A thing of beauty: Eidolon Golf's 52-degree V-Sole wedge

If you’re a meticulous sort of golfer who likes to know the lies and lofts of your irons, who occupies the quiet, isolated corner of the range and dials in the precision components of your game, have we got a wedge for you.

But then again, if you’re the sort of golfer who tends to leave the ball in the bunker, lay a lot of turf over top of those finicky little 70-yarders or skull delicate chips over the green from time to infuriating time, you might find just as much to like about Eidolon wedges as the guy who paces off his approach shots.

First, since it’s a safe bet you’ve never heard of them, a bit of background.

Eidolon — a word the Texas-based company says translates roughly as, “The image of an ideal” — is a custom-wedge operation co-founded in 2004 by Terry Koehler, an outspoken 30-year veteran of the golf equipment industry and wedge and putter designer who’s also a former director of marketing at the Ben Hogan Co.

The flagship product in the Eidolon stable is the V-Sole wedge, a classically shaped short-game implement with a special V-shaped sole grind that changes the amount of bounce on the club depending on the position of the face, making it what Eidolon insists is a more versatile club off a variety of lies.

“I developed this sole design for wedges because I was frustrated by the performance of the major brands,” Koehler says on the company’s website.

“The courses I played most often had turf that was pretty firm and tight, so high-bounce sand wedges were not too functional. But if you carried a low bounce wedge, it just didn’t work from sand and rough, or when you faced a soft lie.”

What he came up with was a club Eidolon describes as essentially having two different soles. One runs between the club’s leading edge and a spine of sorts down the centre of the sole (the tip of the “V”), with the other behind it. It is, in essence, a bevelled sole — the V-Sole takes its name from the angle that’s created by the intersection of the two sole planes.

The best of both worlds: According to Eidolon, the unique grind of the V-Sole wedge combines the versatility of a low-bounce wedge with the game-improvement qualities of a high-bounce sand iron

The idea is this: from soft sand, the deepest point of the sole, the tip of the “V,” provides the bounce — in theory, as much as 30 degrees in the case of the 56-degree club’s leading edge, but as little as eight degrees when measured relative to the shallower angle of the wider “rear” sole. To use the bounce, crank the clubface open; to minimize bounce, set up square or play the ball back in your stance.

Eidolon wedges come in four configurations (48, 52, 56 and 60 degrees), but can be bent to custom lofts and lies to suit any player’s preferences. The bounce is, naturally, lowest on the pitching and gap wedges and highest on the 56 and 60-degree clubs.

It’s hard to put your finger on precisely why the Eidolon wedges are effective. After all, bounce is bounce; if it’s there, it’s there — it can’t, despite all the marketing magic in the world, vanish when you don’t need it and reappear when you do. But the Eidolons are indeed very versatile from a variety of lies; the bevelled sole raises the leading edge of the club slightly from the turf, making the club far less prone to digging when you catch one a bit fat. With my 52-degree and 60-degree demos, I found myself admiring the outcome of shots that would normally have me muttering under my breath.

In addition to polished steel, Eidolon wedges also come in a rust-encouraging oilcan finish

The catch, of course, is that any player already comfortable with a low-bounce wedge might be put off a bit by the slight elevation in the leading edge when laying the club open on a tight lie. Then again, if you’re pulling that shot off on a regular basis, your multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal probably precludes you from playing these clubs anyway.

Aesthetically, the Eidolon wedges are quite fetching, too — smooth, classic lines both at address and sitting in the bag, with simple, old-school graphics and a choice between a polished-steel finish and a hot-oil bath that ensures a spin-enhancing coat of rust over time.

Speaking of spin, the V-Sole features green-grabbing, CNC-milled square grooves, as well as a V-groove version that conforms to the USGA’s more stringent new “condition of competition” governing square grooves (square grooves, also known as U-grooves, are legal for amateur golfers until 2024). With the right ball, the V-Soles are as spinny as anything else out there.

They’re also available with a host of steel (Dynamic Gold, Rifle Spinner or FST Hi-Rev stepless) or graphite (Eidolon proprietary) shaft options, and can be completely custom-built to a player’s particular loft and lie specifications. Eidolon will happily tweak the lies and lofts to whatever specs you require.

At the other end of the club, Eidolon’s proprietary grips are quite ingenious. Instead of a pointless, indecipherable pattern designed to show you where you’re supposed to put your hands on the club (a pretty basic fundamental that if you haven’t figured out by now, you have bigger problems), there’s a series of fingernail-shaped curved lines running up the front of the bottom half of the grip.

