Friday, March 29, 2013

SkyGolf® Launches New SkyCaddie® Sport Series of Rangefinders For 2013

Now SkyCaddie® offers a Rangefinder for Every Golfer and Every Golfer's Pocketbook

RIDGELAND, MS, - SkyGolf®, maker of the #1 Rangefinder in Golf, today launches the new SkyCaddie Sport Series of rangefinders. Now, SkyCaddie offers a rangefinder for every golfer and every golfer's pocketbook, including the SkyCaddie Watch, Gimme™, Aire™ and the SkyCaddie Voice. The SkyCaddie Sport Series, starting at only $129, includes a broad range of sizes, formats and colors while providing golfers the most economic, accurate and reliable distance solutions at every price point. All Sport Series rangefinders are preloaded and ready-to-play out of the box with SkyGolf's proprietary TruGround high-precision maps.

"We realize that there are competitive golfers at all skill levels who insist on every advantage, who want to win every match and demand the very best. For these golfers, we have the #1 rated and most trusted rangefinders in golf with our Tour Series that includes our advanced SGXw™, SGX™ and the new simple, but highly accurate Breeze™. And, then there are golfers who play for fun and the sport of game, who want simplicity without compromising reliability. With the introduction of our exciting Sport Series, SkyCaddie now has a rangefinder for every golfer and every retailer's customer profile. Starting at only $129, we have a SkyCaddie to fit in any format, size and pocketbook, too," said Richard Edmonson, CEO, SkyGolf. "SkyCaddie is #1 rated and trusted by more serious golfers than all other competitors combined thanks to the unmatched accuracy of our Tour Series. Now, with the Sport Series, golfers don't have to compromise on reliability to save money or to get a device in their preferred format. No one has more options than SkyCaddie when it comes to rangefinders and no rangefinder outperforms a SkyCaddie, unless it's another SkyCaddie."

Highlighting the new Sport Series from SkyGolf is the SkyCaddie Watch at an introductory price of only $199. This attractive, lightweight, comfortable and versatile watch is designed to provide unmatched distance performance in the watch category. It comes preloaded with up to 30,000 updatable course maps; easy-to-read front, center, and back of green yardages; intelligent automation - auto-course recognition, auto-hole advance and auto-distance update. The SkyCaddie Watch also offers high-performance multi-sport training versatility for running, biking and walking with an odometer and calorie counter. The stylish SkyCaddie Watch also makes a great everyday watch with an alarm clock, calendar and stopwatch.

For golfers who prefer an inexpensive handheld with large, easy-to-read numbers, SkyCaddie is introducing the SkyCaddie Gimme. It's a compact, easy-to-use and rugged rangefinder featuring up to 30,000 preloaded updatable course maps on a high-resolution, sunlight-readable 2.2-inch color display. In addition, the Gimme features large front, center, and back of green yardages; intelligent automation and more at the affordable price of only $169.

The Sport Series also includes the SkyCaddie Aire, a mini hand-held device that is priced perfectly at $129. The fun, stylish and petite Aire can be worn on a belt, hung off a bag or clipped to a pushcart. It features up to 30,000 preloaded updatable course maps on a 1.8 inch greyscale screen; easy to read front, center, and back of green yardages; and intelligent automation. The Aire also includes a calorie counter, an odometer to check miles walked or run and much more.

Rounding out the Sport Series is the SkyCaddie Voice. It's golf's most accurate and reliable Voice GPS, offering distance information in multiple languages that will help golfers play better golf. No more searching for sprinklers or reading glasses. The SkyCaddie Voice is small, lightweight and easily clips to a cap, visor or belt. With a simple tap, the Voice announces distances to the center of the green. Double tap the Voice for front and back of green distances. The Voice is preloaded with 30,000 high-precision, ground-corrected course maps to offer trusted, reliable distance information. Enjoy auto-course recognition, auto-hole advance, auto-distance update and mark ball to measure any distance.

