By Jason Mylroie, Compleat Golfer’s on-site equipment specialist.
With more and more PGA professionals piling through the doors of the Orange County Convention Centre today, all of the booths were non-stop talking about their brands in the efforts to encourage more courses and stores to stock their products.
I once again spent most of the day with TaylorMade research & development executives learning about how their latest models of drivers, irons and adidas apparel and footwear were conceptualised and eventually designed. The rest of the day was spent learning about the latest Srixon drivers, irons and golf balls, as well as the Cleveland RTX 2.0 wedges and the latest XXIO premium products, all of which were equally impressive.
Speaking to these two giant brands in the industry also made me realise just how different their thought patterns are when it comes to getting products into golfers’ hands. TaylorMade has gone with the approach of utilising adjustability to fit almost all golfers into one or two products while Srixon has adopted the approach of making more specialised ranges to suit the various skill levels of golfers and both ideologies work well for the brands.
I also got to walk through the very impressive Titleist and PING booths to see the latest products they have to offer, which include new golf balls, wedges and footwear from Titleist and FootJoy, while PING has launched an entirely new series of clubs called the G-Series consisting of woods, hybrids, a new crossover iron and a full set of irons.
Tomorrow I will take a more general walk through the entire show and pick out products that catch my eye before heading off to the new product zone where you find some very interesting inventions that may or may not find their way into the golf market.
