In today’s golf arena, well-capitalized companies are totally cognizant of the fact that leading the driver count, the ball count and the fairway woods count are essential ingredients to have a well branded company and a successful company such as TaylorMade Golf, Callaway Golf, Nike, Achushnet and PING. More importantly, the product itself has to be good, as the professional Tour players, irrespective of endorsements, will not sacrifice their tools of their trade and their incomes, by playing inferior products.

There are however, literally hundreds of other golf manufacturers that do not have the marketing dollars for endorsement and advertising that are so essential to a companies success as the aforementioned companies have, yet have equally as good of a product, and in fact, many times, superior products.

Two of these companies, KZG and Srixon, their drivers, their irons and in Srixon’s case, balls are the subject of this article.

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KZG Introduces their State-Of-The Art Fitting System, Gemini Driver, Evolution Forged Irons and 9500 Wedges.

KZG, one of the golf industry's fastest-growing and technologically-advanced companies, has become a leader in custom fitting since its inception five years ago.

Their new Fitting Lab will undoubtedly take KZG to the next level of custom fitting. The KZG Fitting Lab combines the efforts of three dynamic, forward-thinking companies: Golf Laboratories, the industry's number one independent club testing corporation; Swing Dynamics, the leading manufacturer of ball flight monitors; and of course, KZG, the leading Custom Pro Line golf club manufacturer. Golf Laboratories tested each model of KZG's award-winning golf clubs, along with a variety of the most popular shafts, and mapped the performance of each. Results are then accumulated from nine points on the face of each club, as well as results from different swing speeds with different shafts.

The information is analyzed thoroughly and incorporated into the software of the Fitting Lab. The KZG Fitting Lab takes three high-speed photographs of the golf ball between four and 10 inches after impact. The images are digitized and precisely measured to provide launch angle, spin rate and initial ball velocity. The data is formulated to determine carry distance, deviation from center and trajectory. After the KZG Fitting Lab evaluates the swing data with the club and shaft information, it not only recommends the ideal club head, shaft and specs for the completed club, but it also includes a detailed explanation for each recommendation.

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The KZG Gemini driver with its recently USGA approved patented dual face technology is possibly the most accurate club on the market. The Gemini Drivers have virtually no loss of accuracy or distance on toe and heel hits! If you are looking for a club that keeps the ball in play, look no further.

These innovative drivers are designed with a patented second plate behind the forged and heat-treated titanium face to add greater stability and rigidity. The result: the entire face reacts like a giant sweet spot.

The feel, sound and performance of the Gemini Driver are exceptional. When custom built with the shaft and specifications ideal for your swing, this innovative driver is guaranteed to out-perform any driver on the market!

The four-piece titanium body comes in two sizes: 355 cc and 395cc. All are finished in a beautiful steel blue and soon black.

MSRP: $389.00 Steel $419.00 Graphite

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KZG Evolution Irons.

KZG's Forged Irons are undoubtedly the best quality forgings in the industry. They are all handcrafted and double forged in Japan for the finest craftsmanship available and the finest grades of carbon steel are utilized.

The new KZG Forged Evolution Irons are the ultimate in a blended forged iron set. Each iron is unique in design from all other irons within the set. The #2 iron starts as a full cavity and each iron thereafter gradually evolves into a muscle-back. The perimeter- weighted cavity back design of the long irons offer maximum distance and accuracy. The mid irons are a hybrid between cavity and blade to maximize the benefits of each. The short irons guarantee optimal control and feel.

These irons are about as good as it gets in the market place today. The feel and responsiveness are superb. Nick Price, though not an official endorser, played KZG forgings during the recent Presidents Cup in South Africa. Asked why, he simply responded by stating that the forged heads made by KZG’s manufacturer are simply the best money can buy.

What is so great about the Evolution irons is that a higher handicapper (10-18) is really going to benefit from using these irons. The feeling of a perfectly executed shot, its feel and the ball’s impeccable flight brought many a smile to the face of our testers.

