Leading Edge

Just saw the wreaths and holly at an airline counter, so the retail establishment can’t be far behind. And while it may seem early, we all know how holiday shopping time can just evaporate. So it’s never too early to start thinking about the fashion-conscious golfers on your list. If you have wives, girlfriends, nieces, moms – anyone who likes to look classy while playing golf, that is – listen up.

The folks at Just Fore You have come out with a new line of golf-themed jewelry that could well make you a hero with a lipstick-stained face this holiday season. No mere costume bangles, these sterling silver rings and bangle bracelets feature white sapphire “golf balls,” plus a “tee” in your choice of gemstones (the one pictured here is turquoise). More sparkly things and info at www.justforeyou.com.

In response to the new restrictions being placed on the volume and edge sharpness of grooves, Titleist has come out with a conforming line of its popular Vokey Design Spin Milled wedges. The new wedges are named, appropriately enough, Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C wedges. The C-C stands for the “Condition of Competition” adopted by both the USGA and R&A, which prohibits PGA Tour and most Tour-level participants from playing the non-conforming irons and wedges after January 1, 2010.

Titleist will continue to manufacture and sell the previous generation non-conforming Vokey Design Spin Milled wedges through 2010. The C-C wedges, which will be available through authorized Titleist retailers beginning November 1, 2009, generate a higher launch, less spin and more run-out than the previous “bigger groove” wedges.

The new C-C wedges come in 17 different models (pitching and gap wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge) with multiple bounce options, sole grinds and lofts ranging from 48 to 64 degrees. They also feature Titleist’s advanced Spin Milled technology, which produces a higher face friction than a polished wedge face for additional spin.

“The newer groove standards will put more pressure on better players’ short games,” said Bob Vokey, master craftsman and senior product development manager for Titleist. “It will be crucial for them to determine the most effective combinations of loft, bounce and sole grinds in their wedge set-ups. There is less room for error when players do not have as much spin as they are accustomed, and they must be much more precise in their execution.”

Nine of the 17 C-C wedges will be available in left-handed models, while all come in a non-glare chrome finish engraved with the letters "C-C" on the hosel. The suggested retail price for each wedge is $125.

Titleist has updated its popular AP iron models. The multi-material irons, both dual cavity designs, will incorporate more tuned-in feel features, Titleist says.

The AP1 (the moniker stands for advanced performance) generates a higher ball flight and more shot forgiveness than its brother. The thinner face and larger cavity help with this, as does the hefty tungsten-nickel sole. There’s also a combined aluminum-elastomer shock absorption mechanism behind the face; Titleist calls it the Tuned Feel System. The idea is to banish the unwanted vibrations so that only the good-feeling feedback makes it up to the player’s hands. This feature goes back to the original plan for the AP line: Titleist said consumer research convinced the company to make performance irons that felt good, instead of clubs that worked well at the expense of feel.

The AP2 is the forged model, which Titleist figures will appeal to more skilled players. It also has a cavity-back design, the tungsten-nickel sole and the Tuned Feel System. But the slightly shorter head is closer to the classis shapes most skilled players grew up with, and the sole design is cambered in a way that encourages creative shotmaking.

Cobra Golf is the latest company to join the adjustable-clubface craze with the launch of the new ZL driver. ZL stands for Zero Limits, and with its multi-material construction and Adjustable Flight Technology Cobra believes it has created the longest-hitting driver in its 36-year history.

The ZL features an adjustable hosel which allows you to set the clubface to one of three positions – Open (O) for someone who fights a hook, Neutral (N) for your straight hitter, or Closed (C) for those who struggle with a slice. To create your desired ball flight, all you do is loosen the hosel screw on the sole of the clubhead, rotate the shaft to the preferred face setting (in line with the silver AFT logo), insert the shaft back into the clubhead, and tighten until you hear a click sound.

For those of you who need additional help hitting a draw, the ZL also comes with a swingweight screw on the rear sole of the club. This extra weight positions the center of gravity closer to the heel, making it easier to turn the face over and square the club.

The clubhead is constructed of several different materials (a lightweight, carbon fiber crown and sole plate are integrated into a titanium body and face) to maximize launch, ball speed and distance, and deliver superior sound off the face. Cobra’s patented Milled Rhombus laser-welded face insert also helps to promote faster ball speeds on off-center hits.

Several Cobra PGA staff players, including Geoff Ogilvy and J.B. Holmes, have already put the ZL in play. The ZL carries a suggested retail price of $425 and will start shipping on Nov. 1. It’s available in lofts of 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 11.5 degrees, and comes standard with a 46-inch Aldila VooDoo graphite shaft.

Adidas Golf found a few years ago that a lot of pros didn’t like the feeling of being elevated in their golf shoes. That is, the thicker soles, with all the traction elements on the outsole, had some players feeling like they were reaching down to the ball a bit – enough, in some cases, to throw off their stance or swing.

