Day 6 of 7 straight days of golf equipment reviews!
I’ve had 7 different types/brands of golf balls in my review queue. The Dunlop Loco Tour D is the first of the 7 I’ll be covering in my upcoming reviews.
The Dunlop Loco Tour D is Dunlop’s “premium” golf ball. It’s meant to compete with the ProV1’s and HX Tours of the world, and compete it does. Up until recently John Daly played this ball on tour. Now he’s with Maxfli.
Not much can be found online about any Dunlop golf balls. In fact if you go to www.dunlopgolf.com you won’t find a single golf ball, just other equipment. As it turns out licensing issues currently have Dunlop split into a golf division and a “sports” division. The sports division is where you’ll find the golf balls for now. That will change in the future.
Technology
The Tour D is a three-piece ball with 95 compression. (I didn’t know they were putting a number on compression anymore..).
The cover of the ball consists of a very thin urethane cover. The thin cover helps increase spin.
The Tour D has a 432 dimple pattern. This pattern provides the player with a slightly lower, more penetrating ball flight.
On the course
My friends gave me some grief because I was playing a golf ball made by a “tire company.” But they stopped giving me grief a few shots into the round when they saw how well the ball performed.
I found the performance of the Tour D to be very similar to that of a regular flavor ProV1. The ball is plenty long, but not quite as long as the longest distance balls.
The Tour D ball spins very well with short shots and you have a ton of control and feel around the greens.
Crisp iron shots feel great. You can really feel that “95 compression” compressing on solid irons and drives.
In the wind the ball performs very well thanks to that 432 dimple pattern.
Critic’s corner
The main problem I have with the Loco Tour D golf ball is the cover. After a few holes and some crisp shots the cover started actually flaking off. This is not shearing like can happen with many balls, the cover is simply coming off. Since the cover is about a zillionth of an inch thick, I didn’t find the flaking issue to have any bearing on the performance.
Conclusion
The Loco Tour D is an excellent golf ball. The performance and feel is superb.
If you want “premium” performance at a price of about half of what other premium balls cost, this is your ball. List price is just over $30/dozen and most stores have them for $29.
Day 5 of 7 straight days of golf equipment reviews!
Hybrids are the rage. Seems like everyone is dumping their long irons and putting these easy to hit clubs in their bag.
I’m a big fan of Ping gear. Looking back there isn’t one piece of Ping gear I’ve owned that didn’t perform very well. I use a Ping G2 driver and it is about the easiest club to hit in my bag and it’s scary long.
I was excited to have a Ping G5 hybrid in the bag. I chose the same shaft that my G2 driver has, the TFC 100. Actually the hybrid version of this shaft is the TFC 100H for those really picky folks.
Looks
The G5 hybrid is a pretty club. The head shape and finish are pleasing to the eye when you’re standing over a shot. From above the club face looks a bit closed to me but I can also see much of the face with makes me “think” the shot will be easier.
Technology
The engineers at Ping have been innovators for years. They’ve been ahead of many golf companies in terms of design and manufacturing ideas.
The crown of the club is sloped which promotes higher launch through a low center of gravity. For distance and consistency the steel face is machined and robotically plasma welded.
The size of the club head isn’t giant. The compact size of the head promotes better shots and less resistance in the rough and from tough lies.
Ping doesn’t employ a movable weighting system.
Options
The G5 hybrid is available in 16°, 19°, 22° and 25° lofts.
Available shafts:
| Shaft |
Material |
Flex |
Torque |
Weight |
| PING CS Lite |
steel* |
Regular |
1.8° |
94g |
| PING CS Lite |
steel* |
Stiff |
1.7° |
107g |
| True Temper DGS |
steel* |
Stiff |
1.5° |
125g |
| True Temper DGX |
steel* |
X-Stiff |
1.4° |
123g |
| PING Z-Z65 |
steel* |
Stiff |
1.6° |
109g |
| PING TFC100H |
graphite |
Soft R |
3.8° |
75g |
| PING TFC100H |
graphite |
Regular |
3.2° |
76g |
| TFC 100H |
graphite |
Stiff |
2.7° |
78g |
| TFC 100H |
graphite |
X-Stiff |
2.6° |
79g |
| Aldila NV 85 Hybrid |
graphite |
Regular |
2.5° |
84g |
| Aldila NV 85 Hybrid |
graphite |
Stiff |
2.5° |
84g |
| Aldila NV 85 Hybrid |
graphite |
X-Stiff |
2.5° |
84g |
| Grafalloy ProLaunch Hybrid |
graphite |
Regular |
2.6° |
80g |
| Grafalloy ProLaunch Hybrid |
graphite |
Stiff |
2.5° |
81g |
| Grafalloy ProLaunch Hybrid |
graphite |
X-Stiff |
2.4° |
82g |
Ping has a color coded grip-size chart for players to determine the right grip. They offer 6 different grips from “full cord” to “textured spiral.” I prefer the new textured spiral myself.
On the course
First off, I don’t necessarily have a big reason to hit a hybrid. I’m a fairly decent iron striker. I have a 2 iron which I can crush and it goes very straight. But I know I’m not the norm in this case.