The idea is to create a measuring tool that can allow a player to calibrate his or her short game to such precision that it eliminates the guesswork  — a system similar to one Dave Pelz pioneered many years ago. With the hands in each of several positions on the grip, a player can build a wide repertoire of distances, trajectories and spins, catalog them, and readily summon them later on the golf course.

It’s all part of Koehler’s Shotmaking Control Routine, or SCoR for short, which he details in the self-published mini-book that accompanies each order. Choke down a half-inch on each club, hit a bunch of shots with each combination and measure the outcome, and lo – a collection of data that should tell you everything you need to know about your short game.

Bottom line: Eidolon and Koehler clearly take the short game seriously, and the Eidolon wedges — paired with some of Koehler’s innovative and meticulous practice methods — would make an excellent component of anyone’s game-improvement strategy.

Tees? Seriously?

When it comes to progress, nothing in the golfer’s arsenal is safe from being improved, redesigned, re-invented, overhauled, tweaked or fine-tuned in the name of more yards, better control and fewer strokes. From the hat on your head to the spikes under your shoes, it’s all fair game when it’s in the name of lower scores.

Evolve Golf's Epoch tee is designed to keep tee-ball contact to a minimum.

That includes the contents of your pockets.

The humble tee, the lowly ball marker, the utilitarian green repair tool: for some, they’re all one and the same. That curvacious, ubiquitous peg also serves occasionally as a groove cleaner, a referee that selects the first-tee batting order and even a handy ear-canal itch reliever – truly a revolutionary bit of equipment that’s come a long way since the days when a pinch of sand was considered sufficient elevation.

These days, of course, one sees ball markers with notches to help with alignment and magnets to keep them safely affixed to the bill of one’s cap; polished-steel divot forks with bulging fulcrum points and alligator-hide belt-clip holsters; and tees so loaded with science that they’ve logged more wind-tunnel time than Michael Schumacher.

Case in point: the Epoch tee, from the also-aptly named North Carolina manufacturer Evolve Golf, boasts a sexy-as-hell, Internet-age design that the company says can add yards to a player’s tee shots and improve accuracy by reducing spin.

First, something Evolve Golf wants you to know: Jason Bohn just won the Zurich Classic using the Epoch tee. Lee Janzen and Boo Weekley finished fourth and 10th, respectively, using the same tee peg.

“Jason was able to lead the tournament from wire-to-wire by setting up scoring opportunities with phenomenal play off the tee, where he ranked tied for second in the driving accuracy category,” Evolve Golf founder and CEO B.J. Maloy said in a statement this week.

“He is one of many players around the world that has discovered the effortless gains in performance that come from switching to the Epoch tee.”

Did it truly make any difference? Quite possibly. Of course, the sensible reader keeps in mind one obvious caveat emptor: seven other guys also finished in the top 10, presumably using other tees.

Say what you will about their claims, the Epoch's design is functional and practical.

According to the company’s own research, a 107-mph swing at a ball on an Epoch tee results in an increase in ball speed of four miles per hour, nine yards of additional distance and 623 rpm less of ball spin.

Skeptical? Well, before you go harrumphing off in all directions, consider the science behind this particular claim. Firstly, Evolve very rightly makes the point that while clubs and balls have grown so sophisticated over the years that they’ve practically re-invented the game, no one until recently had bothered to think past the most basic method of elevating the ball to strike it with a driver.

As any drunken lout who’s ever hit a ball off a golf pencil can tell you, the less interference there is between the surface of a golf ball and its temporary pedestal, the farther it’s likely to go. That’s essentially the philosophy behind modern tees like the Epoch: instead of a cupped surface in which the ball sits, the top of the Epoch is divided into “posts” that elevate the ball off the cupped part of the tee. With each post measuring slightly more than the width of a golf ball’s dimple, less of the tee’s surface area interferes with the surface of the ball, which means there’s less to get between you and all that distance. Specifically, Epoch claims the lowest coefficient of friction of any tee on the market.

The Epoch is also credited with 126 professional golf wins since making its debut in 2004, including 46 wins on the PGA Tour and 33 on the LPGA Tour.

The Zero Friction, by comparison, is skinny and less stable.

As far as multi-pronged tee designs go, the Epoch is pretty tame by comparison to some of the other more drastic designs – the Zero Friction tee, for instance, props the ball up on three thin, fang-like teeth so there’s very little tee-ball contact (hence the name). Excel Golf, the maker of the ZF, claims four yards of additional distance and five yards of accuracy with a 100-mph swing. High-profile players include Kenny Perry, Dean Wilson and Vicky Hurst.

