I always thought of La Jolla as a company that produced clubs for women and children. My kids started with Snoopy Clubs (excellent, by the way) and a couple of the girls on the team I coached had clubs from the company.

But now, LaJolla has caught my eye with their new La Jolla Mens Knife Irons for men. La Jolla says:

The Knife Iron is one of the most innovative and unique designs developed by La Jolla Club.  The iron features shallow patented three-blade technology while maintaining a classic profile and topline. Shallow blades allow the golfer to better move the ball (left to right or right to left) and control the ball flight.  Hollow core weighting provides perimeter weighting for more forgiveness.  A tungsten ring back weight provides a low/back center of gravity for higher trajectory, longer, straighter shots and more consistency on off center hits.  A vibration absorption ring on the back of the club imparts a solid feel at impact.

Boy, would I like to try a set of these!

Monza Corza Putter

Grade: A
Teachers’ Comments: Adjustable weights allow a player to customize the club’s weight for the playing conditions.

The Rossa Monza Corza putter is TaylorMade’s first excursion into the world of adjustable weight putters. Like the adjustable weight drivers, such as the R5 TP, the fairwaywoods and the new adjustable weight Rescue Dual, the Corza has two ports where you can adjust the club’s weighting by screwing in variously weighted plugs.

Tom Watson’s victory in the British Senior Open has focused some attention on Adams line of golf clubs—what with all of those “What’s In The Bag” columns and the fact that he recently cracked the driver he won with.

I’ve owned some Adams clubs in my golfing career and have always found them to be reasonably priced and reasonably easy to hit. Adams says that it’s Adams GT2 Undercut Irons

feature easy-to-hit oversize heads with a great, clean, contemporary design. An undercut channel positions the CG low and to the back for better distance. Progressive offset makes it easy to square the face and the high-launch 3 and 4 irons provide shots that go far and land softly on the green.

  * Low and deep CG allows for maximum distance.

  * Oversize heads and wide soles make for confidence-inspiring, easy-to-hit shots.

  * High MOI makes for easy-to-hit shots.

Pinemeadow’s Acer XDS Tungsten Titanium Irons offer one of the hottest iron technologies today: fusing a titanium face to a steel frame. This allows manufacturers to offer a very, thin, hot face, and plenty of perimeter weighting.

The best thing about these clubs, though, is the price: $229. Pinemeadow is sure you’re going to like them. There’s a 30 day playing guarantee.

Pinemeadow writes:

The Acer XDS Tungsten Titanium irons are a technological marvel! An ultra-thin beta titanium face is merged onto a stainless steel body providing increased rebound for superior distance. The beta titanium is also lighter than stainless steel maximizing the perimeter weighting of the head and creating a deep undercut channel for extra forgiveness. Four tungsten sole inserts on the sole of the club lower the center of gravity for optimal trajectory and feel. If your a golfer who needs all the distance an iron can offer then this is the set for you.

A while back I suggested that the game improvement clubs weren’t for better players because all they can do is hit straight. But a reader emailed to remind me that a number of successful pros are playing clubs that could be considered “game improvement.” As an example, he cited Jim Thorpe, who plays the Hawkeye VFT.

I checked, and he was right. So I stand corrected.

The best thing about the Hawkeye VFTs is that you can get them at a good price from Callaway’s Pre Owned program.

Hawk Eye VFT Iron Set Mens Steel Shaft

A week or so ago, I reviewed the Callaway Big Bertha Irons that I tried at my club’s demo day. I liked them, and a reader pointed out that, even though they are marketed as clubs for higher handicapers, they hit so straight that the pros are using them.

Now it seems that they are making their way into the pipeline of Callaway’s Pre Owned clubs store. With the way that the big manufacturers set their prices, this is about the only way you’re going to get a deal on a set.

Big Bertha(2004) Iron Set Mens Graphite Shaft

From Pinemeadow golf comes the Pinemeadow Matrix Hybrid Iron Set. I’ve replaced all of my long irons with hybrids, and have really improved my game. So perhaps the thing to do is to go to a complete hybrid set.

At the price these are offered ($169), I don’t think that I could do better even if I built them myself. And with a 30-day guarentee, Pinemeadow seems to be pretty confident that you’re going to like the clubs

I may give these a try.

Here’s Pinemeadow’s ad copy:

Forgiving consistent and great playability! The Pinemeadow Matrix irons employ the latest trend in easy to play iron sets. They feature three distinct head styles for each facet of play guaranteeing to make your iron game more enjoyable to play. The 3 4 and 5 irons have been replaced with ultra forgiving hybrid woods for golfers who have difficulty hitting longer irons but than again who doesn’t? The hybrid shape and wide sole makes the clubs very long and easy to hit. The unique sole design helps the club sit properly improving proper setup. The 6 and 7 irons feature a deep hollow muscle which pushes the weight down and back for a low center of gravity and high moment of inertia resulting in helping you get under the ball at impact and increased distance without having to sacrifice accuracy. The 8 9 PW and SW have a wider sole and traditional cavity back with a low deep weight for superior accuracy and control keeping consistency with the forgiving quality of the set. Set includes 3-PW with an option to add the SW for an additional cost. If you are considering this ultra forgiving set the [doublewall.1] is the most forgiving driver on the market making a perfect compliment. This club is available in custom lengths and flexes. Click for more info.