Innehållsförteckning för Hot List 2023 SIP från Golf Digest

PERFORMANCE ★★★★★ INNOVATION ★★★★★ LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★ ½ PLAYER COMMENT “Really jumps from the get go—explosive. A lot more hang time than any driver I hit. Floats with authority. So easy to drive the head through the ball.” CALLAWAY PARADYM/PARADYM X/PARADYM ♦♦♦ $600 WHAT IT DOES: These three models all feature thin titanium faces and distinctive weighting systems to optimize three different ball-flight trajectories. The carbon-composite body is free of titanium and other metal support structures except for the newest version of Callaway’s flex-enhancing “jailbreak” brace behind the face. The use of carbon composite also saves about 20 grams for engineers to use along the perimeter to enhance forgiveness. WHY WE LIKE IT: For Callaway, the driver isn’t just a story about how flexible the face can…

PERFORMANCE ★★★★ ½ INNOVATION ★★★★ ½ LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★ ½ PLAYER COMMENT “The long, tall face sits nicely at address. The appearance is almost iron-like with a lot of forgiveness. As pure as you can hit coming off the face. Nice mid-to-high flight.” CALLAWAY APEX/APEX PRO $270 WHAT IT DOES: The hybrid is caught in that gray middle zone between fairway wood and long iron and has to decide which swing and trajectory it wants to favor. Unless, of course, it isn’t one but two. The Apex line presents two takes on the hybrid: The standard, larger Apex model is designed to launch the ball high, and the compact and almost iron-like Apex Pro offers a penetrating flight with more speed and a higher launch than the…

PERFORMANCE ★★★★★  INNOVATION ★★★★★  LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★★ PLAYER COMMENT “The club has a buttery-smooth feel through the turf. As exhilarating as a breath of fresh air. This iron excels in every category: forgiving, straight and long.” CALLAWAY APEX 21 $185 (prices are per iron) WHAT IT DOES: A mainstay of Callaway’s iron line, the Apex remains a dependable choice for many golfers. The forged 1025-carbon-steel body has a cupface that wraps around part of the topline and sole to maximize flex and ball speed on the 4-through 9-iron. The company continues to use tungsten weighting (ranging from 14 to 64 grams or five times the amount of tungsten in the previous Apex version) encased in microsphere-filled urethane to better control the center of gravity. A major benefit…

PERFORMANCE ★★★★★  INNOVATION ★★★★★ LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★★ PLAYER COMMENT “The sensation at impact is the definition of flush. The ball springs off the face with a crisp sound that gives off a powerful vibe.” CALLAWAY GREAT BIG BERTHA $450 (prices are per iron) WHAT IT DOES: The idea behind concept cars is to take a design to its limits. That is what Callaway attempts to do with its latest iron for higher-handicappers. First, it took cues on shaping from its existing DCB iron and then pushed the boundaries of performance by converting to an all-titanium model. Although titanium is strong and lightweight—excellent for ball speed via the cupface that wraps around part of the sole and topline—it poses challenges. One is how to allocate weight in areas…

It’s a debate golfers have with themselves all the time: Should I use fewer clubs around the greens for all short-game shots or really mix it up? The data from Arccos Golf, the stat-tracking app, is definitive in its recommendation: It depends how good a player you are. Better players (10-handicappers or lower) perform better using a variety of clubs rather than fewer clubs. Higher-handicappers, however, fare better when focusing on fewer clubs around the greens. The data shows scratch players did best when using five to six clubs for short-game shots but performed far worse when using only about three clubs. The reason is that scratch players typically have good short-game skills and can use different lofts to their advantage. The reverse is true for higher-handicappers. Unlike better players,…

