The third generation of the Q-Star balls have been given a new core designed to provide more distance off the tee with soft feel.
Gear: Srixon Q-Star golf balls Price: $32.99 per dozen Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered ball available in white and yellow Available: Jan. 17
This is the third generation of the Q-Star ball, and thanks to the addition of a new core design, Srixon said it is the best performing yet.
Last year the company debuted the FastLayer core in its Z-Star and Z-Star XV balls, premium offerings used on the PGA Tour by golfers such as Hideki Matsuyama, Keegan Bradley and 2019 British Open champion Shane Lowry. Now that core design has been added to the Q-Star.
The FastLayer core in the 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. It is complemented by a SpinSkin coating that helps short iron and wedge grooves grab the ball more effectively for increased spin.
Wilson’s newest irons for better players are designed to create more distance without sacrificing looks or feel.
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Gear: 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: Jan. 21
For elite golfers with powerful, repeatable swings, such as 2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, Wilson offers the Staff Model blade irons. For players with slow swings who struggle to hit the ball consistently, the company has the Staff Launch Pad irons.
There is plenty of middle ground between those clubs, and for golfers who like the look of a better-player iron but want enhanced distance, Wilson will offer the Staff D7 Staff Forged.
Wilson debuted the standard Staff D7 irons last season, and they are distance-enhancing, game-improvement clubs with good looks. Instead of placing the primary emphasis on distance in the Staff D7 Forged irons, however, Wilson engineers’ first goal was to make a club that would visually appeal to better players, then get more distance from it.
At address, the Staff D7 Forged has a traditional look. You can’t see the Power Holes designed into the sole. (Wilson)
With that in mind, when golfers look down at this cavity-back design in the address position, they will see only a touch of offset, a modest topline and a very clean look.
The distance-boosting technology 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.
Adding urethane to a chamber behind the face enhances the feel at impact. (Wilson)
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.
Designers also added extra mass to the topline, making it firmer to reduce twist and support the face more effectively. The extra mass pulls up the center of gravity slightly, but Wilson is fine with that because the Staff D7 Forged is made for more-accomplished players who have some speed and may be looking to shape shots. Moving the center of gravity fractionally higher and increasing spin will not be a problem for those players.
Being distance-enhancing clubs for better players, Wilson made the lofts of the Staff D7 Forged irons stronger than the Staff Model blades’ lofts but weaker than the standard Staff D7. The 7-iron is 30.5 degrees and the pitching wedge is 43 degrees. With that in mind, golfers may want to work with a custom fitter to ensure the gapping between their irons and their first wedge is appropriate to avoid excessive distance gaps.
Opting for carbon fiber in the crown and sole and using a lighter titanium face helped Tour Edge boost the MOI and stability in this driver.
Gear: 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
For players who yearn to hit the ball farther with less-severe mis-hits, Tour Edge is offering the Exotics EXS 220 driver.
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.
Carbon fiber in the crown and sole panels, along with a lighter face, created significant discretionary weight. (Tour Edge)
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. Other weights are available for golfers who want a different swingweight based on a custom club length or personal preferences.
The Exotics EXS 220 driver’s face is designed to protect speed on mis-hits and create more distance. (Tour Edge)
To enhance distance, Tour Edge developed a new multi-thickness face it calls Diamond Face. Instead of being flat, the inner portion of the hitting area is covered by 42 diamond-shaped pieces of various thicknesses. Tour Edge said they act like miniature trampolines to increase ball speed.
The Exotics EXS 220 driver comes standard with an adjustable hosel that allows fitters and players to increase or decrease the club’s stated loft by as many as 2 degrees. And to make the sound of impact more pleasing, Tour Edge added a Sound Diffusion Bar inside the head to tune the acoustics.
An updated cup face design and unique sole help the newest Tour Edge hybrids design more distance and forgiveness.
Gear: Tour Edge Exotics EXS 220 hybrid Price: $199.99 with Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black or KBS TGI Tour graphite shaft Specs: 450 stainless steel cup face. Available in 17, 19, 22, 25 and 28 degrees of loft Available: Feb. 1
Golfers usually add hybrids to their bags because they want to replace their tough-to-hit long irons with clubs that are more forgiving and that provide consistent distance. The newest hybrids from Tour Edge, the Exotics EXS 220 hybrids, are designed to deliver precisely that.
