NIKE OZ Black T130 Putter

Listed on the Golf Digest 2006 Hot List, the Nike OZ Black T-130 putter has the highest Moment of Inertia (resistance to twisting) of any putter in the Nike line. Two 65 gram tungsten weights have been located on the back at the heel and toe. The deep mallet style also serves to move weight away from the putterface. To further relocate weight, the face of the putter has been milled out and filled with a polymer that is 65% lighter than aluminum. Nike says that this not only gives the putter an outstanding feel at impact, it also allows them to move even more weight away from the face and to the perimeter.

MIZUNO F-50 Composite Fairway w/ graphite

The Mizuno F-50 was a top pick for Golf Magazine’s 2006 Hot List.

While Mizuno has a reputation as a player’s club, the latest offerings from the company are designed to be easy to play. The F-50 Fairways, for example, have a composite crown that allow Mizuno to move toward what seems to be today’s Holy Grail of club design—moving the weight down and back in the clubhead. Mizuno also has tried to make the club more playable with a recessed sole design that it says makes it easier to cut through all kinds of lies.

TOUR EDGE Exotics Fairway Wood w/Graphite Shaft

Tour Edge is a company that has made its reputation on producing low cost, high quality products. Their designs are originals, their materials top quality and their workmanship superb. Their clubs made the Golf Digest hot list in five different categories. And yet they produce clubs that are as low priced as those found among second-tier Chinese knockoffs.

I owned a Tour Edge Bazooka steel driver a couple of years ago, and thought that it was an excellent club for the money. I’d still be playing it except for the fact that I swap drivers like some people swap putters. That’s one club that I sometimes wish I still had.

So how does Tour Edge do it? They claim it’s because they don’t spend money on marketing and advertising. Instead, they seem to work on getting their clubs onto showroom and green grass pro shop floors. I first saw them in the otherwise poorly stocked pro shop of a local course.

So the low-end strategy has worked for Tour Edge. But in recent years, Tour Edge has tried to break into the premium markets with its “Exotics” line of clubs.

The Exotics Fairway woods combine two materials in the head: a cup faced titanium face with a Hypersteel body. The two metals are bonded with a process that Tour Edge calls combo brazing. The process seals the two pieces together without the added weight of a welding process. The weight savings then is moved down and back.

The Exotics name not only stems from the materials and manufacturing, but also from its looks. The club definitely had an edge with lines that remind me of the new Cadillacs.

Tour Edge claims that its 3-wood outdrives the Callaway, PIng and Cobra fairway woods by at least 20 yards.

TOUR EDGE Exotics Fairway Wood w/Graphite Shaft

Ping sort of seems to be the forgotten man among the major manufacturers these days. I don’t see their advertisements on televison. I can’t tell you who’s on their pro staff. They aren’t making the golf news sites and blogs with their equipment. I don’t know anyone who has their newer clubs (although plenty are still playing with 10-year-old models). And they certainly are not being pushed in any of the local pro shops.

It could be just a local thing—maybe they get more traction in other areas—but I get the feeling that they’re kind of sliding backwards.

Still, they continue to focus on producing very player-friendly clubs, such as the new G5 irons, which made Golf Digest’s 2006 Hot List.

The G5s are a refinement of last year’s G2 series, with a wider sole and more perimeter weighting. The weight port on the back of the clubs is larger, too, reducing vibrations and stabilizing the face.

The wider sole was created through Ping’s redesign of the undercut cavity. The pull direction is parallel to the ground, rather than perpendicular to the face. This lets Ping move more mass to the the back of the clubhead.

They’re still not particularly attractive, with their tumbled finish and blunt lines. But with Ping, its all about playability.

PING G5 Iron Set 3-PW w/Steel Shaft

The Srixon ZUR-S is another entry in the high-end ball market that made the Golf Digest 2006 Hot List.

Boasting the thinnest cover in golf, the Z-URS is a three piece ball with a “PBDS” enhanced core and a high velocity ionomer boundary layer. The urethane-elastomer cover is just 0.020” thick. A 330 dimple pattern is said to provide “high trajectory with strong penetrating ball flight.”

Srixon is marketing these balls to players who want tour performance with a softer feel. In fact, they promise a refund if you don’t agree that the ball is as good as the Pro V-1.

SRIXON Zur-S