PERFORMANCE ★★★★★ INNOVATION ★★★★ LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★★ PLAYER COMMENT “Beautiful roll and great auditory feedback. Smooth, soft feel. The 28 is slightly bigger. It could favor players transitioning from a mallet.” BETTINARDI BB SERIES WHAT IT DOES: Unlike a lot of blade putters in this category, the three BB28 options (spud neck, center shaft and armlock) favor a straight-back, straight-through putting stroke because of their nearly face-balanced design. The wider blade and deeper flange push the center of gravity slightly farther back for better distance and direction control on off-center impacts. WHY WE LIKE IT: The BB putter line, usually an even-year launch, is still largely available, and the new BB28 (pictured) is a great addition. Multiple sightlines and setups are available, but the deep milling on…

▶ When we expanded the Hot List panel of player testers by 50 percent this year—the largest growth since Year 2—it wasn’t because we wanted something different. In reality, we were after more of the same. The foundation for how we evaluate the newest golf clubs in the market during the Hot List Summit rests on what our players tell us is happening when they hit those clubs. Why? How clubs resonate with real golfers is vitally more important to us than any robot test or computer readout. For this year’s Hot List, our players hit more than 37,000 shots, and a Golf Digest editor stood by for each one to record the player’s reaction and assessments about how each club is or is not improving on what’s already available.…

PERFORMANCE ★★★★★ INNOVATION ★★★★★  LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★★ PLAYER COMMENT “I like how the shallow face helps me focus on the hitting area, and the blue carbon crown is a nice look. A powerful, compressing sound at impact.” CALLAWAY PARADYM/PARADYM X/PARADYM ♦♦♦ $350 WHAT IT DOES: When you hear that the carbon composite used in the sole of these new fairway woods is 50 percent lighter than steel, you might think, Cool, but isn’t it better to keep heavy weight low in a fairway wood so that shots launch higher? It is, but you want to concentrate that weight where it will be most effective. In this case, a tungsten cartridge is placed in the front of the sole to position the center of gravity in line with…

PERFORMANCE ★★★★½  INNOVATION ★★★★½ LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★½ PLAYER COMMENT “The head is tank-like and cuts through the turf. The squared off topline is pleasing to the eye. A high flight that landed soft.” CALLAWAY APEX DCB $185 (price is per iron) WHAT IT DOES: Callaway’s Apex DCB irons combine the aesthetics of the forged Apex line with the forgiveness of a cavity-back and a sole that is slightly wider. Like the Apex forged, the DCB features a tungsten core (weighing as much as 50 grams) that is covered in urethane with “microspheres” (tiny air bubbles encased in glass). The tungsten lowers the center of gravity to increase the launch angle despite slightly stronger-than-average lofts. WHY WE LIKE IT: The forged, carbon-steel body has the kind of feel…

The Golf Digest Hot List turns 20 this year, so forgive us for feeling nostalgic. When you have tested tens of thousands of clubs and chosen 2,302 of them to be on the Hot List, it’s natural that some have left an imprint. The two of us, after all, have been here for all 20 editions of the Hot List. To celebrate, we have created the Hot List Hall of Fame to honor the clubs we believe were game-changers, established a trend, broke new ground or were simply super cool. Like the Baseball Hall of Fame, there is a five-year waiting period, so those clubs on the Hot List from 2019 through this year are not eligible. Induction was not reserved solely for companies with the fattest R&D budgets. You’ll…

PERFORMANCE ★★★★★ INNOVATION ★★★★ LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★★ PLAYER COMMENT “The feel and roll are outstanding. The look is so elegant, like a fine piece of jewelry. I would love to be the Jay Z to this Queen B.” BETTINARDI QUEEN B WHAT IT DOES: The two traditional half-mallets in this line are milled from a block of 303 stainless steel without any weights, face inserts or other affectations. The belief is that anything not pure steel disturbs the direct benefits of a pure milled product. Instead, Bettinardi focuses on a slightly heavier head weight to provide more stability. Also, the two models have different neck styles to appeal to players who have different degrees of arc in their strokes. WHY WE LIKE IT: Don’t take for granted…

