5 NEW GOLF GEAR TRENDS THAT ARE HERE TO STAY!

Summary

In the golf industry, 2024 has been a standout year for innovation. The video script discusses five emerging trends: Mini Drivers, which are gaining popularity among professionals; Light Angle Balance putters, which maintain square alignment throughout the stroke; Reverse Taper grips, designed to reduce the lower hand's influence in putting; Fullface Grooves on irons, ensuring consistent spin on off-center hits; and 3D printed clubs, offering extraordinary feel and potential for customization. These trends are poised to redefine the golf equipment landscape.

Takeaways

• 🚀 **Innovations in Golf Gear**: The golf industry continues to surprise with new innovations, some of which are here to stay.
• 🏌️‍♂️ **Mini Drivers**: Mini drivers have gained momentum in 2024, offering versatility as a driver alternative for professional players like Mikkelson and Fleetwood.
• 🔨 **Versatility in Mini Drivers**: Mini drivers are player-dependent, with options for different lofts and shaft lengths, making them suitable as a large, friendlier 3-wood for higher handicap players.
• 🏆 **Professional Adoption**: Pro golfers are increasingly using mini drivers in tournaments, highlighting their utility in tight situations.
• ⚖️ **Light Angle Balance Putters**: Lab Golf's DF3 putters feature light angle balance, which simplifies putting by keeping the club base square to the path throughout the stroke.
• 📉 **Revolution in Putter Design**: The light angle balance is expected to be the future of putting, challenging the traditional design of putters that rotate away from square.
• 🤚 **Grip Innovations**: Golf Pride's reverse taper grips are designed to quieten the bottom hand in the putting stroke, potentially improving accuracy.
• ⛓ **Full Face Grooves**: Full face grooves on clubs like Cleveland Halo XL irons are becoming a trend, offering consistent spin and potentially redistributing weight for better performance.
• 🛠️ **3D Printed Golf Clubs**: Cobra's limited 3D printed irons represent a significant step in consumer-available 3D printed golf clubs, offering extraordinary feel and design flexibility.
• 🌐 **Future of Custom Golf Clubs**: The advent of 3D printing could lead to personalized golf clubs, allowing golfers to prototype their own designs at home.

Q & A

What are the five gear trends mentioned in the script?

The five gear trends mentioned are Mini Drivers, Light Angle Balance putters, Reverse Taper grips, Fullface Grooves, and 3D printed golf clubs.

Why is the Mini Driver gaining momentum in 2024?

The Mini Driver is gaining momentum because it offers versatility and can be used as a driver alternative, especially in tighter courses where a penetrating ball flight is beneficial.

What are the two models of Mini Drivers mentioned in the script?

The two models of Mini Drivers mentioned are the Taylor Made Burner Copper Mini Driver and the new AI Smoke Mini Driver from Callaway.

What is the difference between a Mini Driver and a standard 3-wood?

A Mini Driver has a larger footprint compared to a standard 3-wood, which can provide a larger sweet spot and potentially more forgiveness on off-center hits.

What is Light Angle Balance in putters and why is it considered the future of putting?

Light Angle Balance refers to a putter design where the toe stays up when the shaft is not touched, allowing the club base to stay square to the path throughout the stroke without manipulation. This simplifies putting and is considered the future because it reduces the need for active rotation away from square.

Which company is known for pioneering Light Angle Balance putters?

Lab Golf is known for pioneering Light Angle Balance putters.

What is the purpose of the Reverse Taper grip in golf clubs?

The Reverse Taper grip is designed to quieten down the bottom hand during putting, helping to maintain a consistent start line and reducing the power and influence of the lower hand in the putting stroke.

Why are Fullface Grooves considered a trend that will stay in golf clubs?

Fullface Grooves are considered a trend that will stay because they standardize spin on off-center hits and allow for weight savings in club heads, which can be redistributed to improve performance.

