Golf Pride has released three new models for 2010, including a revamped Tour Wrap 2G. The classic Tour Wrap has been a pillar of the Golf Pride range for 20 years, and the company says the updated model will provide improved tackiness and greater softness. The one-piece grip is designed to combine the look and feel of leather with the durability and performance of high-tack rubber, and it is available in Black, Red and White.

Australian leather grip specialist The Grip Master launched its John Daly Range of kangaroo stitchback grips in 2009. Available in swing and putter models, the premium JD Range comes in Mustard, Off Yellow, Green, Hot Red and Blue.

“They are great in all weather as they get stickier if it’s wet, and their durability is incredible,” John Daly tells SGB Golf. “I am hoping I won’t have to change my grips for about eight years, whereas until now I have been changing my grips about once a month.”

The half-cord, dual-compound Pro DC is designed to offer great feel and high performance. The grip is made from an exclusive 4/3 compound with a view to providing both torsional strength in the upper hand, and a softer, velvety feel for the lower hand. The Pro DC comes in Black with one of four colours: Gold, White, Red and Blue, size 0.6 and it weighs 51 grams.

Softspikes has leapt into an entirely new product category by launching the new Black Widow grips for 2010. The range of five all-weather grips has been designed to maintain tackiness when wet, and they are made from rubber compounds that are designed to manage moisture so they do not dry out. The Signature grip (pictured) is made from a dual-compound with a view to providing enhanced feel at the fingertip points. It comes in Black/White, Black/Red and White/Black.

New from Lamkin for 2010, the N-Dur grips are made from Lamkin’s 3Gen proprietary synthetic rubber compound, which combines with a dual surface design. The back of the grip features a hexagon pattern panel which is designed to promote light grip tension while protecting the hands from slipping at impact, while the front of the grip features a ‘comfort’ panel, with a view to reducing fatigue and to promote the ideal grip position.

Introduced last year, the Pro Light is the lightest if the 2Thumb grips, weighing 75 grams, in comparison to the Light grip at 148 grams and the original 2Thumb grip, at 180 grams. The Light grip is perhaps best suited to the better player, or golfers accustomed to playing on very quick greens. The 2Thumb grips are designed for golfers to putt with their hands next to each other and level, which keeps the shoulders straight, with a view to encouraging a straight putting stroke.

The multi-layer Feeltec Putter Grips feature a soft and seamless PU outer layer wrap with a view to providing excellent feel and traction, and low torque. The all-weather grips come in a variety of models, colours and sizes, including Standard Pistol, Standard Paddle, Midsize Pistol, Marble and Hawaiian.

The Purple/Black New Decade Multi-compound grip is an additional colourway for the existing New Decade series, which also comes in White, Red, Sky Blue, Blue, Yellow, Orange, and Green. The New Decade combines rubber for the lower hand, with a view to providing comfort and responsiveness, with Golf Pride’s exclusive ‘Black Velvet’ cord section for the upper hand, designed for moisture management and traction.

The new, tip-balanced Proforce AXIVCore Tour Green is intended to provide a lower ball flight, reduced spin and better shot-making control. The shaft’s centre of gravity is closer to the tip to give golfers a better feel of clubhead position throughout the swing. UST Mamiya says the Green series is made from ‘superior high modulus carbon fibre’ in the butt and mid section, and the shaft is available in multiple weights and flexes.

Nippon Shaft’s new NS Pro WV wedge shaft is one of a number of Nippon models played on tour around the globe. Japanese-owned Nippon Shaft takes great pride in its ‘zero defect’ policy, and according to Nippon, such quality control and consistency has enabled the brand to become the number-one steel shaft in Asia with over 80% of the market, while the company is ranked number two in North America and Europe.

The GS 95 is a lightweight steel shaft designed to offer golfers a high ball flight and ‘graphite feel’. Created for golfers of all abilities, True Temper promises the GS 95 will deliver stability and consistency, and its Speed Step design features a ‘responsive’ tip with a view to increasing launch angle and peak trajectory. The GS 95 is available in parallel irons and tapered irons models, with stiff and regular flexes for each.

The Tour Series was engineered with what KBS calls ‘moment of inertia analysis’, with a view to increasing stability. The mass and radius of each step of the shafts are reduced in equal proportions along the length of the shaft’s centre line, which should result in efficient energy transfer from the hands through to the clubhead. The Tour Series is available in chrome and also with a Black Nickel finish.

The new Project X puts Grafalloy’s Zonal Design Theory into practice. Available as a driver and hybrid shaft, Project X is built with three distinct zones: Hex-Axial Reinforcement in the butt section is intended to provide excellent cross-sectional stability; Constant Taper Design in the mid section should eliminate localised bending; while Elongated Double Wrapped 55MSI Reinforcement should give a firmer tip section. The results should be penetrating launch and low spin.

The Voodoo remains current for Aldila, with a new addition to its range due in 2010. The Voodoo features S-core – or ‘stabilised core’ – which consists of a high-modulus carbon stabilisation rib running the length of the shaft, with a view to bolstering the shaft’s ‘hoop strength’ by 80% over conventional graphite. Aldila says this leads to less ‘ovaling’ during the swing, which gives better energy transfer into the golf ball.

The Attas International Series ISA-1000 is designed to provide excellent feel and energy transfer. UST Mamiya claims these constant-taper graphite shafts are made with ‘world-class quality precision’, and with the collaboration of UST’s Japanese and US engineers. Designed for a mid to high launch and made with a responsive tip, the ISA-1000 features a stiff mid section profile and stabilised butt section.

The ‘SL’ stands for ‘Super Light’, and True Temper says this shaft is 20% lighter than standard steel shafts (it weighs 106 grams, in comparison to the 128-gram Dynamic Gold, with a trimmed weight of under 100 grams). True Temper promises that the tip of the SL has the same strength as the original Dynamic Gold thanks to advances in the company’s proprietary ‘superlite alloy technology’.