Golf News June 2, 2024

Golf News June 2, 2024

In golf news this week are items from Honma, True, Cobra, Ecco, Cobra Golf and the Indoor Golf Shop.

• Honma Golf Launches Sakata Lab Putter Collection
• TRUE linkswear Preferred Footwear for World Golf Competition
• ECCO® GOLF Unveils Limited ‘New Flavour of Golf’ Collection
• COBRA GOLF® INTRODUCES FIRST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE 3D PRINTED IRONS
• The Indoor Golf Shop Expands Chicago Office with Opening of Dynamic Simulator Showroom

Honma Golf Launches Sakata Lab Putter Collection

Honma’s legendary luxury, craftsmanship, and technology

Carlsbad, CA—Honma Golf, the leader in beautifully crafted performance golf equipment, proudly announces that the Sakata Lab putter collection is now available. Engineered with precision by elite researchers and developers in Sakata, Japan, these new putters feature the same meticulous craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology that has been carried forward for six decades of Japanese tradition and innovation.

From concept to design, deep earth materials to a high-polish finish, each model (Classic, Mallet, Horn, and NEO) sets the highest standard for elevating play and bringing Stunning Performance™ to discerning players worldwide.

Experience the timeless elegance of the Classic Putter (SL-001), meticulously crafted by our expert team in Sakata and manufactured in-house from start to finish. Designed for effortless control, face rotation, and precise alignment, this classic putter is perfect for players seeking small impact loft and a slight arc putting stroke. The Classic model embodies superior craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology resulting from Honma’s unwavering commitment to performance and perfection.

The Mallet Putter (SL-002) is manufactured in-house to deliver exceptional control and forgiveness. With a wide sweet spot and resilience against miss-hits, this putter is ideal for players seeking middle-impact lofts and a slight arc putting stroke. The Mallet Putter features sophistication and performance, prioritizing the needs of the player.

The Horn Putter (SL-003) is methodically designed in-house for players seeking a wide sweet spot and resilience against miss-hits. Perfect for middle loft impact and straight putts. Engineered with precision by an elite team of researchers and developers, the Horn Putter combines sophisticated design with exceptional performance to elevate your game.

Experience the ultimate in forgiveness and stability with the NEO Mallet Putter (SL-005). Designed for easy address and high MOI, this putter ensures straight shots and resilience against miss-hits. The NEO Mallet putter combines sophisticated design with exceptional performance to take your game to new heights.

The Sakata Lab putters have an MSRP of $250.00 and are now available at retail locations and online at https://us.honmagolf.com/collections/all/tworld.

TRUE linkswear Preferred Footwear for World Golf Competition

New collaboration to promote collections to amateurs around the globe.

Tacoma, Washington – TRUE linkswear (TRUE), creator of ultra-comfortable, modern golf footwear designed for walking on and off the course, is excited to announce a collaboration with World Golf Competition as the preferred footwear supplier for the 2025 tournament schedule. The new partnership reflects a commitment to providing the high standard of products and services that golf’s global community expects.

Played across four continents, 216 courses, 313 rounds, and with more than 13,000 players, the World Golf Competition 2025 is the world’s most luxurious amateur golfing contest and a world first. Amateur golfers can compete on some of the world’s most exclusive courses in a fully serviced and organized tournament.

Sam Boden, TRUE’s Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, said The Competition aligned with the growing trend for golfers to enhance their golfing experience with superb products that transcend the links. “More and more, we’re seeing golfers looking for more versatile, naturally comfortable footwear and apparel that not only provides a high level of luxury and performance on the course but also seamlessly transitions to everyday life.”

World Golf Competition Co-Founder Jon Kerr said The Competition had seen passionate golfers seeking a new challenge and those keen to indulge in high-class travel, exceptional products, dining, and accommodation sign up for the inaugural round, which would tee off in February 2025.

The World Golf Competition is offering a $5 million prize pool, including magnificent hand-crafted once-off trophies, hole-in-one prizes, and exclusive draws.

Players will compete across the world’s most exclusive courses, including Te Arai Golf Club, New South Wales Golf Club, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Whistling Straits Golf Course, Terre Blanche Golf Course, Carnoustie Golf Links, Gleneagles Golf Resort, Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Sentosa Golf Club, Engineers Country Club, Lake Nona Country Club, and hundreds more.