What is the significance of 3D printed golf clubs in the industry?

3D printed golf clubs signify a significant advancement in customization and innovation. They allow for rapid prototyping and the potential for individual golfers to design and create their own clubs in the future.

Which company has been leading the way with 3D printed golf clubs?

Cobra has been leading the way with 3D printed golf clubs, offering consumer-available 3D printed irons.

How does the trend of 3D printed golf clubs potentially impact golfers?

The trend of 3D printed golf clubs could allow golfers to have more personalized and custom-designed clubs, potentially leading to improved performance and a more tailored golfing experience.

Outlines

00:00

⛳ The Rise of Mini Drivers in 2024

The speaker discusses the growing trend of mini drivers in 2024, despite being around for years. He highlights how well-known players like Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood, and Rory McIlroy are using them, and how they’ve gained momentum this year. He compares two models: the TaylorMade Burner Copper and the Callaway AI Smoke mini drivers, explaining their differences and versatility. He points out the confusion among players about their purpose and emphasizes their suitability depending on a player's style. The mini driver serves as a great driver alternative for high-speed players and can help improve accuracy, especially in tighter tournament conditions.

05:01

🏌️‍♂️ The Future of Putting: Lie Angle Balance Putters

Lie angle balance putters are emerging as a major trend in golf, according to the speaker, who introduces the LAB Golf DF3 putter as an example. The putter's design allows the club face to stay square to the path throughout the stroke without manipulation, which simplifies putting by maintaining the correct alignment. The speaker explains that traditional putters, which tend to rotate, may not be as effective for most players, despite being favored by legends like Tiger Woods. He believes this technology represents the future of putting and will greatly improve accuracy on short putts.

👋 Revolutionizing Putting Grips: Reverse Taper Grips

The speaker introduces another trend in putting technology: reverse taper grips, exemplified by the Golf Pride grips released in 2024. He discusses how traditional grips either taper down or remain parallel, which can increase power from the lower hand. In contrast, reverse taper grips get thicker towards the bottom, reducing lower hand dominance. This design helps deactivate the hands, leading to more consistent putts. The speaker, having personally tested these grips, notes significant improvements in his putting accuracy and believes they will be a lasting trend in golf gear.

🎯 Full-Face Grooves in Irons: The Next Big Innovation

The speaker explores the emerging trend of full-face grooves on irons, which have been more common on wedges but are now making their way to irons like the Cleveland Halo XL. He explains the advantages of extending grooves across the entire club face, such as better spin consistency on off-center strikes. The full-face design also helps redistribute weight, improving the club's performance. The speaker believes this trend, which enhances spin and control, will soon become standard across all irons, much like it has with wedges.

🔧 3D Printing: The Future of Golf Club Manufacturing

3D printing is rapidly transforming golf club manufacturing, with Cobra leading the charge by releasing consumer-available 3D printed irons. The speaker shares his experience testing these clubs, noting their exceptional feel and impressive technology. He describes how 3D printing can speed up prototyping and could soon allow golfers to design and test their own clubs at home. While some may find this prospect daunting, the speaker views it as an exciting development for innovation in the golf industry, predicting that 3D-printed golf clubs will become a major part of the sport’s future.

Keywords

💡Innovation

Innovation in the context of the video refers to the introduction of new ideas, products, or methods in the golf industry. The video highlights the continuous development and improvement of golf equipment, which is a key theme of the discussion. Examples from the script include the introduction of 'Mini Drivers' and '3D printed golf clubs', showcasing how innovation is shaping the future of golf equipment.

💡Mini Drivers

Mini Drivers are a type of golf club that has gained momentum in 2024, as mentioned in the script. They are smaller than traditional drivers but larger than a standard 3-wood, offering a versatile option for golfers. The video discusses how professional golfers like Mikkelson and Fleetwood have adopted Mini Drivers, emphasizing their utility as an alternative to drivers on tight holes.

