The #1 Writer in Golf: 2017 PGA Merchandise Show - Day 2 Recap (Part 2): Cleveland Golf, Srixon Golf, Oakley Golf, Swing Oil, Nippon Shafts, Volvik, and Piretti Golf

Can you tell I was having entirely too much fun this year? Many of you asked how I covered so much, and the answer's simple really. Every time I saw a new company booth my eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. My excitement and energy all week was overflowing, and I think I might even have dual residency now in Ohio and Florida.

Let's take a look at new products from Cleveland Golf, Srixon Golf, Oakley Golf, Swing Oil, Nippon Shafts, Volvik, and Piretti Golf.

This seems like as good a place as any as well to mention, I appreciate all the emails and messages I've received from all of you. It seems like I helped make you feel like you were right there in the moment with me, and that's truly beyond entirely gratifying for me.

Cleveland Golf
I already told you in my demo day recap the new RTX-3 wedges spin faster than a tornado. But these made my Best of Show for even more reasons.

Classic shapes, surgically clean looks, and great versatility and control in both cavity and blade models make these wedges that can go right into anyone's bag. And if there was a book called "Wedge Play for Dummies," the RTX-3 would be the undeniable stars. They're absurdly easy to hit.

Srixon Golf

Here again check my Demo Day impressions on Srixon's new Z565 and Z765 irons. They were very strong performers. The Z565 irons don't look like game-improvement irons, they just perform like them. Classic looks without being too bulky, and really effortless flight and exploding off the face.

The Z765 irons are for better players but still have plenty of forgiveness. Easy to find the sweetspot, a balance that's practically perfect, and minimal loss of distance on mishits. Srixon gets all the things right in an iron of this kind.

The Z565 and Z765 drivers also earned high praise from me at Demo Day. You almost can't mishit the Z565 even if you try. The ball just stays up in the air with loads of carry. The Z765 has a more penetrating flight, and still enough forgiveness to make it difficult to miss fairways.

Oakley Golf

High performance polos and improved Prizm sunglasses from Oakley in 2017. Also major scripts for Bubba Watson and Zach Johnson. And of course a Bubba jetpack moment.

Swing Oil

You probably know about Swing Oil by now, even if only because it's Jason Day endorsed. It's a drink supplement that comes in three flavors, and promises flexibility and focus during your rounds, as well as quicker recovery times afterwards. What you might not know is if it works.

Well, after Demo Day and into the second day of The Show my muscles were already pretty sore, and so I drank a pack about mid-afternoon. And I can tell you it's absolutely not some charlatan snake oil. Within an hour I felt decidedly refreshed, and the next morning wasn't sore at all.

Funny thing is I went back to Swing Oil on the last day of the Show to tell them how it rejuvenated me, and they told me numerous people already came up to them the day before and this last day saying almost the exact same thing. That's what I call validation.

When I got home from the Show I still wondered if maybe it was just some placebo effect. So I asked a nurse and nutritionist friend of mine at Cleveland Clinic if the ingredients in Swing Oil really would improve focus, flexibility, and recovery. They said yes. And I'll be drinking this all season.

Nippon Shafts

Nippon's N.S. PRO steel shafts have been a staple on the LPGA Tour and a favorite among everyday golfers for many years now. But it's Nippon's Modus3 Tour shafts that have received the most attention recently.

Designed for optimal distance control, dispersion, and trajectory, the Modus3 Tour 105 and Tour 125 are Nippon's newest shafts. They offer the same traditional mid-launch and mid-spin profile in different weights.

The 105 and 125 fit between the Modus3 Tour 130 (which is high launching, low spinning, and best for players with late transitions) and the Modus3 Tour 120 (low-mid launch and spin).

Volvik

I'm pretty sure there was more color in the Volvik booth than there was over the rest of the entire one million square-foot floor. And if your game doesn't shine as much as you'd like, Volvik has the ball to make it glow.

The new VIVID XT is a 4-piece, 100 compression ball designed for players with driver speeds over 100 mph. With a cover made from zirconium and a patented matte finish, the ball is supposed to increase ball speed and decrease spin. The World Long Drive champion won in 2016 using this ball, so I'm not going to argue.

The VIVID line also comes in a tour version S4 for accomplished players (Bubba uses the S4), as well as a standard VIVID for the rest of us. You can check out Volvik's site for an on-line ball fitting to see which ball might be best for you.

Piretti Golf

It's honestly difficult for me to imagine putters than can be more gorgeous than the Piretti putters I saw this year. They're absolute masterpieces.

Piretti's newest putters include their Black Onyx and Elite series, and the Black Onyx was so hot it actually sold out at the Show. There are 11 models in the Black Onyx line and all of them are milled from solid billets of 11L17 carbon steel, which basically means the feel is pure bliss.

There are two models in the Elite series, which are milled from a solid billet of 303 stainless steel, and come with optional weight kits to further enhance their renowned feel and balance.

There's an mystifying elegance to Piretti putters that truly puts them in a class unto themselves. And it's entirely possible when you hit one, you might believe it's the best performing putter you've ever used. Piretti putters are as close to perfect as I've ever seen.