All posts in Drivers

Callaway Timberlake Contest – Vote Now…

Callaway Golf and Justin Timberlake just announced the 25 finalists in the “Tee Off with Diablo Octane and Justin Timberlake” contest (. The Father’s Day-inspired contest, which kicked off on Callaway’s Facebook page on May 25, has drawn thousands of inspirational entries.

The public can visit Facebook.com/Callaway to vote for their favorite submission and determine the contest’s grand prize winner, who will meet Timberlake and enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime golf experience. Voting concludes on June 30.

All 25 finalists, whose entries are now posted on Callaway’s Facebook site, will automatically receive a Diablo Octane Driver, Timberlake’s driver of choice and the first club made with Forged Composite, an ultra lightweight material that Callaway co-developed with Automobili Lamborghini.

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Cleveland Golf Champs are All Right…

Over the weekend, Cleveland® Golf/Srixon’s rookie staffer Keegan Bradley won the 2011 HP Byron Nelson Championship.  Bradley, a PGA TOUR rookie and nephew of LPGA legend Pat Bradley, got his first professional win nine just days before his 25th birthday.  The week before, David Toms took first in the Crown Plaza Invitational – winning on the PGA TOUR for the first time since 2006.  To Todd Harman, president of Cleveland Golf/Srixon® -U.S.A, these victories are excellent endorsements of the company’s lightweight products.

“When two distinctly different types of players leverage our Right-Weight Fitting Technology to earn back-to-back victories, we know we’re onto something special,” he said.

The timing is perfect too as Cleveland Golf/Srixon has just announced significant investments toward bolstering their club fitting initiatives for 2011. Chuck Thiry, brand manager for Cleveland Golf, said “Our 2011 products push the limits for weight reduction and distance. We have invested heavily in our fitting resources to prove to our customers that Cleveland Golf can improve their game and lower their scores. We guarantee it.”

Number one on their “New for 2011″ list is the Right Weight Guarantee.  This year’s Ultralite drivers come in three different weights so every player can find his right weight driver – regardless of swing type or performance preference. The Right Weight Guarantee offers consumers a 60-day guarantee on all driver sales enabling golfers to exchange their driver free of charge for another weight, flex or loft.

Other initiatives include:

  • A massive capital investment in the most sophisticated and portable launch monitors in the market.
  • The most comprehensive custom shaft offering ever, featuring the latest custom graphite and steel shafts from golf’s most trusted shaft brands.
  • Expanding their fleet of fitting vans traveling nationally. Each van is driven by an expert fitting professional with tools to guarantee the best fit for golfers of all levels. The Cleveland Golf/Srixon fitting fleet is powered by Trackman and GC2 launch monitors, ACTIONFIT Lie Boards and SCUBA club bending technology.
  • Introduction of the SCUBA (Self-Contained Universal Bending Apparatus) to go along with its tour inspired GAP fitting philosophy. With the SCUBA, irons and wedges can be adjusted to the loft and lie angles at the range while fitting a player. As a result, the player can walk away from a fitting session with a completely customized set of clubs (perfect lie angles and distance gaps) delivered the same day.

You can find the complete list of initiatives here.

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Cobra S3 Driver Photo Gallery

The Cobra S3 Driver is one darn good looking driver. That’s why, when Cobra told me they were sending one over for my review… I was, in a word, excited. The S3 packs-in something Cobra are calling their ‘E9 Face Technology’, which creates a 30% larger sweet-spot. Of course, Cobra’s Adjustable Flight Technology (AFT) is on-board as well, allowing the player to adjust the clubface from an open, to a neutral or closed position.

I won’t get into the details of the technology and design at this moment (although I do have to admit I love the deeper face on this one in comparison to the Cobra S2 Driver)… For now, I decided to take a few snapshots. Enjoy.

Cobra S3 Driver Photo Gallery

Nike VR Pro Driver Really Making a Splash On Tour

Nike’s latest driver the VR Pro has been making quiet a splash on Tour, helping Nike golfers win tournaments across the world.

Nike VR Pro DriverBeginning last year Anthony Kim and Francesco Mollinari played this driver. Recently John Cook used it to validate his victory on the Championship Tour during the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Rookie Jhonattan Vegas used the driver during his first win on the PGA Tour at the Bob Hope Classic. Averaging 309 yards off the tee during the 5 rounds of the classic he scored in the 60s to show this driver definitely lives up to it’s Nike namesake. Not forgetting the most masterful winner using the tour version of this driver was Charl Schwartzel during his monumental win at the Maters this year. When it boils down to it these golfers all had the talent and paired with the right equipment they made these wins possible.