By making the heads larger from front to back, as well as taller, and adding a 4-gram weight to the back of the sole, Tour Edge has increased the clubs’ moment of inertia and made these hybrids more stable.
The cup face helps the Tour Edge Exotics EXS 220 hybrids create more ball speed. (Tour Edge)
To increase ball speed and distance, Tour Edge gave the EXS 220 hybrids a thin 450 stainless steel cup face. On the inner-facing side of the face, engineers added 44 diamond-shaped areas that help the hitting area flex efficiently at impact and protect ball speed on mis-hits.
Additionally, by raising pieces of the heel and toe section of the sole, designers shifted the center of gravity slightly higher, which reduces spin.
While an internal Sound Diffusion Bar enhances the acoustics created at impact, a wavy SlipStream sole design helps the head maintain speed through the impact area and skim over grass and sand.
Blending carbon fiber, stainless steel and a unique sole, the newest fairway woods from Tour Edge promise more distance and forgiveness.
Gear: Tour Edge Exotics EXS 220 fairway woods Price: $249.99 with Fujikura Air Speeder, Fujikura Ventus 4T Core or Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow shaft Specs: Stainless steel and carbon-fiber construction with channeled sole waves and back weight. Available in 13.5, 15, 16.5, 18 and 21 degrees of loft Available: Feb. 1
Tour Edge’s premier fairway wood last season, the Exotics CBX 119, was a hit with the company’s PGA Tour Champions players because it blended multiple materials in a unique way to provide more distance and forgiveness. Now Tour Edge is blending the features of that club along with the unique sole of previously released fairway woods in this season’s Exotics EXS 220 fairway wood family.
The updated cup face helps broaden the ideal hitting area and protect ball speed on off-center hits. (Tour Edge)
To enhance the EXS 220 fairway woods, Tour Edge designers focused on removing weight from specific areas in the head and redistributing it to other spots where it could improve performance.
For example, the stainless steel used in the face is 14 percent lighter than the steel in last season’s fairway woods. The cup face design also was given the same Diamond Face technology that the Exotics EXS 220 driver has, with small diamond-shaped areas designed on the inside-facing side of the hitting area that act like miniature trampolines, Tour Edge said, to allow the face to flex more efficiently at impact.
Tour Edge also designed a pair of carbon-fiber sections into the heel and toe areas on the sole, which reduces weight in those areas and concentrates it into the back and center of the club to increase the moment of inertia and make the club more stable. The CBX 119 had carbon fiber in the sole too, but these carbon fiber areas are larger. A 6-gram weight was added to that area of the sole to further boost moment of inertia.
The waves of the SlipStream sole help the EXS 220 fairway wood skim through the grass. (Tour Edge)
A sound-enhancing post that Tour Edge calls a Sound Diffusion Bar was designed inside the head to improve acoustics, as was the wavy SlipStream sole that debuted in the 2013 Exotics CB Pro fairway woods. Running from the leading edge to the back of the club, the waves of metal help the club maintain speed as the club enters the hitting area and works through grass and sand.
The SIM drivers combine improved aerodynamics, a carbon fiber crown and speed-enhancing face technologies to help you hit better tee shots.
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Gear: 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
Golfers want maximum performance from a driver but typically demand the club looks a certain way, and to some degree that handcuffs designers. However, by using different materials in strategic ways and tweaking the shape in places that golfers do not see when they play, TaylorMade believes its new SIM family of drivers will pass the eye test of discerning players and deliver enhanced speed, more forgiveness and better accuracy off the tee.
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 shape of the SIM drive has been made more aerodynamic to help create more clubhead speed. (TaylorMade)
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.
The sole plate of the SIM driver is asymmetrical, pointing slightly toward the toe, for better aerodynamics. (TaylorMade)
Why? On the downswing, a driver’s face twists and turns as it gets closer to the ball, so TaylorMade took prototype drivers to a 20-foot-high wind tunnel in San Diego and tested them to discover exactly how much angle and tilt would allow the keel to slip through the air more easily in key areas and help golfers maximize speed.
Speed Injected Twist Face
To get the most out of the extra speed, TaylorMade gave the SIM drivers a Speed Injected Twist Face, as with last season’s M5 and M6 drivers. The face peels back slightly in the high-toe and low-heel areas to help golfers hit the ball straighter.