💡Versatility

Versatility in this video pertains to the ability of golf equipment to serve multiple purposes or suit a variety of playing conditions. The Mini Drivers are described as versatile because they can be used as a driver alternative or as a larger, more forgiving 3-wood. This concept is central to the video's exploration of how new equipment trends aim to meet diverse golfer needs.

💡Loft

Loft in golf refers to the angle that the clubface makes with the ground at the moment of impact. The video discusses how Mini Drivers come in different loft options, allowing golfers to adjust the launch angle of the ball. This is significant as it provides customization to fit the golfer's swing and course conditions, enhancing performance.

💡Light Angle Balance

Light Angle Balance is a putter design concept introduced in the video, where the putter sits with a toe-up orientation when not touched. This design is said to keep the clubface square to the path throughout the stroke without manipulation, which is a departure from traditional putters that may rotate away from square. The video suggests this could be the future of putting equipment due to its simplicity and consistency.

💡Grip

Grip in the context of the video refers to the handle of the golf club, specifically the putter, which the golfer holds during play. The video discusses the introduction of 'reverse taper grips' by Golf Pride, which are thinner at the top and thicker at the bottom. This design is intended to reduce the influence of the lower hand in the putting stroke, potentially improving control and accuracy.

💡Fullface Grooves

Fullface Grooves are a design feature discussed in the video, where the grooves on the clubface extend to the edges. This is said to standardize spin on off-center hits and potentially save weight by allowing for material redistribution in the clubhead. The video suggests that this trend is likely to become commonplace across all types of clubs, including irons and wedges.

💡3D Printed Golf Clubs

3D Printed Golf Clubs are a new trend highlighted in the video, where clubs are manufactured using 3D printing technology. Cobra's Limited 3D Printed Iron is mentioned as an example, emphasizing the extraordinary feel and potential for customization. The video suggests that this technology could revolutionize golf equipment by allowing for rapid prototyping and personalized club design.

💡Game Improvement Technology

Game Improvement Technology refers to features in golf clubs designed to help golfers of all skill levels perform better. The video mentions that Cobra's 3D printed iron incorporates significant game improvement technology, making it a player-looking iron with high performance characteristics. This underscores a trend towards making advanced technology accessible to a broader range of golfers.

💡MOI (Moment of Inertia)

MOI, or Moment of Inertia, is a measure of a clubhead's resistance to twisting on off-center hits. The video discusses how weight savings from extending grooves to the edge of the clubface can be redistributed to increase MOI, thus improving forgiveness. This concept is crucial for understanding how club design can enhance golfer performance by reducing the negative effects of mishits.

Highlights

Innovations in the golf industry continue to surprise, with 2024 being a standout year for new gear trends.

Mini Drivers are gaining momentum, with professional players like Mikkoelson and Fleetwood adopting them for tournaments.

Mini Drivers offer versatility, serving as a driver alternative for professional players and a friendlier 3-wood for higher handicap players.

The TaylorMade Burner Copper Mini Driver and the Callaway AI Smoke Mini Driver are two models that cater to different player needs.

Mini Drivers come in 11.5 and 13.5 degree options, allowing for customization to achieve a standard 3-wood loft.

Light angle balance putters, pioneered by Lab Golf, are predicted to be the future of putting due to their toe-up orientation.

Light angle balance putters maintain a square base throughout the stroke, simplifying the putting mechanics.

Golf Pride's reverse taper grips are a new trend that aims to quieten the bottom hand in the putting stroke.

Reverse taper grips are designed to be thinner at the top and thicker at the bottom, potentially improving putting consistency.

Full face grooves on irons, like the Cleveland Halo XL, are becoming more popular for standardized spin and weight savings.

3D printed golf clubs, such as the Cobra Limited, offer extraordinary feel and are leading the way in consumer-available 3D printed clubs.

3D printing could revolutionize golf by allowing players to prototype their own clubs at home.