Edmonson adds, "Overall distance performance is determined by the combination of GPS accuracy and map accuracy. If either the GPS is inaccurate or the map is inaccurate, a golfer can get a wrong distance that can cost strokes. We have been able to offer this exciting and much more economical Sport Series by substituting conventional GPS engines used in competitive brands in the place of the highly acclaimed and unmatched accuracy of our proprietary and more costly TruePoint GPS engines used in our Tour Series of rangefinders. But, when compared to any other rangefinder brand in golf, the SkyCaddie Sport Series will deliver overall better performance due to the significantly more reliable TrueGround Maps, available only from SkyCaddie. Our TrueGround Mapping Technology corrects the errors known to be inherent in third party aerial imagery used by competitive devices. Only SkyCaddie walks each course with skilled mapping specialists utilizing survey-quality mapping instruments to make sure golfers have distances they can trust just like Tour caddies do for their Pro."

The suggested retail price of the new SkyCaddie Watch is $199.95, while the traditional hand-held Gimme model is $169.95, the mini hand-held Aire is $129.95, and the SkyCaddie Voice is $149.95. All products are offered with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. In addition, members also earn SkyRewards® and other discounts from SkyRewards Partners to save them more than three times the cost of nominally priced memberships, which start as low as $19.95 per year or even less with package offers.

Golfers can reduce the price of the Watch, Gimme, Aire or Voice even more with the SkyCaddie Trade-In program. By trading in a used SkyCaddie, laser rangefinder or unwanted golf clubs, many SkyCaddie purchasers are getting a new SkyCaddie practically for free. To order or for more information on the Sport Series family of products, SkyRewards, SkyCaddie membership plans, and trade-in programs, visit www.GreatGolfDeals.com

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Our Review Of The Nike VR_S Covert Driver - Great Golf Deals.com Blog


  
I predict 2013 will be the year of the “Driver” in golf.  As golfers, we are blessed with a lot of choices this year and the golf equipment manufacturers went all out in designing what they hope will be a top-selling driver for 2013.


Now I have to admit that most of the new drivers have only incremental changes from the previous year.  This includes maybe a minor tweak in head design, weight and COG placement, club head color and shaft offerings.  But this year, Nike takes the crown for the most radical changes to their driver line with the new Nike VR_S Covert Driver. 

This year the Nike Covert driver comes in a standard model and a Tour Model.  The Tour model comes with a slightly smaller, deeper face 430cc clubhead (compared to 460cc in the standard version) which produces slightly less spin and a more penetrating ball flight designed to help better players shape their tee shots more easily.  It also comes with an upgraded Mitsubishi Kura Kage shaft better suited for advanced golfers with faster swing speeds.

But the biggest thing that you will notice when you look at the new Covert driver is the there is a large portion of the sole of the club that is missing.  No this is not a manufacturing defect or an accident caused when shipping the driver.  Nike has developed the first cavity-back driver using the same tried and true cavity-back technology that has been used in irons for years.

The question is do the benefits of cavity-back technology translate to a driver and fairway woods or is this just an overhyped marketing gimmick???  I was able to take the new Nike VR_S Covert Tour driver out with me on a recent trip to Phoenix for a long weekend of early Spring Golf and put it to the test.



Looks:
Appearance plays a big part in driver selection these days.  Manufacturers put as much thought in the cosmetic design of the driver as they do with the club technology. When I first saw some advanced photos of Nike VR_S Covert driver I have to admit I laughed.  First, the bright red color of the driver seemed so distracting that I never thought I could own the driver simply because of the color.


Secondly, when looking at the sole of the driver with the huge “hole” on the bottom I just couldn't take this driver seriously just thinking about all the ribbing I would get from the guys in my foursome.  I can hear it now; “Hey what happened to the other part of your driver!”  “Did you know there is a hole in the bottom of your driver?” What’d you do, hit the turf a lose part of your driver??”

When I actually got to see the driver in real life I was surprised on how “normal” it looked.  Yes there was still the “big hole” on the bottom of the club but when looking at the club at a normal address setup position it looks very standard - very much Titleist 913D standard looking.