The SIM drivers feature an inner chamber that contains urethane that slows the face and makes it legal for play. (TaylorMade)
Each driver’s hitting area is also made to produce more ball speed than allowed by golf’s rules, and each face is tested by a computer after it is attached to the head. At that point the system injects a small amount of urethane into the heel and toe areas, adds tiny screws to keep it in place and re-tests how much ball speed the club produces. The urethane slows the face down to the USGA and R&A’s precise coefficient of restitution limit, making it legal for play while ensuring maximum springiness and speed.
Difference between SIM, SIM Max
While all the SIM drivers have an adjustable hosel that allows players and fitters to increase or decreases the club’s stated loft by as many as 2 degrees, only the 460cc SIM driver has a moveable weight that can create a draw or a fade bias.
TaylorMade SIM Max driver. (TaylorMade)
TaylorMade said the SIM will be ideal for most golfers, but for players who want even more stability, the company is offering the SIM Max. It also has a 460cc head featuring a carbon-fiber crown, an aerodynamic shape and an adjustable hosel, but it also has more weight in the back to boost moment of inertia.
TaylorMade SIM Max D driver. (TaylorMade)
The SIM Max also lacks a moveable weight, and it has extra internal mass in the heel area to create more of a draw bias.
The SIM fairway woods combine titanium, carbon fiber and steel for improved distance and more stability off the tee and from the fairway.
Gear: TaylorMade SIM, SIM Max, SIM Max D fairway woods Price: SIM: $399.99 with Mitsubishi Diamana FW Limited shaft and Golf Pride Tour Z grip. SIM Max and SIM Max D: $299.99 with Fujikura Ventus Blue or UST Mamiya Helium shaft Specs: Titanium body and face with carbon-fiber crown and an adjustable hosel. 14, 15 and 19 degrees (SIM); 14, 15, 18, 21 and 24 degrees (SIM Max); 16, 19 and 22 degrees (SIM Max D) Available: Feb. 7
TaylorMade’s 2019 M5 fairway wood was unique because it boasted a titanium face and a 65-gram moveable weight in the sole that allowed golfers and fitters to create a draw or a fade bias. Tiger Woods put one in his bag, as did Jon Rahm and Matthew Wolff. But the company’s stainless steel M6 hit the ball a little farther, which made it appealing to many players.
For 2020, TaylorMade created a new club that takes advantage of titanium more effectively, the new SIM fairway woods.
The SIM fairway wood has a lightweight carbon-fiber crown and a titanium chassis, which means the top portion of the club and the frame are significantly lighter than a traditional stainless-steel fairway wood. The saved weight was repositioned in the bottom of the club in the form of an 80-gram sole plate. The result is the center of gravity is significantly lower than last season’s M5, so shots begin with a higher launch.
Weight savings from the carbon fiber crown and titanium face allowed TaylorMade to add an 80-gram sole plate to the SIM fairway woods. (TaylorMade)
The sole also has a new shape, sort of. TaylorMade has brought back the V Steel sole design in the SIM fairway woods, harkening back to popular fairway woods from the early 2000s. It has more of a rounded leading edge with the heel and toe areas elevated, so turf interaction is reduced and golfers can better maintain speed as the club impacts the ball.
A stronger titanium face
A Speed Pocket slot also was designed into the sole behind the leading edge to allow the hitting area to flex more effectively on low-struck shots. It is covered by polymer, so grass, water and debris do not get into the head.
To turn that speed into distance, TaylorMade designed the SIM fairway woods with a face made from a Zatech titanium, a stronger alloy than the titanium normally used in golf clubs. Because it is stronger, the face could be made thinner to flex more efficiently at impact for increased ball speed.
Twist Face design
To help golfers hit straighter shots, the SIM fairway woods utilize a Twist Face design, as with TaylorMade’s drivers. The high-toe and low-heel areas of the hitting surface were peeled back to compensate for the most common misses and reduce the severity of hooks and slices.
Finally, each SIM fairway wood has an adjustable hosel that allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the loft by as many as 2 degrees, so creating a club that hits to a specific distance should be easier.
TaylorMade SIM Max fairway woods. (TaylorMade)
For golfers who want even more forgiveness and stability, TaylorMade is offering the SIM Max fairway woods. They also have a carbon-fiber crown, Twist Face, Speed Pocket, adjustable hosel and V Steel sole design, but the face is made using C300 stainless steel instead of titanium.
