PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – For almost 20 years, veteran golf writer/broadcaster Tony Leodora has concluded an exhausting week of research at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando by announcing “Tony’s Top Ten” – a list of products that caught his eye during golf’s business extravaganza.
This year required a vastly different search to find new and interesting products. Instead of walking the miles of aisles at the mammoth Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, the search was made through the portals of the “Virtual” PGA Merchandise Show that stood in place of the pandemic-closed annual celebration of the golf industry. And by the more traditional avenues of e-mails, text messages and phone calls.
But the search produced an extremely strong list of Top Ten products, as manufacturers took advantage of the golf boom that resulted in 2020 to launch a number of innovative items.
“As always happens, people have stepped up to the challenge,” says Leodora, who has attended the PGA Show every year since 1992. “They recognized the new passion players have found for the game of golf and responded with some eye-popping products.”
Tony’s Top Ten
Bridgestone – A leader in the golf ball wars of recent years, Bridgestone’s new e12 Contact golf ball features revolutionary new technology that is aimed at the amateur golfer. A visually different dimple pattern is designed to provide more contact with the club surface and deliver “straight distance you can see.” www.bridgestonegolf.com
CertiFresh Cigar – The idea of producing individually wrapped, humidity-controlled cigars promoting an image and logo of the golf course where they are sold is not a new one. CertiFresh Cigar has been doing it for years. But president Eric Nelson has expanded the line by adding a number of popular brands to the list of quality cigars already offered. www.certifreshcigar.com
Copper Tech gloves – After producing a quality golf glove, interwoven with copper fiber to aid in blood circulation and pain relief for a number of years, Copper Tech has added the new Copper Tech Plus glove, with even more pain relieving copper. Plus the new gloves not only make golfers feel good, they make them look good. A new line of bright-color golf gloves has been designed to match just about any golf outfit. www.coppertechglove.com
Covel – Founder and designer Tricia Covel took the women’s golf apparel world by storm when she introduced her stylish SwingDish line a few years ago. But the line of clothing made her husband jealous and he insisted on his own line of men’s golf apparel. That husband happens to be country music star Toby Keith and the new Covel line of men’s golf apparel is a combination of high tech, high comfort and high fashion. www.clubcovel.com
Greenkeepers – The Philadelphia-based manufacturing company has produced a number of successful golf accessories over the years. Now, they have gone a step further by producing their first golf training aid, the Water Bottle Tee. This extended tee is designed to promote hitting the driver on the upswing and at full extension. www.gkspikes.com
High Heat Turf Glider Sole – The best fairway woods and hybrids for the amateur golfer just got better. The addition of the new Turf Glider Sole technology virtually eliminates the possibility of hitting a “fat” shot. And it also provides straight distance on thin shots. www.highheatgolf.com
Nexbelt – The “belt with no holes” – Nexbelt – continues to bring new innovation to a product that already is a market leader. This year’s focus is on two new belts. The first is a Junior Belt, designed specifically for younger golfers. The second is the Fast Eddie X-Factor belt, which is currently being worn by PGA Tour star Marc Leishman. www.nexbelt.com
Putting Arc – Dave Hamilton, co-inventor of the Putting Arc training aid, is the ultimate golf tinkerer. He is always busy. His newest product, released through the Putting Arc portal, is his book, The Final Missing Pieces of Ben Hogan’s Secret Puzzle – Revisited. In this book, Hamilton reveals how re-examining the principles of his original book and unlocking some secret pieces of the golf swing re-invigorated his golf game – at age 78! www.theputtingarc.com
Pyramid P3 Pharaoh Wedge – The same company that debuted the wildly successful Pyramid Putter three years ago at the PGA Merchandise show has produced a new technologically advanced wedge – the Pyramid P3 Pharaoh Wedge. This new wedge features rails on the bottom of the club that eliminate the chunked shot and promote confidence, especially on those difficult half-wedge shots. www.pyramidputters.com
Tour Edge Exotics 721 Driver – Tour Edge Golf, the company that continually gains market share in the highly competitive equipment market, intentionally waited until right after the PGA Merchandise Show to announce a new line of Exotics clubs, featuring the new Exotics 721 Driver. This new driver boasts the most technologically advanced package of features, designed to produce Tour Edge’s most powerful driver yet. www.touredgegolf.com
The “Tony’s Top Ten” list debuted February 4 on the GolfTalk Live podcast show, which can be heard on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google, TuneIn and Radio.com or at www.golftalklive.net. The award-winning radio show picked up another Outstanding Achievement Award during the ING Media Awards at the PGA Merchandise Show.
In March there will be further exposure of the “Top Ten List” when it is featured on the award-winning Traveling Golfer television show. The show was judged to be the No. 1 Golf Television Show in America by the International Network of Golf four times in six years at the PGA Merchandise Show. The Traveling Golfer airs on NBC Sports and the Fun Roads Network, as well as online through a number of websites, including the Golf Director Network and at www.travelinggolfervideo.com.
Product reviews of “Tony’s Top Ten” also will appear in the Spring Issue of GolfStyles Magazine, as well as a number of other regional publications. Plus the reviews can be found during February in the Blog section of www.golftalklive.net.
For more information about the Traveling Golfer television show go to www.travelinggolfervideo.com. For more information about the GolfTalk Live podcast, go to www.golftalklive.net. Or call TL Golf Services at (610) 721-8186.
