Golf News 27 January 2024

In golf news this week are stories from Cleveland Golf, Never Compromise, Cobra, Rapsodo, Titleist, Circana and Datatech.

• Cleveland Golf Introduces Two All-New Wedges
• Dunlop Sports Americas Announces the Relaunch of Never Compromise Putters
• COBRA GOLF UNVEILS REIMAGINED VINTAGE PUTTER SERIES
• Circana Announces Intent to Acquire Golf Industry’s Leading Independent Market Research Firm, Golf Datatech  

Cleveland Golf Introduces Two All-New Wedges

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Jan. 24, 2024 – CLEVELAND GOLF introduces the latest additions to its Wedge family: RTX Full-Face 2 and Smart Sole Full-Face Wedges. These new offerings combine premium, thoughtful design with larger striking areas for added forgiveness and playability.

RTX Full-Face 2

All-new RTX Full-Face 2 Wedges are designed to deliver exceptional versatility and give skilled golfers everything they need to tackle open-face shots with confidence. Featuring hosel-to-toe grooves and an extended toe area, RTX Full-Face 2 provides maximum versatility, spin, and consistency across the course.

RTX Full-Face 2 Wedges are equipped with HydraZip technology – a dynamic blast and laser-milled line system integrated into the face of the Wedge. Improved UltiZip groove help to cut through grass and debris at contact, for added bite at impact. Meanwhile, a high-toe profile enlarges the striking area for added confidence on aggressive short-game shots.

Smart Sole Full-Face

Smart Sole Full-Face Wedges feature four specialized clubs, each designed for nearly all types of short-game shots. With upgraded, Three-Tiered Sole Designs, Smart Sole Full-Face Wedges provide maximum forgiveness from anywhere on the course.

Smart Sole Full-Face Wedges feature a 46% larger striking area than the previous model – the largest clubface ever on a Cleveland Golf Wedge. They also provide more MOI than the previous Smart Sole generation. New alignment lines at the bottom of the club face are designed to help golfers keep the club centered behind the ball at address and keep a square club face at impact.

To learn more about the new RTX Full-Face 2 and Smart Sole Full-Face Wedges, visit us.dunlopsports.com/cleveland-golf.

Dunlop Sports Americas Announces the Relaunch of Never Compromise Putters

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Jan. 23, 2024 – Dunlop Sports Americas has relaunched the Never Compromise Reserve putter line. Never Compromise offers golfers an uncompromised putting experience with a one-of-a-kind fitting method that promotes rhythmic strokes, pure strikes, and glide-like rolls.

Never Compromise Reserve Putters are 100% CNC milled from premium, soft 303 stainless steel and individually weighted for ideal balance based on the putter’s length. Never Compromise also features five stroke-specific models to choose from. Models include three toe hang shapes for slight arc strokes, and two face-balanced shapes for straight strokes. This lineup gives golfers a comprehensive shape selection to address the entire spectrum of stroke types and personal preferences. 

In 2024, Never Compromise Reserve Putters will be sold by the XXIO/Never Compromise/ASICS sales team of Dunlop Sports Americas to select locations in many of North America’s finest golf shops. Golfers will also have the opportunity to purchase online and be fit with the same fitting options as dealers using the Never Compromise Quiz Selector tool to find the best fit for their stroke.

For more information on the all-new Never Compromise Reserve putters, visit us.dunlopsports.com/never-compromise.

COBRA GOLF UNVEILS REIMAGINED VINTAGE PUTTER SERIES

Innovative soft PEBAX™ insert and Descending Loft Technology™ elevates feel and roll performance.

Carlsbad, Calif. (January 23, 2024) – COBRA GOLF presents the redesigned VINTAGE putter series, featuring an array of advancements including a revolutionary soft PEBAX™ face insert and the incorporation of LA GOLF’s Descending Loft Technology™. This new lineup encompasses upgraded versions of popular models such as Sport, Widesport, Nova, Stingray, and Cuda, offering golf enthusiasts an unparalleled combination of feel and performance.