TaylorMade SIM Max D fairway woods. (TaylorMade)
Also available are the SIM Max D fairway woods, which are slightly larger than the SIM and the SIM Max. Like the other SIM fairways, it has a carbon-fiber crown, Twist Face, Speed Pocket, adjustable hosel and V Steel sole design, but an internal weight creates more of a draw bias for golfers who fight a slice.
TaylorMade’s newest rescue club has been given a V Steel sole and a massive speed pocket help create more ball speed and distance.
Gear: TaylorMade SIM Max Rescue clubs Price: $249.99 with Fujikura Ventus Blue shaft and Lamkin Crossline 360 grip Specs: Stainless steel construction available in 19, 22, 25, 28 and 31 degrees of lofts. Available: Feb. 7
As more and more players opt to remove multiple long irons from their bags and add hybrid clubs in their places, TaylorMade is trying to ensure its clubs are easy to hit and deliver plenty of distance for both pros and recreational players.
For 2020, the new SIM Max Rescue clubs do that with a combination of improved shaping and unique materials.
For the first time, TaylorMade has incorporated its V Steel sole design into a rescue club. First introduced in fairway woods in the early 2000s and now also back in 2020’s SIM family of fairway woods, it features a curved heel area and elevated toe section. As a result, a smaller portion of the sole comes into contact with the turf so the club can maintain speed more effectively through the hitting zone.
To help golfers hit straighter shots, the SIM Rescues also were given Twist Face, with the hitting area bending back in the high-toe and low-heel areas. Research revealed to TaylorMade that these are the areas where players tend to mis-hit the ball, and changing the face angle in those spots helps reduce sidespin and encourage a straighter ball flight.
Twist Face helps golfers hit straighter shots. (TaylorMade)
The thin face is made from C300 stainless steel and at impact can flex more efficiently to deliver increased ball speed. TaylorMade designers also added a Speed Pocket in the sole, right behind the leading edge. It’s a slot, covered by polymer so debris will not get inside the head, that helps protect ball speed on shots hit low in the hitting area.
At address, the club also has more of a square look because the gray design on the topline is asymmetrical. Many better players think hybrids look shut at address and tend to send the ball to the left, but this subtle trick of the eye is designed to inspire confidence.
See a complete list of the Titleist golf equipment that Justin Thomas used to win at the Plantation Course in Hawaii.
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Justin Thomas outlasted Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele to win the first PGA Tour event of 2020, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, on Sunday evening. Here are the clubs the 26-year-old used for his 12th PGA Tour title:
FAIRWAY WOODS: Titleist TS3 (15 degrees), with Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Blue 80TX shaft; 915Fd (18 degrees), with Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 Tour Spec X shaft
IRONS: Titleist T100 (4), 620 MB (5-9), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts
WEDGES:Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (46 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shaft; SM7 (52, 56 degrees), SM6 (60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts
Wearables like Apple Watch are popular, but the Whoop 3.0 strap can help you track exertion, recovery and sleep for better performance.
After Rory McIlroy defeated Xander Schauffele at the WGC-HSBC Champions in November, the two exchanged high-fives and a few words on the green. Rory’s white Nike shirt had a black swoosh on it and Schauffele’s blue shirt was adorned with a black Adidas logo, but each player also wore a black, logo-free band around his right wrist.
Back in April, during the final match of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Maria Fassi had worn a similar-looking white band. Justin Thomas wore a blue one when he won the CJ Cup in October, and Scott McCarron had one on when he captured the Charles Schwab Cup in November.
The device is a Whoop 3.0 strap, and while none of those stars are paid to use it, Whoop is gaining in popularity and has become the fitness tracker of choice for elite golfers. With lots of people making New Year’s resolutions to improve their fitness and play better golf in 2020, is Whoop right for you?
Wearable devices have been around for years and lots of people like wearing Apple watches, Samsung watches and FitBits because they count your steps, track the calories you burn, measure your heart rate and notify you when your smartphone receives a text message. Using third-party apps, some wearables can provide yardages to the hole and hazards on the course, keep score and track golf stats.
Whoop was founded in 2012 by Will Ahmed, a former captain of the Harvard University squash team, because he was interested in learning more about how hard athletes should train, how they can effectively recover after practices and competitions and how much sleep they needed.
As a result, Whoop takes a different approach than other wearables. It does not have a screen, does not show the time and does not vibrate. Looking at it will not tell you a thing. However, pairing it with your smartphone and opening the Whoop app can reveal highly detailed information about how hard your body is working, the quality of your sleep and how recovered you are from the previous day.