I found the G5 hybrid (as I do many hybrids), not as “easy to hit” as everyone is led to believe. And I also didn’t find it to be as “forgiving” as all the hype about hybrids tells. This may be due to a few different reasons. One reason is that perhaps I may be playing the hybrid like an iron, hitting down on the ball. I also may be placing the ball in the wrong place in my stance. Is it a wood or is it an iron placement? I tried both and one in the middle.
On solid shots I hit a nice towering shot with the 19 degree and they went anywhere from 220-240 yards (about how far my 3-iron goes). I was able to work the ball if I really concentrated but it didn’t come naturally to work it left to right (right handed) as I suspect the face is a bit closed.
Critic’s corner
The major problem for me was that I couldn’t really “feel” the sweet spot with this club. Perhaps I never found it? Shots inside and outside felt the same as in the center.
I didn’t really find that I hit more fairways or could keep the ball in play any better than with my 3-iron. But then again, most people can’t hit a 3-iron.
Though Ping’s engineers make great clubs, their head covers are “so so.” They work, but often fall off easily.
Conclusion
On well struck shots the G5 hybrid flew high and landed on the green softly. Bad shots still had some decent distance but went off line more than you’d think a “forgiving” club would.
If you have trouble with your long irons, perhaps a G5 hybrid would be the answer for you. For me, the trusty long irons in my bag haven’t lost their place.
Day 4 of my 7 straight days of golf equipment reviews!
You read the title right. Callaway is in the eyewear business now. They have a new division called “Callaway Golf Eyewear.” Callaway calls their eye wear “serious equipment designed to enhance your competitive edge.” Whatever it takes as far as I’m concerned…
There are three product lines in the Callaway Golf Eyewear offering:
1. Sports Series
2. Collection Series
3. X-Series
I’m going to be doing a review on one product from each of the Callaway lines!
This review will cover the X-Series line. The model I’m covering today is the X602-RD.
Looks
The X602-RD (“602” for short from this point on) is a very stylish pair of glasses. They’re not too overboard like some glasses can be with the crazy designs that make you look like an insect or an alien. They’re high tech looking, yes, but elegant as well.
Technology
There’s quite a bit of technology in the 602’s. The frame components are made of of titanium and Grilamid. Grilamid is a high performance engineering plastic which is very strong yet flexible.
The lenses of the 602’s (and the Callaway line in general) are made of a patent pending material called Neox. Neox blocks 100% of the harmful blue rays while letting more of the visual spectrum in. Your eyes don’t have to work as hard so they don’t fatigue as easily. The Neox tinting technology also allows you to see more detail on the course and even read the greens better.
The fit of the 602’s is quite interesting. The frames are very flexible due to the Grilamid. You can twist, bend or tweak the frames so they fit your head just perfectly. Believe me, my head needs some major tweaking for glasses to fit and these fit perfectly.
Accessories
The 602’s come with a great hard case. I don’t really get companies that give you a soft case for eyewear. What’s the point of that? So when they break the soft case contains all the broken glass?
The hard case is spring loaded and seals tight to keep dust out. Obviously the folks at Callaway where thinking because you need a hard case as a golfer. I don’t like putting my glasses in my golf bag without protection. A stray ball could hit the bag, it could take a hit going in and out of the trunk or even a crazed player who loses it could throw a club and hit your bag (that has happened to me before).
Along with the hard case you get a soft slip case. This case is made of special fabric designed for cleaning the glasses.
On the course
Today was the first time I put the 602’s into action on the course. It was a very bright day with virtually no clouds in the sky.
I often get a headache after a long day on the course in the bright Sun. No such occurrence today. My eyes feel nice and rested.
I had no problems seeing the ball in flight and I loved the read I had on the greens with the 602’s. In fact I managed so well around the course with the 602’s on that I carded a 71 (-1) for my first under par round of the season. I collected about 1/4 of the cost of another pair of 602’s in the process by winning all my bets! The 602’s retail at $195.00.
Conclusion
I’m not the superstitious type, but I’m “under par lifetime” with the 602’s. I’ll be wearing them when I play tomorrow for sure! Heck, I may sleep with them on tonight.
Callaway may be new to the eyewear business but their offerings are of the highest quality and workmanship. Their design is unique and elegant. The functionality and performance on the course is excellent. Callaway has a winner here.
Played a tough track today called Wingpointe (it’s by the airport). The greens were awesome: hard but receptvie and putting true.
Had a 34 on the front and 37 on the back with a double on a par5 (ouch).
-1, first round under par this year…. I was wondering if it was EVER going to happen. Hopefully many more.
This week’s winner for fantasy golf istj7644. tj7644 wins a box of Swing Juice golf/sports drink.
We’re 4 weeks from knowing who the first winner of a Nintendo DS with True Swing Golf is. Bedford_Golf has the edge right now over Luke (o4Utes). HOG is still in a pitiful 28th place. Fortunately I already have a DS because there’s no way I’m going to win it
Click through to the sponsors will ya? Let’s make them happy so we’ll have cool prizes next year!
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