The deep red color looked nothing like the bright red eyesore that I saw in photos online.  The white Nike Swoosh on the heel of the club was not distracting at all and I didn’t even notice it when addressing the ball.

Overall the looks at a normal address position appear very standard and the Tour Model with its slightly smaller head gave me a sense of confidence that this driver would be forgiving yet controlable enough that I could “work” the ball if needed.




Adjustability:
This is where Nike excels over the other adjustable driver on the market currently.  It is by far the easiest and most adjustable of any current driver.   Nike's "FlexLoft" technology allows the loft and face angle to be adjusted independently. The loft can be adjusted between 8.5 and 12.5 in 1 degree increments and the face angle can be set left (closed), neutral (square), right (open).


The loft does go up and down accordingly and the lofts seemed pretty close to spot on.  The Closed, Open or Neutral face-angle settings also seemed to impact initial ball direction.  It won't cure your slice or a hook, but it does help get the ball get started on the intended path.  The twist of the wrench and a couple slides of the 2 cogs and this driver is ready to go.  I liked that I could raise the loft, yet not raise spin.  The low spin head can now be loft adjusted without major impact on spin, so you can get a higher lofted club with lower spin.  I actually went with the 10.5 setting because I was getting such good spin numbers and adding the extra loft added some yardage.


Feel:
The feel was amazing. The face felt super hot even on mis-hits and you really feel the ball explode off the face at impact with a nice soft feel. The feeling of this driver was like hitting the sweet spot of a forged iron. The "NexCore" face is a variable thickness face that feels great, but most importantly is forgiving.  Even on the smaller sized Tour head, I had great control even with my swing.  I couldn't believe how forgiving the face was – probably due to the cavity-back technology.  I know I didn't hit the center every time, but I certainly found the fairway most of the time.  It would be assumed that the Tour head being smaller and designed for the better player would not be very forgiving, but I found it to be excellent in this category.  I would imagine the standard head would be even more forgiving.  


Sound:
The tour version head sounded solid and low toned. Gone are the days of the Nike SQ Square driver and the aluminum bat sound. I would compare the sound to my Titleist 913D but a little bit quieter and lower.  The non-tour version sounded a tad bit higher toned and less muted, probably a more familiar sound to golfers out there.

Performance:
On the golf course this driver straight up performed!  It had a very tight feel to it with mid-to-high trajectory and low spin.  This was a good combination for me as I was able to control the ball and hit a lot of fairways.  My drives also seemed to roll out more but that could have been due to the harder fairways in Arizona compared to Michigan

Back home on the launch monitor compared to my current Titleist 910D3 driver, I gained about 8 yards, had about 500rpm less spin and picked up a little bit of clubhead speed.  Is this enough of an increase to warrant a switch?  I am not sure yet but any gain in distance these days is something to seriously consider.

Bottom Line:
I highly recommend you give the new Nike VR_S Covert driver a try. This to me is Nike’s best driver to date and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tiger Woods transitioning to one of these in the near future as many of Nike’s Tour staffers have already made the switch.

Overall the Nike Covert driver really surprised me in a good way by its looks, sound and overall performance. Sure the Nike hype and anticipation for this driver was huge but from what I have experienced Nike also delivered.

Bottom line is, Nike has a real winner with their new VR_S Covert driver.  If you can get over its unusual looks you will find a fantastic driver that flat-out performs. 2013 is going to be a great year for Nike Golf.

Pick up the new Nike VR_S Covert or NIke VR_S Covert Tour Driver  at the lowest prices guaranteed at Great Golf Deals.com - Discount Golf Equipment.



Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Golf Shoe Battle: Adidas Adizero Tour vs Nike TW '13 - Great Golf Deals Blog



These aren't your Granddad’s golf shoes. 

In the past, golf shoes were more like dress shoes with either a saddle or wing-tip design, with hard leather soles and spikes.  While I admit they did look good, they just were not that functional and were definitely not fun to walk in. 