Justin Thomas wearing a Whoop 3.0 strap during the 2019 Presidents Cup. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Why Whoop appeals to pro golfers
The Whoop strap holds a small electronic sensor that measures your heart rate over 100 times per second. Instead of tracking steps, it measures the amount of strain that your body endures throughout the day from things like exercise, stress and anxiety. Using sophisticated algorithms, it learns how efficiently your heart and body are working and how much strain you should take on based on how recovered you are after resting.
Whoop’s performance marketing manager, A.J. Baker, feels that the information Whoop collects can be especially useful to plane-hopping, fitness-minded athletes like McIlroy, Schauffele, Thomas and Scott Stallings, who has used a Whoop for over two years. Golf requires a combination of physical skills, mental focus and concentration. There is pressure to practice and grind away on the range, and while practice is necessary, golfers, like other athletes, sometimes don’t listen to what their bodies are telling them.
“Think about a professional golfer’s week. Starting on Sunday, after finishing a round, a pro has got to get somewhere else on either a red-eye flight or early the next morning so he can play in practice rounds and pro-ams,” Baker said. “A lot of guys who wear Whoop are seeing the (recovery) effects of taking a red-eye flight, and now most of them won’t take that flight. You might feel a difference that you can push through, but the system really highlights how bad those things are for you.”
Aside from adjusting their travel habits, Baker said a lot of players have tailored their off-course training plans and workloads based on Whoop findings to ensure they are rested and fresh for Thursdays, Fridays and the weekend. Golfers are using Whoop straps to learn how hard they can push themselves and discover their ideal combination of activity, nutrition and rest.
Sliding the battery pack over the strap charges the device while you wear it. (Whoop)
The strap is waterproof and a fully-charged battery lasts about four to five days. However, because the strap is meant to be worn 24 hours a day, Whoop developed a very clever system to recharge the unit. Instead of taking it off and plugging in the strap to a charger, you plug in a small battery pack, charge the pack, and then slide it over the strap to add power while it’s on your wrist.
The elastic band that holds the unit in place is very thin and has a texture on the inside to help reduce sliding. Worn about an inch above your wrist, it does not impede your golf swing. There are also bicep straps available if you don’t want to wear Whoop on your wrist.
What I learned that could help you
It takes about a week for Whoop to start giving your meaningful data. Once it has learned how your heart and body handle exercise, the stress of your day and your sleep patterns, it starts to make recommendations. Here’s what I learned:
My average daily Strain in December was 9.1, so after a strong Recovery percentage on the 14th, I was ready to take on more Strain. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
What time is it? Whoop does not have a display, so if you wear the strap instead of your watch, as I did for a month, you will need to look at your phone or find clocks to tell the time. Wearing my watch on one hand and the Whoop strap on the other felt odd at first, but after about a week I got used to it.
Just one or two drinks can ruin your recovery. After recording good recovery scores for several days, I had two drinks at a holiday party in late December. The following day my recovery score was 29 percent. I wasn’t hungover and felt fine, but the system revealed that my body was not ready for a big workout or excessive strain.
Not all sleep is the same. Getting enough sleep is important, but the quality of my sleep was just as important. I recorded my highest recovery scores, 97 percent, twice, when I slept an hour less than Whoop recommended. On each night, however, I slept deeply. I had taken Melatonin on each of those nights, so I learned that when I really needed rest, popping a Melatonin tablet helped me.
Soreness from working out is avoidable. From mid-November through December I avoided exercising significantly over the Strain Coach feature’s recommendations. I lifted weights, took a few Spinning classes and spent time on the elliptical trainer and never woke up feeling overly tired or sore. I never overdid it, I consciously tried to improve my recovery by getting more sleep and felt better.
The device is free, but you still pay for it. Whoop gives users a strap for free when they commit to paying for a six-month membership to the mobile app at $30 per month. That’s $180, and if you don’t extend the membership to the app, the strap is worthless. Twelve and 18-month membership commitments can reduce your monthly costs, but this level of sophistication is not free.
So can wearing a Whoop 3.0 strap help your performance on the course? Maybe. It will not help you fade a 6-iron over a bunker to a tucked hole location, but if you take tournament season seriously and want to be physically at your best on specific days, Whoop can teach you how hard to train and how to recover wisely, and that might help you save a few strokes.