The company’s solution was to go low, and thin out the whole bottom of the shoe, but without sacrificing traction and stability elements. The latest model to do this, the TOUR360 4.0, made its debut this past week on the PGA Tour at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.

And it was a victorious debut, as Martin Laird sported the new shoe en route to his first PGA Tour title.

The TOUR360 4.0 features adidas PINS (Performance Insert System), which the company developed with cleat maker Pride Sports. The cleat attachment mechanism is thinner, as is the cleat itself, resulting in a shoe that is a third lower to the ground than those with conventional attachment setups. TMAG is billing it as the moveable weight technology of footwear.

Other TOUR360 features from prior models are there as well, including the mid-foot-gripping Powerband chassis and adiPRENE cushioning in the heel. Suggested retail will be $180. The shoes are already available in Las Vegas and will be released nationwide on November 1.

In an industry where buzz means so much, equipment companies are becoming more aggressive with product introductions. Instead of staged or timed intros of one or two products at a time, you might see a whole line come out at once. Call it a golf equipment blitz.

Wilson Golf is the latest to call this play. The Chicago-based brand just announced its entire 2010 product line, including three iron families, a hybrid/iron combo set, a heavy-soled hybrid, three golf ball models, and five putters.

The irons are the FG Tours (F for feel), the Ci9 (C for control) and Di9 (D for distance). The FG (photo, left) is a cavity-backed forged model that is already played on Tour. The midsize Ci9 (below, right), successor to the Ci6 and Ci7, offers a Tour look with game improvement features. The Di9, which Wilson figures will appeal to the largest group of players, enhances distance with low and deep weighting, plus a wide-tip shaft for stability.

The corresponding golf balls, FG Tour, C:25 and D:25, fall into the aspiration categories as you might expect. The FG is a multilayer urethane design with the softness and greenside response skilled players (and quite a few less-skilled players) prize. The C:25 is also a multilayer design with distance features and controlled spin within 150 yards. The D:25 is a low-compression, 2-piece model engineered to get maximum yardage out of a player’s swing.

D-FY is what Wilson is calling its hybrid/iron set; it’s designed to help players who have difficulty with long irons get the ball airborne with adequate loft. The FYbrid HS, the heavy-soled hybrid, has actually been in the market since 2008. It has a deep center of gravity to help with the long shots, all in a design that incorporates the best features of hybrids and fairway woods, Wilson says.

All the new clubs conform to new 2010 groove rules. Look for them in pro shops this fall.

A putt that doesn’t hop, skip, jump and otherwise annoy on the way to the hole? That would be utopian.

That’s what Scott Saunders and Michael Hillis of Utopia, Texas, about 80 miles west of San Antonio in the state’s windy Hill Country, thought as well. They knew from experience that every putt skids a bit as soon as it’s hit – and during that time, is subject to all kinds of mishaps of physics. The sooner the ball gets rolling end over end, the more likely it is to hold its line. Many innovations have been tried over the decades to assure this result, including putters with negative loft.

Saunders and Hillis, founders of Utopia Golf Products, had a different solution. Their idea was to build a putterface engineered so that  the contact point is a ridge – what Utopia calls “The Edge.” It’s positioned to strike the ball above its equator, which Utopia says will encourage an early forward roll.

The idea raised some eyebrows at the PGA Fall Expo in Las Vegas in September. There are currently two models, priced at $170 and $180. For more information, contact the company’s Web site.

U.S. Captain Fred Couples has been with Ashworth since the beginning, so it should come as no surprise that his American squad is sporting his team’s shirts and sweaters at this week’s Presidents Cup. Ashworth Golf, a division of TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company, is the primary apparel supplier for the U.S. squad at this week’s event, which is being held at Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco. Couples and his players, which include fellow Ashworth Ambassador Sean O’Hair, will be wearing Ashworth each day of the competition, which concludes on Sunday.

O’Hair’s U.S. teammate, Jim Furyk, is among several PGA Tour players scheduled to wear adidas Golf’s new TOUR360 4.0 shoe at next week’s Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. Adidas is touting that the shoe will bring golfers lower to the ground than ever before, creating a stronger connection with the ground for better overall balance, stability and power. International Presidents Cup team member Tim Clark is also expected to wear the revolutionary new shoe in Las Vegas.

The TOUR360 4.0 combines Advanced THiNTech low-profile technology with Pride Sports exclusive THiNTech cleat to bring the feet closer to the ground; the shoe is said to be 32 percent lower than any previous adidas Golf shoe. This allows your feet to grip the ground better. The TOUR360 4.0 also has fibers woven into the lining to help regulate temperature, and adiPRENE cushioning to help absorb impact in the heel.

The shoe is offered in five color combinations, including Running White/Black/Metallic Silver (above, right), and comes with a two-year waterproof warranty. It’s suggested retail price is $180.