Etonic, Bridgestone And A Few Emails

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A good Friday to everyone! I usually don’t update on Fridays but I saw the new Etonic line and came across some info on new Bridgestone balls so I thought I’d write a quick post. And I’m in a good mood so I might even answer a few emails along the way!

I saw the 2006 Etonic line today and it was ok I guess. Etonic isn’t really a shoe company that gets me overly excited but they do make a pretty decent product. The new line is fairly traditional but does offer some unique saddle and blucher shoes. Etonic has always been big on Gortex and the 2006 line will feature 2 shoes that use this technology… the Difference 32 and ST-GT. The Stabilite will be back for it’s 100th year… ok maybe not 100 years but it has been a staple in the line for a long time. The Dri-XL and Dri-Lite will be good price point shoes and will both feature a 1 year waterproof warranty. The G>SOK shoe will be back and should sell well again. I don’t think Etonic will ever dominate the golf shoe market but I think it’s safe to say that the company will always have it’s loyal followers.

Bridgestone will be expanding their golf ball line in 2006 with the introduction of the e5 and e6 balls. Both of these will be lower priced distance golf balls and will target 2 different types of golfers… those who want a higher trajectory off the tee (e5) and those who put too much side spin on their ball (e6). Watch for these balls in November.

I’ll answer a few emails too… first, a big thanks to all of our readers that emailed in to let us know that the new TaylorMade R7 XD iron is on the Golfsmith website. If you go back a week or so in our posts, you’ll come across all the info you need on the new TaylorMade products.

Thanks to one of our readers that emailed us a link to a picture of the new Nike Slingshot hybrid. Check out the Nike Golf Japan website to see this new club… or just click Here..

I also had an email a while back in response to a post I wrote about Gortex. I was mentioning that there were other good waterproof materials and systems used by various companies… some of which are less expensive than Gortex. Footjoy uses the Intellishield and ECL waterproof systems in their shoes. StormTech uses their H2X material in their performance outerwear… this material is actually really good and not that expensive. You’ll also find Storm-Fit technology in some Nike items too. I think what I was getting at with that post is that I find many customers are very close-minded when it comes to waterproof materials. They only want Gortex and are unwilling to try other materials… but then they complain when the Gortex stuff is too expensive. If I lived in a very wet area (like our reader does… he lives in the Pacific Northwest), I’d probably spend the money on Gortex because it is the best material out there and I would get a lot of use out of it. Most golfers live in areas where they probably don’t need to drop a ton of money on outerwear that they might use once a year. Get what you need and save yourself a bit of cash. Get the expensive stuff if you want… but don’t be surprised if your suit costs more than your driver!

Let’s see… one more… let me try and find one that SirPuttsAlot hasn’t responded to yet. A funny question from a reader asking about all the annoying stickers stores put on golf clubs. My shop always cleans off the stickers after we sell a club… it’s just common sense. If you get home and are trying to remove all the sticky stuff off of your new club… try a bit of heat from a heat gun. This works pretty well and the stickers usually come off without too much problem. We also use Goo Gone at our store and it works great… and it smells like oranges too!

There ya go… a rare Friday post. Probably not my best post ever but what do you expect on a Friday? Have a great weekend and we’ll talk to you real soon!