EuroGolf Trade Show November 12th -15th 1996 Birmingham UK

Direct from the NEC, Birmingham, Golf Today editor, Stan Ellison reported on what's new in golf equipment and apparel

Wednesday 13th November

Equipment

Penfold man comes back

Penfold, one of the most established brand names in the business, are back with an exciting new range of golf products including the original Penfold man -who has now become a collectors' item. With a brand name pedigree dating back to 1927, Penfold has developed a comprehensive and innovative range of state-of-the-art golf clubs, bags, clothing and accessories designed to drive the brand into the next millennium.

Explosive distance from Dunlop DDH

Dunlop has built upon its established heritage for outstanding performance and quality golf balls by introducing the first Dunlop DDH Explosive Distance 110 ball. The Dunlop DDH Explosive Distance 110 with a new patent high-energy polybutadiene core-gaurantees golfers maximum distance for every kind of swing. In addition the Surlyn cover blend resist cutting.

Palmer PHD

After the successful launch of the new Palmer PHD in the United States this spring the Arnold Palmer Golf Co is now giving the European public a look for themselves. It has always been a major goal of Arnold Palmer to develop clubs for all kinds of classes of handicaps. For this reason the PHD is available in different models with steel and graphic shafts for golfers with low and high handicaps.

Nicklaus Air Bear irons

Nicklaus Golf is set to introduce the all-new Air Bear iron, designed with the aim of incorporating the most dramatic game-improving features possible. The club is a product of research and development steered by Jack Nicklaus' determination to develop an iron fit to parallel the performance of the Air-Bear woods.

Apparel

Look good in the new de Rigeur

Following the successful launch and sell-out EP Pro are introducing four new items for February and March. Flamingo Road: - soft, fresh and feminine in peach, salmon and rose pointelle knit tops, polo shirts with complementing shorts and trousers.

Gatsby: the classic traditional list, super clean patterns. Coventry: Inspired by the English country garden, the collection features colours of corn silk and ivory with accents of celedon and buttermilk.. Bermuda Bay: An update of the classic chambray blue with a touch of periwinkle set against pure white.

Laura looks lovely

The Laura Davies Collection is a selection of hard wearing cotton lycra fabric uses strong solid colours giving a feeling of strong personality. Laura's love for animal prints has not been forgotten with the inclusion of a brown and green jersey print in the range. There are also soft pastel prints and jerseys with small delicate rose prints which are matched with stone and white shorts and bermudas.

Thursday 14th November

Equipment

Cobra line-up with titanium

Cobra Golf has launched the most explosive line-up of titanium woods ever seen in the golf market. Following the success of the King Cobra Ti driver, Cobra now offers a titanium product in all four major product categories. "Titanium is proving to be the first major replacement cycle since steel replaced wood," said David Silver, marketing manager for Cobra UK.

Great White Tiger Shark gets bigger

Here's your chance to go straight. If you have a big slice and would give anything to hit your drives down the middle, Tiger Shark has combined three innovations in one club that will change your game.

The new greater White with its oversize head, just looks easier to hit at address, and with an off-set hosel combined with a four degree closed face, ensures that the club will remain square to closed through impact. There are three shaft optiions, the Dynalite Golf or Aldila Low Torque graphite and for seniors and ladies the latest True Temper release shaft.

Apparel

Adidas launch the Mudskipper

Two new golf shoes are now available in the winter range of adidas. The Mudskipper is designed to prevent water entering the boot regardless of conditions and particularly for players walking through the rough on wet and windy days.

The Lady-Dry shoe has a new ultra lightweight sole system made of pre-moulded EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate). This makes the shoe exceptionally light and comfortable and extremely flexible. The Lady Dry has a totally waterproof lining system and bellows tongue to prevent water entry.

Ryder Cup fashion from Oscar

Oscar Jacobson will be a major supplier of Ryder Cup merchandise and for the first time new styles and fabrics will be available on the European market. Going on sale soon is a Ryder Cup slipover and a pique polo shirt both in 100 per cent cotton. Also available is a multistripe pique polo shirt, 100 per cent cotton and men's chinos.

Friday 15th November

Equipment

Big Eye scoring woods from Ram

Ram Golf is making available the Big Eye LT Driver, fairway and scoring woods following the standard 10.5 driver that came on the market earlier this year. New for 1997 will be additions to the Zebra range of putters and the Ram Tour Balata balls are to feature a soft roll double cover model to add to the Pro Balata and Lithium Balata models.

Hogan still has the Edge

Ben Hogan continues to put heavy emphasis on its popular Edge GCD with Mark Brooks the current US PGA Champion heading up the list of winning Hogan staff professionals all using the Edge GCD. Hogan also offer a 72-hour custom made service for the Edge and other models in the range. Hogan's Personal Fit Hotline is on 0800 136866 or get details from your regular club pro.

Mitsushiba has the Mirage

New models from this company centre around the Mirage iron with its flow weighted system is designed to give a more consistent performance. The matching woods have a high centre of gravity for extra top-spin. This model is available in mens and ladies left and right-hand versions. There is also a competitively priced MVX model planned for introduction in 1997. This will be positioned at the same end of the market as the popular Verdict model.

T-Zoid widen Mizuno range

Two new club lines have been introduced by Mizuno. The T-Zoid Pro forged irons are targeted at professionals and single figure golfers while the oversize T-Zoid XV irons feature a unique groove system on the club face designed to bring improvement to the widest possible number of handicap golfers. The new season's line-up from Mizuno also includes a new range of open stock game improvement clubs, woods and irons under the Widec brand name. These clubs are sold in both mens and ladies specifications.

Tommy Armour putters

Tommy Armour golf has introduced a new range of putters that includes the Dual Force 770, a stainless steel putter fashioned in traditional design: the Dual Force 222 which features a larger bronze, blade style head: and two additional left handed models, the 550 and 990.

Apparel

New nine for Cross Creek

Cross Creek's Pro Collection for 1997 consists of nine distinct ranges, each comprising unique colour and design combinations. The shirts are made from a variety of textiles, ranging from new lisle pique to 100 per cent luxurious Tencel.

Faldo collection designed for action

The Pringle range of men's wear includes the Faldo Golf collection which comes in natural and high performance fabrics and fibres designed for action and comfort. The strong sweatshirt look features bold stripe formations, graphic patterning micro textures and mini jacquards. Golfing classics in sporty separates create the basis for the Faldo Women's Collection.

Rhythm emphasis goes on jacquards

Rhythm's shirt range is priced so that most garments retail around £30. There is a strong emphasis on jacquards in the new range, both on the body of the shirts and on the collars, and herringbone stripes also feature strongly. All the shirts are either 100% combed cotton or cotton rich in the tarn content. There are also check trousers and shorts which combine well with the shirts.