Equipment
Visit Your Local Golf Show For a Good Deal
Although not the granddaddy PGA Golf Show entertaining the masses in Florida right now, your local golf and travel show is still worth attending.
With the weather below 5 degrees in Cincinnati right now, I really had nothing better to do than check out the Cincinnati Golf Show this chilly Sunday morning.
These golf shows are nothing but an upscale golfer’s flea market and golf travel exposition. If you seek a good deal on new golf clubs, or are looking for a hard to find set of used clubs, definitely drop the $10 entry ticket on the last day of the show to pick up a good deal.
The majority of the retailers were the biggie wholesalers such as Rockbottomgolf.com (selling mostly junk I might add) and other internet golf shops one has never heard of. Here is a quick recap of some of the great deals that I saw here this morning:
This vendor had just about every top wedge in these giant bins, all for under $60 brand new.
Cobra Carbon CB irons, that were practically new for $400. If my wife had not warned me about NOT spending any money I would have purchased them right on the spot. A few feet further down the aisle was a set of brand new Titleist Forged 695 CB irons for $499, oh man, how I badly wanted to buy those. I saw many, many vendors violating the Ping MAP pricing and closing out g5’s and i5’s with 3 black nickel Ping Tour Wedges as well for only $519. I quickly walked away before the VISA gods in my wallet took over. I even saw a set of i10 irons (which I already own) for $599. That’s a steal and way under Ping MAP pricing. I saw a few near mint sets of Hogan forged irons for less than $275. I also saw a sweet set of Nike forged blades, barely used (probably difficult to hit) for 60% off retail new. I am always amazed when I see used Ping ISI irons still holding their value at over $450 used for a set of irons. I bought a set of nickel ISI’s 3 years ago for $425, so their value is only going upwards. Taylor Made, Cleveland, Callaway, you name it you could find it used at a great price. The great thing about golf shows is that money talks, especially on the last day of the show. These prices are not written in stone. These people are here because they need to move all of this stuff. Offer a fair price and you’ll save even more, especially if it’s cash in your wallet. If you seek a new, or used wedge, this was the place to be. Just about everything, except the Titleist Vokey wedges ($10 cheaper than retail) were half off and if you went the used route, even better at under $30 bucks.
If you seek a quality set of used irons at below eBay prices, you’ll find what you seek here.
The new Nike IC series putters, which somehow shoehorned themselves onto the Golf Digest Hotlist this year, were on sale for only $100. I checked them out very closely and they are much more ugly in person than in the magazine. If you are in the minority and like them, wait a bit longer, you’ll be able to get them for less than $50 in no time.
Nike really missed the boat on these IC putters. In my opinion, not so easy on the eyes ! They are olive drab and not dark silver as they appear in this picture.
The best deals however, were in clothing, shoes, golf gloves and golf balls. I purchased three dozen, Nike One Platinum golf balls for $64.95. That is a real steal, they only had three dozen, left or I would have purchased 3 dozen more. On my way out the door I bought 13 used, but in nice shape Titleist Pro V1X’s for $5 just to make sure I had enough golf balls in time for spring. These golf shows are a great place to stock up on golf gloves as well. Most were 2 or even 3 for the price of one. Many of the golf destinations in the Southeast were well represented offering golf destination packages as well.
If my wife hadn’t already warned me about spending a lot, these would have made it into my bag for less than $500 new.
Although the Cincinnati golf show is quite small in scale compared to the golf show I attended last winter in Novi, Michigan good deals were all over the place here. Next year, I won’t tell my wife where I am going!
So, if you have nothing better to do on a cold weekend in the Midwest, stop in at your local golf show for some good deals and golf travel information for your next golf trip.
Equipment
BK’s Breakdowns: Cameron Young’s winning WITB, 2025 Wyndham Championship

Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
Whats in the Bag
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)

- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
Equipment
GolfWRX Members Choice presented by 2nd Swing: Best driver of 2025

We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
---|---|
Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Mike
Jan 22, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I attended this same show on Saturday, (then some overnight numbers crunching) then back on Sunday for purchasing. Some of the deals that my dad and I got were:
New FJ Dry Ice gloves – $10
Nice Titleist hats – $9 a piece
A pair of white Ecco hydromax shoes – $79
Two brand new Cleveland Oil Can 588 DSG wedges – $135 total
New Brown on Brown FJ Dry Joys – $70
A used but probably 8/10 Cameron Santa Fe Tel3 – $115 (my personal favorite deal as it’s going right to the custom shop)
Didn’t buy these really good deals: TM Burner drivers for $189, multiple sets of brand new J33 Cavity backs for $350.
Lee
Jan 21, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I went to the same show last weekend in Columbus. It was fun and interesting. If I was in the market for “stuff”, it would have been a bargain hunter’s delight. I saw lots of people buying recycled balls (pretty cheap too!) and last year’s driver from TM, Callaway and Cleveland.
Lots’ of off-brand gloves for decent prices, really great deals on Golf Bags and a lot of booths selling golf vacations. They had a demo driving range and a long drive contest.
It was a great way to waste an afternoon on a cold January day!
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