Each forged iron model is available in either satin or chrome finishes so one can mix and match to assemble the ultimate in custom iron sets. The Forged Evolution Irons are available in right hand #3-PW, AW and SW.KZG offers an additional five different models to suit the needs of every player: Blades, ZO Blades, Cavity Back, Cavity Back II and Cavity Back II-M. Best of all, each model is available in either satin or chrome finishes so golfers can mix and match any of the models to assemble the perfect blended set.

MSRP: $749.00 Steel $849 Graphite

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The KZG 9500R Wedges. (The 9500 signifies the revolutions per minute – maximum spin for maximum performance)

These are the perfect cast wedges: the feel of forging yet the accuracy of investment casting. After testing these wedges with our testing group, the majority of the 25 testers were so impressed with the 9500R’s performance that they placed orders for the wedges!

KZG’s team of metallurgists and engineers spent four years perfecting KZG’s new proprietary stainless steel alloy, which is used in the manufacture of the 9500R. This new alloy is ideal for wedges giving maximum control, soft feel, and the bendability required for perfect custom fitting.

The 9500R Wedge is designed with a slightly larger body and wider sole for stability and ease of play. The soft leading edge assures a perfect contact diminishing your chances for fat and thin shots. The “U” grooves guarantee perfect spins every time.

KZG’s 9500R Wedges also feature a variety of loft and bounce options that allow golfers to select a wedge specific for their game. They are available in RH lofts of 50º, 52º, 54º, 56º, 58º and 60º and LH lofts of 52º, 56º and 60º. The 56º and 60º lofts are offered in an optional lower bounce engineered for those shots from hard turf or sand conditions with a shallow attack angle.

MSRP: $79.00 Graphite $69.00 Steel

KZG continues to amass numerous industry awards and in the past 12 months have garnered awards from Pub Links Magazine – “Player’s Choice Award” and the “Product Ingenuity – Emerging Companies” award from ING, the International Network of Golf, presented at the 2004 PGA Show Industry Honors presentation.

KZG’s network of dealers further enhance the performance of the clubs by using their expertise in fitting and club building to ideally suit the individual swing and skill level of each player.

www.kzggolf.com

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SRIXON Sports USA, Inc., based in Norcross, Ga., has been distributing premium golf balls and equipment in the U.S. since 1997. It is a subsidiary of SRI Sports Limited (SRISP), which is the No. 1 ball patent holder in the USA, Japan and UK combined. SRISP manufactures several models of golf balls and golf clubs played in the United States. SRISP is the No. 1 ball patent holder in the world and manufactures several golf balls and golf clubs played in the United States. SRISP-made balls have won 73 PGA Tour events since 1989, including seven majors. Over 75 tour professionals around the world are part of the Srixon staff.

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Srixon’s W-302 Driver

This 380cc beauty is as awesome as it looks. Using the same trajectory control and impact power face technology that made Srixon’s XXIO driver the number one selling driver in Japan in 2002, the Srixon W-302 incorporates an internal weighting scheme that is optimized for the faster swinger - high MOI and better head stability through impact.

Additionally the driver has been designed to promote the optimal launch conditions off the tee. The center of gravity of the Srixon W-302 is placed low in the club head by using Digital Impact Simulation to promote high launch angle and low spin

The W-302 boasts an extremely thin, forged 6-4 titanium clubface (3.1 mm in the middle and 2.35 mm on the periphery) for the highest allowable COR by the USGA. The forged titanium face and proprietary sound rib design provide the golfer with tremendous feel and sound response for feedback on every shot.

For maximum forgiveness, the W-302 features an elliptical high COR area that extends from high toe to low heel, which is where most golfers strike the ball.

Suggested retail price: $399.00

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Srixon I-302 irons are beautifully crafted, forged cavity backs that are very traditional in shape and very modern in performance. The I-302 features a “6x struck” forging process for precise shape of club heads, progressive center of gravity placement for great trajectory control and a large effective sweet spot, and leading playability characteristics desired by skilled players.

