After Demo Day on Tuesday, The PGA Merchandise Show moves inside the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando for its remaining three days. In case you missed it, here are our Show Stoppers from Day One of the Show.
Now it’s on to Day Two’s list, as well as our general galleries from Thursday.
PGA Merchandise Show: Thurs. Pt. 1
PGA Merchandise Show: Thurs. Pt. 2
PGA Merchandise Show: Thurs. Pt. 3
Leupold GX-2i2 rangefinder
Like the company’s top-shelf GX-4i2 rangefinder ($499.99), Leupold’s new GX-2i2 has TGR (True Golf Range) technology, which gives golfers yardages that consider elevation changes, atmospheric conditions and trajectory.
Unlike the GX-4i2, however, which uses an adjustable face plate to make the device legal for tournament play, the GX-2i2’s TGR mode can be toggled on and off in the device menu. Better news? It’s USGA approved for tournament play when TGR mode is toggled off.
The GX-2i2 is accurate to 0.5 yards and has a range of 800 yards. How does it know a golfer’s trajectory, you might be asking? By entering the yardage a golfer hits each club, the GX-2i2 is better able to calculate the effect of uphill and downhill shots.
Along with PinHunter and PrismLock technology, which sounds an audible beep when it senses a prism-equipped flagstick, the GX-2i2 comes with FogMode, which helps acquire yardages through the fog.
Foresight’s 180-degree hitting bay
Each year, more and more of the PGA Merchandise Show floor is populated with companies touting launch monitors and golf simulators that improve the experience of indoor golf.
Foresight Golf, which makes the popular GC2 launch monitor, wowed us with a 180-degree hitting bay that used three projectors to showcase its FSX golf simulator software in 4K resolution.
GC2 is a camera-based launch monitor that’s easy to set up — it needs just a few feet of space — and offers an in-depth look at everything golfers will want to know about their ball flight by analyzing the ball’s movement over an 18-inch stretch.
When equipped with the company’s HMT (head measurement technology), GC2 becomes an attractive alternative to today’s top launch monitors for golfers who want to measure finer details such as angle of attack, club path, and rate of closure. And since HMT is a camera based system, there’s no more guessing about where golfers contact the ball on the club face. The unit can actually “see” impact.
Both GC2 (about $6000) and HMT (about $6495) can be used indoors and outdoors.
KLVN golf bags
Can your golf bag do this? pic.twitter.com/D9dYb6SEde
— KLVN Golf (@klvngolf) January 28, 2016
A golf bag is a golf bag, right? That notion has been challenged in recent years by companies that believe a better golf bag is possible.
The latest is a company called KLVN, which launched a new bag at the Show. Its bag is actually two bags, and uses a rigid frame made of glass-filled nylon (a strong plastic) and ABS (a resin material) to house a smaller carry bag within the larger cart bag.
The carry bag is secured inside the cart bag with a locking mechanism. With the push of a button, however, golfers can take the smaller bag with them in situations where they can’t proceed with their golf cart.
The bags sell for $389, and can be customized in different colors and with different pockets based on a golfer’s tastes.
Golf Pride Tour SNSR, Tech-Enabled Grips
With two new grip lines announced at the this year’s Show, Golf Pride has positioned itself squarely in two of the industry’s fastest growing spaces.
The company’s Tour SNSR (pronounced sensor) putter grips are available April 1, and use two different designs to help golfers manage tension. The Tour SNSR Straight grips are blue and black, and have a non-tapered design. That means the top of the grip and the bottom of the grip are roughly the same thickness.
The Tour SNSR Contour grips are red and black, and use an oversized pistol shape that helps stabilize a golfer’s top hand. Both grips sell for $24.99, and use a soft, rubber construction that depresses when a golf grips the putter too firmly.
Golf Pride also announced a partnership with Game Golf. Together they created a version of Golf Pride’s popular Tour Velvet grip that comes equipped with Game Golf’s shot-tracking “tags.”
Details on distribution and pricing will be unveiled later this spring, but the technology gives Game Golf users the ability to seamlessly track and share their rounds, shot data, and compete in Game Golf events on Android and iOS devices without adding anything extra to their clubs. Golfers will also receiving recommendations on when it’s time to change their grips based on the number of rounds played, according to the company.
Bentley Golf
You would expect golf clubs with the Bentley logo on them to carry a hefty price tag… but $100,000? While the stock set — including 14 clubs — retails for $3,500, the tricked out version, which includes a trip to Japan for a fully customized set will run golfers six figures.
The irons, offered in blade and CB models, are made from S25 carbon steel and forged by Vega with a dual finish, “piano” black and satin.
Throughout the set, the designs are inspired by shapes from a Bentley automobile; the dividing lines between silver and black finishes take after the haunch in the rear quarter panel, and the grip offerings are made to match the different interior leather options.
The drivers — made from titanium — are offered in 9, 10.5 and 12 degree lofts, while the fairway woods come in a 15-degree head.
The shafts come in women’s, regular and stiff-flex offerings, labeled with Bentley’s own design, but any custom shaft is available for an upcharge. Other than the stainless steel finish on the iron shafts, golfers can have rose gold or gun metal if your pockets feel up to the challenge.
Why golf clubs for Bentley? Well, because the owners of Bentley like to play golf. Fair enough.
Bentley Golf also has ball markers (steel for $70 or silver for up to $700), divot repair tools (about $700) and golf bags (about $3500).
Specs are listed below.
Happy Putter doubles down on adjustability
Brainstorm Golf’s first generation Happy Putter introduced a level of adjustability never-before-seen on the market, offering golfers the ability to adjust lie angle, loft, offset, weight and even dexterity (between right-handed and left-handed with the same putter).
According to its CEO and president Vikash Sanyal, however, the putters weren’t getting the traction and play on Tour that he wanted. But as he said, “with desperation comes creativity.”
Its new prototypes (blade and mallet), which are expected to hit the market in April around the Masters, offer three interchangeable sight lines made from aluminum. With its second generation designs, Happy Putter is 2-for-2 on bringing something new to the putter market. Also, they offer the same adjustable options (aside from dexterity) as its predecessors.
According to Sanyal, the company has signed Champions Tour player Steve Pate, and a top-100 PGA Tour player and three top-10 LPGA players are soon to be announced. The new putters are expected to sell for $320, and have head weights between 360 and 390 grams.