The domino effect is well under way. Wilson got it all started, then TaylorMade, and a week or two later (yesterday) three more fell, but it’s hard to tell who exactly fell next. It seems to be a tie between Callaway, Nike and Cleveland. You get a free Callaway wedge with the purchase of an X series set of irons. Cleveland will give you 2 free round-trip tickets, and a free round of golf when you spend $500. Their other promotion is a free Cleveland stand bag with the purchase of a set of Launcher irons.

It seems that we’re in the midst of a buyer’s market in the golf club industry. All kinds of gimmicks are being offered. If Padraig Harrington wins the Masters, you can get a free Wilson golf club with the purchase of a set of irons. If Sergio Garcia wins, you get a free TaylorMade driver. The latest free offer is for Nike golf clubs. Buy a Nike SasQuatch Sumo Squared 5900 Driver for $200, and you get your choice of a free:

In my research I’ve happened across a few Japanese golf clubs manufacturers, and one South Korean company. They tend to be smaller companies, and a few of them I had never even heard of until recently.

Yonex Golf

I think Yonex is probably one of the most underrated golf companies; they make great clubs. Their story is a little bit different from many other golf companies. Minoru Yoneyama founded Yoneyama Manufacturing Ltd. in 1946 to make wooden floats for fishing nets. In 1962, they made use of their woodworking skills to make their first badminton racquet. Their name changed to Yonex in 1974. In 1982, they manufactured their first golf clubs—woods made of persimmon and carbon graphite. They signed Phil Mickelson to their staff when he graduated from college in 1992. They’ve added snowboards to their line of sporting goods in 1995. They are headquartered in Bunkyo-Ku in Tokyo.

Simpac

Simpac golf clubs began in 2001 in South Korea, with their idea for a square-head driver. There is very little information about this company, but Dong-Ho Kim seems to be one of the head honchos. There are letters from the USGA to him in Wonju City, South Korea stating that their clubs conform to USGA standards.

Miura

Miura is a small company that has manufactured clubs for other companies in the past. Katsuhiro Miura founded the company in 1994, and still works on the floor of the factory building clubs. They say that their manufacturing process stems from Himeji City’s long history of metal work for Samurai swords.

Fourteen Golf

Fourteen Golf gets their name from their desire to sell you every one of the 14 clubs in your bag. They were founded in Japan in 1981 by Takamitsu Takebayashi. They established a U.S. presence in 2005, which was 3 years after Ernie Els used one of their hybrids when he won the 2002 British Open. They're best known for their wedges and hybrids.

Bridgestone Golf

Rubber was an important ingredient in golf balls, and a few rubber companies got involved in making golf balls. Bridgestone is one example of that. They were a tire company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi, and only 4 years later made their first golf ball. It wasn’t until 1972, until they started cranking out Bridgestone golf clubs. Titleist golf clubs have a similar story, except that it took place half a world away from Japan.

Tiger came back from five strokes down to win the Arnold Palmer invite on Sunday. He had managed to come back from five strokes down to take the lead after the 16th hole. Then he bogeyed the 17th hole, and was back into a tie with Sean O’hair. He needed a birdie on 18 to avoid a playoff, and that's exactly what he got. He sank a 12 foot uphill birdie putt with his Scotty Cameron putter, and leapt into his caddie's arms.

It was his first victory since last June's U.S. Open. It was also a victory for NBC. It was their highest rated golf broadcast since the last time Tiger won. The final round broadcast drew a 4.9 overnight rating with a 10 share. It received better ratings than last year's British Open and PGA championship.

Here's the clubs Tiger used in his victory:
Driver:                     Nike SQ Dymo (8.5°)
Fairway woods:        Nike SasQuatch Sumo (15°, 19°)
Irons:                      Nike Victory Red TW Forged Blades (3-PW)
Wedges:                 Nike Victory Red (56°), SV (60°)
Putter:                    Titleist by Scotty Cameron Newport 2

Scotty Cameron putters are all personally designed by Scotty Cameron. I'm sure Tiger Woods has a lot of input on the design of his putter. The Newport 2 is a classic design. It looks a lot like my Ping Anser, which was designed in the 1960s.

Scotty Cameron is an exception to the rule, but there are just so many ugly putters. I don't like the looks of most mallet putters, but Scotty Cameron seems to keep the weirdness under control. The classic putters are much more appealing to my eye.

The Newport 2, along with many other classic putters, has extra weight on the heel and toe. This helps them increase the moment of inertia of the putter head. A high moment of inertia helps the putter stay square through the entire stroke. There are many other mallet putters that have high moments of inertia though, and even some that approach the USGA limit moment of inertia.

Personally, I was rooting against Tiger Woods. I always root for the underdog, and Tiger Woods is never the underdog. But clearly, golf needs a boost. In spite of my personal preference, Tiger Woods provides that boost.

Keith Fergus had an awesome come-from-behind victory in the Cap Cana championship on Sunday. He had only recently begun playing with Alpha golf clubs and his Alpha V5 LX driver. I was watching the final round on the Golf Channel last night, and it was between Mark O'Meara and Andy Bean. Mark O'Meara had to birdie one of the last three tough holes to come up with his first Champions tour victory. Keith Fergus was in third and was not really in contention.

Karrie Webb has been in a slump for the last couple years, but on Sunday, she broke out of it with a victory at the Phoenix International. This is the first tournament she’s won since 2006. She was 1 stroke behind the leader, South Korea's Shin Ji-Yai, and overtook Shin with a final-round 67. Webb is a staff player for Srixon golf clubs.