The future of golf gear is marked by innovation, with trends like Mini Drivers, light angle balance putters, and 3D printed clubs becoming mainstream.

Innovations are driven by player dependency, with equipment designed to meet the needs of both professionals and amateurs.

The gear trends of 2024 reflect a focus on versatility, customization, and technological advancements in golf equipment.

Transcripts

as an equipment tester innovation in the

golf industry never fails to surprise me

just when you think they've invented

everything something new comes out now

some of these Innovations are better

than others and some stand the test of

time 2024 has been a particularly good

year for Innovation so in this bag I've

got five gear trends that I think are

here to

stay okay Mini Drivers now you might be

thinking that's not a new gear Trend Joe

and you're probably right Taylor Made

have been making their variations of it

for a few years but what I'm talking

about is it's really picked up momentum

in

2024 players like mikkelson have been

using one for a while Tommy Fleet would

loves his mini driver even Rory mroy was

testing earlier in the year and the two

models I've got here are the tailor made

burner copper mini driver and I've got

the new AI smoke mini driver from

Callaway now they do two quite different

things but they're both very versatile

now a lot of people get confused about

what the mini driver is for and I think

it's very very player dependent as a PJ

professional I've started to see a lot

of my peers popping a mini driver in

tournaments where things tighten up a

little bit as a pure driver alternative

and some people might think that's not a

great idea with a higher handicap you

might want that extra shaft length to

get you speed up and you might want the

extra head size to use as a driver well

in that instance you can think about it

as a a large friendlier 3w the

footprints a lot bigger which I'll show

you in a second so if I put down the

tailor made mini driver there in behind

the ball that's feels like double the

size of a standard 3 WID now both of

these models come in 11.5 and 13.5 Dee

options and you can Loft them up on the

Loft s so you can actually get them to a

a pretty standard 3-wood Loft and you've

just got a tiny bit of extra shaft

length and you've got that extra mass

behind the ball so I think this trend is

here to stay and for me as a higher

speed player I see it as that driver

alternative so I've got mine at 11.5

lofted down just a fraction just a just

a shade over 10 and a half and on tight

holes like

this I find it really really useful a

nice penetrating ball flight and it

helps me find a lot more Fairways and I

think this is a trend that's here to

stay so another gear Trend that I think

is here to stay in fact no I'm going to

go a step further I think is the future

of Putters is light angle balance now

I've got with me here the lab Golf df3

Putters and lab golf are the early

adopters of Li angle Balan it's their

name lab Lab L angle balance so what is

a li angle balance putter I hear you ask

well you might have heard the term tow

hang and face balance before Li angle

balance putter sit kind of with a toe up

if I don't touch that shaft and I leave

it to orientate itself you see how the

toe of the putter stays up that is light

angle balanced if you've seen any of the

Social Media stuff from Lab golf in

their revealer that orientation allows

the club base to stay Square to the path

throughout the stroke without any

manipulation and that's something

something I really really like I think

in years to come people are actively

going to wonder why we ever manufactured

Putters that wanted to actively rotate

away from Square to the Target in my

head that doesn't make much sense tiger

likes it but Tiger's a particularly

special athlete that I think maybe we

shouldn't all necessarily model

ourselves on for me it really simplifies

things if the putter blade wants to say

Square so when you're on short putts in

particular assuming you've got the right

read and the right alignment that putter

blade just wants to say Square to the

Target it doesn't want to rotate away

from square and that really helps with

your start line it's something I'm

really passionate about and I genuinely

think that is the future of putting and

that is a gear Trend that's here to

stay okay while we are on the putting

green I've got another gear trend for

you to do with putting that I think is

here to stay from

2024 and those of you who listen to the

kicko golf gear podcast from golf

monthly we know I've got a bit of a

weird fascination with grips and this is

to do with the p of grips so in my hand

I've got the Golf Pride reverse taper

grips now these were released this year

and to me it just makes perfect sense we

spend a lot of time with

