Author: Tyler Reed

Ben Hogan PTx Max Hybrid: Larger Head Design Delivers More Consistency Than Advertised Forgiveness Ben Hogan’s reputation has always rested on blade irons for the purist—clubs that demand precision and reward a pure strike. But hybrids tell a different story, and the new PTx Max challenges one of the dominant trends in hybrid design: the race toward smaller, sleeker heads. After spending considerable time with this club on the range and course, I’ve found the larger profile delivers real performance benefits, though not necessarily in the ways Ben Hogan’s marketing department would have you believe. The engineering philosophy here is…

Srixon’s ZXi Expansion: Smart Strategy, But Let’s Talk Real Performance Gains Srixon just announced an expansion of their ZXi lineup, and I’ll be honest—this move makes more business sense than it does technical sense. After spending the better part of two decades testing clubs on launch monitors and fitting everything from recreational golfers to low-handicappers, I’ve learned to separate genuine innovation from strategic product segmentation. The ZXi expansion falls somewhere in between, and that’s worth examining. The core pitch is straightforward: bring the proven ZXi technology to a wider audience at different price points. That’s not inherently a bad thing.…

Golf Pride Zero Taper Putter Grip: Does Parallel Shape Actually Help Your Stroke? Golf Pride has built their reputation on grip technology—75 years of it, they’ll remind you—so when they release a new putter grip, it’s worth paying attention. But it’s also worth asking the right questions. The new Zero Taper aims to capitalize on golfers who’ve grown tired of tapered grips and want something that feels more traditional underhand. The question is: does the parallel shape actually improve putting performance, or is it another clever piece of marketing dressed up in ergonomic language? Let me be clear about my…

Wilson DYNAPWR Forged Irons: AI-Designed Faces Are Real, But Don’t Expect Magic Wilson’s new DYNAPWR Forged iron landed on my test bench last week, and I’ll cut straight to it: the PKR-CUP face design is legitimate engineering, not marketing theater. But there’s a gap between what the press release claims and what golfers will actually experience on the course. Let me start with what works. I’ve tested hundreds of irons across my career as a fitter, and I can tell you that wrapping the face onto the sole—moving the weld line away from the striking surface—is genuine innovation. When I…

Testing Across the Handicap Spectrum: Why Diverse Perspectives Matter in Equipment Evaluation When I first started testing equipment for The Daily Duffer back in 2009, I noticed something that bothered me about the golf media landscape. Most reviews came from single testers—usually low-handicap players who could extract maximum performance from premium equipment. But here’s the reality: the average golfer doesn’t swing like a tour pro, and equipment that works beautifully in the hands of a 2-handicap might perform completely differently for a 15-handicap. That fundamental gap between marketing claims and real-world performance is what drove our testing philosophy from day…

When Sepp Straka shifted his driving strategy to prioritize accuracy over distance, he wasn’t just changing his game plan—he was validating something I’ve observed in my fitting bay hundreds of times: The longest hitter doesn’t always win. The most consistent hitter does. Straka’s swing sequence tells a story that separates genuine technical excellence from the noise most golfers hear on social media. And here’s what caught my attention as someone who’s spent years analyzing launch monitor data: this isn’t about equipment at all. It’s about understanding what your body can actually do with the tools you have. The Setup That…

UST Mamiya LIN-Q PowerCore White: Control Over Flash Ben Griffin won three times on the 2025 PGA Tour with the UST Mamiya LIN-Q PowerCore White in his bag, which naturally has the golf equipment industry buzzing. But here’s what matters: can this shaft actually transform a regular golfer’s game, or is it another case of "Tour player wins, marketing team mobilizes"? After extensive testing with multiple swing speeds and comparing the White directly against its siblings in the LIN-Q family, I can tell you the answer is more nuanced than the headline suggests. What Makes the LIN-Q White Different UST…