubface at affect: the so-called “trampoline impact.”
“One other 10 yards” has gone from a cynical objection to a lazy cliché. Nobody is promising you one other 10 yards on on-center strikes. Nevertheless, the place efficiency can enhance is on the outskirts of middle affect. Whether or not it’s the ART face expertise on Sub 70’s new 859 drivers or the varied OEMs’ AI-designed variable-face thickness, the aim is to enhance efficiency while you miss the center.
Hey, for those who’re one of many chosen few who by no means misses the center of your driver’s clubface, my hat’s off to you. You might be The Pan. For the remainder of us, something that retains off-center strikes in play and with extra distance is a welcome growth.
Fable #2: Wait six weeks; they’ll launch one other one …
Yo, 2012 known as. It desires its Sizzling Take again.
This one pops up yearly, normally following a TaylorMade driver launch. Did TaylorMade pull this nonsense at one time? Completely however that was again within the R1/JetSpeed/SLDR days. TaylorMade was underneath completely different possession and struggled by some distinctive – and largely self-inflicted – market challenges.
As soon as once more, if yow will discover any event up to now decade when TaylorMade launched a very new driver to exchange the final utterly new driver it launched simply six weeks prior, you possibly can name me Mr. Grinch and inform me I stink, stank, stunk.
Actuality #2: OEMs are on one- or two-year product cycles
It’s been this fashion for fairly a while.
TaylorMade, Callaway and COBRA will launch a brand new driver household every January. They’ll additionally launch game-improvement irons every January, though – Spoiler Alert!! – there shall be one stunning change this January. Every will most likely launch one other driver later in 2025 however it’ll be a line-extension sort factor (suppose mini-driver or Triple Diamond Max) or a limited-edition particular.
PING and Titleist are on 18-month to two-year launch cycles for irons and metalwoods however they’ll additionally launch their stuff at odd occasions. PING launched the G430 MAX 10K final January as the remainder of the G430 driver line was getting into the second yr of its life cycle. The brand new G440 line comes out subsequent month however the G430 MAX 10K will keep present for the foreseeable future.
Simply bear in mind, additions aren’t the identical as replacements.
Fable #3: “Appears to be like similar to ____,” or “It’s simply one other copy of____.”
This one’s a Launch Season custom.
If one golf membership bears a passing resemblance to a different, the lazy OEM will need to have simply copied the design, proper? Hey, if it appears to be like like one other membership, it should be the identical as the opposite membership.
It simply goes to indicate there’s nothing unique on the market and these new launches are all BS. If it appears to be like related, it should be the identical. Nothing to see right here …
It’s particularly emphatic for those who add a bunch of “laughing face” emojis after your feedback or for those who be sure that the world is aware of greater than anybody else by including an “LOL” or “LMAO.”
That’ll present ’em.
Actuality #3: “Appears to be like like” and “Identical as/Copy of” are two various things
A yr or so in the past, an OEM posted an image of its new 3-wood. A serial commenter felt it essential to level out – with all of the requisite emojis and an LMAO – that it regarded suspiciously like a special OEM’s 3-wood from a earlier yr.
Should have been a duplicate, proper?
I’m only a easy scribe however 3-woods are inclined to look an terrible lot like 3-woods. Participant’s irons are inclined to look alike as do participant’s distance irons, game-improvement irons and wedges. All of them have hosels, toes, heels, soles and toplines. Sound design isn’t essentially a “copy.” A golf membership has to appear like a golf membership so there are certain to be similarities.
You will note golf equipment from lower-end DTC manufacturers that look alike. They’re, more than likely, “open-mold” irons. An open-mold iron is a generic design owned by a foundry in Asia. They slap the DTC model’s title and emblem on it and, presto, that model is within the golf enterprise.
Past that, you’ll usually see designs from a few of the bigger and extra unique DTC manufacturers slip by the cracks and wind up provided by one other foundry as an open mildew. We’ve written about this earlier than, however as you progress to Asia’s third- or fourth-tier foundries, all bets are off.
Fable #4: Curse these grasping OEMs! Pricing is getting uncontrolled!
Most individuals use a selected expletive as an alternative of “curse” however, c’mon, it is a household weblog. I can see why folks wince as mainstream OEM drivers push the $600 mark and irons high $1,200 for a six-piece set. That’s painful.
And let’s not even carry up the $54.99 per dozen golf balls.
Don’t the nimrods who run these OEMs know they’re pricing the typical golfer out of the sport? Gear is simply too costly and it’s driving folks away. Do they actually suppose we’re silly sufficient to purchase a brand new driver yearly at these costs?
Actuality #4: It’s by no means been a greater time to be a client
It’s true and, no, your trustworthy scribe hasn’t dipped his cup into the eggnog early nor has he sparked up somewhat frankincense and myrrh.
There’s extra high-performing golf tools obtainable at higher costs at the moment than at every other time this century. Need a actually good sport enchancment iron? You gained’t do significantly better than the Tour Edge E723 at $569.99.
Participant’s distance on a funds? The MacGregor MT-Milled ($549.99) or the Sub 70 699 Professional V2 ($630.00) will do you simply effective. At just below $450, the Ram Axial Cast may be one of the best solid cavity-back deal going.
Drivers? The Sub 70 859 driver begins at $399 as does the brand new Cleveland HiBore XL. As we transfer into Launch Season, you’ll discover loads of choices from recognizable names underneath $500.
Golf balls? In the event you can’t discover a solid-performing urethane “Tour” ball for underneath $35 a dozen, you’re simply not making an attempt very onerous.
It additionally bears repeating: The existence of a $600 or above driver or perhaps a $6,400 set of irons doesn’t negate the existence of lower-priced choices. It’s not a zero-sum sport, associates.
It’s essentially the most fantastic time of the yr …
Over the subsequent month and a half, we at MyGolfSpy will write greater than 50 product launch articles. Hey, it’s what we do throughout Launch Season. However we wouldn’t be of fine cheer if we didn’t share some last-minute recommendation, courtesy of Walt Whitman by way of Ted Lasso:
Be curious, not judgmental.
Snap judgments and sizzling takes on social media might provide you with an endorphin rush however they have a tendency to guide down a darkish, cynical path that’ll eat away at your soul and crush any hope of seasonal pleasure.
OK, it’s possibly not that severe, however it’s simply golf. Each business frequently releases new merchandise with completely different options, expertise and different doo-dads. Simply because a brand new Dodge Ram or Toyota 4Runner appears to be like superior, that doesn’t make the one you acquire final yr out of date, does it? The identical normal applies to golf tools. In the event you performed good golf with the tools you had final yr, you’ll greater than doubtless play good golf with that very same tools subsequent yr.
Conversely, for those who performed crappy golf final yr, you most likely gained’t play higher golf simply by shopping for new gear. Correctly fitted gear, nonetheless, would possibly assist. There’s no magic bullet however there’s at all times hope.
So it doesn’t matter what occurs this Launch Season, you higher not cry and also you higher not pout and I’m telling you why.
As a result of we’ll be doing this all once more a yr from now.
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