Categories
Driver Equipment

TaylorMade Stealth: A new era begins for golf equipment

The Stone Age, Bronze Age and Titanium Age are over – long live the Carbon Age. At least if TaylorMade has its way. Much of the new TaylorMade Stealth series revolves around the material, which is simultaneously strong but also feather-light. Dive into the new age of golf equipment.

TaylorMade Stealth stands out.

TaylorMade is quite familiar to our company, as we work closely with their latest product launches. First, both parties formally agree that no information will leak out before the official release date. Afterwards, they present the technologies, advantages and details of the new products. There is some spare time to ask questions to the engineers on site before it is over. Finally, it’s off to a driving range or golf course to see the new toy in action and take first pictures and videos.

This year things were a little different at TaylorMade. Our colleague from Golf Post, Johannes Gärtner lived the entire TaylorMade experience, and he knew that something extraordinary was coming. Walking through a specially constructed “disco tunnel” at the European headquarters, a show room was waiting. The theme was the great changes in humanity. Starting with the invention of the wheel, followed by the automobile and the moon landing. TaylorMade is really coming on strong.

TaylorMade masters the “Carbonwood” equipment

During the presentation, Gärtner was handed a driver head that had been disassembled into all its individual parts. The clubface of the new TaylorMade Stealth Drivers is made of carbon, not titanium as usual. This is also the reason for the new term “Carbonwood”, which TaylorMade immediately had protected as a trade mark.

The new face of the TaylorMade Stealth Driver is not only made of carbon, but also in deep red. (Photo: TaylorMade)

English-speaking golfers coined the term “metalwood” after the first major material innovation. Now it is to be the carbon woods that change the game of golf forever, just as the first “metalwoods” once did. Admittedly, this technology is not entirely new. TaylorMade has been working on carbon club faces for about 20 years now.

However, this technological possibilities have not always existed. Back in 2013, there was a strictly limited special promotion that was only available to the Japanese market. TaylorMade Gloire used a carbon face for the first time back then. Moreover, it is a question of cost and use ratio. What it started as a dream became true, TaylorMade has now succeeded, but the new drivers cost more than in previous years.

The first impression

Besides this big surprise, they also presented fairway woods, rescues and an iron set, which belong to the new TaylorMade Stealth family as well. In contrast to the drivers, they are (still) equipped with a traditional titanium face. However, the topic of carbon still plays a big role, as more and more parts in the club head are being replaced with this wonder material. It is extremely stable, holds the driver together and weighs significantly less.

The next day Johannes Gärtner gave it a try at the North Hants Golf Club driving range. There, Justin Rose grew up and was immortalised everywhere in the clubhouse. It is customary to have a small tee box of one’s own to prevent passers-by from seeing the new clubs. To keep them secret while testing them on the course becomes more difficult. Therefore, a huge TaylorMade tent isolated us from the rest and we were not allowed to take photos or videos of the clubs. The new clubs should remain a secret at all costs. At the end, the Americans proved to be exceptionally fond of the clubs.

TaylorMade makes it unforgettable

The feel and sound of the shot with a TaylorMade Stealth Driver are completely contrary to what you have experienced so far. It also feels like the ball sticks to the clubface at first. This is actually due to the fact that the ball has longer contact with the driver because of the carbon construction. After that, it whizzes away. Equipped with a Trackman and new TP5, the statistics validated the first feeling. With the same club head speed, the TaylorMade Stealth drivers deliver more ball speed.

More carbon in the wood and hybrid

The woods also cut a fine figure. The red colour theme is reminiscent of the M5 and M6 generation. The differences to the predecessor models are not that drastic in comparison with the Drivers. Nevertheless, the trained eye perceives small nuances. In particular, a small aiming aid at the top of the clubface and a visible edge at the end of the club. Both help to orientate better.

In addition, the shaping and weighting also experience minor changes that optimise the desired parameters. More forgiveness, a little larger clubface and a come more speed – true to the motto: “A little better every year.”

As with the woods, there is more carbon in the crown of the hybrids – or as TaylorMade calls them, rescues. The same game as always. Weight is saved at one corner in the club, redistributed so that in the end stability, centre of gravity and speed can be improved.

The two fairway woods appeal to different target groups. (Photo: TaylorMade)

TaylorMade Stealth – hot irons

The look of the TaylorMade Stealth irons is extremely close to that of the popular P7 family. Surely, a big step in the right direction. Game Improvement irons have always been thick, chunky, round, big and/or fat. This optical problem has been taken up again and again in recent years in order to improve it. The predecessor models, on the other hand, look much more backward.