Inspired by the success of the KING VINTAGE Series, this new VINTAGE line continues with LA GOLF’s patented Descending Loft Technology. This distinctive technology offers players four planes of loft, descending from the top to the bottom (4, 3, 2, 1) in one-degree increments. This unique design ensures an optimal launch on every stroke, while producing unparalleled end-over-end roll performance.

A noteworthy enhancement to COBRA’s VINTAGE Series is the incorporation of a new soft PEBAX insert. Crafted from a lightweight and responsive TPE (thermo-plastic elastomer), this insert provides a remarkably soft feel at impact, offering an alternative to the firmer aluminum face insert found in COBRA’S 3D PRINTED putter line. The VINTAGE Series also introduces a fully MIM (metal injection molding) 304 stainless steel construction with machined detail and continues with adjustable sole weighting, empowering golfers to personalize their putter with a choice of five different sole weights (5g, 10g, 15g, 20g, 25g). This customization can be effortlessly achieved with a simple turn of a screw, allowing players to tailor their putter to their unique preferences.

The COBRA VINTAGE PUTTER family of products will begin pre-sale on January 23^rd and will be available at retail and online on February 23^rd, 2024. For more information, visit www.cobragolf.com.

Rapsodo Partners with Titleist to Further Enhance the Premium Member Experience for the Rapsodo MLM2PRO

Rapsodo and Titleist introduce Pro V1 and Pro V1x with Rapsodo Precision Technology (RPT) for MLM2PRO™ that will accurately measure spin for Premium Members

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rapsodo, the company known for leading the revolution to affordable, pro-grade sports technology to help athletes play like never before, announces a partnership with Titleist, the #1 ball in golf, to enhance the Rapsodo Premium Member experience by enabling compatibility of Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x for Rapsodo’s Mobile Launch Monitor 2 PRO (MLM2PRO™).

Titleist and Rapsodo have partnered to apply the RPT pattern to the #1 ball in golf. Pro V1 and Pro V1x with RPT will enable MLM2PRO™ to measure spin rate and spin axis. In order to gain access to the spin measurements, users must have a Rapsodo MLM2PRO™ Premium Membership account ($199 annually, included in initial purchase). Every Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf ball is precision manufactured in Titleist facilities and undergoes meticulous quality checks to ensure ultimate ball-to-ball consistency in performance – as well as any pattern application, such as RPT.

Titleist and Rapsodo are also collaborating to validate the use of Titleist Radar Capture Technology (RCT) golf balls with the original Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor – MLM. The new addition of hitting RCT golf balls on an MLM device will increase the total number of tracked metrics to 11, further improving indoor practice experience. More details for this launch are coming soon.

This announcement comes a year after the incredibly successful launch of the award-winning MLM2PRO™, which revolutionized golf for the everyday athlete by bringing advanced metrics and simulation capabilities to one portable and affordable device.

The Titleist ProV1 and ProV1x golf balls with RPT will be available for pre-order in mid-February, retailing at $69.99 USD exclusively on www.rapsodo.com.

Circana Announces Intent to Acquire Golf Industry’s Leading Independent Market Research Firm, Golf Datatech  

Acquisition will Augment Circana’s Sports Tracking Expertise and Insights 

CHICAGO and KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Jan. 23, 2024 – Circana™, formerly IRI and The NPD Group, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Golf Datatech, the golf industry’s leading independent market research firm. Golf Datatech tracks and delivers insights into golf retail sales, inventory, pricing, distribution, and consumer behavior across the U.S., U.K., Sweden, France, and Germany. Golf Datatech’s highly complementary, valuable data assets and talented team of industry experts will augment Circana’s existing sports tracking expertise and insights, broadening Circana’s coverage of the U.S. golf market to include all major channels of retail sales, including golf specialty, green grass shops, mass retailers, sporting goods, and e-commerce.  

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed by March 2024. Under the terms of the agreement, Golf Datatech will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Circana. Circana plans to integrate Golf Datatech’s data assets into their leading Liquid Data® technology platform.