Today’s golf shoes have come full circle by taking clues from the casual and athletic shoe market.  The new rage in the marketplace is the “spikeless” golf shoe that can be worn on or off the course.  They have been taking the industry by storm because they are so comfortable and multi-functional.  It would seem that spiked shoes are going by the wayside.  But this year with 2 new spiked shoe offerings from Adidas and Nike these new shoes are going to give the spikeless golf shoes a run for their money. 


Adidas Adipure Tour Golf Shoes
The adidas Adipure Tour Golf shoe was introduced in January of this year and is a radically different shoe than last year’s tour-level shoe the adidas Tour 360 ATV.  The biggest difference is the lower profile outsole of the shoe and the lighter weight which is only 10.6 ounces. Adidas claims this is the lightest of any spiked golf shoe currently on the market.  It is 38% less in weight than the adidas Tour 360 ATV model.  

Ok, but golfers aren't runners or soccer players so is the lighter weight really going to help a golfer on the golf course??

According to Dave Mattuicci, global marketing manager for Adidas, they can. Mattuici said a golfer who walks 18 holes lifts his legs between 15,000 and 17,000 times. That means the difference between the Tour ATV and the adizero is about 6.5 ounces per step, or if a golfer takes 17,000 steps, about 6900 pounds. Sounds like a fresher golfer to me.

That’s exactly what Brandt Snedeker said about the shoes when he wore them for the first time at Kapalua.  Now Brandt is not crediting his shoes for his hot start this year which includes 4 top 10 finishes and a win at Torrey Pines, but based on some of his comments about the shoe it sounds like he feels it gave him a competitive advantage over others that did not wear the shoe.  At the PGA Tour level, sometimes that increased level of confidence is the difference between winning and losing.


Outsole:
 The shoe’s “SprintFrame” outsole weighs only 3.4 ounces, and is constructed from a high-performance elastomer called Pebax that is strong and flexible.  Unlike most other golf shoes, the adizero uses no “secondary traction,” meaning it doesn’t have any of the rubber nubs or nobs that are used in most spike and spikeless golf shoes to add additional traction.  Also, I’ve noticed the lack of secondary traction keeps the bottom of the shoe less “gunked” up with loose debris therefore improving overall traction.

Also, the lack of secondary traction improves the interaction of the shoe’s 10 traditional spikes, which Mattuici said provides a better grip and more stability.

Upper:
The shoe’s upper is wrapped in what Adidas calls “SprintSkin,” a proprietary microfiber leather that is lightweight and waterproof. And despite its compact appearance, the adizero is also a touch wider in the toe section than the Tour 360 ATV, making it more comfortable in that area.

Our Review of the Adizero Tour:
I've been wearing the adidas Tour 360 ATV shoes for the past two seasons and have felt that they were one of the most comfortable walking golf shoes available.  That was until I tried on these adizero Tour shoes. Just a little background on me as a golfer.  I'm a walker and play with a group of buddies that refuse to take carts when we play golf.  I'm also an avid runner and realize the importance of a good fitting, lightweight pair of shoes when your putting on the miles.

When you walk a average 18 hole course you can count on walking about 5 or more miles so a comfortable shoe is mandatory.  These shoes did not disappoint.  I definitely noticed a huge difference in the way my legs felt after a round compared to the Tour 360s.  The course I play is pretty hilly with both concrete and gravel cart paths that you have to walk on at certain point on the course.  These shoes handled all the terrain with no problems at all. 

As for performance, the adizero offered just the right amount of support during the golf swing and because of the lower outsole it felt like your feet were touching the ground thus providing more balance.  The 10 cleats offered the tightest grip on the ground I have ever felt since wearing metal spikes.  I wore these after a rain storm and in the early morning dew and never once lost grip during a walk or swing.


Nike TW '13
Like the adizero Tour golf shoes, the Nike TW 13 was also based on an athletic shoe design .  The design came out of Nike's running shoe/basketball shoe department with the desire for more flexibility in the shoe's sole, thus creating better feel and comfort.  While the Nike TW 13 golf shoes are a little more than just throwing some spikes to their running shoes, the principles remain the same with multiple square sections of the shoe's sole cut apart by large flex seams, making these the most flexible spiked shoe you will find.


