INTRODUCING RTX ZIPCORE, IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE

/ Until The Next Tee / Leave a comment

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – June 30, 2020 – Cleveland Golf is proud to announce their latest flagship wedge, the RTX ZipCore. Cleveland Golf’s RTX ZipCore will launch in North America on Aug. 14, 2020.

RTX ZipCore is both radically new and ultra-familiar. On the inside, its new core has unlocked design freedoms pushing the performance beyond any wedge in Cleveland Golf’s history. Yet on the outside, the sleek yet traditional design is familiar and inspires confidence at address.

“Cleveland wedges are always just beautiful looking clubs, and this one is no different,” said 2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry. “They’re very traditional and I just love them. You need to be able to trust what your wedges are going to do, and RTX ZipCore does everything I need it to do. I couldn’t ask for anything else in a wedge.”

RTX ZipCore_2

The foundation of RTX ZipCore is a unique, low-density core that sits at the heart of the wedge. This ZipCore makes you better by shifting the center of gravity, while also boosting High-Low MOI for more stability high and low on the wedge face. The result is that ZipCore puts more impacts on the sweet spot for more consistent spin, distance and feel on every shot.

Furthermore, RTX ZipCore features Cleveland’s new UltiZip Grooves. Compared to previous generations, UltiZip Grooves are 11% sharper and 7.3% deeper, while also being 7.4% closer together for more groove contact area. The combination and optimization of these factors ensure that RTX ZipCore generates increased spin and consistent spin performance from any condition on the course.

To preserve the lifespan of our grooves, RTX ZipCore also features a new heat treatment to boost durability and maintain spin performance round after round.

“The new RTX ZipCore is a technological leap forward for Cleveland wedges,” said Jeff Brunski, Vice President of Research and Development. “We’ve inserted a low-density core inside the clubhead, allowing us to create a wedge with unprecedented consistency and exceptional feel. They also feature our tour-proven grinds and most aggressive groove technology to date – all packaged in a sleek yet traditional design.”

RTX ZipCore_Tech

 

Key Innovations Inside RTX ZipCore:

  • ZipCore: ZipCore shifts the center of gravity while raising MOI, adding spin, enhancing control, and boosting consistency on all your shots.
  • UltiZip Grooves: These grooves are sharper and deeper, delivering maximum spin performance. They bite harder, channel more debris, and they’re closer together for more groove contact on every shot.
  • Heat Treatment: A new heat treatment process increases ZipCore’s durability, delivering better performance over a longer period of time.
  • Tour-Authentic Components: RTX ZipCore comes standard with the new True Temper Dynamic Gold Spinner Tour Issue shaft and the most popular grip in golf today with Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet 360.

RTX ZipCore wedges are offered in a wide variety of lofts and sole grinds. The MID Sole grind is offered in 46 through 60 degrees, the LOW Sole grind is offered in 56 through 62 degrees, and the FULL Sole grind is offered in 54 through 60 degrees. The RTX ZipCore is available in Tour Satin, with additional finishes coming later this year. Cleveland’s RTX ZipCore Tour Satin wedges are priced at $149.99 MAP.

RTX ZipCore

 

For more detailed information on the RTX ZipCore, please visit: clevelandgolf.com.

Dynamic Brands Acquires Premium Umbrella Company Haas-Jordan

/ Until The Next Tee / Leave a comment

Richmond, VA – Dynamic Brands is excited to announce their acquisition of market-leading umbrella company, Haas-Jordan. The acquisition adds another recognizable sports and recreational brand to a strong portfolio which includes Bag Boy®, Burton®, Datrek® Golf, Devant Sport Towels®, IGOTCHA®, SEARCH ‘N RESCUE® and FLAGPOLE-TO-GO®.

Haas-Jordan was founded in 1899 by the Hull brothers in Toledo, Ohio. The company is specifically known for their golf umbrellas, as well as fashion umbrellas, custom umbrellas, folding umbrellas, apparel and drinkware. In 1942, with the assistance of famed PGA Tour player Byron Nelson, Haas-Jordan designed and built the first American style golf umbrella, a design which combines large size, dense fabric weave and a double rib frame for added strength. Later in 1959, they were the first manufacturer to silk screen umbrellas. Then in 1961, Haas-Jordan introduced the first all fiberglass frame and fiberglass shaft.

