The Year in Equipment
By Chuck Stogel, GolfWeb Equipment Correspondent
Cue the announcer. Dim the lights. Raise the curtain. Drum roll, please. ..
As 2005 draws to a close, it’s an appropriate time to take a look back at the numerous introductions in golf equipment during the past year.
For a marketplace that is supposed to be relatively flat in sales, there doesn’t seem to be any lack of players making clubs and balls. Even more, they seem to continually be introducing new products. This past year witnessed a wealth of new drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, putters and balls.
For golfers, the selection to choose from has never been greater. One of the reasons for that is the degree of customization the industry has achieved. Thus, there is no longer just one model of iron being offered by Company A or one “premium” ball being offered by Company B. Clubs and balls are being tailored to match up better with players’ skill levels, individual playing styles and preferences.
Which brings us to our annual exercise of sorting through all the products introduced in the past year and ranking the cream of the crop. In presenting our Best of 2005 Equipment Awards, we bypass for now clubs and balls introduced this past fall, which are geared primarily for next season. Products such as Nike’s SasQuatch driver, Ping’s G5 series, and Bridgestone’s e5 and e6 balls are not listed at this time.
Meanwhile, we may include clubs and balls that first appeared on a limited scale toward the end of 2004, but which really gained full distribution in ’05.
Also, ongoing models of clubs and balls are not listed. These accolades are meant only for equipment introduced for or during the past season.
Before we get into the category citations, however, we first present our Gold Tee Award for 2005 to the best overall introduction of the year: Bridgestone’s Tour B330 and B330S golf balls. This was the first year that Bridgestone, which also makes Precept equipment, brought its own name to North America with a portfolio of clubs and balls. In extensive testing, our GolfWeb panelists praised the Tour B330 balls for feel, distance, trajectory and overall performance.
Choosing between the eagles, birdies and pars has never been tougher. The state-of-the-art is such that, in many cases, there is minimal difference in quality and performance among various products. The following categories showcase our Best of 2005 equipment rankings.
By Chuck Stogel, GolfWeb Equipment Correspondent
Cue the announcer. Dim the lights. Raise the curtain. Drum roll, please. ..
As 2005 draws to a close, it’s an appropriate time to take a look back at the numerous introductions in golf equipment during the past year.
For a marketplace that is supposed to be relatively flat in sales, there doesn’t seem to be any lack of players making clubs and balls. Even more, they seem to continually be introducing new products. This past year witnessed a wealth of new drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, putters and balls.
For golfers, the selection to choose from has never been greater. One of the reasons for that is the degree of customization the industry has achieved. Thus, there is no longer just one model of iron being offered by Company A or one “premium” ball being offered by Company B. Clubs and balls are being tailored to match up better with players’ skill levels, individual playing styles and preferences.
Which brings us to our annual exercise of sorting through all the products introduced in the past year and ranking the cream of the crop. In presenting our Best of 2005 Equipment Awards, we bypass for now clubs and balls introduced this past fall, which are geared primarily for next season. Products such as Nike’s SasQuatch driver, Ping’s G5 series, and Bridgestone’s e5 and e6 balls are not listed at this time.
Meanwhile, we may include clubs and balls that first appeared on a limited scale toward the end of 2004, but which really gained full distribution in ’05.
Also, ongoing models of clubs and balls are not listed. These accolades are meant only for equipment introduced for or during the past season.
Before we get into the category citations, however, we first present our Gold Tee Award for 2005 to the best overall introduction of the year: Bridgestone’s Tour B330 and B330S golf balls. This was the first year that Bridgestone, which also makes Precept equipment, brought its own name to North America with a portfolio of clubs and balls. In extensive testing, our GolfWeb panelists praised the Tour B330 balls for feel, distance, trajectory and overall performance.
Choosing between the eagles, birdies and pars has never been tougher. The state-of-the-art is such that, in many cases, there is minimal difference in quality and performance among various products. The following categories showcase our Best of 2005 equipment rankings.
