I saw this interesting product on a Golf Channel ad the other day: Jumbo Max Grips

From the website:

JumboMax® Grips can quickly and dramatically improve the way golfers of all abilities play the game of golf.

JumboMax® Grips are a new, USGA-conforming grip designed to fit your hands better for superior surface contact and more solid ball striking. The larger diameter of JumboMax® Grips creates maximum surface contact for a secure and comfortable feel. This in turn lets you relax your grip on the club for a more fluid and powerful swing.

Eliminates tension for faster clubhead speed. Golf instructors universally agree that the surest way to ruin a good golf swing is by gripping the club too tightly, or by increasing grip pressure during the swing, which prevents the club from releasing properly at impact. The larger diameter and unique design of JumboMax Grips instantly gives you a more secure hold on the club, so you don’t feel the need to squeeze. You’ll relax your grip on the club freeing your hands and arms to release the club naturally, giving you the fluid, effortless and powerful swing you need.

Square the clubface more consistently for incredible accuracy. Because you can generate 38% more turning power with a JumboMax Grip than with a standard grip, not only will you relax your grip on the club creating more clubhead speed, you’ll find it easier to keep the clubface square longer through impact for straighter, more powerful shots.

Play and practice longer with less shock on your joints. Not only do JumboMax Grips outperform standard grips for distance and accuracy they have the added benefit of being extremely comfortable and shock-absorbing. If you have arthritic hands, you will really appreciate our super-oversized, twist- resistant, shock absorbing technology.

I’m tempted to give these a try.

Golf Pride V-Rad Rivalry Putter Grips

In time for the Ryder Cup, Golf Pride has released a set of grips—one for the US Team, and one for the European Team. The grips are beautifully designed—I particularly like the European design, if only because US Flag motifs have been done over and again. Both, however are very nice looking.

The grips also have a very nice feel. Soft, a little tacky and just the right size. I replaced the grip on my putter earlier this summer and am not quite ready to replace it, but at the next grip change, the USA version is going into use.

A note about changing your putter grips. Before removing the old grips, make note of how the flat sides line up with the putter head. Unlike the rounds on your irons and woods, it really matters how the putter grip lines up.

Playing with fitted clubs can immediately improve your game.

If you haven’t been fitted, you’re in luck. During the month of April, PGA and LPGA Professionals around the country will offer free 15-minute expert fitting sessions to ensure that the clubs you currently play with or plan to purchase are the right fit for your game.

To find a participating PGA Professional near you, visit the Play Golf America website.

Miles of Golf, my local pro shop was offering a free club evaluation this week, so I went in to have them take a look at how well my driver fits my game.

The test confirmed what I already knew: that I am a short driver, who really should be using a club with a regular shaft. My current driver is a TaylorMade 425 with a stiff Fujikura shaft. I think I need to get into a Burner, or a Cleveland XLS with a regular shaft.

Miles tests equipment with a system called the Trackman, which incorporates Doppler radar to measure club speed, attack angle, club path, vertical swing plane, dynamic loft, face angle, ball speed, verticle and horizonal angle, spin rate, spin axis, maximum height, carry, flight time and landing angle. It’s the same technology used in recent golf broadcasts such as the Masters and the Players. As with those broadcasts, the system not only collects numbers, but also shows a graphical representation of your ball’s flight.

My swing and driver were tested by Shawn Zawodni, who was terrific at explaining the system and walking me through the process. First, he entered my current club’s model and specifications into the computer, and then had me hit a series of balls. After each swing, the machine showed the stats for my swing and the ball flight.

After six swings—all of which I hit pretty consistently—the machine averaged the results. Shawn then used the computer to “normalize” the results, compensating for the weather: temperature, altitude, pressure, humidity and ground type. I don’t think, however, that it compensated for the fact that I was hitting with range balls. I’m absolutely convinced that I’m ten yards shorter with range balls.

The results of the test showed that I hit the ball fairly short, with a high spin rate. My clubhead speed is right around 90 mph. I may be slightly faster in actual practice—those enclosed bays with the roofs make me nervous and I consciously slow down my swing. My launch angle was 14 degrees—the club is 9.5.

My accuracy is dead on, however. A print of the shot dispersal shows that all of them fell to within a couple of yards to the left of center. That much was good.

Shawn also put a strip of impact tape on the clubface. That also showed that I was very consistent. I hit one ball right after another on the same spot. Unfortunately, it was on the hosel side of the face. That, Shawn said, is costing me yards, and giving my ball flight its characteristic looping fade. Getting the impact further out on the face likely would add more than a couple of yards.

I also was able to try out a couple of other clubs while I was there. I had some moderate success with the Callaway FT-i, and with a Cobra, but once again, the Cleveland XLS was spot-on. I’m going to have to give the Cleveland some more serious thought.

In all, the club check took about 20 minutes. I came away with several print-outs of the data and the confirmation of my suspicions.

Miles of Golf also has an extended fitting program which costs $150. For that, they’ll run you through a battery of tests and find the club set that fits you best. Twenty five percent of the fee can be applied to a new club set that you buy. I think if you’re in the market for a new set of irons or driver, getting fit is a good buy.

Golfsmith’s Clubmaker Magazine is essentially a catalog for their components and tools, but it also has some very good technical articles. This month’s issue, for example, has an article on fitting clubs for length. For a while, the magazine was available only to professional clubmakers and Golfsmith’s regular component customers (of which I was one). Now, however, it’s available online.

The February issue is here.

The Acer XP905 Hollow Core Iron features a hollow core stainless steel body which removes the weight from the center of the clubhead. The oversized iron design is designed for extreme perimeter weighting, offering stability and forgiveness. The face is thin, lightweight, Beta Titanium that offers increased ball velocity. Finally, a rubber backing in the cavity is designed to dampen vibration and improve both sound and feel.

The Acer XP 905 WS is available both as components and finished clubs.

Dynacraft is an old-line component designer and manufacturer that recently was bought by Hireko Golf.

The new Dynacraft Prophet CNC iron is produced with a new technique where it’s stamped from a billet of 1020 carbon steel into an oversized, overweight head. CNC milling is then used to cut the blade into the exact shape needed. The technique allows the creation of a forged blade with an undercut cavity that generally is found only in cast heads. The result is a true game-improvement forged blade.

You can get them as components, or assembled, and they come with a 60 day satisfaction guarantee.