“We are thrilled to add the Haas-Jordan Company to Dynamic Brands’ portfolio of premium brands,” said Leighton Klevana, CEO at Dynamic Brands. “Haas-Jordan has built a strong reputation as an industry leader for over 100 years, providing extraordinary products and superior customer service to thousands of green grass, retail and corporate customers.

For more information on Haas-Jordan, visit www.haas-jordan.com or call 1-800-955-2269 Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:30pm EST.

About Dynamic Brands

Founded in 2004, Dynamic Brands is the parent company for a portfolio of premium brand name companies committed to the development of innovative, quality products and outstanding customer service in the sporting goods industry. Golf and recreational products are offered through Bag Boy®, Burton®, Datrek® Golf, Devant Sport Towels®, IGOTCHA®, SEARCH ‘N RESCUE® and FLAGPOLE-TO-GO® brands, and include walking carts, golf bags, travel covers, custom sport towels, bag tags, golf ball retrievers, flags and accessories.  In addition, Dynamic Brands is the U.S. distributor of Evnroll putters—the 100% milled putters feature designer Guerin Rife’s patented “Sweet Face” Technology, delivering unprecedented accuracy and zero dispersion. Dynamic Brands’ products are marketed in 87 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit www.dynamicbrands.com.  Follow us at https://www.facebook.com/dynamicbrandsrva/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynamic-brands/.

About Haas-Jordan

Haas-Jordan has been manufacturing umbrellas since 1899 and utilizes trusted materials and superior techniques to provide unmatched golf, folding and fashion umbrellas. They were the first to do many things in the rain and golf umbrella industry and began manufacturing the world’s first golf umbrellas. From hand-selecting umbrella frames and fabrics that will withstand the strongest of storms to screen-printing permanent designs on the outer canopy, their umbrellas are promised to last a lifetime. Today, Haas-Jordan remains committed to the same innovation, impeccable quality, customer service and outstanding value that the Haas-Jordan Company earned in over 60 years of service to the golf industry. For more information visit www.haas-jordan.com.

REVIEW Introduction/Unboxing – Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro Hybrid

/ Until The Next Tee / Leave a comment

Recently, I had an opportunity unexpectedly, fall into my lap. An opportunity to test and review a new product that was released by Tour Edge Exotics. That product. The EXS Pro Hybrid, and this hybrid is “Straight From the Tour Van”.

The EXS Pro Hybrid (and the rest of the EXS Pro Series for that matter) came from tour player feedback and 100+ PGA TOUR Champions players that have played Tour Edge Exotics products over the past few years.

Jon Claffey (Vice President of Marketing for Tour Edge) explained that the EXS Pro Hybrid was designed to be anti-left. The centre of gravity is designed to be low and forward to produce lower spin than we typically see for a hybrid. Typically, the center of gravity is placed low and back to help golfers get the ball into the air easier. With the CG low and back comes extra backspin. Also, the face of the EXS Pro is deep. The EXS Pro Hybrid features a deep face that is actually constructed from Beta-Titanium, a material usually seen in drivers. “The EXS Pro is one of the few Ti-faced hybrids available in the U.S. golf market and the only hybrid utilizing combo brazing technology for the ultimate in weight savings.”

The head itself, features a smaller, more compact footprint than that of the EXS 220 Hybrid which was also released this year. The EXS Pro Hybrid is clean in that it is void of any alignment aid placed on the crown. Other features of the EXS Pro Hybrid are…

  • Flight Tuning System – Two weight ports (heel and toe) allow for Neutral, Draw or Fade bias
  • SlipStream Sole – Provides better, faster, smoother turf interaction whether it’s from the fairway or the rough
  • S.D. Bar – The Sound Diffusion Bar placed strategically inside the clubhead of the hybrid to improve the acoustic engineering of the club (Look for an example of this in an upcoming video clip)
  • TrueLoft System – Dial in your distance. The EXS Pro Hybrid comes in 1 degree increments. “Extra quality control methods in the bending process of unfinished EXS Pro hybrid heads and includes an extensive triple-check
    on loft and lie in the final stages of the club head manufacturing process. “
  • Six different lofts are available ( 16°,17°,18°, 19°,20°, and 22°) 

Below is the unboxing video. Please watch and stay tuned for a lot more content on this exciting release from Tour Edge Exotics.

Until The Next Tee!!

