Equipment

Visit Your Local Golf Show For a Good Deal

Published

16 years ago

Jan 20, 2008

Although not the granddaddy PGA Golf Show entertaining the masses in Florida right now, your local golf and travel show is still worth attending.

With the weather below 5 degrees in Cincinnati right now, I really had nothing better to do than check out the Cincinnati Golf Show this chilly Sunday morning.

These golf shows are nothing but an upscale golfer’s flea market and golf travel exposition. If you seek a good deal on new golf clubs, or are looking for a hard to find set of used clubs, definitely drop the $10 entry ticket on the last day of the show to pick up a good deal.

The majority of the retailers were the biggie wholesalers such as Rockbottomgolf.com (selling mostly junk I might add) and other internet golf shops one has never heard of. Here is a quick recap of some of the great deals that I saw here this morning:

This vendor had just about every top wedge in these giant bins, all for under $60 brand new.

Cobra Carbon CB irons, that were practically new for $400. If my wife had not warned me about NOT spending any money I would have purchased them right on the spot. A few feet further down the aisle was a set of brand new Titleist Forged 695 CB irons for $499, oh man, how I badly wanted to buy those. I saw many, many vendors violating the Ping MAP pricing and closing out g5’s and i5’s with 3 black nickel Ping Tour Wedges as well for only $519. I quickly walked away before the VISA gods in my wallet took over. I even saw a set of i10 irons (which I already own) for $599. That’s a steal and way under Ping MAP pricing. I saw a few near mint sets of Hogan forged irons for less than $275. I also saw a sweet set of Nike forged blades, barely used (probably difficult to hit) for 60% off retail new. I am always amazed when I see used Ping ISI irons still holding their value at over $450 used for a set of irons. I bought a set of nickel ISI’s 3 years ago for $425, so their value is only going upwards. Taylor Made, Cleveland, Callaway, you name it you could find it used at a great price. The great thing about golf shows is that money talks, especially on the last day of the show. These prices are not written in stone. These people are here because they need to move all of this stuff. Offer a fair price and you’ll save even more, especially if it’s cash in your wallet. If you seek a new, or used wedge, this was the place to be. Just about everything, except the Titleist Vokey wedges ($10 cheaper than retail) were half off and if you went the used route, even better at under $30 bucks.

If you seek a quality set of used irons at below eBay prices, you’ll find what you seek here.

The new Nike IC series putters, which somehow shoehorned themselves onto the Golf Digest Hotlist this year, were on sale for only $100. I checked them out very closely and they are much more ugly in person than in the magazine. If you are in the minority and like them, wait a bit longer, you’ll be able to get them for less than $50 in no time.

Nike really missed the boat on these IC putters. In my opinion, not so easy on the eyes ! They are olive drab and not dark silver as they appear in this picture.

The best deals however, were in clothing, shoes, golf gloves and golf balls. I purchased three dozen, Nike One Platinum golf balls for $64.95. That is a real steal, they only had three dozen, left or I would have purchased 3 dozen more. On my way out the door I bought 13 used, but in nice shape Titleist Pro V1X’s for $5 just to make sure I had enough golf balls in time for spring. These golf shows are a great place to stock up on golf gloves as well. Most were 2 or even 3 for the price of one. Many of the golf destinations in the Southeast were well represented offering golf destination packages as well.

If my wife hadn’t already warned me about spending a lot, these would have made it into my bag for less than $500 new.

Although the Cincinnati golf show is quite small in scale compared to the golf show I attended last winter in Novi, Michigan good deals were all over the place here. Next year, I won’t tell my wife where I am going!

So, if you have nothing better to do on a cold weekend in the Midwest, stop in at your local golf show for some good deals and golf travel information for your next golf trip.

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

17 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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