Tiger Woods has been wearing these now for almost a year, and while they had been on his feet for some time it took a while for them to make it to retail.  These shoes blend together comfort, flexibility and regular golf spikes.  They do it slightly different than your typical shoe.  


Outsole:
The natural motion engineered outsole is designed to mimic and conform to the natural motion of the foot, coupled with the protection and traction of a lightweight performance golf shoe. This innovative outsole allows the athlete to keep contact with the ground longer, better harnessing the energy of the foot to the shoe and, therefore, the shoe to the ground.


Upper:
The synthetic leather uppers are much thinner, lighter and have a slightly stiffer feel, but they tend to mold to your feet much better than a more traditional shoe.  The thin material is seam sealed all the way around making them impervious to liquids.

Our Review of the Nike TW '13:
While the Nike TW13 Free golf shoes are a little more than just throwing some spikes to their running shoes, the principles remain the same with multiple square sections of the shoe's sole cut apart by large flex seams, making these the most flexible spiked shoe you will find.

While they are super comfortable it is strange how they do it.  The synthetic leather and tongue are different than most shoes. Initially slipping them on, they have a weird sensation.  They don't feel like slippers, but actually kind of stiff, right out of the box.  With that being said, after 30 seconds they seem to form to your feet perfectly.  I walked in them 18 holes on the first day I wore them with not even the slightest discomfort.  They are soft, flexible and just plain comfortable.   I would have never believed it by the way they felt when I first tried them on.  So before you go to the store, try them on, and don't really like the feel, make sure you leave them on for a couple minutes and walk around the store.  You will start noticing a change in how comfortable they really are. 

From an appearance standpoint they look more like sneakers than the Adizero Tours.  They are not high-tops as some have said, they are really just a modified low top shoe, very regular feeling with them on.  The only noticeable style feature that is different than most are the spikes/tread that stick out of the inside of the toe area.  You can see the nubs when you look down, but they are not distracting.  They do have a slightly wider toe-box compared to other Nike shoes.  But even though they are slightly different than other Nike Shoes, sizing wise they are the same as other Nike shoes.


Bottom Line:
If you are looking for comfort and traction, you will not find better shoes than the adidas Adizero Tour and Nike TW13 golf shoes.  They are flexible, comfortable, grip like superglue and you can walk 18 in them right out of the box. 

The major selling point for me in picking the shoe I would wear more was weight, support and appearance.  There is no denying the adizero Tour is the lightest spiked golf shoe on the market today and if you are a walker  you will definitely notice the difference in how your legs and feet feel after your round.  I also like the a little stiffer outsole and lower-to-the-ground feeling I had with the adizero Tour shoes. I just felt more in balance and supported with every swing.

Lastly, the adizero Tour's appearance is more like a traditional golf shoe and look good whether you are wearing shorts or slacks.  The Nike TW 13 have a more "sneaker" look to them which looked good when wearing shorts but looked a little out of place when wearing a nice pair of slacks.

For this year at least, I will be rocking the new adizero Tour shoes but I highly recommend you give both a try and feel confident you will not be disappointed.  

You can find both the adidas Adizero Tour and Nike TW '13 for the lowest price guaranteed at Great Golf Deals.com



Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Our Review of the Cobra AMP CELL Driver - Great Golf Deals.com Blog



2013 is tuning out to be the year of the adjustable driver and Cobra does not disappoint with its latest offerings.  Cobra's latest driver line is named the AMP Cell which includes MyFly technology in the hosel combined with the SmartPad technology in the sole.  While these new terms may sound perplexing, it is really straightforward.  There are 6 different loft settings in the MyFly adjustable hosel. Each loft setting works without needing to do anything else to the club as a result of "SmartPad" sole technology.  This keeps the club square at address regardless of what loft setting you select.  What Cobra offers this year that no one else does is a choice of 4 fresh colors: orange, blue, red or silver to customize your driver.   (Women have a couple of other options, plus an offset model in yet another color that matches the baffler set). I experimented with all 6 settings to discover that #MyFly loft is 8.5 degrees – neutral.