#fightandgrind #seeuonthenexttee

 

How Alex Got His Groove Back

/ Until The Next Tee / 1 Comment

If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I had an entry not too long ago where I discussed my issues early this season. In that entry, ‘The Effects of Practicing in Isolation” I talked about the druthers of practicing in my backyard, into a net. Unfortunately, boredom stepped in and I started experimenting with a bunch of non-descript things with a focus on mechanics. A significant mistake for a feel player.

The struggles either on the range or on the course were nauseating. Watching my swing on video was even worse, and I had to fix it, stat!

So, I got to work, and here we are just over a week since that article, and I’m very pleased to announce that “I’m fixed”. You could say that I’m in a groove again and suddenly all is right in the world. But the question is, how did Alex get his groove back?

As tempting as it is to be over dramatic, I won’t be. I didn’t bludgeon myself over the head with a 9-iron (no Tiger/Elin double-entendre meant) and to be honest, I didn’t really do anything other than suggesting what I said at the end of that article. I simply, swung my swing. That’s it! Honest! I have the tools, the knowledge, and the swing or shall I say “my” swing already. After all, I spent five long years of blood, sweat, and tears of a swing reconstruction under my belt. By the way, all of those things I mean quite literally.

Also helping me to remember who I was or am as “Golfer Alex” was one picture that I found. A picture that was taken before I met my coach. This one frame of me from several years ago triggered my memory a little. In that one shot (pictured below), I picked up on a lot of good stuff to take to my consequent range sessions.

100_0955-1

The pic was taken while I was experimenting with “Stack and Tilt” and while I will not go into a deep conversation about “S & T” in this picture here’s what I saw that I took to Brock Golf Course for my sessions since that ill-fated article.

  • Weight is set up on the lead leg
  • My lead shoulder had gotten down, under the chin
  • A straight(ish) lead arm (physiologically, I cannot straighten it)
  • I’ve stayed connected
  • Good angles between forearm vs shaft
  • Arms and hands are out in front of the body

The funny thing is I remember that shot vividly. It was an 8-iron that flew just over 160 yds. Just a slight draw. As a matter of fact, it was a push-draw. Admittedly, a lot has happened healthwise since that pic including and not limited to a stroke. So, 160 yard 8-irons are a distant memory. God, has it actually been a decade since that picture was taken?

If I were asked to describe “my swing” and I would call it “Frankenstein”. Of course, there’s all of the work I did with my coach where there were some elements of “S&T”. So there’s a little bit of “S&T” here, maybe a little bit of Mike Bender there (think Zach Johnson) with a lot of influence from Kay McMahon (EduKaytion Golf) more recently, for good measure. All that I know is this. When I add them all up, they are “my swing”.

IMG_20200612_175121608

No, those are not my divot pattern. That’s awful! Ugh!

Since re-discovering “my swing”, my range sessions have been very good. It no longer feels like I’m working hard out there. It feels like striking the golf ball has become easy again. I feel comfortable in my shoes addressing my ball. There’s no “white noise” getting in the way which inadvertently caused an increase in grip pressure. Sure, I may have the occasional mis-hit (who doesn’t) but all things considered, I’m pretty happy with 90% of my range buckets.

I’m driving down and through the ball, even as the clay-based soil has gotten hard I still take proper divots. My divot patterns are straight, there’s great compression, and the ballflight is exactly what I’m after. Straight to push-draw. The right side is no longer an issue and is once again a non-factor. When I do miss, it’s a “low-left” as it should be when I miss. My coach always said that “Your miss low and left is good. That’s easy to fix and it means that you’re close. It’s the “pros miss”. Out to the right, is bad. There’s a lot that could be going on to cause that miss”. This is something that I pass on to my students.

Damn, it feels good to be back!! Alex has gotten his groove back.

Until The Next Tee!!

#fightandgrind #seeuonthenexttee

COBRA® GOLF EXTENDS THE POPULAR KING MIM WEDGE FAMILY WITH NEW MIM BLACK WEDGES IN STANDARD AND ONE LENGTH OFFERINGS

/ Until The Next Tee / Leave a comment

Carlsbad, Calif. (June 11, 2020) – COBRA® Golf, a leader in golf club innovation, unveiled today its new KING MIM Black Wedges, a fully Metal-Injection-Molded (MIM) 304 stainless steel head construction that is now offered in a glare-reducing QPQ (Quench Polish Quench) black finish. The MIM process represents a significant advancement in wedge manufacturing, delivering the most precise shape possible for truly exceptional feel and turf interaction in every wedge COBRA manufactures.

