Rickie Fowler Puma hi-tops pay tribute to Arnold Palmer

Anyone else get caught out by the false dawn of spring this week?

I woke up on Thursday morning, the sun was shining, I put a t-shirt on and headed to work with the intention of playing a few holes at lunchtime.

Between the car park and the first tee, I was forced to add two further layers as the biting Yorkshire wind wiped the early golf season optimism off my face.

My week actually started with a trip to Tour X in Wigan as four NCG competition winners were given the ultimate tour experience with a Nippon shaft fitting.

Thanks again to @TourXNick for hosting our @NipponShaft reader day. A truly superb facility with significant gains made by all our readers ? pic.twitter.com/spu3HZSLUW

— James Savage (@JamesSavageNCG) March 13, 2017

It’s a fantastic place for gear perverts and, whatever your ability level, I’d recommend getting your clubs fitted by Nick Hibbs and his team. You can find out how our readers got on here.

As I returned to the office, I noticed my ‘gear to test’ pile had grown a bit so stay tuned for plenty of reviews over the coming weeks.

Gear

There was also a healthy selection of new gear releases in my inbox so read on to find out what’s coming to a pro shop near you soon…

Rickie Fowler Puma hi-tops inspired by The King

These probably wont be coming to a pro shop near you but they are more than worthy of a mention here.

Only two pairs of these eye-catching shoes have been made in honour of the late Arnie.

Fowler is wearing one pair at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and he’s signed the second pair to be auctioned to raise money for the Arnie’s Army Charitable Foundation – and you can place a bid on the Cobra website.

Wilson DX golf balls

Wilson Staff’s golf ball line-up for 2017 includes three models – with different balls for different needs.

The two-piece DX2 (£19.99) is one of the lowest-compression balls on the market at 29. Wilson say it offers low spin off the tee.

With the 35-compression DX3 Spin (£24.99) expect similar distance and soft feel characteristics as the DX2 Soft but with more greenside control and spin.

Wilson’s premium offering is the DX3 Urethane (£29.99) which has a soft feel thanks to the Urethane cover and 55 compression.

More information can be found on the Wilson website.

Zoom gloves

Do you struggle to get the right fit when it comes to your golf glove?

If so then the new ‘one size fits all’ range from Zoom could be worth a look.

There are three models: Tour (£19.99), Grip (£14.99), and Weather (£11.99)

More details on the Zoom website.

Shot Scope game-tracking app now live

GPS brand Shot Scope have launched mobile apps for iPhone and Android that let users to upload data from their Shot Scope wristband immediately after play directly to their mobile device via Bluetooth.

The apps break the game down into sections, including club distances, tee shots, approaches, short game and putting, to help golfer identify their strengths and weaknesses.

The Shot Scope wristband senses every shot and the club that was used by communicating with tags in the grips.

More details on the Shot Scope website.