Jesse Ortiz is one of the most respected names in the club design business. As chief designer at Orlimar, he helped to turn that company into a major player in the golf business.

Now, he returns with the Bobby Jones line of clubs, which made the Golf Digest 2006 Hot List.

The Players Series hybrid increases stability with its triangular head and improves playability with a wide contoured sole. The crown’s maraging steel construction allowed Ortiz to redistrubute down and back for higher trajectory shots.

Golf Digest called it a “retro cleek” and praised its ability to get out of the rough.

What I like best about the clubs is their elegant, classic look. They’re a set that is worthy of the Bobby Jones name.

Bobby Jones by Jesse Ortiz Utility Wood

Adams new Idea A2 Irons made the 2006 Golf Digest Hot List in the Game Improvement Club category. That’s not surprising, considering that Adams has built its reputation on its easy to hit clubs.

The A2 set features 3- and 4- hybrids, hollow back mid irons and cavity back short irons. Each iron is designed to offer the golfer high launch with consistent distance.The set is promoted as best for mid to high handicappers, but in fact, the hybrids appear in the bags of quite a few pros on the Nationwide, PGA and Champions tours.

The 3 & 4 Hybrid iWoods offer a tour preferred design and shape. Adams says that they offer a lower center of gravity, higher moment of inertia (resistance to twisting) and less spin than conventional hybrids. The hybrids have Aldila NV 85 gram hybrid shafts.

The 5- through 7- irons have a hollowback design that lets Adams move the weight low and back to ease the difficulty of hitting these clubs.

And because most golfers don’t have as much trouble hitting the 8 - PW,  Adams has designed these with a cavity back that more readily allows players to shape their shots.

ADAMS A2 Iron Set 3-PW w/Steel Shaft

Sonartec is a brand that flew under the radar until Todd Hamilton used one from every conceivable lie and distance to win the British Open. Then, one of the best kept secrets in golf was out. Luke Donald had one in his bag when he won the recent Honda Classic.

The Sonartec SS-2.5 is the company’s latest fairway wood offering, and it made the 2006 Golf Digest Hot List.

This model actually goes in the opposite direction of most manufacturers by raising the center of gravity so that it is in line with the impact point on the ball. This, Sonartec says, will produce a more penetrating ball flight.

On the down site, Golf Digest notes that it also makes the club a little less forgiving than others.

SONARTEC SS-2.5 Fairway Wood

For me, Mizuno has always had the aura of high end clubs that I can’t hit. Maybe that’s because when I played with guys that had them, they were kicking my butt.

But Mizuno has been making some highly rated game improvement clubs in recent years, among them the MX series of clubs.

The MX-500 Driver builds on the MX Game improvement series, offering “high launch trajectory, optimum spin rates, and maximum ball speed.”  It made the Golf Digest 2006 Hot List.

The technology that drives this begins with a graphite toe insert, a graphite crown and a perimeter weight slot,  allowing Mizuno to distribute weight around the club head, and positioning the CG low and deep in the head. Six different CORTECH face areas generate high initial ball velocity for greater distance X-Sole design for solid feel and sound. The head ofers the maximum allowable USGA 460cc volume.

The heads come mounted on Mizuno’s new Exsar® 50 Graphite shafts.

MIZUNO MX-500 Composite Ti Driver

Adams Golf has made its reputation on easy to hit fairway woods, and it promises that the new RPM Low Profile Fairway Wood is it’s best yet. The club landed on the Golf Digest 2006 Host List.

Like all Adams Fairway Woods, the club features the patented “upside down” technology, which lowers the center of gravity and increases the club’s moment of intertia. The club also has a twin rail design on the sole which Adams says reduces ground interference by 54 percent.

Golf Digest complained about the shallow face a bit, but I prefer a more shallow faced fairway wood. I think they inspire more confidence than the taller ones. I’ve also had good luck with the Adams clubs I’ve tried over the years. I never believed that they were the longest clubs around, but they were among the most consistent.

ADAMS RPM LP Draw Fairway Wood w/Exotic Shaft

Bridgestone Golf has been around for quite a while, but its only in the last couple of years that I’ve seen their balls on the shelves of local pro shops and retailers. They are fast gaining a reputation for quality. I know a golfer who has converted in the last year to Bridgestone balls and swears that they are the best on the market.

The E5 and E6 models made Golf Digest’s 2006 Hot List for Value Performance balls.

The E5 is designed to produce higher trajectory for greater distance, while still offering soft feel around the green. The ball has a two-piece urethane cover with a seamless 432-dimple pattern. The Seamless Cover Technology is supposed to eliminate any vagries in ball flight that come from the intersection of seams and dimples.

Bridgestone’s E6 is aimed at players who need to hit the fairway more often.  The 330-dimple design and the seamless cover are designed to reduce sidespin, and thus, hooks and slices.

Interestingly, Golf Digest’s criticism of the two balls was that the editors were “not sure how to choose between the two.” Let me help them out: E5=Distance; E6=Accuracy.

BRIDGESTONE E5 Golf Ball

BRIDGESTONE E6 Golf Ball

Tour Edge has a reputation for high quality, but low priced clubs. That’s why the Iron Wood was a 2005 Golf Digest Best Value, and why it’s on the 2006 Golf Digest Hot List.

Designed—as all hybrids are—as a long iron replacement, the Iron Wood is designed to be more forgiving and easier to get the ball in the air. The hollow body is constructed of super-thin super steel, which allows half of the clubhead’s mass to be positioned in the sole. The body is supported by internal struts.

You can get the Bazooka JMax Ironwoods in three different combinations: as an individual iron, as a set of Iron Woods, or in a mixture of Iron Woods and Traditional Irons. That’s a terrific idea, and one that I’d liek to see other manufacturers offer. TaylorMade, for example could offer a set that consists of 3, 4, and 5 Rescue Duals, and 6-PW R7 XDs. Or Ping could have a 3, 4, and 5 G5, with 6-PW irons.

The idea good, but it isn’t new. There’s a retired teacher I know (who coached the school’s golf teams before me) who has always played with a club set composed nearly entirely of woods. Some of those woods have faces that look like ski slopes. But he had to compile that set on his own, since such things weren’t available when he started.

You can check prices and get more information at Golfsmith, below:

TOUR EDGE JMAX IronWood w/Steel Shaft

TOUR EDGE JMAX Iron Wood Set w/Graphite Shaft

TOUR EDGE Bazooka J-Max QL Combo Set 3,4/ 5-PW w/ Graphite Shaft