webimage-FED83420-5D72-4044-B059BEA31FE8ED25

Unlike cast wedges, MIM manufacturing reduces the amount of post-process polishing, where in the past, there was a heavy reliance on skilled machinists to grind consistent wedge shapes by hand. Each wedge is created using a mixture of 304 stainless steel metal powder, which is then heated and injected into a mold. Using a sintering process, the metal is heated to a higher temperature than forging (1340°C vs 1200°C), resulting in a smoother grain flow structure versus forged and cast wedges, and the softest feel the industry’s ever seen. The KING MIM Wedge family is the first in golf to utilize a fully robotic polishing process where the robot is pre-programmed to polish each wedge to exact specifications – a sharp contrast to the variability found in the traditional manual hand-polishing process. This fully automated process eliminates variance in head weight and thickness and creates more precise grind shapes and more repeatable bounce in each wedge.

“When we introduced MIM Wedges last year, it marked a steep change in the way wedges were manufactured. Since then, we have received requests from better players asking for the type of black finish that is preferred on Tour. The new QPQ finishing process allows us to deliver this option while maintaining soft, consistent performance for a wide variety of shots, now with a wider variety of grind options,” said Tom Olsavsky, Vice President of R&D for COBRA Golf.

webimage-27364373-1946-4BC9-9EEAC48A0C8BFC84

 

In addition to the MIM process and Fully Robotic Polishing process, the new KING MIM Black Wedges are constructed with the following game boosting technologies:

  • 3 TOUR-INSPIRED GRINDS: All three grinds (Versatile, WideLow, and Classic) were co-designed with our Tour Department and tested by Rickie Fowler, Lexi Thompson and Bryson DeChambeau on Tour.
  • Versatile Grind: An excellent all-around grind for medium to firm course conditions. Heel and toe relief provides versatility to play shots with an open face, while a center notch keeps the leading edge closer to the ground without adding effective bounce.
  • WideLow Grind: A wide, low bounce sole works its magic out of soft bunkers and turf conditions and medium rough and prevents the leading edge from digging.
  • Classic Grind: A medium-width sole with high bounce and trailing edge relief works well for neutral to steeper swings and a variety of course conditions.
  • Precision CNC Milled Face & Grooves – A fully CNC milled face maximizes surface roughness and delivers precise lofts and groove shapes to optimize trajectory and spin performance.
  • Radial CNC Milling Pattern – The circular milling pattern helps to maximize spin on softer shots where the ball doesn’t go as deep into the grooves. In addition, the position of the radial milling pattern is intended to help golfers better identify the SWEET ZONE™ for puring their wedges.
  • Progressive Spin Technology™ – Progressive groove shapes are CNC milled to optimize performance for each wedge loft. The weaker lofts feature wider, shallower grooves, and the stronger lofts feature narrower, deeper grooves to deliver consistent spin from wedge-to-wedge.
  • DURABLE BLACK QPQ FINISH: QPQ delivers a tour-preferred glare-resistant finish and maximum durability to improve groove life and wear over time.
  • COBRA CONNECT – The COBRA CONNECT, Powered by Arccos™ system features electronically enabled Lamkin Crossline Connect black grips that work in conjunction with the Arccos Caddie app to give users the ability to track their wedge stats, and learn their tendencies so they can practice more effectively.

The KING MIM Black Wedge is offered in 50, 52, 54, 56, 58- and 60-degree lofts, in the Versatile Grind (The 52, 56 and 60 degree wedges in Versatile grind are available in LH as well). In a WideLow Grind the MIM Black are offered in 56, 58- and 60-degree lofts. In the Classic Grind, MIM Black are available in 52, 56 and 60 degrees of loft. **KING MIM Chrome wedges are also now available in the identical grinds and lofts as above. Each KING MIM wedge features a black Lamkin Crossline CONNECT grip and an aftermarket KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 (125g) black shaft.

webimage-439AEBA6-8B08-4FA7-9029E6A3AE2BAF55

Delivering many of the same stroke-saving technologies as the variable-length COBRA KING MIM Black Wedges, the KING MIM Black One Length Wedges, COBRA’s first-ever MIM one-length offering, is the perfect complement to COBRA’s single length irons. Available exclusively in black in 56 and 60 degrees of loft in the Versatile Grind.

The KING MIM Black Wedges will be available tomorrow, June 12, 2020 with a MAP price of $149 per wedge. For more information on the COBRA KING MIM Black wedges and all of COBRA’s innovative new products for 2020, visit http://www.cobragolf.com.