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New golfing gear will test your mettle Commentary By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN The explosion in new and better golf equipment rages on. Local golf retailers are reaping the benefits of new technology in drivers, fairway woods, irons, wedges and putters with increased sales. Problem is, even the retailers are biting the bullet and paying big prices for new technology, just like consumers are. Where will it all stop? It may not stop, at least not until the United States Golf Association steps in and curbs the advancements. Many professionals and pro shop managers say that day is fast approaching. Conversely, many golfers say they can't help but be tempted by opportunities to play better golf by hitting the ball farther, higher and straighter. They're willing to pay the price. "People naturally look for drivers to hit the ball farther and for irons that are more forgiving," says Jim Greenup, local manager of Nevada Bob's golf shop in the Medford Center. "Once they find the right clubs, then they need to be fitted for their swing with the right shaft." "We can totally fit golfers with clubs now, and we can recommend products. Golfers have a lot better chance today of being fitted properly and playing better golf with the new technology and equipment." Golf USA, in Poplar Square in Medford, also totally fits golfers with clubs with a swing analyzer and a net for golfers to hit into for feel. For golfers who need to hit clubs on the course, or the driving range where they can see their shots fly, both local shops offer demonstration programs. Contact Greenup or Golf USA local manager Bobby Chilton for information. The Hawk Eye driver, the newest product from Callaway, is the hottest driver for golfers, according to Chilton, Greenup and Rogue Valley Country Club head professional Jim Wise. But it's not a cheap club, they say. The suggested retail price is $500, but you can shop and get a better price. "It's the best thing Callaway has come up with," says Chilton. "Everybody I've sold them to, including myself, say they hit the ball at least 15 to 20 yards farther and with better control." Callaway has inserted what it calls a heavy tungsten gravity screw in the driver head to distribute weight lower. The screw represents nearly two-thirds of the weight of the club head, says Wise. "It's my new driver," he says. "Several of our members who know my game have seen me hit it longer and straighter. They all came in and bought them, or ordered them after they saw me hit it so much better." On the iron front, the Titleist DCI, Titleist 981 and Titleist 962-B irons, along with Cobra and Tommy Armour 945s, are hot sellers, according to Wise and Chilton. The low-profile fairway wood craze is also big in the golf industry. It started with the low-center-of-gravity selling point of the Tight Lies by Adams Golf, and it has continued with the popular Orlimar Trimetal, the newer and less-expensive Bob Toski and the new shallow-faced Ram fairway woods. Callaway has entered the fairway wood market in a big way with its Hawk Eye models and its Steelhead clubs. "The new thing is the mixing of metals," says Greenup, who says his shop can't order Callaway and Orlimar woods fast enough to keep up with demand. "It used to be the titanium drivers, but now mixing metals like tungsten, titanium and others are huge. And they work." Wedge technology is also biting for a share of the market with Cleveland, Wilson Staff and the new Pure Spin, a diamond-faced wedge that, according to advertisements, specializes in putting extra spin on the ball so it stops quickly on green. It works. But it also costs. "Golfers should be wary of gimmicks, but there is a lot of new good equipment coming into the market," says Greenup. Golfers can't wait to get their hands on them. "This is a touchy-feely golf shop," says Greenup. "I like my customers to come in and feel the clubs, pick them up and swing them, if they want." If hitting into a net doesn't give you the feel you want from a driver or iron, Greenup, Chilton, Wise and others allow clubs to be taken out of the shop on abbreviated demonstration tests. "Hitting a ball into a net isn't a fair test, and it doesn't tell most golfers much," says Greenup. "I want my customers to come in with the idea that they are going to buy this club, if they like how it performs for them. "My feeling is that you have to hit balls live with the clubs. I call it hitting under live fire." These days, golfers are doing it with a souped-up arsenal. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.