Inside the Field: The RSM Classic

ORLANDO, Florida — After Demo Day on Tuesday, it was time to head indoors for the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Center. Inside the show, hundreds of golf companies displayed their latest products. My job was to find the coolest and newest products. Below are the highlights. Bushnell’s new Pro XE rangefinder One of the most popular rangefinder makers in golf has a new version that not only measures slope, but also measures temperature and altitude to produce an adjusted “Elementsâ€� yardage. The rangefinder can be made USGA conforming using a toggle that provides only the actual number, as well.  Previously, Bushnell used Jolt technology that would vibrate when the laser locked onto the flagstick. Now, the rangefinder will not only vibrate when locked on target, but a red ring will flash on the display, thus providing visual feedback that a golfer has measured the flagstick, and not a tree behind the green.  Additionally, using BITE technology, the Bushnell Pro XE has magnets on the side of the bodies that golfers can use to mount on a golf cart.  The new rangefinders will sell for $549.99 starting “sometime in March,â€� according to a Bushnell representative.  Voice Caddie SC300 Voice Caddie’s new portable launch monitor uses Doppler Radar technology, and it measures carry distance, swing speed, ball speed, smash factor, launch angle and flight apex. It also has a distance voice output – in other words, an audible reading of how far you hit the ball – and it measures atmospheric pressure.  At the PGA Show, Voice Caddie was running a deal for $330, but the regular price of these launch monitors will be $549.99.  Mizuno launches golf balls in North America Live at the PGA Show on Wednesday morning at its display booth, Mizuno announced new RB Tour and RB Tour X golf balls. These are Mizuno’s first golf balls to ever be released globally.  The higher-flying, higher-spinning RB Tour, and the lower-flying, lower-spinning RB Tour X golf balls each have four-piece constructions with urethane covers. The golf balls have C-dimples to reduce drag, Mizuno said, in addition to a “high-energy ionomer mantle layerâ€� and a dual core with graduated firmness.  They will sell for $43, hitting retail worldwide in February. EvnRoll’s new putters, Roll Board Since 2016, EvnRoll has been making milled putters designed by Guerin Rife that have “Sweet Faceâ€� technology on their faces to improve roll across the impact area. The company has now launched four new head models and “gravityâ€� grips.  The new models include an ER1TS blade, an ER2.2 midblade, an ER5B mallet and an ER8.3 players mallet. The line is highlighted by the ER1TS due to its extreme offset. EvnRoll said the slanted hosel, which makes the shaft measure one-inch from the leading edge of the putter head, helps create greater stability. The increased offset, according to EvnRoll, also helps golfers set the wrist without the need for a forward press.  All of the new putters come stock with ER5 Black grips, but new gravity grips are available for an upcharge. The V-shaped gravity grips have 35-gram EVA foam bodies, nine-inch 70-gram steel rods that run up the lower portions of the grips, and a 15-gram outer wrap. EvnRoll says the 120-gram grip designs help increase stability.  Available in 33-35 inches, the new EvnRoll putters will sell for $359 for the stock grip, and $399 with a gravity grip.  Cobra’s new King MIM wedge Cobra’s new wedges are completely machine-made.  First, the wedge bodies are made using metal injection molding (MIM), a process typically used in golf to make Tungsten inserts for club heads. As part of the process, a mixture of 304 stainless steel powder is heated and injected into a mold. Then, the wedges undergo a robotic polishing procedure on areas such as the sole and topline, instead of any hand polishing. The grooves are CNC milled, and the faces have a circular CNC-milled pattern to maximize spin. Additionally, the wedges are chrome plated.  The aim for Cobra, by eliminating hand polishing, is to make the same shape every time, thus ensuring consistency among retail products.  Cobra’s King MIM wedges come with a “Versatileâ€� grind, which the company said is the same grind Rickie Fowler uses, KBS Rev 2.0 shafts, and they come in lofts of 52-60 degrees. The wedges hit retail on March 15 and will sell for $139 apiece.  Garmin Approach G80 With both radar and GPS technologies, the Garmin Approach G80 acts as both a yardage-gathering device and a launch monitor. The 3.5-inch device measures club head speed, ball speed, smash factor, swing tempo and distance. It also provides golfers access to more than 41,000 golf courses worldwide, according to the company, acting like a GPS; the courses display in color on the screens. The G80 has Touch Targeting to get distances to specific targets, and it provides yardage numbers to front, middle and center of the green.  The Approach G80 is currently available for $499.99.  Wilson launches Staff Model Blades to the public The Wilson Staff blade irons that Gary Woodland popularized over the last few months will now be available in a retail version. They’re forged from 8620 carbon steel, have a high-polish mirror finish, a Fluid Feel Hosel and milled diamond patterns that frame the scoring lines.  Currently available in right-hand only, the new Wilson Staff Model Blades (3-PW) are selling for $1,199 and come stock with Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips and True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts. Golf Pride’s new grips Golf Pride has unveiled four new grip models for 2019, including a “Plus 4â€� Tour Velvet that’s built up with 4-wraps worth of rubber under the bottom hand, a Z-cord Align grip that adds to the Align lineup, new grips (MCC Plus 4 and Tour Velvet 360) that have Arccos sensors built into the butt end, and a new Tour SNSR grip shape that has less curve on the top portion of the grip.  The grips will launch on March 1, according to Golf Pride.  Lynx Golf’s interchangeable driver face Lynx Golf was displaying a number of new products for 2019, but the highlight is its new Prowler VT that has an interchangeable face. Using SFT, or “Switch Face Technology,â€� Lynx’s new driver has a removable face that’s attached using screws. Between different lofts and face angles, the Prowler driver has 25 different face options, according to Lynx.  The drivers displayed in two colorways – orange/black and silver/black – and they come with one face; additional faces will be available at an upcharge. The drivers are expected to go into production in March and sell for $525, according to the company.  Fling Golf This wouldn’t be a proper PGA Show highlight story without at least one outlandish golf product. Fling Golf provides a twist on the traditional game of golf with “sticksâ€� that look like a hybrid between a golf club and a lacrosse stick. Instead of using them to hit a golf ball, Fling Golf sticks are mostly used by loading a golf ball into the head and throwing it … until it’s time to putt, at least. To play Fling Golf, participants need just one stick. They start at $109, and are available in three models; the Launch for beginners (short, medium and long lengths), the Stinger, and the “BallStick,â€� which measures 51 inches and is made for “tall or potentially crazy players,â€� according to the company.  Fling Golf says there are more than 15,000 golf courses that are “Fling Golf ready.â€� BUY EQUIPMENT HERE: PGA TOUR Superstore