For more information on TRUE and its new products, visit www.truelinkswear.com. To learn more about the World Golf Competition, visit https://worldgolfcompetition.com.

ECCO® GOLF Unveils Limited ‘New Flavour of Golf’ Collection

(LONDONDERRY, NH) ECCO GOLF, a global leader in golf shoe manufacturing, has unveiled a special-edition capsule collection that celebrates all the different, and sometimes unexpected, flavors of golf. 

Available today at us.ecco.com/golf and select retailers, the ‘New Flavour of Golf’ collection is fashion mixed with functionality and athletic performance in shoes that are built with ECCO’s advanced technologies and rich, premium leathers. The limited collection is playful, youthful and fashion-forward, inspired by the energy of golf’s vibrant style-driven fashion culture where apparel makes a statement on style as much as performance on the course. 

From pistachio to stracciatella, and from raspberry to hazelnut-honey, the four limited-edition shoes are each inspired by a flavor of ice cream with something for everyone in this collection. Available in men’s sizes 39-47 and women’s sizes 36-42, each shoe in the capsule collection features a marble effect that resembles the indulgent swirls of melting ice cream while the ECCO logo on the insole has been transformed into the shape of an ice cream cone, hinting at the fun and inclusive nature of golf. 

“This capsule collection represents a huge opportunity for ECCO GOLF – to both step forward in golf fashion and to step outside of the box that confines the sport,” Timo Vollrath, Head of Global Marketing at ECCO GOLF. “We are always looking to innovate at ECCO GOLF, and we’re excited to bring this collection of chic new styles to life.” 

Customers can find their flavor in the capsule collection with refreshing takes on existing shoes, including the Raspberry edition of the women’s ECCO GOLF TRAY with its playful, pink accents. The ‘Stracciatella’ version of the men’s ECCO GOLF CLASSIC HYBRID, with its white leather and a ‘chocolatey’-style outsole, has a penny loafer design that holds up a ball marker. Additionally, the women’s edition of the ECCO GOLF BIOM® C4 is offered in Hazelnut-Honey with rich, brown accents, while the men’s version of the shoe comes in ‘Pistachio’ with green accents. 

ECCO GOLF shoes are worn in competition around the world by Henrik Stenson, Thomas Bjørn, Erik van Rooyen, Lydia Ko, Alison Lee, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Freddy Schott and Esther Henseleit as well as global golf content creators Rick Shiels and Erik Anders lang among others. For further information about ECCO GOLF, please visit golf.ecco.com. 

COBRA GOLF^® INTRODUCES FIRST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE 3D PRINTED IRONS

ARLSBAD, CA. (MAY 14, 2024)— COBRA Golf®, a leader in golf club innovation and 3D printing technology, introduces the new LIMIT3D™ irons, the world’s first set of commercially available 3D printed steel irons. After becoming the first golf company to introduce a 3D printed steel putter in 2020 and then following it up with a full line of KING® 3D printed multi-material putters in 2021, engineers at COBRA® set out to be the first to apply the new technology to iron design. COBRA partnered with nTop®, a leader in computational design software whose namesake product helps companies create better-performing, state-of-the-art designs that leverage the benefits of additive manufacturing. Leveraging their partnership with nTop, COBRA embarked on an ambitious goal to create a compact player’s blade profile that offers a similar level of forgiveness as an oversized, game-improvement club with the feel of a forged iron. The LIMIT3D irons are the product of these innovative advancements and are an industry first in performance and manufacturing.

Traditionally, to design an iron with more forgiveness meant sacrificing the look and feel of the iron by making it larger in profile.  COBRA’s mission was to design an iron that had the shape and feel of a compact blade desired by better players, with the forgiveness that the aspirational player needs. Before now, an iron like this has never existed or been achievable due to design and manufacturing constraints with traditional methods like casting and forging. Designed using nTop’s software and manufactured with 3D printing technology, COBRA’S LIMIT3D 3D printed irons feature a compact shape (slightly smaller in size than the Cobra KING Tour iron). The fully 3D printed 316L stainless steel body features an innovative internal lattice structure that allows 33% of the overall clubhead weight to be repositioned without sacrificing strength. This unique design, which is only possible using 3D printing, allows for up to 100g of tungsten to be placed in the heel and toe areas of the clubhead, creating a low CG and an exceptionally high moment of inertia (MOI) relative to the shape and size of the club. The result is a compact blade shape with a low CG location, high forgiveness, and distance comparable to that of a player’s distance or game improvement model like COBRA’s KING TEC or TEC-X irons.

