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does anyone know of what the big companies are coming out with in 2008? im very interested to see how nike and callaway follow up the square drivers. im also anxious to see the new titleist. anyone have any info on any of the new stuff?

Taylor Made has titanium faced Burner XD irons. TaylorMade Golf

PING has a G10 lineup replacing the G5 line. PING : Play Your Best

Titleist has a 425cc version of their new driver, the 907D4 and a low profile 906F4 fairway wood coming out. The driver might be of limited availability.

I haven't heard anything else yet. I work at a pro shop as my 2nd job for fun, so I might get the early scoop on some new stuff pretty soon.

Those titanium faced irons could be interesting. How much of the club will be titanium, and how much conventional metal will be very interesting to see. Titanium has been used in drivers and fairway woods because it is resilient even when thin and is still lightweight. But, lightweight is usually not a deciding factor in irons, which is why so many people put tungsten or zinc plugs in the hosel to swingweight the club they way they like. The really interesting question is how close will these clubs come to the maximum coefficient of restitution of 0.830. If they get close or even on it, they could be very big sellers because it will be one way to actually get more distance out of irons without any artificial means (specifically, strengthening the loft and then trumpeting how their 5 iron is soooooo much better than everyone else's). Titanium may become the first true innovation in irons in a long time, though I still think that those all-hybrid sets (Cleveland, Tour Edge, Nickent and Cobra all have them today) are pretty innovative -- considering how much easier most beginners hit hybrids I think that those hybrid sets could really take off.

The flip side is that if the titanium doesn't have much improvement at all, titanium is much more expensive than conventional metals and it could end up being a big flop.

Are they planning on making a player's edition along with a game improvement set? If they do have significant distance increase, it will be interesting to see how many pros start playing them.

It will be fun to watch how these turn out.

The new Burner XD irons have a 17-4 stainless body and a titanium face. The face is supposed to be very thin and have a higher COR than normal irons and they incorporate their inverted cone technology (supposed to be the factor that makes their drivers have a high COR across the entire face).

Taylor Made also said their r7 irons were supposed to have a thin stainless face with inverted cone technology. I think I remember reading a claim of a 7 yard gain in a 5-iron shot. I doubt that was ever proven.

In a Frank Thomas article, the COR of fairway woods was explained. Long story short, he made the point that since a fairway wood face wasn't nearly as large as a driver face, the COR of a driver could virtually never be reached in a fairway wood. He explained that the trampoline effect that enhances COR is a function of the area of the club face. I think COR in irons would be a similar story as fairway woods. He said COR was not a large factor in fairway wood distance.

I wonder if I could find that article. It's probably around a year old or so. Maybe someone has their Golf Digest mags stacked up from recent history.

Well, I know that Frank Thomas is wrong in that regard, then, since Wishon has fairway wood heads that are 0.830 COR today. They even have low profile fairway woods that get to 0.830 (see Tom Wishon Golf Technology ). I know that there is at least one other company reaching the COR limit on their fairway woods today, I think Tour Edge (I'll look for the company I'm thinking of tomorrow), though I suspect that many are pretty darn close today.

That's why it will be very interesting what these irons test at. If they get close, everyone will be titanium in a few years.

Now, how much COR has to do with distance, that is a very fair question. It will be some, but really only a tiny amount, especially when we are talking about something like an 8 iron. Maybe 1/2 to 1 yard? That's just my guess, I don't know for sure. But, has anyone ever turned down extra yards? No one that I've ever known.

TM had this same setup in their r7 XD irons last year. They had the titanium faces and the same lofts. The distances from what players have said were crazy but alot of that I think had to do with the lofts. For instance the PW is 44*.

Callway fusion irons have a titanium face. I used to have a set of those and I don't think they were much longer, if any, than the X-20's I have now. I think the titanium is more about being able to move more weight to the perimeter of the iron because it is not in the face than actually making it longer, more a forgiveness enhancement that distance. Just my .02

mizuno got their mp57s coming out.

And two new drivers...the MX-560 and the MP-600.

Callaway has the fusion forged coming out, which look absolutely awesome

Taylor Made has trademarked the name "sunday red". I would imagine they will sell products next year with the name "sunday red". They already have a driver scheduled for December/January.

My recommendation would be to get fitted and focus more on the shaft of the club than the head. You need to find the right combination of shaft and head that produces the best impact.

Im not sure of anything, but Im looking forward to the new balls nike has to offer

What ball are nike coming out with? I love my one+platinum.