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Officially the month of the bracket, March annually has the world talking seeds, breaking down matchups and making picks more than any other time on the calendar. Hoops has its madness, but the unpredictability in basketball is pedestrian compared to this week’s World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play. Each of the last three winners of this championship were seeded outside the top-30. That’s like having three 8-seeds (or lower) in a row cut down the nets after winning it all. If you’re looking at seeding alone, good luck predicting what will happen this week in Austin. This is the seventh year this championship has been contested under the group play format, where everyone in the 64-man field is guaranteed three round-robin matches before the 16 group winners move on to single elimination. Twenty First Group dove into the numbers behind one of the PGA TOUR’s most unique events. Significance of Seeding – If you want to sum up the unpredictable nature of this championship with one statistic, it’s this one: last year, players with the worse seed in a match had a winning record (48-45-18). – In 2021, half of the players who advanced to the round of 16 came from the “D” group of seeds – players tabbed between 49 and 64. Only one player from the “A” group moved on – third overall seed Jon Rahm. – That isn’t to say chalk hasn’t had its good years in this event: the top overall seed has won five times, including twice since pool play started (Rory McIlroy in 2015, Dustin Johnson in 2017). In 2016, 12 of the 16 players to advance out of pool play came from either the A or B seed groupings. – Since pool play began in 2015, the ‘A’ group has just a slight edge in percentage of players to reach the round of 16: 30.2%. The B and D group have sent 24.0%; the C group 21.9%. Truly, anybody who gets into this elite field is capable of having a big week: the last five times this championship has been played, a player seeded 61st or lower has moved on to the round of 16 five times. Situational Stats – The tournament moved to Austin Country Club in 2016. Since then, the opening hole has been a significant harbinger of match outcome: players who win the first hole either win or tie the match more than 68% of the time. No player has won the opening hole more at Austin CC than Bubba Watson (12 times in 21 matches). He went 4-0-0 when taking the first en route to victory here in 2018. – Overall, players who lead at the turn at Austin CC go on to win the match 75.5% of the time. That percentage fluctuates wildly depending on the size of the advantage: players 1 up at the turn win 59.2% of the time – 2 up, that rate jumps to 77.1%. – The short par 4 13th, one of Austin CC’s most memorable holes, isn’t just an entertaining risk-versus-reward decision for the players. It also might be the most important hole on the course when it comes to determining the outcome of a match. Since 2016, the 13th has been won 30.4% of the time, the highest rate of any hole on the golf course. No player has won the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play with a losing record on the 13th hole over the course of that week. – Walking off the 13th green has proven to be a key point in the match: players with a 1 up advantage through 13 holes have won the match 60.3% of the time, and have either won or halved 84.4% of the time. A player with a 2 up lead going to the 14th tee has gone on to win at a clip of nearly 87%. – The unique closing hole has proven to give players one final opportunity to make up ground. There have been 139 instances so far at Austin CC where a player has been 1 down in their match going to the 18th tee. In 47 of those instances – 33.8% – the player trailing has won the 18th to tie the match and salvage a valuable half-point. Players to Watch – World No. 1 Jon Rahm has won 32% of his career holes played in this event. Among players in the field this week with at least 60 holes played in competition, that’s the highest clip of anyone. Rahm’s 94 holes won since 2017 are tied for second-most of any player in that span, trailing only Matt Kuchar (not in this year’s field). – This is a week where bettors and fantasy players can find significant value in C and D group players. For example, there are four players in the field this week who have won 30.3% or more of their holes played in this championship since 2018: Bubba Watson (33.0%), Alex Noren (31.1%), Keegan Bradley (30.6%) and Mackenzie Hughes (30.3%). Each of those players is seeded 50th or worse entering the tournament. – A pair of European Ryder Cup legends in the field this week have seen their match play success carry over into this event. Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia have each qualified for the round of 16 on eight occasions, tied for most all-time (Tiger Woods, Kuchar). Garcia has been especially successful on the 13th hole – his nine wins on that hole are tied for second-most since 2016. – Poulter is a perfect 9-0-0 in his career at Austin CC when holding the lead at the turn in a match. Two other players in this week’s field are also perfect in five or more opportunities: Kevin Kisner (9-0-0) and Patrick Reed (6-0-0). – Scottie Scheffler nearly broke through with his first career PGA TOUR title in his college town of Austin last year. He ultimately lost in the championship match to Billy Horschel, 2 and 1. Now a multiple winner on TOUR, Scheffler hopes to continue a trend of players following up runner-up performances with strong weeks at Austin CC: the previous two players in his shoes – Kevin Kisner in 2019 and Matt Kuchar last year – combined to go 12-2-0. Kisner won it all, while Kuchar made it to the semifinals.

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