November-December 2006

Now Playing: Never Compromise The Never Compromise company left nothing out when they thought up the new GM2 (Gray Matter) mallet ($200). The technology begins with the popular gray matter heel-toe weighting, an aluminum-milled body and an aluminum-infused weave face insert. This lightweight face not only helps displace weight, but also yields a softer, more responsive feel.

However, the GM2's most prominent feature is the ability to alter the putter's weight in the heel and toe regions by as much as 50 grams. By way of a specially designed weight system, golfers can adjust the putter to varying green speeds and styles.

Aluminum Body The structure of the GM2 Exchange is made of strong, lightweight aluminum. This nearly ideal material allows for significant amounts of weight to be manipulated in different areas of the clubhead.

Weight Options The GM2 Exchange series putters offer golfers the ability to alter the headweight of each club by as much as 50 grams. Every model contains adjustable weights that increase by five-gram increments, each of which can be moved to different locations in the heel and toe areas of the clubhead to provide significantly different feels and performance.

Unique Insert An aluminum-infused composite weave face insert provides enhanced feel and distance control.

Soleplates The movable weights are housed within compartments in the heel and toe areas of the sole. Players can see which weights are inside via the unique soleplates.

Alignment Aid Unlike a lot of modern designs, the GM2 doesn't confuse with busy designs. Instead there's one simple alignment aid._Ê_Ê

Wrench It The GM2 Exchange series features a unique sole weighting system that requires the use of a specially designed wrench. Simply remove and customize at will.

Cart Bags It's hard to believe that when golf carts were first introduced, you needed a note from your doctor to use one. The year was 1952, and the concept of driving on a golf course was as foreign as using a Segway today. Still, it didn't take long for the idea to catch on, in large part because of President Eisenhower; images of him cruising around Thunderbird Golf Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on his three-wheeled personal cart captivated golfers who bemoaned their long hikes around the golf course.

These days, cart bags—largely disregarded as something you throw onto the back of your cart—have changed the way manufacturers think about those boring old club-holders.

Unlike their carry bag counterparts, cart bags aren't limited by their size and weight, so manufacturers haven't been afraid to be creative, piling on extra features, such as ball silos, felt-lined valuables pockets and insulated drink pouches. I guess we have Ike to thank for this. No wonder so many people liked him._Ê_Ê _Ê

TaylorMade r7 Cart Bag www.taylormadegolf.com $149 The r7 Cart Bag sports seven zippered pockets and full-length dividers to keep each club in its individual slot. Plus, its water-repellent nylon body keeps clubs dry. Perfect for keeping that r7 driver in tip-top shape.

Bennington QO-10 www.benningtongolf.com $279 Bennington Golf's QO-10 (Quiet Organizer) cart bag features 10 individual full-length dividers for your irons and hybrid clubs. By reserving space for each club, your clubs won't tangle, clang or crash into one another. The Bag from Caddyrack www.caddyrack.com $399 The most unique feature of The Bag from Caddyrack is an organizer that protects eight of your irons. Molded with a tough, yet soft nonslip polyurethane polymer, the caddy rack works well with either wide-soled or conventional irons. Club Glove FCO Luxury Cart Bag www.clubglove.com $269 Club Glove isn't afraid to think outside the box. Its FCO Luxury Cart Bag is designed so nine of its 11 pockets face out for easy access. For an extra fee, you can even embroider it with your name, initials or company logo.

Sun Mountain C-130 Cart Bag www.sunmountain.com $199 Completely redesigned from its 2006 model, the Sun Mountain C-130 nylon bag weighs just 8.1 pounds, so it's easy to transport to and from your cart. Its 10 pockets are accessible while mounted on a cart and include areas specifically designed for beverages and valuables.

PING Explore www.pinggolf.com $115 Hey, even if cart bags aren't meant to be lugged around, you still have to load and unload them from your buggy, right? PING understands we don't all have the same physiques as The Rock, that's why they've designed the Explore, a very lightweight bag that's also compatible for push carts.

Heaven Sent Is it true that the next generation of PING irons is heaven sent? They are if you're a true believer in innovative technology. The Rapture Irons ($135/club, there's also a Rapture Driver) are PING's most advanced to date, marking the first time the company has ventured into face insert technology for irons. Oversized and deep-soled, the Rapture Irons feature a lightweight titanium face insert housed by a heavier stainless-steel body, resulting in enhanced forgiveness, distance and trajectory. The custom-tuning port and elastomer compound in the cavity, as well as the tungsten toe weight, aid in reducing vibration and helping to keep the head square through impact. Designed for the player seeking the ultimate in game improvement, these irons might just perform miracles for your game. For more information, visit www.pinggolf.com.

Aussie Rules The folks at Tee2Green Technologies in Australia have made a splash with their handsome SureShot GPS yardage reader ($399). What makes it stand out? Well, namely its sleek design and color screen, a feature its rivals don't possess. In addition to the standard GPS features (distance measuring to specific points, course data storage, ability to measure to points lasers can't penetrate), the SureShot enables users to record shot statistics and even suggests which club to hit. The light, portable device can be clipped to your belt and its battery lasts much longer than the typical round of golf. It's perfect in case you find yourself having to go extra holes with one of those boys from Down Under. For more information, visit www.sureshotgps.com.

Hot Wired John Novosel, a Kansas-based inventor, serendipitously discovered a common trait among Tour pros: their swings had the same tempo. While watching playbacks of slow-motion swings, he noticed it took three times as long for them to complete their backswings as it did for them to return to impact, or as Novosel puts it: there was "a common ratio between backswing and takeaway." Swings varied in speed, but nearly everyone's ratio was 3:1. So, what does that mean for you? Not much, unless you pick up the Tour Tempo MP3 player ($99), a lightweight portable device that plays swing tones of varying speeds that match this 3:1 ratio. Just match your swing to the tempo that best fits you, and you, too, will be swinging like a pro. Visit www.tourtempo.com.

Bridgestone GC Series After a successful entrance by Bridgestone Golf in the premium product category (with its J33 irons), the new GC Series irons ($699) are destined to do the same for the game-improvement category. There are two sets to choose from: the GC.MID, which features a midsized clubhead with minimal offset and progressive heel-toe weighting, as well as midsized sole widths and toplines. The other is the GC.OS, an oversized model with generous and consistent heel-toe weighting, wider soles and thicker toplines. Both models feature fixed weight discs in the heel and toe of the cavity as well as a bored-out Gravity Chamber that deepens in size as irons get bigger, thus aiding in more forgiveness, a higher MOI and higher trajectory. Both models feature a variety of shafts, with Nippon NSPRO shafts as standard. For more information, visit www.bridgestonegolf.com.

_Ê Read All About It!

A Lifetime of Lessons By Marshall Smith, with David DeNunzio Marshall Smith has been teaching golf for more than 50 years and hasn't lost a step. Learn what a lifetime of teaching can do for your game with this easy-to-digest approach to golf instruction. Visit www.kiss-golf.com to pick up a copy.

Focus for Success Series By Dr. David Wright, with Charlie Schroeder and Dan McNamee "Doc," as he's known to his students, has written a five-part golf psychology series titled, Focus for Success. The first book, Concentration, was just released and includes audio exercises designed to train that five-and-a-half-inch space between our ears. Visit www.wrightbalance.com.

Common Sense Clubfitting By Tom Wishon Far from a summer read, Tom Wishon's exhaustive account may be the most thorough analysis of clubfitting ever put on paper. The book's eight chapters are each supported by tons of research, graphs, charts and photographs. You can order a copy by visiting www.wishongolf.com.