MIZUNO Bettinardi Black Carbon Putter

Mizuno has the reputation of producing some of the best-feeling irons on the planet, and they’ve extended that to their putters with the help of renowned putter designer Bob Bettinardi.

These clubs are milled from a single piece of carbon steel and outfitted with their Feel Impact Technology face. The FIT face area reduces the surface area of where the ball makes contact, delivering what Mizuno says is a solid, yet soft feel to every putt.

The black carbon finish is designed to cut the glare.

CALLAWAY Tour ix

This is the ball that so many seem to be talking about. Rocco Mediate says that the Callaway Tour ix is so good, “it should be illegal.”

The Tour ix is a FOUR piece ball, adding a tungsten infused outer core that’s supposed to shift weight away from the center (and adding tungsten certainly would do that), for reduced driver spin and straighter shots. The inner core is still soft, though, for the feel that players today seem to prefer. On the outside is a urethane cover with Callaway’s excellent hex pattern “dimples.”

I’ve been meaning to review the Tour ix, but at $45 a box, it may be a while before I give it a go.

CALLAWAY FT-i Squareway Wood with Graphite Shaft

Squareway Wood. Cute name.

Callaway’s “Squareway” design is supposed to position more discretionary weight to the corners of the clubhead, raising the moment of inertia for straighter, more forgiving shots. The club has a stainless steel face, sole and body with a lightweight carbon crown, allowing even more weight repositioning than the shape alone would allow. Callaway engineers have also made the clubhead oversized, for even more stability and accuracy.

If you can get over the odd shape, this might just be the thing for your fairway wood woes.

Caiman Fairway Wood

The Caiman Fairway woods are another of those geometrically odd clubs that are designed to offer a high moment of inertia and high launch. Hireko engineered these fairway woods with a variable crown thickness (as little as 0.5mm which is as little as the thickness of 5 sheets of paper!) All the unwanted weight normally reserved for the crown of ordinary fairway wood was repositioned deep within the head. Hireko says that this offers a high launching ball flight with incredible accuracy

COBRA 08 M Speed LD Driver

The Cobra M Speed LD driver is designed for moderate swingers with a tendency to hit the ball off line in a face or slice. The large face with a milled dual rhombus face insert is designed to maximize distance on off center hits.  With the largest face on the market, the M Speed LD is forgiving, which, combined with extra-high launch and a draw bias design, provides increased distance.