The ZF, which comes in an array of colours, claims more than 50 wins on the PGA Tour since 2005 and more than 300 top-10 finishes.

The ZF tee, however, is like one of those dirt-track sprint cars with the massive billboard-sized wings on the roof: effective under controlled, specific circumstances, maybe, but not overly practical (just getting a ball to stay put atop a Zero Friction tee can be an exercise in frustration, and the skinny design means it tends to bend on firmer tee boxes). The Epoch, by comparison, is like a more modest rear spoiler on a high-performance sedan. Less drastic, less showy, but a damn sight more sensible.

Then again, when we’re talking about tees that, on average, cost about 26 cents each ($9 for a package of 35 ZF tees, or $4 for a pack of 15 Epoch pegs, five of which are shorter and designed for hybrids or irons), sensible probably has very little to do with it.

But sometimes the difference in golf boils down to what makes a player swing with confidence; if a pointy bit of plastic is enough to make that difference, then it’s worth whatever you’re willing to pay for it.

If you’re even half as into the game as the average Canadian golfer, it’s pretty much impossible to ignore all the tech talk that’s been going on in recent years, from oversized drivers to square grooves to five-layered balls and everything in between.

But regular visitors to the Gearhead blog will know we’re strong proponents of the argument that what you wear is just as important as what you hit – especially when it comes to inclement weather. Plus, it is spring, after all.

Comfort, performance, freedom of movement, and even confidence on the course are all factors to consider when choosing a rain jacket. Making the decision to invest in a good rainsuit, if you haven’t done so already, means that when the time comes to use it – and it will – you’ll consider it among the most important pieces of gear in your bag.

The Ultimate V2: a serious jacket for serious golfers.

The Sunice Ultimate Jacket V2, the flagship garment in the Quebec-based apparel maker’s Hurricane line (the others, categorized by the degree of protection they offer, are Tornado, Typhoon and Storm), is one of those items that’s impossible to justify when it’s hanging on the rack in the shop (the MSRP is a forehead-slapping $500 US, thanks to the fact it’s Gore-Tex), but really nice to have when you need it.

An impressive 25 per cent lighter than last year’s already-whisper-thin Ultimate, the V2 barely weighs anything, either in your bag or on your back. It’s also fitted with an additional 20 per cent of stretch material, including a stretch lining and a panel of flexible material across the entire back of the jacket, to ensure maximum freedom of movement.

Other jackets with good freedom of movement, such as past models from Zero Restriction, have instead opted for more generous fits and shoulder pleats to prevent binding – effective, but bulky. The V2, on the other hand, is a trim fit; there’s not a lot of room inside for bulky layers.

In fact, between the wispy character of the fabric and the relatively slender cut, the V2 fits and feels more like a windshirt than a full-blown rain jacket. But that’s OK; it’s warm, windproof and waterproof enough that you won’t need many layers underneath it. Choose a lightweight, high-tech fabric for your inner layers and you’ll be comfy in just about any conditions.

As for freedom of movement, the Sunice performs as advertised. It has adjustable Velcro cuffs along with elastic inner cuffs to thoroughly lash the sleeves to your wrists, plus a “rain channel” to steer runoff away from your hands; the jacket’s slightly longer length and adjustable elastic hem ensures there’s no unsightly belly flab exposed at the top of your swing, although a bit of a “tux-tail” in the rear might have been preferable to making the whole jacket longer.

The main waterproof zipper disappears automatically and almost instantly behind a Velcro flap, while the pockets – two belly, one breast – are waterproofed and recessed, with tabs that can be locked down, if you decide you can’t stand to have them flapping around.  Other thoughtful flourishes include a ball-cleaning cloth on an elastic lanyard in the left pocket, and a neoprene liner on the collar to keep chin chafing to a minimum when wearing the jacket fully zipped.

The Gore-Tex fabric is soft to the touch and quiet through the full motion of the swing, and yet carries a lifetime waterproof guarantee. There’s also an elastic cinch system in the back, accessible via the pockets, to customize the jacket’s fit through the midsection. The matching Ultimate V2 pants include most of the same features, plus a thoughtful club cleaner on the inside pant cuff.

The Ultimate V2 practically disappears when you put it on. Considering that most rain jackets, even some of the best on the market, struggle to be inobtrusive, it’s quite a feat of engineering to make one as almost invisible as Sunice has managed to do.

