New items from Callaway, Armour and Sun Mountain

Suggested retail price for the fairway wood is $290.

The X hybrids, numbered 2H, 3H, 4H and 5H, come with lofts of 18, 21, 24 and 27 degrees, respectively. Made with steel heads, they have a Modified X-Sole design which also lowers the leading edge to help get the ball airborne quickly. There’s increased perimeter weighting and an optimized center of gravity, designed to enhance stability and trajectory control.

The standard graphite shaft is a Callaway Hybrid, the steel shaft is a True Temper Uniflex.

Suggested retail prices for the X hybrids are $175 each with steel shaft, $200 with graphite.

TOMMY ARMOUR

The newest set of irons from Tommy Armour is called 845 VCG, which stands for variable center of gravity.

“With the launch of the 845 VCG set we are not just trying to expand the sweet spot, we are moving the sweetspot to where the golfer hits the ball on the clubface,” said Kirk Peglow, Tommy Armour Golf vp/gm. “No longer do engineers tell you where the sweetspot is on the club. The golfer puts 25 grams of tungsten weight exactly where he or she hits the ball.”

Tommy Armour's 845 VCG irons feature a cavityback design.

With a cavityback design, the 845 VCG irons -- available in a set as Nos. 3-PW -- have a 25-gram tungsten screw on a titanium ring set in a high-impact nylon channel running along the rear of the club. The weight is focused toward the sole to enhance launch angles.

To determine where to set the tungsten weight, golfers place “impact tape” on the face of the club, then hit shots to find their impact pattern and, finally, lock the weight in place behind the key hitting zone with a small wrench.

“Golfers put the sweetspot exactly where it needs to be for them,” said Peglow.

Available now, suggested retail prices are $799.99 per set with steel shafts, $899.99 with graphite, but actual “street” prices are running about $200 less per set.

SUN MOUNTAIN

According to the folks at Sun Mountain, the materials in its new H2O Tech bag employ the same waterproof fabric, taped seams and YKK zippers as the company’s line of rainwear. The technology is geared to keep items stored in pockets entirely dry in wet weather.

But, even in dry weather, this also is an ultra lightweight carrybag with stand, built on the same frame as Sun Mountain’s Superlight 3.5 bag.

H2O Tech features a built-in top collar handle, top-molded stand attachment with Roller-Bottom stand, five pockets and a six-way top with full-length dividers. For carrying, the company has installed an upgraded X-Strap dual strap.

“Superlight 3.5 was designed on the premise of ‘sacrifice nothing but weight,’” said Sun Mountain founder Rick Reimers. “With H2O Tech, we have further perfected it.”

Available in either solid black or solid goldenrod, and shipping in February, suggested retail price is $229.99.

Click here for specs on the new equipment from Callaway, Tommy Armour, Sun Mountain.