An additional benefit of nTop’s design software coupled with the use of additive manufacturing is the speed at which COBRA engineers were able to create and test prototypes. nTop’s software capabilities allowed COBRA to automate the design exploration process and make iterations two times faster to speed up the development process significantly.  The faster process also allowed COBRA’s R&D team to test a variety of lattice designs to optimize internal mass distribution and acoustics, resulting in a final product that exceeded expectations in looks, performance, and soft feel to appeal to the most discerning players.   

 There are only 500 sets available worldwide of the new LIMIT3D 3D printed irons (350 in US and Canada). Each of the first run 500 sets are marked with 1/500 which truly make them the “first” of their kind. Beginning on June 7^th, these ultra-premium limited-edition irons will be available for custom order only in the US and Canada.  

MSRP will be $3,000 for 4-PW set configurations in RH only with a wide selection of aftermarket steel and graphite shafts, and grips. For more information, visit www.cobragolf.com.

The Indoor Golf Shop Expands Chicago Office with Opening of Dynamic Simulator Showroom

Open-to-the-public sales office, showroom showcases latest indoor golf technology

CELINA, Texas — The Indoor Golf Shop (TIGS), a leading manufacturer of indoor golf equipment and home to the largest selection of residential and commercial indoor golf products online, proudly announces the opening of its newest consumer showroom in West Chicago, Illinois.

This new showroom and Indoor Golf Shop’s Chicagoland regional headquarters provides people interested in building their own simulator space the chance to demo and peruse the industry’s latest indoor golf, sports or entertainment technology, hardware, components, accessories and build-out materials. Customers can then opt to customize their own DIY builds with guidance from the Indoor Golf Shop’s expert advisory team or have the Inhome Golf side of the business manage the installation.

For that additional touch of expertise and turnkey design and installation, InHome Golf is the Design and Installation division of The Indoor Golf Shop and works with clients to pinpoint every detail that adds up to the optimal sim room design and then build it to the customer’s dream specifications.

Visiting TIGS’s West Chicago Showroom, clients can see the broad range of options for building the indoor golf space that’s ideal for their goals and budget.

“Not only is simulator technology more accessible across a wide variety of price points, the graphics, data and overall immersive experiences in indoor golf, gaming and home theater are simply more advanced and mind-blowing than ever,” said Justin Carlson, Vice President – Sales for The Indoor Golf Shop, who oversees the Chicago location. “Our showroom gives consumers the perfect opportunity to learn everything they need to know before designing and installing the dream indoor simulator room they’ve been dreaming about. From leading launch monitor brands, to the latest in custom enclosures, hitting mats, and even portable, modular sim designs, a trip to our location is sure to answer key questions and spark creativity for your next indoor golf project.”

For customers undecided on which components, hardware and accessories they need to complete their simulator project, the ability to walk through and demo a full array of the industry’s latest technology and design features with expert guidance is extremely beneficial.

“Simulators were once thought of as an extreme luxury item, now our customers include newer golfers, clients with a wide range of budgets, golf clubs who want to add a member amenity, and even non-golfers who want multi-sport functions or theater room designs,” said Rene Delgado, Founder and CEO of The Indoor Golf Shop. “We take a collaborative, consultative approach to help customers when they visit our showrooms to help them find all the best fits for that dream indoor golf and entertainment space.”

In addition to the new Chicago location and national headquarters in Celina, Texas (near Dallas); The Indoor Golf Shop also has in-person showrooms and Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Newark, New Jersey and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Indoor Golf Shop elevates all phases of the indoor golf buying experience through a full slate of end-to-end solutions, including guidance for purchasing and installing premium simulator brands like Trackman, buying DIY components and complete simulator configurations for different size spaces. Customers can also find custom design and build services using best-in-class screens, enclosures, hitting mats, launch monitors and accessories for homes, retailers, teaching and fitting facilities, and entertainment businesses at ShopIndoorGolf.com. Learn more about custom design and installation from the experts at InHomeGolf.com.