Focus – Ultra Golfing

Golf Pride Zero Taper putter grips focus on consistent hand feel

admin — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:36:38 +0000

Golf Pride adds Zero Taper putter grips, featuring a parallel profile, polyurethane construction and design cues aimed at consistent hand placement.

Gear: Golf Pride Zero Taper (ZT) putter grips

Price: $34.99

Specs: Parallel, non-tapered polyurethane putter grip, available in medium (66 grams) and large (73 grams) sizes, 58R core, dimpled pattern texture, visual hand-placement cues, horseshoe-shaped backside

Available: Feb. 17

Who it’s for: Golfers who prefer a parallel putter grip profile and want consistent feel and grip pressure beneath both hands

What you should know: Zero Taper is Golf Pride’s newest putter grip, designed to deliver a uniform feel from top hand to bottom hand while promoting repeatable hand placement and face awareness.

The Deep Dive: There’s always been a place in the putting world for golfers who prefer simplicity and symmetry in how a grip looks and feels in their hands. With Zero Taper, Golf Pride is leaning directly into that preference by introducing a fully parallel putter grip designed to maintain consistent feel from top to bottom.

Unlike traditional tapered putter grips that get narrower from the top toward the putter head, Zero Taper maintains a uniform geometric shape throughout. According to Golf Pride, that consistent profile is intended to help golfers apply even grip pressure with both hands, encouraging a more synchronized stroke and helping square the putter face at impact. The goal is a simpler, more-repeatable stroke without forcing players to adapt to an exaggerated shape.

The grip is constructed from polyurethane, making Zero Taper one of only a few putter grips in Golf Pride’s lineup built with that material. The company says the polyurethane construction delivers a soft yet responsive feel while also enabling more precise shaping and texture placement. The dimpled pattern is designed to enhance traction, and visual cues are built into it to help golfers find the ideal hand placement every time.

One of the more distinctive design elements is the horseshoe-shaped backside. Golf Pride describes this feature as an ergonomic anchor point, providing golfers with a natural resting place for finger folds and guiding consistent positioning without forcing a specific grip style. The deeper side profile is also intended to improve face awareness, providing players with clearer feedback on the putter head throughout the stroke.

Zero Taper is available in two sizes, medium and large, and in three colorways: black, red and blue. Despite the different sizes, Golf Pride maintained a consistent weight profile across the lineup, a design choice meant to preserve the putter’s balance and sweet spot while making it easier for golfers to feel the head during the stroke.

While this is not the first putter grip that maintains a uniform width and geometry throughout its length, it’s the first from Golf Pride, and it joins Reverse Taper, introduced in 2024, as part of the company’s expanding putter grip portfolio. While Zero Taper will not replace traditional tapered or pistol grips, it gives golfers who prefer a clean, parallel shape another modern option built around consistency and feel rather than extremes.

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2 key data metrics to focus on when working on your golf swing

admin — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 04:33:21 +0000

Working on your golf game alone can be daunting. With so many factors at play, it’s hard to know where to focus — especially since what works for one player may not work for another.

Launch monitors can help cut through the guesswork by offering objective, personalized feedback. They track key swing metrics and provide actionable insights that translate directly to better performance.

Still, with all this data at your fingertips, it’s easy to feel buried in the numbers. Which metrics will actually move the needle, and which are just noise? According to GOLF Top 100 Teacher Joe Plecker, two data points are essential if you want to build a consistent, reliable swing: face angle and club path.

Here’s a closer look at each — and how they directly influence your swing.

Full Swing KIT Launch Monitor

The Full Swing KIT Launch Monitor is engineered with the most advanced radar technology and a high-resolution camera to give you 16 points of data and video to see your swing in perfect clarity. Tested & trusted by Tiger Woods, made for everyone.
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Build to be taken to and from the course with quick & easy setup to get your practice started faster.

“I KNOW THAT FULL SWING IS MEASURING MY GOLF BALL, NOT GUESSING AT IT.”- Tiger Woods

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Face angle: Understand where your clubface

Face angle measures the horizontal direction your club face points at impact. In simple terms, it tells you whether your face is square, open or closed. A perfectly square face reads as 0 degrees — but in reality, very few golfers consistently hit exactly 0. So understanding the different numbers is key.