“The I-302 is a beautiful piece of equipment designed through our proprietary Digital Impact Technology that truly reveals impact dynamics between the club and ball,” said Richard Stamper, Srixon’s Chief Operating Officer. “With the I-302, the serious golfer gets a classic looking blade profile at address with the playability and forgiveness that have been the hallmarks of Srixon products and Digital Impact Technology.”

The I-302 series features a perimeter weighted “Tour Cavity” club head constructed of soft 1025 forged carbon steel that is shaped by a “6x struck” forging process instead of the customary “4x struck”. This industry-leading process provides more consistency to the grain and more precise shape of the club head.

Modifying the shape of the “tour back cavity” from the long irons through the short irons determines the distance from center of gravity to shaft line optimally through the I-302 sets. This allows an easier squaring of the clubface for the long irons and the optimal penetrating trajectory on the short irons, providing golfers with superior control in all playing situations.

The I-302 irons are very playable from top to bottom because the thin top line will provide the accomplished player the confidence to shape shots and attack all pin placements. The “double round” radiused sole allows the club to glide easily through all turf conditions.

The irons play as great as they look; they feel consistent throughout the set
I-302 irons are available for right-handed players in 2 through 9, as well as pitching (46 degrees), approach (51 degrees) and sand (57 degrees) wedges. Suggested retail price is $799 per steel set (3-PW).

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Srixon’s UR –X Ball and new HR-X333 Ball

These two balls are simply “"supercalifragicexpealidocious"” to the nth degree! With remarkable balls such as the Pro V1, the Nike One and the Callaway HX Tour being extremely successful, the Srixon UR-X is a combination of all of these three balls yet they feel, respond and perform unbelievably.

The Srixon UR-X features the thinnest thermoplastic urethane cover in the world surrounding the largest core of any golf ball in the industry. The poly-amide enhanced urethane cover provides the feel, spin and control today’s top golfers demand. The solid rubber mid-layer and rubber core combine to give the UR-X the highest rubber content of any golf ball ever played on tour. In fact, 96% of the UR-X is composed of rubber. And rubber is the material that gives a ball its velocity and distance.

Think of it another way – the core is the engine of the golf ball – it is the part of the ball that is primarily responsible for distance. Rubber is the material that allows this to happen. So in a sense, think of rubber as horsepower. The more you have, the faster you go.

Srixon’s newest ball is the HR-X333, which is already accountable for 6 wins. This revolutionary 3-piece golf ball features the proprietary Rabalon®-HR cover which is highly resilient, yet very soft. When combined with Srixon’s proprietary E.G.G. core and highly elastic rubber mid-layer, the result is incredible velocity and ball speed off the tee. The soft Rabalon®-HR cover also provides outstanding approach iron distance control with great feel around the greens.

The HR-X333 also features a new, aerodynamically superior 333-dimple pattern. These unique aerodynamics provide excellent low-speed lift, which keeps the ball airborne longer increasing carry, and a shallow angle of descent for more roll, delivering greater overall distance. Simply put, the HR-X333 is built to take off fast, built to fly far, and built to land softly.

“With the HR-X333, our industry leading technology status is proven once again,” said Richard Stamper, Srixon’s Chief Operating Officer. “This amazing ball has several features that are proprietary to Srixon. The new Rabalon®-HR material—exclusive to Srixon—is a very fast material which provides excellent resilience and ball speed, while delivering soft greenside feel and control. The proprietary E.G.G. core, a hallmark of our golf balls, gives the HR-X333 the optimal launch conditions to maximize distance. And finally, the seamless 333 aerodynamics keep the HR-X333 in the air longer for more carry,” said Stamper.

Miguel Angel Jiménez, Thongchai Jaidee, Boonchu Ruangkit, and Laura Davies head the list of Tour players worldwide that have already won playing with the HR-X333. In addition, John Huston and Alex Cejka will put the HR-X333 in play this season.

MSRP: $52

www.srixon.com