Webb is second only to Annika Sorenstam in career earnings. Webb has won over $14 million on the LPGA tour. She had an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys, including a birdie on the 72nd hole which is a 475 yard par-5.

Here’s the clubs that took Karrie to victory:
Driver:                 Srixon W-506 9.5°   
3 Wood:              Cleveland Launcher 15°   
Hybrid:                TaylorMade Rescue Mid 22°   
Irons (3-9):           Srixon 701 Forged   
Pitching Wedge:   Srixon Forged   
Sand Wedge:       Titleist Vokey Design 52°   
Lob Wedge:         Titleist Vokey Design 58°   
Putter:                 PING G5i UG-LE   
Ball:                    Srixon Z-UR prototype  

The tournament has been played at Superstition Mountain Golf Course, east of Phoenix for many years, but the tournament lost its sponsor this year. The LPGA carried on, but moved the tournament to Papago Municipal Golf Course inside the city of Phoenix. Webb has missed the cut at Superstition Mountain 3 times, and was not disappointed with the move to Papago.

Srixon I-701 Forged Irons

Srixon’s I-701 forged irons was able to lower the center of gravity due to pocket cavity technology. A low center of gravity means that you’ll be able to get the ball airborne easily, and you’ll be able to hit high, straight shots. These clubs are designed specifically for mid to low handicap golfers.

Titleist is best known for their golf balls, and they're far and away the most popular ball on the PGA tour, and among regular players. They also have the most popular putter on tour, and one of the most popular wedges. The name of Titleist is synonymous with golf, and all Titleist golf clubs are very high quality and high performance.

Cobra is unveiling its newest iron set this month. They’re called the King Cobra SZ Irons; SZ stands for Sweet Zone. The irons have a low center of gravity and high moment of inertia. This makes the irons very forgiving on mis-hits. They also have a urethane insert on the back of the clubs, which dampens the vibration, and helps create the kind of feel you want in an iron.

The men’s set includes 4 iron through gap wedge, and the senior’s and women’s set includes 5 iron through sand wedge. The SZ irons have done very well in testing and reviews.

Center of Gravity
In club design, it’s good to have a low center of gravity. In cavity back irons like these Cobra irons, the center of gravity can be placed so low that it would cause the trajectory to be so high, that it’s actually too high, and that would adversely affect the distance of the irons. So, what they do is reduce the loft. The traditional lofts for a 7-iron becomes the loft on the 9-iron. Of course, the loft for a 3-iron would be the old loft for a 1-iron, and no one can hit a 1-iron, except Ben Hogan. That is why the men’s set starts at a 4-iron, and the others start at a 5-iron. Hybrid clubs are preferable to long irons, anyway.

Moment of Inertia
The moment of inertia (MOI) has to do with how resistant the club is to twisting on off-center hits. A high MOI is good for most players as it makes the club more forgiving.

Geoff Ogilvy is one of Cobra’s staff players, and he’s done very well so far this season. He’s won two tournaments already: The Mercedes Championship in Hawaii, and the WGC Accenture Match Play Championships. He’s already won $2.7 million, which puts him in the top spot, and is almost as much as he won in 2008.

As Colin Montgomerie began play in his 500th European Tour tournament, he was feeling nostalgic. He was thinking about all the wins he’s had, but being the 2010 Ryder Cup captain seems to be at the front of his mind. In spite of all the things that could be distracting him, he managed to pull off a 67, and was within 1 stroke of the lead at the Andalucia Open at the Real Club de Golf de Sevilla, Spain after the first round on Thursday. Monty is one of two staff players playing Yonex golf clubs.

Colin turned pro in 1987 at the age of 24, and won his first tournament in 1989 at the Portuguese Open. From 1983 to 1989, he won the European order of merit every year. Maybe one of the best reasons for choosing him to be the captain of the Ryder Cup team is his unbelievable play in the Ryder Cup. He’s never lost any of his 8 singles matches from 1991 through 2006.

Yonex Driver:                       NANOV Nextage Type 430
Yonex Fairway Woods:        Cyberstar Nanospeed
Yonex Hybrids:                    Cyberstar XC+ No.4, 22 degrees loft
Yonex Irons Set:                  NANOV nextage Composite Iron
Yonex Wedges:                   Cyberstar T – 1 (54°, 60°)

On Monty’s website he gives some specifics about his clubs, and why he’s chosen them. He said the he’s not all that interested in the technical specifications of his clubs—only whether they look good, and perform well. His driver is heavier than some, with a D6 swing weight. He said that he likes to feel the club head, as this helps his rhythm. He’s more interested in control than power.

Swing weight is a measure of how much weight is in the club head versus the grip. Two drivers may weigh exactly the same amount, but the one with a higher swing weight will feel heavier. Swing weight is divided up by a letter/number system, which ranges from A0 to G10. The variables involved in determining swing weight would be the weight of the club head, the weight of the shaft, and the length of the shaft. The same club head on a short shaft feels much lighter than the same club head on a longer shaft.

Monty didn’t qualify to play in this year’s Masters, but hopes to pick up his play this season and get back up in the rankings for next year. Yonex’s other staff player will be playing in his first Masters this year.

UPDATE: Monty finished 14 strokes behind the winner. Søren Kjeldsen, from Denmark won with a 274.