MyFly Loft Adjustability

Once you adjust the settings to your swing,  just leave it alone or if your swing changes or if you need something different for that day on the course you can adjust it on the fly very easily with just a twist of the wrench.  Not surprising, but just a note, the new hosel system will not work with the previous Cobra adjustable shafts.  The old shafts only had 3 settings, while the Cobra AMP Cells have 6 settings.

My initial experience with this driver was indoors.  I began hitting shots on a True Golf Simulator and the ball flight looked very good.  It was mainly straight with a small draw.  It appeared to be typical to my normal ball flight, but was a little higher, both spin and launch angle.  Therefore I adjusted the hosel around and wound up selecting the 8.5* loft which kept my launch angle lower, but my spin was still a little high. This wasn't a huge shock to me; this is a reoccurring issue I have with many drivers.  I tend to spin the ball too much with my drivers.  The Cobra Amp Cell driver comes stock with a 60gram Fujikura Fuel shaft.  It is a “designed for” version, however it is a very good version.  I can't complain too much, the feel is excellent, the control is awesome, but the spin was just too high for me even in a stiffer flex. 
Four Different Color Options

 Indoor testing is great, especially during the winter if you live in a northern climate.  You also get immediate feedback in terms of swing and contact stats that you can use to dial in your custom adjustments for this driver.  But the real test of any piece of golf equipment is on the golf course playing under normal conditions.  Luckily, I was able to take this driver with me on a recent business trip to Tucson Arizona.   The first thing I realized when I got paired up with a couple golfers at the course was that the driver draws a lot of attention.  Both players, immediately after introducing themselves, commented on the look of the driver and wanted to take a closer look at it.   I chose the blue color driver simply because blue is my favorite color and to me, it looks the coolest.  Since I was striping it on the driving range I was pretty confident when stepping up to the first tee which was a 430 yard par four that played slightly into the wind.   Again, I kept my setting at 8.5 degrees with the stock Fujikura Fuel Stiff shaft. 

Similar to what was happening on the simulator, the ball flight of this driver was higher than what I was used to.  That was great when I was hitting down wind but on drives into the wind I definitely noticed a ballooning effect to my drives.   Even at the lowest loft option of 8.5 degrees I was not able produce a penetrating ball flight on drives into the wind and even on dry hard fairways in Arizona I was not getting the roll that I would normally get. 
Cobra AMP CELL Driver

The club head size of 460 cc and Cobra’s e9 face technology made this one of the most forgiving drivers I’ve hit this year.  I was hitting a lot of fairways but just was not getting the distance that I was used to.  Another thing I noticed was the sound this driver made.  I play golf a lot with a friend who has an older Cobra S2 driver which would make the loudest sound on impact that it was almost hilarious.  The AMP Cell Driver makes a solid sound but nothing too loud where it would be distracting. 

Cobra is offering the AMP CELL driver in several models this year, so choose wisely.  First, there is the Standard Cobra AMP Cell Driver available in 4 colors.  There is also the Cobra AMP Cell PRO Driver available in 2 colors also with 6 hosel settings.  The Cobra AMP Cell PRO Driver has a 440cc, lower spin head, as well as a lower spinning stock shaft.  I feel the AMP CELL PRO model would be a better match for my swing characteristics and I will post a review of that driver shortly so stay tuned.
Cobra AMP CELL Pro Driver

Overall, the standard Cobra AMP CELL Driver performs as good as it looks.  It’s one of the most forgiving drivers available this year and at the same time provides a nice high launching ball flight that most mid-handicap golfers will benefit from. 

While there maybe a number of choices in the AMP CELL line, it really isn't too hard to dial in this driver.  The MyFly technology is very easy to use and straight forward and the SmartPad keeps the driver square at address regardless of the loft setting.  For the price, this is one of the best performing and most versatile drivers available this year.