Crafted wit the latest technology and advanced design from Nike the VR Pro Driver is the perfect fit to their VR series. Designed with a pear shape so the weight could be distributed to optimum center of gravity locations. A traditional shaped head the pear profile is a classic look from the playing position. As the latest addition to the VR line Nike stocked these clubs with Project X shafts. With new Variable Compression Channels players are able to get better ball speed and greater distance. It broadens the length of the face so that on draw or fade shots golfers can still get the distance they desire. A distinctively Nike feature is the use of their STR8-Fit angle technology on the face. This technology allows golfers to adjust the club angels to get the best workability out of the club. Adjustable to an astonishing 32 different options ranging from 2 degrees open to 2 degrees closed in .25-degree increments, players can craft and work what type of shots they want.

For more on the Nike VR Pro Driver, visit GolfClubs.com.

PETCO Park Adds TaylorMade R11 Driver Foul Pole

TaylorMade-Adidas Golf Company and the San Diego Padres just unveiled an 80-foot tall R11 driver foul pole in right field at PETCO Park as part of an innovative partnership agreement to extend through the 2013 season.

Weighing 950 pounds, the all-aluminum structure runs parallel with the existing foul pole structure, while the 14-foot wide by 8-foot tall image of the R11 clubhead is positioned on the fence in the corner of right field.

The weather- and impact-resistant grip was custom rolled out of .90″ aluminum, welded into a taper shaping and then given a vehicle, textured, bed lining coating to give it a rubber look.

It took 3 days and a total of 250 man hours to install. The R11 foul pole structure is the first of its kind in Major League Baseball.

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Quick Look: The Cobra Special Release S3 Driver

You may recall our quick look at the Cobra S3 Driver a little while ago. It’s a sharp looking driver, packed full of technology to help you hit the ball farther and straighter than ever before.

As wonderful as the S3 is, Cobra has stepped-up to offer a special release driver, much like they did for the ZL Driver last year. The Special Release S3 Driver (coming soon) features an all-white paintjob, and an Aldila RIP Beta Shaft.

On top of the features listed above, all of the standard tech you find in the stock S3 driver is on-board as well. You’ll get the E9 Face Technology, Adjustable Flight Technology, and a titanium 6-4 head and face with an aluminum hosel sleeve.

Look for the Cobra Golf Special Release S3 Driver to hit a pro shop near you at the end of April 2011. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to give this one a swing. She’s a sharp one!

Cobra Special Release S3 Driver Photo Gallery:

For more information, hit up Cobra Golf.

The Bridgestone Golf J38 460 Driver

The Bridgestone J38 460 Driver

Used by PGA touring professionals Matt Kuchar and Kevin Chappell, the Bridgestone Golf J38 460 Driver is jam-packed full of technology… yet, it retains a classic look.

The Bridgestone J38 460 DriverAs you can see from the image to your right, the Bridgestone J38 460 driver has quite a classic shape. Reminiscent of Cleveland and Titleist drivers, the time-tested pear shape of this driver provides clean lines, and confidence at address.

The crown is extended back quite a bit, and this extended profile provides a low and deep center of gravity for high launch and low spin off the clubface. In the end, isn’t that what we all want? Optimal launch angle with low spin for maximum carry? Yes, I do believe so.

The J38 is made from 6-4 titanium, and has an ultra-thin crown… This allows for more weight to be distributed to the perimeter for added forgiveness.

In addition, Bridgestone has built ‘enhanced face thickness’ into the clubface. In the end, this provides yet another level of forgiveness on those off-center strikes.

The Bridgestone Golf J38 comes stock with your choice of Fujikura Motore F1 65 shaft (regular, stiff for x-stiff). I’ve played the Motore in a number of drivers, and it’s a solid performer. The only bummer here is it’s available in right-hand only, in lofts of 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5. Sorry lefties.

If you want to order one up, you best head down to a golf retailer or pro shop near you… Or better yet, pop on by the Bridgestone Golf website and drop them a line. They’ll be more than happy to help you.

Srixon Unveils FREE Golf WeatherFIT app

Srixon has just unveiled an app for the iTunes Store that works on the iPhone and iPad.  Called the Srixon Golf WeatherFIT app, it provides accurate 4-day weather forecasts for golf courses around the USA. In addition, the app uses the weather forecast to help you decide how to properly fit your Srixon Z-STAR driver and Srixon golf ball for maximum performance in the weather on those specific days of play.

