The golf equipment Viktor Hovland used to win the PGA Tour’s 2020 Puerto Rico Open: DRIVER: Ping G410 LST (9 degrees), with Project X HZRDUS Black 62 shaft FAIRWAY WOOD: TaylorMade M5 (15 degrees), with Mitsubishi Tensei AV shaft IRONS: Callaway X …
The golf equipment Viktor Hovland used to win the PGA Tour’s 2020 Puerto Rico Open:
DRIVER: Ping G410 LST (9 degrees), with Project X HZRDUS Black 62 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: TaylorMade M5 (15 degrees), with Mitsubishi Tensei AV shaft
IRONS: Callaway X Forged (2), with Graphite Design Tour AD DI shaft; Ping i210 (4-PW), with KBS Tour-V X shafts
WEDGES: Ping Glide 3.0 (50, 56, 60 degrees), with KBS Tour-V X shafts
Here’s a sampling of all the new equipment recently released from major manufacturers that should garner attention as golf season kicks off.
With the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando completed last week, most of the major equipment launches for early 2020 have been announced. From drivers to irons to golf balls, Golfweek has covered them all. Check out the following 10 products, a sampling of all the new equipment recently released from major manufacturers that should garner attention as golf season kicks off.
The Tour B balls have an updated cover that helps to produce more distance off the tee and greenside spin. (Bridgestone)
The key technology in the second generation of Tour B golf balls is a new type of urethane used in the cover. Bridgestone calls it Reactiv urethane, and it contains an impact modifier that helps the material do some unique things.
Off the tee, the urethane rebounds more quickly than other urethanes Bridgestone has used to help golfers generate more ball speed and distance. However, on softly hit pitches and chip shots around the green, it absorbs shock and helps the ball stay in contact with the face for a longer period of time. That should help the grooves in wedges generate more spin and greenside control.
Episode 30: Golfweek’s David Dusek talks with John K. Solheim about Ping, the upcoming USGA/R&A distance reports and more.
In episode 30 of Forward Press, Golfweek‘s David Dusek talks with the President of Ping Golf, John K. Solheim.
The two discuss growing up in the Solheim family, his current role at Ping and his take on the upcoming USGA/R&A distance reports.
Forward Press is a weeklyGolfweek podcast. In each episode, you’ll get insight and commentary on all that is golf from David Dusek, Beth Ann Nichols, Steve DiMeglio, Eamon Lynch and Adam Schupak, as well as special guests throughout the industry.
The new Ping G710 irons provide slower-swinging players with more distance and forgiveness with enhanced sound.
Gear: Ping G710 irons Price: $175 per club with Ping AWT 2.0 steel shafts and Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet Arccos Caddie grips; $190 with Ping Alta CB Red graphite shafts Specs: Hollow-body 17-4 stainless steel head, plasma-welded maraging steel C300 face, tungsten toe and hosel weights Available: Jan. 20
Two years ago Ping released its first hollow-bodied iron set, the G700, for mid- and higher-handicap golfers who want to hit the ball higher and farther. The company has now released the update to that club, the G710, promising it will help golfers get more distance and be more forgiving.
While the body of each G710 iron is cast from 17-4 stainless steel, the hitting areas are made from hardened maraging steel. Its strength allowed engineers to make it thin, and because the clubs are hollow, the hitting area can flex more efficiently at impact. Ping said the G710 creates the most face deflection of any Ping iron to help golfers generate more ball speed and more distance.
Ping also added pieces of tungsten in the heel and toe areas to increase the perimeter weighting and boost the moment of inertia. Ping said the G710 has a moment of inertia that is 5 percent higher than the G700, which means it should perform better on off-center hits.
What might surprise golfers the most is how the G710 sounds at impact. Typically, hollow-bodied irons have a higher-pitched sound, not the deep, resounding tone that comes from many solid, better-player’s clubs. After studying the sound waves clubs produce at impact, Ping’s designers added an Ethylene-vinyl acetate polymer piece to an area inside the head to absorb excessive vibrations and enhance the sound. As a result, the G710 has a similar sound profile to Ping’s Blueprint irons, the clubs used by some tour players such as Louis Oosthuizen.