In the Game Improvement category, the new TaylorMade Stealth iron is definitely an eye-catcher. (Photo: TaylorMade)

One particular change concerns the tip of the head. With the toe-wrap technology, weight is strategically redistributed within the club. In addition, there is only one set of irons, not two different ones as usual.

Separate variant for the ladies

In recent years, TaylorMade has not had an extra colour option for women golfers. Luckly, this changed. Small adjustments in head weight, angles, shaft and grip tailor these clubs specifically to the preferences of most ladies so they can play to their full potential. However, the core technologies are all the same as for the men.

Text from Johannes Gärtner

Categories
Apparel Equipment Products

ARCCOS GOLF TEAMS UP WITH SAMSUNG FOR THE NEW GALAXY WATCH 4 SERIES

Arccos – the pioneer of big data and artificial intelligence for golf – today announced it has teamed up with Samsung to launch the Arccos Caddie app for the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, leveraging the Wear OS Powered by Samsung platform built jointly with Google to benefit golfers around the world.

By working closely with Samsung to participate in the launch of the first Samsung smartwatch to leverage Wear OS Powered by Samsung, Arccos has reaffirmed its position as the global category leader for on-course performance tracking and insights. Its members have recorded more than 7 million rounds and 460 million shots with the system while playing golf courses in 194 countries. This feeds the world’s largest on-course dataset, which now includes 31 billion separate data points that are analysed to help golfers perform their best.

Arccos Caddie App for Wear OS Powered by Samsung on New Samsung Galaxy Watches
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 users will now be able to use Arccos Caddie to receive precise GPS distances while in-play and review their shots and clubs used post game. Later this year, Arccos will also incorporate Health Services API information into the Arccos Caddie app for Wear OS Powered by Samsung, as well as enable users to see a variety of statistics from previous rounds.

“Samsung has long been a global leader in wearable technology and Wear OS Powered by Samsung comes with some major enhancements for developers,” said Ryan Johnson, Arccos’ Vice President of Software Engineering. “Our team has found the platform very easy to develop on and the result is a seamless integration between our app, the Samsung Galaxy Watch-4 Series and Android smartphones.”

Golf’s first Artificial Intelligence platform, Arccos Caddie automatically tracks shots while delivering in-round insights and post-round Strokes Gained Analytics. The system includes the world’s first A.I. powered rangefinder, smart club distance averages for each club and caddie advice for any hole on earth. These innovative features combine to help golfers of all skill levels make smarter decisions, improve faster and shoot lower scores. In 2020, the average new Arccos member improved their handicap by 5.02 strokes.

About Arccos Golf LLC
Arccos Golf LLC develops game-changing connected golf products. The company is revolutionising the golfing experience by integrating automatic shot tracking with Artificial Intelligence to deliver unparalleled insights that help players maximize their potential. Listed among the “World’s Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company, ranking #3 in the Sports category globally, Arccos boasts the golf industry’s richest data set. Its official partners include PING (smart clubs), Cobra Golf (smart clubs) and TaylorMade (smart clubs). For more information, please visit: www.arccosgolf.com.

Press release by Sports Impact

Categories
Highlights Tours

The Masters of the universe

The tournament of the tournaments is coming. For the first time, owed to the stranglehold of the virus, it‘s happening in autumn and not during the most beautiful azalea bloom in April as we‘re used to it. It’s gonna be autumnal in southern Georgia and in the last few weeks there have been countless photos of the brown fairways of the course which are supposed to glow in lush green for the tournament. What the season and greenkeeping isn‘t able to manage will be enhanced with artificially colored lawn (standard), artificial flowers (probably) and various camera filters so everything is looking smooth and shiny as always. And let‘s be honest: even if overly pittoresque places that look like straight out of Walt Disney films aren‘t contemporary anymore, you also want to see the icons of the sport in a painterly exaggerated framework. For those who can‘t get enough of the Masters, the patrons in front of the TVs, everyone who has been feverish for weeks, we dug a little deeper into the fan material box and found some nice things.

Cayce – DURA+ State Outline Headcover

The iconic Masters logo, which probably every golf nerd around the globe is able to draw with closed eyes or, depending on your talent, maybe at least imagine it perfectly, is available from Cayce for all 50 US states, which are made for you on demand. Nice idea, unfortunately not available in the versions of Scotland, Italy, Australia or Germany. As being an owner of a Cayce head cover myself, I can say firsthand: they do some good stuff. $ 59.99 via caycegolf.com

BNKR – Green Jacket Tee

”Excuse me! May I point out that you still have to wear a collared shirt!?“

”Ok, but may I point out that I am wearing the Green Jacket?!“

The club, which wouldn’t smile and let him play in his T-shirt must be the most humorless, stuffy club on earth. I‘d like to give the boys from BNKR a kiss for this charming, smirking idea. Available for $ 25 from bnkrgolfclub.com