Interestingly, the same philosophy seems to infuse the approach to the jacket’s looks; the Ultimate V2 comes in only two colours, black and royal blue, and in both cases the graphics and flash are kept to a bare minimum. Others in the Hurricane series boast a little more flair, but when it comes to the Ultimate, Sunice is all business. It’s a good match for serious golfers who feel the same way.

Ricky Fowler, you got some ‘splainin’ to do.

I get that you’re the next big thing on Tour and the coolest thing on wheels, with your five-mile drives, dirt-track motocross sensibilities and taste for those weird flat-brimmed hats that all the sk8r boys are into.

The photo doesn't do it justice. She's a thing of beauty.

But did you have to steal my colour scheme?

I must admit, I’m flattered; I had no idea that my escalating fixation with the colour orange would become such a thing with you. I don’t know where you

could have picked up on it, though – it’s not like I’m on national television every week or anything.

Maybe you were just in the neighbourhood last year and spotted the sick, tricked-out Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Studio Select that started it all a couple of years ago. After all, that’s how it happened with me: As soon as I laid eyes on the custom matte-black finish and Cosmic Orange paintfill, I knew I had to have it.

But it didn’t stop there.

That putter now lives in the 2010 edition of the Titleist lightweight stand bag, which is resplendent in orange, charcoal and fog, complete with stylin’ orange-and-black retro Rocket Tour pom-pom headcovers.

For Pete’s sake, Ricky, I even went out and bought the 10-pack of fluorescent Sharpies just so I could mark my ball with my new favourite colour. I usually wear a FootJoy SciFlex glove – the ones that come with different accents over the knuckles.

You can guess the shade.

The new Titleist lightweight stand bag in fog, charcoal and orange. Hot.

I realize you’re not an Acushnet guy, Ricky – you’re in the process of helping to orchestrate Puma’s efforts to take over the world. But just because it’s one of the oldest, most storied brands in the game doesn’t mean that Titleist doesn’t know how to let its hair down once in a while.

After all, most hardcore players who don’t have a guy to carry their 30-pound staff bag all day long will tell you that a good carry bag is one of the most important and practical pieces of gear you can own.

And while it definitely needs to look good, it needs to be functional too.

Such is the case with the Titleist, which boasts all the usual pockets in all the right places, as well as some of the more modern amenities one has come to expect in a golf bag – a pencil pocket on the spine (large enough for an orange Sharpie) and a bottle pocket adjacent to the saddle pocket (large enough for an orange Gatorade).

The apparel pocket is big enough, but not so spacious that you’ll be tempted to cram it full of stuff that will just end up weighing you down. The bag’s a fairly scant 4.7 pounds (that’s barely more than a couple of kilograms), but when it’s full of clubs, you’ll appreciate its best feature: a rubberized handle that’s built into the top cuff, precisely where it needs to be.

The adjustable backpack-style shoulder strap, mandatory these days for anyone who spends a lot of time walking the golf course, has four points of adjustment, making it easy to tweak so a player can support the bag at a variety of heights. A padded saddle helps keep the bag from getting too uncomfortable against the back.

The straps could be a bit less prone to digging in to one’s shoulders, however.

The bag’s footprint is wide, due to the fact that the legs are attached at the top of the mouth to ensure a stable position and none of those annoying hijinks when the legs deploy. The legs retract out of the way swiftly and completely, and won’t dangle annoyingly behind you, threatening to gouge off your shoes.

Oh, speaking of which, Ricky: Orange is great to accessorize with, but I’m not entirely sold on the notion of a complete head-to-toe ensemble, complete with shoes that look like they were spray-painted.

FootJoy has an alternative – the classy Icon line, where you can use the MyJoys customization feature to add your fave flourish without getting, all, well, Ricky Fowler about it.

Not that it isn’t possible to overdo it – I’m sure you saw Poulter’s sky-blue tootsies at the Tavistock Cup. I kept waiting for someone to crash an airplane into his feet.

Anyway, Ricky, thanks for listening. Best of luck this year – we’ll be watching.

Hell, how could we not? You’re impossible to miss.

While we wait for the sale to Puma to conclude, here’s the latest from Cobra:

Cobra Golf unveils the new high-performance Cobra S2 Max in both iron and iron-hybrid integrated sets. While both sets are designed for maximum forgiveness and high launch for mid- to high-handicap players, the S2 Max Iron-Hybrid Set features Baffler-style hybrids that provide proper distance gapping throughout the set for players who prefer hitting forgiving hybrids over long irons.