putting technically trying to remove

that bottom hand from the game and

trying to slow it down and give it less

power over the stroke but we've been

using grips for years that are either

tapering from wider to thinner down to

the bottom end which tends to give that

right hand or the lower hand in your

putting stroke more power or we're using

perfectly parallel grips which com with

like superstroke have been doing for

some time which has really really helped

but gol pry this year have engineered a

reverse taper grip in fact they've

engineered three reverse taper fits

we've got the round we've got the pistol

and we've got the flat and they go the

opposite way as you can imagine thinner

at the top and they get thicker down the

bottom and when you think about it if

we've got something thicker in that

bottom hand most of us know that thicker

grips tend to deactivate hands a little

bit so when we've got something thicker

in the bottom hand that's got to be good

for our stroke I've tested obviously

these aren't on a putter but I've tested

these out quite significantly and I've

had some really really good results and

I've actually got one on my game with

putter at the moment so I feel like I

can talk with some Authority on the

topic it really does quieten down that

bottom hand it's really helping me hit

my start lines more often and again I

think this is a gear Trend that's going

to be with us for a long long

time so I've come down the Fairway here

off that lovely mini dri t-shot one of

my other Trends to talk to you about

another Trend that I think is here to

stay and that is fullface grooves now

we've seen fullface grooves for a number

of years on wedges like the tailor made

higho wedges various Callaway iterations

but not so much on irons and I think it

is something that we really need to

consider so I've got with me here the

Cleveland Halo XL fullface irons now

when you first look at it it is a visual

that takes a little bit of getting used

to but when you dig into it you dig into

the science and the tech behind it it

makes perfect sense firstly from a spin

point of view why would you not want to

standardize the spin on heel and Tow

strike sometimes if you hit a very

extreme tow strike on an iron and you're

hitting no grooves you're going to get a

very strange low spinning flight so why

would you not extend those grooves all

the way to the edge of the face secondly

we're always looking to save weight in

irons now there's not going to be masses

of saving just by Milling extra grooves

from there to the edge of the club but

there will be some and every little

milligram you can SA in the club head

can be redistributed elsewhere to

increase Moi and put the CG where you

want it now for me again like I've said

it's been in wedges for a little while

but I don't know why it's not across

theboard commonplace when you think

about it it makes no sense why would we

ever stop the grooves there I think

sometimes in golf we're very much

victims of just accepting things how

they've always been and not questioning

it so for me and I'm just going to hit

one away for you here the fullface

grooves in irons

it's something I think is here to stay

and also I think it's going to be across

theboard commonplace in wedges before

too

long another Trend that is 100% here to

stay are 3D printed golf clubs and cobra

have been leading the way on this front

they've had Putters out for a little

while and what I've got in my hands here

is a beautiful Cobra limited 3D printed

iron now 3D printing has been used a lot

in prototyping speeding up the prot

typing process and people checking out

what designs they're going to bring to

Market but this is really the first

consumer available 3D printed iron and

I've tested this quite extensively and

the feel is extraordinary I'm not going

to get into all of the tech because

that's for another video but basically

what cobra have done here is they've

created a player looking iron with about

as much game improvement technology as

in any other club I've ever tried it's

quite extraordinary and if Bryson D

Shambo to believed and this is quite a

terrifying thought before too long

3D printers at home you could be sat

there with an idea in your head watching

the golf head to your garage and you

could be prototyping your very own irons

and wedges before too long and have them

almost hitable within a day or so pop a

shaft on and go and test out A New

Concept down the golf course now that's

a terrifying thought for some of my

friends who've got some really wacky

ideas but it's also exciting for the

innovation in the golf industry and I

think that's something to keep an eye on

moving forward and if the feel of these

is anything to go by

then we're in for a really nice treat in

the future with some of these 3D printed

golf clubs