Which club releases were the trendsetters and which were big fails

[James the Hogan Fan]

8 hours ago, grm24 said:

Have to disagree. The Mizuno MP-600 driver from late 2007 had a sliding track with 2 weights (8g) long before the SLDR line of drivers released in 2014. It's also possible someone else did the sliding track weight on a driver before Mizuno. TM as much as they like to claim at times wasn't the first to come up with everything. And I love TM drivers.

 

 

 

I can agree that TM wasn't the first, but I would hardly say that the above driver was a "trend setter" mostly because I've never heard of it. Maybe it inspired TM, I don't know, but it wasn't until the SLDR and subsequent TM releases/Callaway responses that suddenly slidibg weights were ubiquitous on drivers. (or that's how it felt to me at the time, maybe I'm wrong)

 

That MP600 seems like a one-off that was (as hindsight now proves) way ahead of it's time. Thank you for bringing it to my attention though, do you have any experience with it? How'd it hit back then?

 

[hougy12]

Didn't Taylor Made fill some irons with foam back in the 90s?  Burner Midsize in 1993 I believe.

[PJE]

I remember Taylor Made had the ICW11 irons, and I think, ICW5, irons. Those were foam filled.

[TripleSingle]

On 1/13/2021 at 2:34 AM, DROBERSON78 said:

Didn't Callaway come out with the first titanium driver?

 

 

I believe it was Mizuno that created the first titanium driver.

But it was Callaway's first titanium big bertha that made everyone else follow.

[CallawayOffCenter]

Definitely not a club, but what the Pro V did to the ball market was/is amazing.

[grm24]

On 1/13/2021 at 9:35 AM, James the Hogan Fan said:

 

I can agree that TM wasn't the first, but I would hardly say that the above driver was a "trend setter" mostly because I've never heard of it. Maybe it inspired TM, I don't know, but it wasn't until the SLDR and subsequent TM releases/Callaway responses that suddenly slidibg weights were ubiquitous on drivers. (or that's how it felt to me at the time, maybe I'm wrong)

 

That MP600 seems like a one-off that was (as hindsight now proves) way ahead of it's time. Thank you for bringing it to my attention though, do you have any experience with it? How'd it hit back then?

 

Never tried the MP-600 driver. Not sure if it was available in left hand. Only Mizuno driver I've tried is the JPX-850. Nice club but nothing special. 

Edited January 15, 2021 by grm24

[freeflyer14]

On 1/12/2021 at 11:40 PM, James the Hogan Fan said:

Anybody remember the TM wedges with replaceable faces? Good luck getting parts...

 

Those would be the Taylormade XFT wedges.  Available with conforming (ZTP face) and non-conforming (Z face) grooves before/during/after the groove rule change.  They were (are) awesome.  In fact, Dustin Johnson still had one in the bag not so long ago.  The idea was fantastic, especially for touring pros who need fresh grooves week in and week out, but have found a grind and overall club feel that simply suits them.  Instead of having an entirely new club made up you pop a new face on in 10 seconds.  I don’t believe they were necessarily killed because they were a flop, rather they were not as profitable as simply getting weekend golfers to just buy new wedges.  I still play one or two depending on my setup and am always on the lookout for replacement faces. If they were marketed better, and replacement faces made much more readily available and cheaper, I believe they would have taken off in a big way. 

[675terry]

What a great topic, 

 

Everyone I know early on had a Bertha or Burner. Feel like both companies have battled since to be top dog.

 

So many flops over the years.

 

Have to admit buying the Callaway FTI and about 5 shafts for it. So bad, sounded bad and went nowhere.

 

Any of the first all composite/plastic drivers. They were hilarious, blew apart at least 3 of them. Then again punched in the face of a few early big berthas, weirdly proud when it happened even though it meant spending money for a replacement.

 

Nickent pipe putter! So funny and the worst sound. Buddy used it for a few months until the taunting wore him down and got rid of it

 

Any driver with John Daly's name on it when he was looking for beer money, Wilson killer Whale....

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by 675terry
Spelling

[Myherobobhope]

I know they weren't the first, but Adams CMBs did tungsten weights in forged irons extremely well... from their release until I bought them, I wanted a set... I look at modern irons in the same category and don't see much difference from what Adams did... They seemed to get a ton of good reviews when they were released and I think they are probably competitive with anything on the market today (I'm playing a set)

[wayne18]

2005  ADAMS GOLF REDLINE RPM 430Q DRIVER

 

 

Manufacturer's Description
The Adams Redline RPM 430Q driver features a 430 cc size titanium head with four movable weights.  The club head is designed for the player that has high launch or high spin rates.  The four movable weights allow customization for 6 ball flight options – draw super or soft, neutral high or low, fade super or soft.  The four movable weights include two 2-gram and two 10-gram weights.  The high performance RPM drivers are designed for maximum performance and forgiveness. The RPM woods, feature state-of-the-art RePositioned Mass ™ technology and xFace™ engineering. The traditional shape is designed for looks and performance, the oversize heads provide forgiveness and the adjustable weights offer customized launch conditions. The moveable weights allow golfers the versatility to optimize trajectory and ball curvature, by way of customized ball-flight options. XFace™ engineering expands the COR zone across the face for greater ball speed on both center and off-center hits. The driver comes standard with a proprietary graphite shaft made by Fujikura. Available in lofts of 8.5, 9.5, and 10.5 (right hand) and 10.5 degrees (left hand).  Torque wrench and trajectory control guide are included with purchase. Suggested retail price is $449.95 each.