“The new Cobra S2 Max Irons and Iron-Hybrid Set are truly the ultimate in super game-improvement clubs,” said Brian Zender, General Manager of Cobra Golf. “The combination of the Baffler-inspired hybrids and low-profile, wide-sole irons in the S2 Max Iron-Hybrid Set provides superior forgiveness and accuracy. The iron-hybrid set is also designed to provide consistent distance gaps to promote reliable distance from each club in the set. The fact that the Cobra S2 Max line received a Gold Award in the 2010 Golf Digest Hot List is a testament to its superior performance and forgiveness. The S2 Max was also named category leader for Look, Sound and Feel, which speaks to the quality of these game-improvement clubs. Golfers will experience the highest level of forgiveness that Cobra offers and will play with more confidence from the fairway and rough.”

COBRA S2 MAX IRON-HYBRID SET
For golfers who prefer the increased forgiveness of hybrids to hit long shots, the Cobra S2 Max Iron-Hybrid Set is offered with hybrids as long-iron replacements. The Baffler-style hybrids are ideal for mid- to high-handicap players seeking maximum forgiveness in a set. The clubface features Cobra’s exclusive 9 Point Face Technology, which helps increase ball speeds on shots hit across the face. The iron-hybrid set offers consistent distance gapping from one club to the next throughout the set, so the transition from iron to hybrids provides consistent, reliable distances.

“The Cobra S2 Max Iron-Hybrid Integrated Set has been specifically designed and tested to achieve correct and consistent distance gaps between clubs,” said Tom Preece, Vice President of Research & Development for Cobra Golf. “The set comes pre-customized with hybrids and irons, so players don’t have to choose which irons need to be replaced by hybrids. In addition, the hybrids were designed utilizing the technology of our No. 1-selling Baffler hybrid and provide the superior forgiveness, accuracy and versatility that mid- to high-handicap golfers desire.”

9 Point Face Technology
Ÿ 9 Point Face Technology offers improved forgiveness and accuracy across the clubface due to a larger sweet zone.

Low-Profile Irons with Baffler-Style Hybrids
Ÿ Wide-sole, low-profile irons increase forgiveness and provide high launch. Deep-face hybrids provide a large sweet zone and high MOI for maximum forgiveness.

Consistent Distance Gapping
Ÿ From long hybrids to short irons, the S2 Max Iron-Hybrid Set is designed to provide consistent and reliable distances from one club to the next.

The Cobra S2 Max Iron-Hybrid Set is available in two sets for men, along with Women’s and Seniors’:
Ÿ Men’s Graphite set includes 3/H, 4/H and 5/H hybrids, and 6-PW irons, featuring Aldila DVS-HL shafts ($776 SRP).
Ÿ Men’s Steel set includes 3/H and 4/H hybrids with Aldila DVS-HL graphite shafts, and 5-PW irons with FST steel shafts ($632 SRP).
Ÿ Women’s and Seniors’/Lite sets include 4/H, 5/H and 6/H hybrids, 7-PW, and SW irons with Aldila DVS-HL graphite shafts ($776 SRP).

Gap and sand wedges are also available separately for any version of the set. All clubs have Golf Pride grips.

The Cobra S2 Max Iron-Hybrid sets are shipping to golf retailers now.

COBRA S2 MAX IRONS
The Cobra S2 Max Irons offer improved forgiveness, accuracy and distance for super game improvement. An expanded sweet zone – from Cobra’s exclusive 9 Point Face Technology – helps generate consistent ball speed across the entire clubface. The cavity back design complements the wide-sole, low-profile design in this set, to promote maximum forgiveness and a higher launch.

9 Point Face Technology
Ÿ 9 Point Face Technology creates an expanded sweet zone that promotes consistent power with improved forgiveness and accuracy.

Wide-Sole, Low-Profile Design
Ÿ The wide sole and low-profile design shift the Center of Gravity (CG) low and back to improve launch characteristics and maximize forgiveness, while a contoured sole improves turf interaction for more consistent shots from any lie.

The Cobra S2 Max Irons are available in men’s high-launch Aldila DVS-HL graphite shaft as well as and lightweight FST steel shafts (4-PW, GW) and women’s and seniors’ Aldila DVS-HL graphite shafts (5-PW, GW, SW) – with Golf Pride grips.

The Cobra S2 Max irons are shipping to golf retailers now.