If you’re a golf-swing neophyte or a savant who can’t get enough information, Golf Replay ($150) offers a way to improve your swing. The device, which attaches to the end of the grip on any club, captures an assortment of bio-mechanical data and then lets you process it depending on your own comfort level. The entry point is swing timing, measuring how long you take with your backswing and follow-through with any club in the bag. Depending on your timing ratio, the device and its accompanying app can offer drills to improve your consistency. (The company uses the same technology in baseball, basketball and action sports.) Once comfortable, you can dive into an assortment of other metrics (swing speed, forward rotation, lie, power, efficiency index, etc.) that can be captured and analyzed in real time. The app can also take video of your swing and synch all the data for an even more enhanced teaching experience.
www.blastmotion.com -- Ryan Herrington
The Putting Stroke
If the genius of a training aid lies in its effectiveness and its simplicity, the Putting Stroke ($30) deserves a gold medal. All I had to do was stroke one putt with it to realize what my tendencies are, then I fixed them. Once I strapped the Putting Stroke to the grip of my putter and set up to the ball, I was told to adjust the top rod so that it gently rested on my forearms. At that moment, I realized that my right forearm tends to set slightly higher than my left, so I made the fix and leveled them out. And when I made a stroke, the training aid helped the putter stay on the proper path (one that feels straight back and straight through, but actually curves slightly on an arc). I’ve never had a wristy stroke, but if your wrists tend to be too active during your putting stroke, this training aid will help them stay quiet. The Putting Stroke is light and easy to use, and it offers instant and valuable feedback. A winner all around. TPSTeacher.com -- Ashley Mayo
Greyson Lifestyle And Golf Apparel
Across the sea of booths at the PGA Show I saw a ton of golf style. These guys, however, have stepped in, dropped the golf prefix and have quietly and confidently staked out their place as the pioneers of a new movement of style. Greyson, named after founder Charlie Schaefer's daughter, showed its first Fall collection, which featured a super rich color palette and an aggressive DNA. The make is incredible, and the outerwear is truly innovative. And while Greyson has cool pieces in the line with obvious outside-the-ropes potential, there is an attention to detail here that truly sets it apart. Everything from the construction of the booth itself to the zipper pulls on pants are designed with a purpose and a point of view. GreysonClothiers.com-- Alex Holmes
Night Eagle CV Ball
If you’re playing night golf, the most important piece of equipment is the ball. Glow balls used to be a glow stick in the middle of the ball, which worked OK at best. Then balls with LED lights came out. Those are pretty cool, but they only light up when they’re hit and then automatically turn off after 8 minutes. That can prove to be a problem if you hit it off line, or stop to grab a beer. Night Eagle has a solution. Its glow-in-the-dark balls have LED lights in them, but they’re turned on by aiming your phone flashlight at a sensor on the ball. That lights the ball up, and it won’t turn off until you aim your flashlight on it again. The ball has 30 hours of total light-up time, so you can stop and chat all you want without worrying if your ball is going to turn off. The balls cost between $4-$5 per ball. PremierGlow.com -Keely Levins
GFore
GFore has come a long way from colored gloves and has built a truly elegant, dressy offering in both clothing and footwear. The brand has a glamorous, L.A. vibe that features high-contrast pop colors in classic menswear shapes. The fall line is super focused into three color stories resulting in an impactful statement with a minimalist mood. These guys have taken the golden age of golf and injected some serious sex appeal. There's an attitude at GFore that doesn't exist at many other places in the market. It's bold, stylish and only getting stronger. GFore.com -- Alex Holmes
Bag Boy's Navigator Quad Cart
As golf embraces different ways to attract people to the game, golf-cart transportation is a growing field. Australian-based MGI Golf has partnered with BagBoy to bring distribution to its pushcarts into the U.S. in 2016, which includes the company’s remote-controlled Navigator Quad cart. You’ve probably heard of the GolfBoard, The Golf Bike and Golf Skate Caddy. Expect to see this four-wheeled, golf-bag transporter more in the U.S. The cart ($2,195.95) moves in multiple directions and is all-terrain friendly to prevent spilling your clubs going uphill, across a hill or down severe elevation. bagboy.com —Stephen Hennessey
Links And Kings Trunk Caddy
You don’t think about the importance of keeping all your gear organized when you’re on a golf trip … until, that is, you’ve got a tee time in 15 minutes and you’re stilling look for that pullover you know you packed but can’t find anywhere. The Trunk Caddy won’t save you any strokes on the course, but it will save you a lot of headaches off of it when you’re traveling. The two-level suitcase, new to the company’s Crown Collection line for 2016, has separate storage areas for shirts, shoes, gloves, hats and golf balls. Perforated leather outside the shoe compartment makes sure your kicks get the air they need to stay fresh. And the all-leather exterior makes this feel like a durable, elegant accessory. The price point ($450) might be a little higher than your ordinary piece luggage, but its practicality makes it money well spent.
www.linksandkings.com -- Ryan Herrrington
Arccos Driver
If the idea of using Arccos to keep track of your stats seems appealing but either too pricey or too daunting, Arccos Driver could be exactly what you need. It’s a pared down version of Arccos, and it keeps track of only your driver stats (an average of how far you drove the ball during any given round, your longest drive of the day, and the range between your shortest drive and longest drive). The Arccos team created Arccos Driver because they noticed that many golfers use Arccos to memorialize their best shots, and that more often than not their best shots were drives. In addition to stat tracking, Arccos Driver will have a gaming component that will allow golfers to compete against others, whether they’re real friends or virtual friends. The program costs $80 and will be available in April, but it costs $60 if you pre-order now. arccosgolf.com - Ashley Mayo
AllSquare Golf
It’s the Facebook of golf. That’s the ambition of AllSquare, a golf-centric mobile app. You can check out a course’s photos, reviews, website, weather in the area, even make a tee time. Post your rounds, let friends and others know what you shot and where you played. If you’re making a golf trip, AllSquare has advice on hotels near your destination. You can even find instruction and information on golf events in your area. This is the one-stop social media experience for golfers. AllSquareGolf.com -- Joel Beall
Pitchfix
The golf industry is awash in complexity. Adjustable drivers with literally thousands of settings. Motion capture devices that fit on the butt cap of every club that show you digital and fully animated data of every skulled chip you hit in practice or tomorrow's round and let you FaceTime it to your instructor or sports psychologist or both. Rickie Fowler's shoes. But sometimes the best ideas are just too simple to be fully appreciated for their sheer genius. The Pitchfix Twister divot tool is just that perfect. The three-pronged retractable ballmark fixer allows you to fix a mark in the green with one simple up-down motion, no twisting, no digging, no gouging. The result is a completely healed green scar in 24 hours versus weeks. Improved over last year with less clogging, a better magnet and a full array of colors and custom ballmarkers, the Twister makes me happy because it shows that sometimes the best way to get it is not to overdo it. Pitchfix.com. -- Mike Stachura
Big Max Autofold
This one is close to my heart because I worked in a bag room for six years. The constant folding and unfolding of push carts was one of those things that I knew should be better. Nothing should be that hard to store. And if it’s a product that a wide range of people are buying, from juniors to grandparents, it should be easy to put together. Push cart technology across the board has improved, but I was especially impressed with Big Max’s Autofold FF. It’s the simplest system I saw out there. You’re only dealing with one latch that controls how the entire thing folds. And once it is folded, it’s compact so it’ll fit in your trunk and stands up on its own. If our bag room was full of these my life would’ve been a lot easier. US.BigMaxGolf.com -- Keely Levins
