The excitement of the PGA Merchandise Present in Orlando, Fla. returned January 23-26, 2024 to a degree not seen in a half-decade with loads of Canadian connections on the annual kick-off to {the golfing} 12 months.
There have been just a few questions concerning the longevity of the present, particularly within the years following the emergence of COVID-19. However with golf booming like by no means earlier than, this 12 months featured greater than 1,000 exhibitors and attendees from greater than 80 international locations – the “miles and miles of aisles” returned.
Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum was thrilled to see such pleasure across the recreation as Canadians emerge from what the group has known as a “Momentous 12 months” for the game.
On the high degree, there was the where-were-you-when second of Nick Taylor’s RBC Canadian Open triumph, but in addition 4 wins from Stephen Ames on PGA Tour Champions, and a number of winners throughout the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, and extra – together with Alena Sharp profitable a bronze medal on the Pan Am Video games and the Canadian squad profitable the World Junior Women Championship for the primary time.
“These had been the actual successes on the golf course,” Applebaum says. “However off the golf course I might say seeing the power of our golf equipment, seeing the power of our membership, and bringing so many companions to the desk was unimaginable.
“We’re simply so joyful to be supporting Canadian golf and leveraging off this superb success into 2024.”
With greater than 10-million scores inputted into the Golf Canada app final 12 months and with the pattern of unimaginable participation numbers in new entrants into the sport – together with extra ladies, extra younger folks, and extra range – Applebaum says there may be a lot to look ahead to as we inch nearer to spring.
With the brand new 12 months underway there may be additionally a lot of new gear obtainable.
Right here’s the whole lot you should know from a few of our companions to be sure you look and play your greatest in 2024!
TITLEIST
The large story for Titleist this 12 months is wrapped within the AVX golf ball, a brand new roster of Scotty Cameron putters, and an extra-special wedge drop from Canadian Golf Corridor of Famer Bob Vokey – the SM10 Vokey wedges.
The brand new AVX delivers new expertise within the core, the casing layer, the quilt, and the dimple sample to ship higher spin and management for golfers however hold all the gap you like with irons and the motive force.
“We actually function with the spirit of continuous enchancment,” says Frederick Waddell, the senior supervisor of golf ball product administration at Titleist. “After we take into consideration Professional V1 or Professional V1x – the perfect gamers on this planet belief these merchandise, you belief your recreation to these merchandise, so we now have to be striving for higher supplies, higher manufacturing processes, positive tuning flight, spin, really feel, so then you possibly can play your greatest.
“We don’t simply supply one golfer we now have becoming choices and by always tinkering with these and seeking to enhance these, we’re serving gamers that wish to play their greatest with the perfect merchandise on this planet to shoot decrease scores.”
There are 10 new fashions of the Scotty Cameron Phantom mallet putters that had been utterly redesigned with improved really feel and sound, plus alignment-infused head shapes.
“The theme (for 2024) is alignment by design,” says Austie Rollinson, the senior director of putter analysis and improvement at Scotty Cameron. “We’ve actually labored onerous to infuse alignment by way of the entire form of those putters to assist the golfer align higher to the goal […] and alignment is vital to creating extra putts.”
Lastly, the brand new SM10 wedges are all about getting a decrease ball flight, a much-improved really feel, and giving golfers most spin.
“With SM10 it’s all about ball flight,” says Corey Gerrard, the director of selling for Vokey Wedges. “You’re going to see a better (centre of gravity) that’s moved ahead within the face that offers you that decrease ball flight and loads of management and most spin to cease the ball nearer to the outlet extra typically.”
FOOTJOY
FootJoy has as soon as once more given Canadian golfers every kind of causes to proceed to play – it doesn’t matter what the climate.
From an outerwear perspective, FootJoy’s new line is all about dialling in a ‘trendy traditional’ aesthetic whereas additionally offering top-level efficiency in all climate circumstances.
“We do ‘trendy traditional’ very well and we’re seeking to push and innovate on that,” says John Toracinta, the senior advertising and marketing specialist at FootJoy. “While you speak about trendy traditional, the whole lot is getting somewhat tighter from stripes to prints to patterns and never solely on shirts and necessities but in addition on outerwear and the small particulars that differentiate it.”
On the footwear facet, the massive story for 2024 is the replace to the FootJoy ProSL. Accessible in two fashions, the ProSL has been a fantastic franchise for FootJoy for various years and it’s modified the way in which spikeless traction works for golfers.
“In prior years we’ve been doing evolutions – like updating supplies – however this 12 months for ProSL we went full revolution,” says Dan Buonomo, product supervisor at FootJoy. “It’s utterly redesigned not solely from a appear and feel perspective but in addition the traction story that’s occurring beneath.”
LEVELWEAR
Canadians won’t solely see Levelwear on our high Tour expertise as soon as once more this 12 months – like Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin, Taylor Pendrith, and Maddie Szeryk – however it would even be obtainable at each the RBC Canadian Open and CPKC Girls’s Open merch tents by way of 2024.
The nice story for this 12 months’s drops from Levelwear is all about color and material throughout its strains of polo shirts, layering items, and extra.
“We’ve received extra color tales than we ever have had earlier than and new applied sciences in a few of our materials as nicely – and plenty of new prints,” says Gareth Knocker, the director of attire at Levelwear. “Prints are positively nonetheless trending, so we now have numerous new, enjoyable prints for Canadian golfers this 12 months too.”
PUMA
Puma will likely be launching its 2024 Maple Leaf Assortment in Might whereas the model, which celebrated its seventy fifth anniversary final 12 months, would be the official clothing store of Workforce Canada’s golf squad on the Paris 2024 Summer season Olympics.
“We’re actually excited. This can be a first for us. We’ve been making a group for Canada for a short time now, however that is the primary time there’s much more at stake,” says Chris MacNeill, the senior supervisor of golf attire at Puma. “We customized made some merchandise for them – from Canadian-themed graphics to colors and all-new efficiency material [and] we’re excited to carry the efficiency facet plus the style facet collectively and outfit Workforce Canada this 12 months.”
FORESIGHT
The brand new Falcon system from Foresight is a shrunken model of the extremely common GC Hawk, whereas additionally new for 2024 is the Quad Max – the PGA TOUR favorite has obtained just a few new tweaks for this 12 months.
One of the best is simply getting higher!
And in case you had been questioning about getting a Foresight machine in your house – you’re not alone. Mitch Grassing, a Canadian launch-monitor knowledgeable at Foresight based mostly out of Kitchener-Waterloo, says, in Canada, the in-home models make up about three quarters of their enterprise and is the most well-liked arrange.
“In case you’ve received an area to swing a golf membership,” Grassing says, “we will make one thing occur.”
Proud associate @ForesightCanada has thrilling new developments forward for 2024. pic.twitter.com/2CuLzdi77E
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 25, 2024