For right-handed players, a positive number indicates an open face, which pushes the ball to the right. A negative number signals a closed face, sending the ball left.

Tracking face angle lets you see the true starting direction of your shots. More importantly, it provides insight into how well you control ball flight, helping reduce common mishits like hooks and slices. By keeping an eye on this single metric, you gain a critical reference point for dialing in a straighter, more predictable swing.

Club path: Track swing direction

Club path measures the direction your club travels throughout your swing, offering a window into the mechanics of your swing. For right-handed golfers, a positive reading indicates an in-to-out path, which typically produces a draw. While a negative reading reflects an out-to-in path, often resulting in a fade.

Analyzing club path reveals how your swing plane and body rotation influence ball flight. It shows whether your club is approaching the ball on the correct angle and can even uncover subtle flaws that lead to inconsistencies or frustrating shots.

When examined alongside face angle, club path completes the picture of your game — explaining not just where the ball starts, but why it behaves the way it does. Together, these metrics provide the insight needed to develop a precise, repeatable swing.

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Tour Edge Hot Launch Max fairways and hybrids focus on easy launch

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 20:29:21 +0000

Tour Edge expands Hot Launch Max with forgiving fairway woods and hybrids built to help golfers launch it higher from the turf.

Gear: Tour Edge Hot Launch Max and Hot Launch Max D fairway woods and hybrids

Price: $179.99 (fairway woods), $159.99 (hybrids)

Specs: Stainless steel heads with rear perimeter weighting and variable-thickness faces

Available: Feb. 10 (pre-order), Feb. 27 (in stores)

Who it’s for: Value-minded golfers who score in the 90s and 100s who want easier launch, more forgiveness, and reliable distance from the fairway, rough, and off the tee.

What you should know: The Tour Edge Hot Launch Max fairway woods and hybrids are designed to make long approach shots and second shots less intimidating. Players can choose between the standard Max models, which favor a more traditional look and ball flight, or the Max D versions, which add offset and heel-side weighting to help reduce slices.

The Deep Dive: Rather than chasing compact shapes or low-spin profiles that might be popular with Tour players, the new Tour Edge Hot Launch Max fairways and hybrids lean fully into the idea of being practical and helpful for golfers who just want to get the ball airborne and moving forward with minimal effort.

Both the fairway woods and hybrids use rear perimeter weighting to push mass low and deep in the head. That design increases moment of inertia (MOI) and helps maintain ball speed when contact is less than perfect, which is often the case on shots hit from the turf. The V-Taper sole complements that weighting by shifting mass outward. toward the perimeter, to help the clubs glide through a variety of lies while encouraging a higher launch angle.

Tour Edge’s Diamond Face VFT also plays a key role in consistency. The thick-and-thin areas of the face create mini sweet spots across the hitting area to preserve speed and distance on off-center strikes, not just on center hits. That matters most in fairways and hybrids, where golfers often rely on these clubs to advance the ball from uneven lies or longer distances.

The distinction between Max and Max D fairway woods and hybrids mirrors what golfers see in the drivers. The standard Hot Launch Max clubs present a more traditional setup and are designed to produce a neutral flight. The Max D versions, however, add offset and internal heel weighting, which helps the clubface square more easily through impact and can reduce the right-side miss that plagues many players.

Lightweight Aldila Ascent graphite shafts are standard throughout the lineup, reinforcing the goal of easy speed and higher launch. For golfers who struggle to elevate long shots or who find themselves laying up more often than they’d like, that combination of light weight, forgiveness and stability is the central appeal.

In the end, the Hot Launch Max fairways and hybrids are about simplicity and purpose. They are designed to give golfers confidence that when they pull out a fairway wood or hybrid, the club is working to help them, not punish them for imperfect swings.

