PGA show 2010 Day #1

THE RACE IS ON!!

Typically the entry area is a jam packed to see the new stuff of 2010, this year, not so packed. Although the bigger companies are in force the show again feels more open and obviously less attended.

We had 30 suppliers to see and met up with 28 of them and chose not visit the other two.

My run down of the items we saw:

Grips, Statement of the day, white is the new black!

Golf pride has change the old stand by, the tour wrap. The new wrap is much tackier and had a brighter sheen; the tour wrap is available in black WHITE and red. The lime green DD2 are gone and replaced with wait for it,,, WHITE

Lamkin has the many new models in,,, oh let me think,,, WHITE, the next generation grips are the performance plus in WHITE the newest model is N2gen grip available in  oh could it be, WHITE/ black, WHITE/ Red and WHITE/blue. The colored areas are more aggressive and should wear better. Worth a look see

Winn: has the lite grip in, I’ll give you one guess, WHITE. Although the same grip comes in black for standard and blue for mid size and black again for oversize.

Iomic has a unique feel and tacky flavor in so many colors it would be nearly impossible to keep them all.

Shafts: My statement, is there ever going to be a shaft for under $300 made?

Aldila, the original line remains and added are the Habenero, the Wasabi and the Sorreno? About $70 shafts, the voodoo remains in the $300 plus.

Mysiaki (sp) is another premium line shaft ($300 plus)complete with it own profiling system and profiling of the competitions. The company is under the Cleveland umbrella and it picky to name its dealers.

UST has removed the V2 high launch and hopefully is replacing it with the AXIV shaft. The AXIV is of course more expensive but not out of sight. The ATTAS line is the latest is constant taper, smooth profile design and is coming to you is limited dealerships with a $300 price tag.

Fujikura ended the “E” line and replaced it with the “fit on” models. The Mitore has a little brother the F3 and at the same price tag.

Heads:

Hireko was the only pure head company out there. I stopped to see Jeff Summit and met Rob Altomonte. It seems there is rewrite of the clubmaking and club fitting books. Hireko has left the clone like models and have made some attractive models at very good pricing.

Power Built: I have stumbled onto a possible Air force one deal, more later.

OEMs that we can stomach,

Bridgestone, obviously the golf ball is their big deal, BUT  the entire line of clubs seem very well done, the J38 driver is sleek, to me seems much like a Wishon 919, the Fairways are pretty nice too, compact with a descent face height. The irons and wedge are forged and belong in a player’s bag not mine. They would not fit anyway as nothing is left handed.

Other stuff,

The Putting Cyclops, a gizmo that adjusts for different swing paths. The path is covered so the golfer must concentrate on the face angle and “feel” of the line of the putt. It is very interesting.

Scratch Golf: the great Don White is among the folks of Scratch golf. There is a program for retail places and looks to be very interesting, The Company is very up coming. They have a fitting system to fit the swing and grinds to match. They are now offering cast and forged heads to choose from. If you want to go over the top Don White can personally grind one for you for a $250 cost.

Bushnell range finders: the line up is still the same, after this weekend I am firm believer in the range finder verses the GPS.