While the G700 irons had a chrome finish, the G710 irons are darker. The hydropearl stealth chrome finish reduces glare and repels water to help players get more consistent results and avoid fliers created by water on the face. The darker finish also makes the G710 appear smaller than the G700, even though the two irons are identical in size.
Ping is making Arccos Caddie Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet Smart grips standard on the G710 irons. Each grip’s embedded sensor can link with a free Arccos smartphone app and provide valuable data such as how far players typically hit each club and where they tend to miss. Golfers receive a 90-day free trial of the Arccos Caddie app and eight additional screw-in sensors at no charge after the purchase of six or more G710 irons. If players like the added Caddie feature, which uses analytics to make club suggestions and provide strategic feedback, they will need to buy a $99.99 annual subscription after the 90-day trial is complete.
Ping’s Heppler putters are designed using aluminum and steel for golfers who like a crisp, firm feel at impact.
Gear: Ping Heppler putters Price: $245-$270 each Specs: Mallets with cast-aluminum and stainless steel heads; blade-style putters in all steel. Adjustable-length shafts. Available: Jan. 20
While there has been a significant trend over the past few years to softer-feeling golf balls, many players prefer a firm, solid-feeling putter. To them, a crisp strike feels better and allows them to develop a better sense of touch. With the new Heppler family of putters, which contains nine head shapes, Ping is using a new manufacturing technique to deliver a firmer feel and more forgiveness at the same time.
Ping has designed grooved faces in all of its recent putters, such as the Sigma 2, Vault 2.0 and Sigma G families, and some putters also have backings and inserts to soften feel. The Heppler blades, mid-mallets and high-MOI mallet putters – named for Rick Heppler, an employee who joined the company in 1966 as it started and was with Ping for nearly 50 years – are different.
The putters have a smooth face that produces crisp contact and were designed using a multimaterial construction that is new for Ping.
Seven of the nine Heppler putters can be classified as either mid-size mallets or high-MOI mallets, and each has a chassis dye cast from ADC12 aluminum. Ping said the material is 10 percent softer than the 6061 aluminum used in other putters. The pressure-casting process allowed Ping to get more details into the heads during the casting process instead of machining and milling after the heads are created.
Other areas of the heads are made from cast stainless steel, a material that is much heavier than aluminum. In the mallets, the steel was given a copper tone that contrasts with the black-finished aluminum.
The combination of aluminum and steel allowed Ping to concentrate weight more precisely for increased perimeter weighting and forgiveness without making the heads significantly larger.
For example, the Heppler Tyne 3 putter is the higher-MOI version of the Tyne that Ping has produced, even though it is not bigger than previous models and does not have a ball-speed-normalizing face insert.
The Tomcat 14 putter has the highest moment of inertia in the Heppler lineup, with half its weight coming from aluminum and half coming from steel. The rails are a ball’s width apart and covered in white dots that were inspired by the lights that flank an aircraft runway.
The remaining two of the nine putters in the Keppler family are blades and made using only steel. The Anser 2, which is ideally balanced for golfers who have a slightly arced putting stroke, is the latest edition of the classic putter that put Ping on the map, while the ZB3 is for players with a strong arc. The copper-colored topline helps the blades match the rest of the family and acts as an alignment aid.
Each Heppler putter comes standard with a black chrome shaft that is adjustable. Using a tool that inserts into the grip, the putters can be made as short as 32 inches or as long as 36 inches, making it easier for players and fitters to create a Heppler putter that is the ideal length for any player.
See all the gear that the American stars like Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson are expected to play in December.
With Tiger Woods having announced his captain’s picks (including himself), we now know the 12 members of the U.S. Presidents Cup team that will face the International squad Dec. 12-15 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. Below is a list of the U.S. players and the equipment they are expected to use.
HYBRID:Titleist 816 H2 (21 degrees), with Mitsubishi CK Pro Blue 90 X shaft
IRONS:Titleist T100 (4-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 shafts
WEDGES:Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (54 degrees bent to 53, 56 degrees bent to 57, 60 degrees bent to 61), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 shafts