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Tour Edge Hot Launch Max drivers focus on easy launch and forgiveness

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 05:41:43 +0000

Tour Edge adds Hot Launch Max and Max D drivers designed to help game-improvement golfers launch it higher and keep tee shots in play.

Gear: Tour Edge Hot Launch Max, Hot Launch Max D drivers

Price: $299.99 with Aldila Ascent graphite shaft

Specs: 460cc titanium head with cup face construction, variable-thickness face, V-Taper sole.

Available: Feb. 10 (pre-order), Feb. 27 (in stores)

Who it’s for: Value-minded golfers who shoot in the high 80s, 90s and 100s who want a higher launch, more forgiveness, and added confidence off the tee.

What you should know: The Hot Launch Max driver offers a more traditional setup focused on stability and ball speed, while the Max D version adds offset and heel-side weighting to help reduce slices and promote straighter drives.

The Deep Dive: There’s always been a clear lane for Tour Edge in the equipment world, and that lane is delivering practical performance for everyday golfers without overcomplicating the design or the price tag. Yes, the Exotics line features multi-material designs and several high-tech features, but the Hot Launch family has always stood for value and simplicity. The new Hot Launch Max drivers fit neatly into that philosophy, focusing less on adjustability and low-spin chasing, and more on consistency and predictability.

At the core of both drivers is a rear-weighted design that pushes mass to the back of the head. That weighting strategy increases moment of inertia (MOI), helping the clubs remain stable through impact and retain ball speed when contact drifts away from the center. Pair that with Tour Edge’s Diamond Face VFT, which varies face thickness across the hitting area with the goal of protecting ball speed on mis-hits, and you get enhanced forgiveness and more consistent distance for recreational golfers.

The Hot Launch Max driver is the more traditional of the two. It features a square face angle and a shape that will look familiar to a wide range of players. Tour Edge notes this version is designed to produce a slightly more penetrating flight than the Max D, making it a fit for golfers who already launch the ball reasonably well but want tighter dispersion and more forgiveness.

The Max D driver takes a more corrective approach. Offset in the hosel and internal heel weighting are designed to help the face close more easily through impact, addressing the common left-to-right miss for right-handed golfers. The result is intended to be a straighter, more controlled ball flight without asking players to make swing changes.

Both drivers are paired with ultra-light Aldila Ascent graphite shafts, which play a key role in the overall performance story. By keeping total weight down, Tour Edge is targeting golfers who benefit from added clubhead speed and higher launch, especially those who struggle to generate speed consistently.

Taken together, the Hot Launch Max and Max D drivers are less about customization and more about clarity. Golfers can choose between neutral or draw-biased performance, set the club down, and trust that it’s built to make the long game more manageable.

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TaylorMade Qi4D drivers focus on speed control, spin and fitting

admin — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 07:52:08 +0000

TaylorMade’s Qi4D drivers break speed into four dimensions, pairing carbon faces, adjustable weighting and stock shafts built to fit more swings.

Gear: TaylorMade Qi4D, Qi4D LS, Qi4D Max drivers

Price: $649 with Mitsubishi Reax shaft and Golf Pride Z Grip +2; $699.99 with reflective fitter markings

Specs: Titanium chassis with carbon face, crown and sole panels, moveable weights and adjustable hosel

Available: Jan. 29

Who it’s for: Golfers seeking more consistent ball speed and tighter spin windows.

What you should know: TaylorMade rebuilt its driver platform around four dimensions of performance: face behavior, aerodynamics, shaft response and center-of-gravity adjustability. The goal is to deliver a more predictable launch and spin for a wider variety of swings.

The Deep Dive: As they were developing the Qi4D driver line, TaylorMade’s designers and engineers broke the concept of speed into four dimensions, focusing on the face, the shape of the head, the shaft, and the adjustability features that help ensure a proper fit. If those elements could be dialed in, they believed they could produce a driver that would work for a wide range of golfers. That included staff players like Rory McIlroy, Nelly Korda, and Scottie Scheffler, as well as recreational golfers.

Now you know what the name Qi4D stands for: four dimensions of speed. While the standard Qi4D, the low-spin Qi4D LS and the forgiveness-minded Qi4D Max all share several core technologies, they are designed for very different types of players.