Johnston Gray Designs – 1.50 Sammy Full Mesh

”One Pimento Cheese Sandwich please!“ – the price of the Augusta Patrons‘ most essential snack, a sandwich with the „caviar of the southern states“, has been constant for years at an almost socialist bargain price of $ 1.50. Insiders immediately see the message in this cap, everyone else is reminded of the hygiene safety distance in the pandemic-determined year 2020 of at least 1,50 meters, which is also not wrong. The cap costs a little more than the snack, but is still a reasonable $ 30 via johnstongraydesigns.com

Out Of Bounds Candle Company – Augusta

Out Of Bounds – you can hardly believe it – make candles whose smell is supposed to remind you of the great courses of the world. Pinehurst, St. Andrews, Merion, Pine Valley etc. I was in Augusta for a few days myself some decades ago, but back then I wasn‘t infected with the golf virus, so I didn‘t take a deep breath of legend aroma and azalea. Magnolia, Georgia Peach, Azalea in the top note, Fresh Air, Chardonnay, Barn Wood and others underneath, according to the manufacturer‘s description. Light a candle during the Masters broadcast, I‘d say. Available in three sizes starting at $ 9.99 via outofboundscandles.com

Hazard Golf – Green Jackets Champions Poster

Actually a young clothing brand with smart designs on t-shirts, sweaters and caps, Hazard Golf also has this pretty Masters poster with all previous winners in their respective winner outfits or  THE striking poses with which Nicklaus, Lefty, Tiger and co. burned themselves into the collective golf brain. Nice graphic work for the office, the hallway or the living room – next to the television. There‘s three different formats for 25,-, 30,- or 40,- $ or with a frame from 45,- $ on  hazardgolf.co

Golfdrawn – Augusta Magnet

Another small company for beautifully made graphics on the subject of golf. Golfdrawn offers the most famous courses as posters, T-shirts or, as in this case, as fridge magnets. Hang your personal “bucket list” on your walls with Kingbarns, Cape Kidnappers, Spyglass, Pebble Beach, etc. or use this Augusta magnet to get amped while getting a beer during the tournament commercials. $ 5.99 at golfdrawn.com

Fade Golf n‘ Stuff – Azalea Dreaming Tee

The dream of the azalea bloom has drawn on quite a bit this year and it will be interesting to see whether the organizers will somehow manage to let them bloom at Augusta National in November. It wouldn‘t be surprising if they had them come fresh from the nursery in dozens so everything looks like as if it was April in November. We don‘t know yet, so we keep on dreaming… The shirt is available for $ 30 via fadegolfnstuff.com

Coobs Golf – Holes of Augusta Headcover

With this beautiful head cover from Coobs your flight partners can show whether or not they‘ve done their homework. What are the 18 holes of Augusta National named after? Who of your friends puts them in the right order? Which were the decisive shots? At which of these holes you better don‘t grab the driver? Fine leather, embroidered in green, comes as driver or wood head cover for 100,- or 90,- $ from coobsgolf.com

Baker Golf – Augusta National Illustration

Similar to Golfdrawn, Baker Golf has beautiful wall hanging goodies. Pinehurst, Sheep Ranch, Sweetens Cove, Tobacco Road, Whistling Straits and many more in vector graphic retro style. Here we got – what else? – the Hogan Bridge, probably the most iconic piece of the Masters sitting right in the middle of the Amen Corner crossing Rae‘s Creek to the 12th green. Printed on Kodak Endura glossy paper, this poster (unframed) is also available in three different sizes from $ 30 to $ 60 on bakergolfco.com

Sendit – Masters Nylon

Sendit, the small, lovely label from San Diego, also got two Masters themed items: The Augusta Snapback Cap with the Course Map as a subtle print on the visor and this nylon cap with fast drying fabrics – ideal for fall golfing. We also really like the paper plane design in the Masters look. Well, send it! Available for $ 28 via senditgolf.com

Patch Producer – Masters Golf Tournament Patch

Not a golf brand, but for your battle vest (or your bag) this is some nice little merch for the true lover. Unfortunately, it was not possible to find out if the articles in the shop are actually all licensed. Seen on etsy.com/de/shop/PatchProducer for $ 3,99.

McEwan Golf – Patrons Only Sticker Pack

Finally, a sticker pack to customize your car, laptop, trolley or front door and show the world that you‘re a Patron in mind. The set is consisting of the above-mentioned Pimento Cheese Sandwich and the typical Patrons camping chair. Available for $ 8 on mcewangolf.com