By Barry Lotz
The holidays are almost upon us, so now is the time to get busy. Here are some of the most innovative, beautiful and useful gift ideas.
The Bobby Jones Baby Alpaca Argyle V-Neck Sweater
Looking for a classic sweater? Looking for an iconic and elegant golf sweater for both on the course, or for an evening out?
Bobby delivers yet again with the highest quality garment and style of all golf manufacturers. The Argyle V-Neck is soft to the touch, but provides great added protection on those brisk winter days.
Favored throughout generations, the argyle style sweater adapts to today’s lifestyle. Made of luxurious 100% baby alpaca, ensuring warmth without bulk. Also, differentiated with black stitching to elevate the all-over pattern. Made in Peru. Dry clean or hand wash.
The sweater is available in black, or as shown in the photo with sizing from Small to XXL.
$295.00 www.bobbyjones.com
BOBBY JONES NEW J715 Driver and J715 Hybrids
Looking for a Driver and Hybrids that are designed to provide all golfers unrivaled distance and accuracy? Look no further!
For professionals and mid-handicap amateurs, the Bridgestone 460cc J715 Driver features the F.A.S.T. (Flex Action Speed Technology) Crown Design for increased ball velocities and higher launch angles. The driver features a D2 swing weight and the standard shaft is the acclaimed Mitsubishi ZT.
The Power Milled face provides incredible spin reduction, while Spin Control Technology allows for complete control of trajectory and spin. The Variable Adjust System lets the user choose their desired face and lie angle settings.
The driver is very “user friendly” with a great sound and equally impressive feel and distance.
The J715 driver is available now online at www.bobbyjones.com. The street price of the driver is $399.00 and the hybrids are $189.99 each.
Bridgestone also offers its thinnest hybrid club face which creates maximum ball repulsion and increased distance, while an adjustable weight allows for user defined trajectory and weight profile.
Here as well, the hybrids have a D2 swing weight and use as their stock shaft the Mitsubishi Fubuki Z
- H1 Hybrid: 40.5″ length, 17° loft, 58° lie angle, 125cc head size
- H2 Hybrid: 40″ length, 19° loft, 58.5° lie angle, 120cc head size
- H3 Hybrid: 39.5″ length, 21° loft, 59° lie angle, 115cc head size
- H4 Hybrid: 39″ length, 23° loft, 59.5° lie angle, 111cc head size
$189.99 each. www.bobbyjones.com
Blast Motion Golf Replay/3D Motion Capture Trainer with Smart Video Swing Analysis and Performance Data Overlay
This is one of the newest and most popular training aids currently in use on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour.
With instant gratification its strongest USP (Unique Selling Proposition), the Blast Precision Motion Sensor allows the golfer to capture their swing and putting stroke with 3D metrics in real time! The sensor knows when you are moving. You can even store your performance metrics when the sensor is out of range and they’ll download to your smart phone or tablet as soon as you reconnect.
The Blast Precision Motion Sensor attaches to the end of nearly any regulation driver or putter and uses Bluetooth Smart technology to connect to your smartphone or tablet.
There’s no need to alter your natural swing or putting stroke, and there are no power buttons or controls to get in your way. You capture video and track driver swings and putting strokes instantly, and if you love tech products, you will love Blast Motion’s ability to share highlights with your friends via Facebook, Twitter and E-mail with just one touch.
Make every move matter; With Blast Golf Replay, coaches, golfers and active life enthusiasts can gain the insights they need to improve their game, gain the competitive edge and show the world what they’ve achieved
Compatible with iPhone5, 5c, 5s, 6, 6 Plus, iPad Mini2, iPad3, iPad4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2. All devices must be running iOS 8.x or iOS 9.x.
$149.95 www.blastmotion.com
The Aiming Alignment Device
Undoubtedly, one of the key essentials of being a good golfer is your ability to aim correctly. If your alignment is just a couple of degrees off, the resulting direction could be rather disastrous.
Now with tech gadgets/products permeating the golf market, a device that corrects your alignment is available. The Aiming is designed to help align you to your target during practice sessions or on the course.
The Aiming is a small, non-invasive device that clips onto your belt or waistband and vibrates to let you know when you have incorrectly lined up to your target. After standing behind your golf ball and pressing the button on the device’s face, you’ll feel and hear a notification that the device is “ready.” Address your golf ball and The Aiming will notify you if you’re standing too left or too right from your original target line.
The sensors are accurate with immediate feedback and a long battery life is a bonus.
