(Post #1800!) I love golf items which step outside the boundaries of the stuffy country club mentality. I like to wear aggressive apparel and have crazy golf accessories complimenting my gear. The Shaftix shaft wraps do exactly that. I’m able to have some insane looking shafts and send a message to other golfers: Though I may be a hack with a “granny over-the-top across the line epileptic seizure on crack which makes Charles Barkley look like Ernie Els and makes Jim Furyk look on plane” swing, I have some hip golf gear and appointments! I’m feeling like Rodney Dangerfield as Al Czervik in Caddyshack.

Shaftix Overview

As succinctly as I can put it, Shaftix are stickers (wraps) you put on your golf club shafts to make them look cool. They’re similar to the stickers you put on glass which leave no residue when you peel them off. Shaftix come in many different cool colors, patterns and varieties. The wraps are easy to apply and remove, for when you need to change shaft colors with the season or perhaps for a special event.

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One of the clubs I don’t switch very often in my bag is my 3-wood. It’s difficult to find 3-woods which work well with my “granny over the top jerky off plane epileptic seizure on crack makes Jim Furyk’s swing look on plane and makes Charles Barkley look like a scratch golfer” swing. So I don’t switch unless I find a club which really performs well for me. I switched.

Technology

MacGregor Golf has come out with new technology this season, just about across their entire line. The MacGregor “MacTec” is no longer around and the new “MT” line is the latest and greatest. Many of the MT offerings, the MT 3-wood included, employ the MacGregor “cup face” technology.

The MT Fairway is made of 17-4 stainless steel and the cup shaped front portion of the head is plasma welded to the body. Unlike many fairways, there isn’t a flat insert welded to the front of the head. The whole front of the face is one piece, shaped like a cup or bowl which wraps around the edges of the head on all sides. Using this technology, along with varying material content in different areas of the face, provides greater rebound as you go farther away from the sweet spot. Pure shots in the center of the club will always go well, but with the higher rebound moving outward, off-center shots will be closer to the same response and distance.

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Oh boy. Look what’s in my bag now!

I didn’t hit the driver well the first few swings yesterday because I was swinging out of my shorts. When I finally calmed down and put some good swings on the thing I blasted it over 310 yards three times. I had pitching wedge and 7-iron into the par-5 13th and 5th holes yesterday. Easy two-putt birdies. I drove the par-4 14th too, but three putted for a freaking par because I was on the wrong tier. I guess I’ll have to start placing my drives on the proper quadrant of the greens on par-4’s now!

I have many images of the Bobby Jones wedges and Bobby Jones driver in the HOG Bobby Jones Gallery.

One of my favorite companies, Bobby Jones, has announced that their new series of wedges is now available for purchase. Check out my interview in the video below where my buddy Jesse Ortiz tells me about these wedges he worked on along with Dave Pelz.

Bobby Jones’ Press Release

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Sonartec, one of the pioneers of hybrids, is gonzo. Their doors are shut. I haven’t seen any press releases yet, but they’re done. Their booth at this year’s PGA Show was pretty sad.

Too bad. This company had a ton of potential. I own a Sonartec 19 degree hybrid. I like it. Maybe I’ll be able to get more money than I paid for it on ebay soon since it’s a “collector’s item” now…

After a “recapitalization” at the end of 2007, MacGregor Golf has a whole new line of clubs for 2008. The “MACTEC” line is now replaced by the “MT” line. In the near future I’ll be reviewing numerous MacGregor Golf products, from the MT line to the Face-Off putter by Bobby Grace.

MacGregor MT Irons

MacGregor has five sets of irons for 2008 for varying player abilities. The MT irons are in the dead center of the offerings, providing “game improvement” qualities for mid handicap players, and “player” features for low handicappers.

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Speaking of my golf videos…

I’m happy to say that my two video features with master club maker Jesse Ortiz can be found on the Bobby Jones Golf web site!

The first video (below), featuring the new Bobby Jones driver can be found here.

The second video (below), covers the new wedges which are a collaboration between Jesse Ortiz and short game guru Dave Pelz. The wedge video can be found here.

JB Holmes hadn’t been putting terribly well until last week at the FBR Open in Phoenix. As you may recall, JB made some clutch putts to get himself into the playoff with Phil Mickelson which he won. The announcers mentioned his improved putting after he’d put the new TaylorMade Rossa Monza Spider in his bag. Below are some images of the Monza Spider which happened to be the most played putter in Phoenix. I’m currently working on a review of the Spider so you can know if you should buy one ($199 street) when they come out in March. Click on the images below for more Spider pictures.