All three models feature large carbon fiber crowns and sole panels, along with adjustable hosels that allow golfers to increase or decrease loft by up to 2 degrees. Each model also features a carbon fiber face. This technology first appeared in TaylorMade’s Stealth drivers in 2022. But for Qi4D, TaylorMade refined the face by tightening manufacturing tolerances so the faces sit closer to the USGA and R&A limits on coefficient of restitution (COR) and characteristic time (CT). The more precisely TaylorMade can control the hitting area, the more consistently it can increase ball speed without risking non-conforming heads.

TaylorMade also revised the face curvature from top to bottom, known as roll. Typically, shots hit high on the face launch higher with less spin, and low-face strikes launch lower with excessive spin. By rounding the roll radius, Qi4D drivers add spin to high-face strikes and reduce spin on low-face strikes, normalizing spin across a larger portion of the hitting area for more consistency.

Although custom fitting is growing, most golfers still buy stock-shaft drivers, so offering stock shafts that could better match what most golfers need to produce high-quality strikes was another priority for TaylorMade.

After studying more than 11,000 swings from staff professionals and recreational players, the brand’s fitters identified correlations between a golfer’s release patterns and the shaft they ended up using.

TaylorMade grouped players into three categories: high rotation (HR), medium rotation (MR), and low rotation (LR). Specific shaft designs consistently matched each group’s delivery patterns. Then it partnered with Mitsubishi Chemical to create three updated Reax shafts — Red, Blue and White — that matched those patterns. Red has a softer tip for HR players, White has a stiffer tip for LR players, and Blue sits in the middle for MR players.

With these shafts in place, TaylorMade intends for fitters to use the head, loft and moveable weights to produce the ball flight a player wants, while the shaft helps the golfer deliver the club more consistently.

Finally, but offering three different Qi4D drivers, TaylorMade felt nearly every player should be able to find a combination of head style, loft, shaft and adjustable features to maximize their swing.

The standard Qi4D (9, 10.5 and 12 degrees; 8-degree RH only) includes two 4-gram weights in the front heel and toe ports and two 9-gram weights in the rear ports. Fitters can configure those cartridges to create strong draw, strong fade, subtle draw or subtle fade biases. Putting both heavy weights forward lowers launch and spin while increasing speed. Placing both heavy weights in the back maximizes forgiveness and stability. The head is 4 millimeters shorter from front to back than the Qi35, but TaylorMade says it is more aerodynamic and produces about 1.2 mph more ball speed.

The Qi4D Max (9, 10.5 and 12 degrees) is the most stable and most forgiving driver in the lineup for players who struggle with inconsistent strikes. Instead of using titanium in the ring that forms the head frame, designers saved weight by using forged aluminum, which is then milled into the final structure that holds the carbon face, crown, and sole. The Max has two moveable weights, a 4-gram and a 13-gram, positioned in the front and back of the sole. The head has a built-in draw bias and less left-right adjustability than the standard Qi4D. With the 13-gram weight in the back, the moment of inertia increases significantly. The combined MOI is about 9,700 g/cm2. That does not meet the technical threshold to be labeled a 10K driver, but the Qi4D Max is TaylorMade’s first ultra-high-MOI driver with an adjustable hosel.

TaylorMade will also offer a Qi4D Lite (10.5 and 12 degrees), which is 30 grams lighter than the standard Qi4D Max and designed for golfers with slow-to-moderate clubhead speed.

The Qi4D LS (9 and 10.5 degrees; 8 degrees RH only) is the lowest-spinning and lowest-launch model. It remains a 460cc head but has a more rounded profile. The crown sits higher behind the topline and the back of the sole rises more sharply, which creates the most aerodynamic shape in the Qi4D line. The LS includes 4-gram and 15-gram weights so players and fitters can adjust launch and spin.

TaylorMade is also making its reflective fitting heads available to consumers. These heads were previously limited to fitters only. They are legal for play and allow golfers with access to Foresight launch monitors to collect clubhead data along with ball data.

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