Promising Products We Discovered at the 2015 PGA Show

Last week, Craig poked a little fun at a few of the more bizarre and outlandish exhibitors at last month’s PGA Merchandise Show.

But for all the goofy and unpromising ideas we encountered, there were some that we liked.

Here are a few products that intrigued us. We’re not saying they’re going to be the “next big thing” in golf, but we’re staying tuned to see how they progress...

BioMech AccuLock Putter

Matt Kuchar’s grip-up-the-front-forearm putting style has intrigued not only golfers, but putter makers, who have introduced their own forms of similar wands. With the shaft entering the back of the clubhead and its electric blue hue, it is not going to appeal to traditionalists, but it has attracted past PGA Tour winners Bo Van Pelt and Heath Slocum to the point that both players have used the putter in competition this year.

Biion Golf Shoes

We’re not 100% sold on these shoes, which are made of a material similar to that of Crocs footwear, but we cannot deny that their booths generated plenty of buzz at the Show, both during Demo Day and on the main Convention Center floor, where a four-piece band set up and entertained Show attendees during Happy Hour.

DST Golf

Golf swings are like fingerprints, but there are a number of characteristics common to the swings of all good players. One of these is forward shaft lean at impact, which is a main generator of distance and reliable trajectory. DST Golf makes clubs with curved shafts meant to train players to have their hands ahead of the golf ball at impact. Indeed, it is impossible to make proper contact with their training clubs without doing so. Lots of golf training aids are overly complicated; DST’s are incredibly simple.

Tee Claw

One of the worst parts of having to practice off mats is that the pre-fab rubber tees are rarely the correct height. This little device digs into the artificial turf and allows you to prop a real golf tee into it. Due to the tee-claw’s height, though, make sure you use short tees, as the device does sit up above the level of the mat.

SnapCam Headcover Kit

One of the best places to find some of the stranger products on offer at the PGA Show is the dedicated Inventor’s Spotlight Pavilion (AeroGolf, one of last week’s subjects, was located there). But we found one idea that made particular sense to us. Jesse Fratkin, who aspired to play pro hockey until concussions waylayed his dream, has designed headcovers for drivers and fairway woods that double as stationary mounts for a smartphone for the purpose of taking video of your golf swing. Usually players need to bring along a buddy or a tripod to the range in order to do this. We applaud this simple solution.

What kind of future do you think these products have? Are there any new golf products you would add to this list? As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts below in the comments.