Is there anything more frustrating than a three-putt? No golfers are immune. According to data from the Arccos Golf stat-tracking app, even scratch players three-putt 20 percent of the time from more than 30 feet and more than a third of the time from 40 feet. For perspective, the PGA Tour average for three-putting from long range is about 9 percent—and only about 1 percent of the time from 15 to 20 feet. The average scratch player three-putts from 15 to 20 feet four times as often as a PGA Tour player. So what can you do about it? Try identifying the distance at which you start three-putting most often, and practice that length before moving out farther. A 20-handicapper, for instance, starts three-putting 10 percent of the time when…

CRITERIA ▶ The judges, listed at right, cast the only votes in the Hot List, but they gather insight from two independent panels. The Scientists advise us on Innovation, and players like you evaluate Performance and Look/Sound/Feel. Those criteria are not equally weighted, as indicated at right. A product’s final score is based on its weighted average in the three Hot List criteria. All scoring is based on a 100-point scale. All player testing and meetings were conducted at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club and Harrah’s Ak-Chin in Maricopa, Ariz. Note: The clubs evaluated for the Hot List meet a few guidelines. First and foremost they must be what we consider to be “new” through the spring of 2023. In other words, they must be the flagship products for…

Are hybrids the smarter choice over the corresponding irons they replace? According to Arccos Golf, the stat-tracking app, the answer is yes for just about all handicaps and for every loft. Golfers from scratch to 25-handicappers who hit a 3-, 4- or 5-hybrid were 87 percent more likely to hit the green than with the corresponding iron. For the higher-handicap groups (15 to 20 and 20-plus), a hybrid is always a better choice than a 3-, 4- or 5-iron. Interestingly, the advantage is even greater with the higher-lofted shots (5-hybrids versus 5-irons). For single-digit players, however, the advantages of a hybrid over a long iron aren’t as drastic. All that said, hitting the green with anything that requires a low-lofted club is always more challenging. The average green in…

PERFORMANCE ★★★★ ½ INNOVATION ★★★★★  LOOK • SOUND • FEEL  ★★★★ ½ PLAYER COMMENT “If you want to hit it straight, this is the club. A tight dispersion with a medium trajectory. The feedback you receive in your hands is a nice extra.” CALLAWAY APEX PRO 21 $200 (prices are per iron) WHAT IT DOES: The Apex Pro’s cupface design (in which the iron’s face wraps around the sole and topline) delivers a boost in ball speed and was designed with the use of artificial intelligence computer simulation. However, any club with the name “Pro” attached to it should have the capability of helping the player create shots. This is why each face is individually designed to deliver the type of trajectory each iron requires. As much as 90 grams…

It’s a flex move to walk onto the tee box of a par 3 and just drop a ball, prop it up on a nice tuft of grass and swing. It’s also about as dumb as trying a hero shot through the trees. Data from Arccos Golf, the stat-tracking app, reveals the distance golfers of all levels gain from hitting an iron off a tee versus fairway-height grass is significant. Taking the data from all players using all irons, the gain is almost 12 yards—143.4 yards from grass and 155.3 yards off the tee. That’s a full club less into the green. It’s also nearly universal regardless of the iron—no iron from 3-iron to 9-iron showed less than a nearly 10-yard increase. Does the extra distance translate into more greens…

PERFORMANCE ★★★★★ INNOVATION ★★★★ ½  LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★★ PLAYER COMMENT “Really felt like you were grabbing the ball out of the sand. It just stops on a dime. Really good control around the greens.” CALLAWAY JAWS RAW/FULL TOE $180 WHAT IT DOES: The raw face and 37-degree wall angle on the grooves enhance the sharpness for increased grab, particularly on shots from 80 yards and in where players want a shot that stops after one hop. The new groove design gets help from micro-milled grooves between the grooves. These are milled at a 20-degree angle, helping spin on even shorter shots, specifically chips and pitches. The result is the most aggressive grooves in company history. WHY WE LIKE IT: Callaway uses tungsten for the first time in…