Initially, it takes some getting used to – trying it out on the range is suggested. Thereafter, you will be impressed on how well the device senses your alignment and helps your golf game.
$149.99 www.theaiming.com
Another three great products that not only make great gifts, but will certainly improve your golf game:
Callaway MD3 Milled Wedges.
AKA “dart throwers”, these new milled wedges feature Progressive Groove Optimization – A 3 groove package precision milled into the face of these wedges that optimizes spin as you go up in loft. It creates a smoother spin transition from your irons to wedges.
The 30V grooves in the Pitching and Gap Wedges are built for shots that require a steep angle into the ball. The 20V grooves in the sand wedges are designed for full shots and bunker shots. Wider 5V grooves in the lob wedges were put in for better control for shots out of the rough and around the green.
Callaway developed 3 unique grinds to suit the shots you hit, the courses you play and the swings you make. It’s the versatility and selection you need to get up and down from anywhere. Each particular grind, the C-Grind, the S-Grind and the W-grind, offer distinct playability features with the S-Grind being the most popular.
$129.99 Matte & Silver available www.callawaygolf.com
For more specific data on each grind, please visit www.callawaygolf.com
Callaway Great Big Bertha Driver
This has to be the best driver brought to market since the original Big Bertha! (You can expect 30-40 yards over the original Big Bertha). An outstanding combination of feel, stability and distance and so easy to hit!
With its multi-material lightweight club design, aerodynamic head shape and weighting between 295g to 325g, be prepared to be impressed as never before. More speed produces more yards. With Callaway’s Next Gen R•MOTO Technology, the club provides the structure for a thinner face, leading to high ball speeds on center hits and off-center hits as well.
The genius behind this driver is not only a 10g sliding weight on the perimeter of the club head put there to add stability, but also you can slide the weight for more dispersion control to hit your drives on line. You have virtually unlimited draw and fade bias options, more additional draw bias than ever before, and you get all of this without sacrificing forgiveness.
With its remarkable and very successful Optifit hosel, you can quickly slide the weight to any position you want on the track and choose from 8 different configurations to tune loft, lie, and face angle.
As for the engine of the driver, Callaway offers at no extra upcharge, 19 shaft options in a variety of weight classes and flexes. I personally recommend a Graphite Design shaft, especially if you have a slower swing speed. But certainly, Graphite Design offers shafts for all swing speeds. Graphite Design shafts are among the most popular shafts on the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour, Champions Tour and the LPGA Tour.
$449.99 www.callawaygolf.com
TaylorMade M1 Rescue Hybrid.
Wow! What a club! The ability to adjust a hybrid never ceases to amaze me. Now you can get the right loft and lie and watch your golf score improve.
Two moveable weights (one 3-gram aluminum and one 25-gram tungsten) in the steel head, can be adjusted for neutral or fade bias. The Tour-inspired shaping includes a compact shape for versatility in a variety of conditions, while the Speed Pocket protects ball speed on off-center hits. The 3° Loft Sleeve (± 1.5°) allows you to dial in face angle, loft, and lie preferences.
FYI, the M in the other models refers to ‘multi-material’ and in the M1 Rescue this comes in the form of two tungsten weights in the center back and the toe of the sole that can be swapped to alter the shot shape the club produces.
Pro golfers intrinsically do not want their hybrids to hook at all, hence the development of the M1 Rescue. By default the back weight is 25g and the toe weight is 3g to give a neutral set up with a mid to high launch. Swapping them over gives a strong fade bias.
In my opinion, if you are consistently hooking your hybrids, then this club will work extremely well. Also, it works extremely well off the tee.
The M1 Rescue is available in four lofts from 17, 19, 21and 24 degrees, with an adjustable hosel and a Fujikura Pro 80h shaft as standard.
Of note, the M1 will feel heavier than the previous model, the R15, thanks to the lower weight distribution of the tungsten sole weights. Also make sure the head graphics and colors will work for your eye.
The stock shaft is the Fujikura Pro 80 in X, S, R, M flexes.
$249.99 www.taylormadegolf.com
Barry Lotz, J.D., Ph.D. is the director of the Professional Golf Teachers Association of America. He is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America, the California Golf Writers Association, and currently works as a mental coach to 14+ PGA Tour Pros. He is also the author of numerous books, including “333 Best Web Sites for Golfers”, “How to Build Business Relationships through Golf” which is in the Top Ten Golf Business Book’s bestseller list. His latest book,” The Right Mind for Golf”, released last year, is now in its 5th printing. He can be reached at www.pgtaa.com or [email protected]