Yes, you read that correctly.  The Srixon Z-STAR driver features the STAR Fitting System which enables you to independently adjust face angle and the internal weighting of the clubhead.  The face angle adjustment helps you produce more accurate shots. Fine tuning the internal weighting with the different weight options will optimize your desired ball trajectory and swing weight.

>> The STAR fitting system allows up to 84 possible configurations per loft offering for the ultimate in custom club fitting.

It is understandable why you’d need an app for that!

The Z-STAR driver also features Starburst(TM) variable face design, which enlarges the driver’s high COR area by 5 percent, providing added distance and forgiveness. This new driver features a Miyazaki(TM) Dromos(TM) shaft, which is the first premium custom shaft designed specifically for adjustable clubs.

The driver runs $399.99 (retail price).

The app itself is FREE.

The Cobra S3 Driver: A Closer Look

cobra-s3-driver-1

As part of their 2011 lineup, Cobra recently released the brand-spanking new S3 Driver. Building upon the foundation laid by the S9, and then the S2, the S3 features a new ‘E9′ face technology… a technology that creates a 30% larger sweet spot. Plus, the Adjustable Flight Technology built into the club head and shaft allows you to make adjustments to fine tune your shot shape or compensate for shot tendencies.

So what is the Cobra E9 Face Technology all about? It’s pretty darn simple, really. The face of the S3 features a taller elliptical face with a beveled perimeter. The end result is a 30% larger sweet spot, allowing you to grip it and rip it down the middle more often. Distance, accuracy and forgiveness are all built-in.

Digging deeper into the E9 Face Technology, Cobra has tested and proven that 99% of shots hit by golfers miss the center of the face in a tilted, elliptical pattern from low heel to high toe. With that in mind, they created a taller and more elliptical face to mirror that miss-hit pattern.

The S3 offers a ‘hotter’ club face in comparison to the S2 driver… take a look at the comparison of the S2 and S3 clubface below.

S2 and S3 Face Comparison

The Adjustable Flight Technology (AFT) built into the shaft and head is exactly the same as previous models (the S2 and ZL). The club comes with three settings, open, neutral and closed. While these three settings aren’t as many as some of the other technologies available today, some might argue that anything more than 3 settings is overkill. I do enjoy the simplicity of the Cobra AFT… Open, neutral or closed… pick your poison and work with it. Easy as that.

The Cobra S3 is available in 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 11.5 lofts. All models are available in 45.5″ lengths with D5 swing weight (the 11.5 is available in a D4 as well) and multiple shaft flexes. The Fukijura Blur is the stock shaft of choice, available in the TX006 and TX005 models. The tX006 is available in regular, stiff and extra-stiff, all having a mid kick and 5.5 degrees of torque. The TX005 comes in lite flex only, with a low kick point and 5.6 degrees of torque.

Fujikura Blur Shaft on the Cobra S3

Cobra S3 Photo Gallery

For more information, head on over to Cobra Golf.

Cleveland Golf Launcher TL310 Driver

cleveland-golf-launcher-tl310-driver

Listed on the GolfDigest HOT LIST for 2011, Cleveland Golf’s Launcher TL310 Driver is the real deal. The ‘TL’ stands for Tour Lite, with the driver weighing in at 310 grams. Despite the lightness of the club, it is still said to offer stability and feel demanded by the scratch golfer… with room for error for higher handicaps as well. Yes, the club is a good fit for almost any golfer, no matter if they’re looking for shot-shaping or forgiveness off the tee.

For what it’s worth, the TL310 is just part of the ‘Right Weight’ fitting system. The Launcher Ultralite series consists of 3 weights (310g, 290g and 270g). Each of these models is tuned to help players of different swing types and speeds.

The Cleveland Golf Launcher TL310 Driver features a 202 gram head, a 59-series shaft from Miyazaki C. Kua, and a 46 gram Lamkin grip. These of course are stock options, so if you’re looking to tune something specifically for your game, your best bet is to hit up an authorized Cleveland Golf retailer to get started.

Image Gallery:

Specs:

The TL310 is available in lofts of 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5. The 9.5 and 10.5 lofts are available in left-handed models as well. All models pack a 440cc club head, feature a shaft length of 45.25, feature a D4 swingweight and tip the scales at 310 grams.

For more, head on over to Cleveland Golf.