It can be reported that Qod was launched at Harrogate, but some clarification is required: Qod Golf was denied a stand at the show because it is yet to be tested by TGI and Foremost, but not to be denied, UK distributor Links SRP set-up a showroom across the road from the Golf Show, in the St George Hotel. Qod banners hung proud on railings facing the main entrance to the show, and Links SRP director Stuart Horne was delighted with the response.

The steady growth of Belfast-based MD Golf looks set to continue in 2012, thanks in part to the launch of the latest generation of its core Superstrong product, ST2 Featuring a new driver, fairway woods, hybrids and irons, MD Golf’s new Superstrong ST2 range - which starts arriving at UK retail in mid-September - is a sure sign of continued progress for the leading mid-market brand.

New Foremost website

Buying Group Foremost has launched a new website for use by its members. The new site will give members immediate access to view the information such as ‘best terms’ with suppliers, a best practice education section and also a Personal Signage Solution.

FootJoy has launched the FJ XPS-1, with the ‘XPS’ standing for ‘Xtreme Platform Stability’. Designed to be athletic, while providing exceptional support, stability and comfort, the XPS-1 is due to arrive at retail in its first colour scheme of White and Black in December, with an RRP of £195, while two more colourways are scheduled to arrive at retail in January 2012.

With a new and re-invigorated sales effort in the UK market, a comprehensive Autumn/Winter Collection from Chervo features the Masena waterproof jacket - Already established as one of the leading premium, golf and lifestyle brands in so many European markets, Italian giant Chervo is now making significant strides into the ultra-competitive golf apparel market in the UK, under the leadership of UK agent Tim Greenwood.

Links Sports Retail Partnerships has been appointed the UK and Ireland distributor for the 5-Hour Energy shot. While 5-Hour Energy shots have not been widely available in the UK until now, new distributor Links SRP claims it is the ‘number-one’ energy shot in the world, selling nearly 1.5 million bottles a day worldwide.

Motocaddy has become the first trolley manufacturer to offer golfers a replacement Lithium battery for use on any powered trolley, by taking a shareholding in LitePower batteries for 18 and 36 holes

Prazza goes global

Availability of the Prazza golf ball-tracking device has extended beyond Europe and into the United States and Japan, via the par72.co.jp and intheholegolf.com online retailers. The Prazza device and two micro-chipped balls retail for £210.

On May 30, an international TV audience in over 30 countries would have enjoyed seeing the underdog Caroline Hedwall, a rising star on the Ladies European Tour, upstage Ryder Cup golfers such as Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey – on the very Celtic Manor course where Europe won the Ryder Cup last year, no less.

The Quintic Consultancy, led by putting and biomechanics specialist Dr Paul Hurrion, has launched its latest generation of putting analysis software

The Quintic Consultancy has revealed its latest Ball Roll Putting Analysis Software, which allows each element of the roll of a golf ball to be summarised graphically and numerically in a way that the company claims was previously only available for full swing analysis software for irons and woods.

Calvin Klein Golf has become the first company to incorporate Thermo°cool technology into golf apparel, as developed by fibre specialist Advansa

Calvin Klein is launching a new base layer range as part of its Autumn Winter 2011/12 collection, featuring Thermo°cool fabric developed by Advansa. The Thermo°cool yarn has been created specifically for the sports market, with a view to regulating body temperature.

Titleist marks the 10th anniversary of the ProV1 by launching what it calls the ‘most technically advanced Pro V1 and Pro V1x’ yet

Titleist is hoping it can build on its market-leading position in the ball market by revamping the ProV1 and ProV1x for 2011.

Continuing its tradition of producing innovative putters, Ping has launched the Karsten 1959 series, in tribute to the year company founder, the late Karsten Solheim, made his very first Ping putter.

Callaway claims it is setting a new benchmark as it breaks into the GPS market with the introduction of its uPro GPS device

Callaway launched its new uPro GPS device into the UK market on June 15. The uPro GPS comes in BasicMode with an RRP of £299, with ProMode options available at extra cost.

Feeltec is telling golfers it is time to ‘putt the feel back’, with a range of putter grips split into three series: EX, Marble and Hawaiian.

Hi-Tec is launching the new Patriot golf shoe for the UK market this spring, sporting the Scottish Saltire. The Scotland shoe has been created with a view to this year’s 150th anniversary of the Open, to be celebrated at St Andrews on Scotland’s east coast.

“Scots are also always proud to don their national flag, and with the Open being held at St Andrews, visitors from all over the globe will flock to the ‘Home of Golf’,” Keith Dicker, Hi-Tec’s European golf sales manager, tells SGB Golf. “With consumers in this buoyant mood, this gives retailers a pocket of opportunity to pick up incremental business, something they could all do with given the economic climate recently.”

Cleveland promises its new HB3 irons are ‘lighter, faster and longer’ than any previous Cleveland hybrid irons sets. Scheduled for retail delivery from April 1, the new clubs feature a new sole design, with a view to enhancing forgiveness, and Cleveland says the transition from cavity-back irons into hybrids is seamless.

“The HB3 is the ultimate game improvement set of irons,” Ben Davis, Cleveland’s UK/Northern Europe marketing manager, tells SGB Golf. “More and more golfers are realising the benefit of replacing their traditional harder-to-hit irons with hybrids. Put simply, the HB3 irons help make the game easier and more enjoyable for golfers.”

Tour Edge has modified its Exotics XCG irons to create the new XCG-3, with larger clubheads, a new Dual Density Dampening System (3DS) and thinner clubface, with a view to providing improved feel, forgiveness and shot distance. The new clubs are scheduled for UK retail delivery in March.

Complementing the Exotics XCG-3 series of drivers, fairway woods and hybrids, and also the CB3 Tour woods, which are all new for this year, Tour Edge president David Glod describes the XCG-3 iron as a club “that performs like a cavity back and feels like a blade”.

Galvin Green claims to have taken moisture management to a new level with its new and exclusive use of Ventil8 fabric, which is designed to allow moisture to evaporate twice as fast as conventional polyester. The Swedish brand, renowned for its adept use of fabric technology and clean designs, has produced a range of ergonomically designed Ventil8 shirts for its 2010 Cool Collection, incorporating five men’s models and one for ladies.

Ventil8 fabric has been formulated to evaporate moisture rapidly by spreading sweat over a wider area of fabric than other polyesters, enabling moisture to vaporise faster.

You have heard it before and you will certainly hear it again, but Callaway is claiming it has built a new driver that features the largest sweetspot of any titanium driver the company has ever produced. It is called the Diablo Edge.

The company says the key to the new technology is a new precision manufacturing technique that allows Callaway to mill specific areas of the back of the Hyperbolic Cup Face. Unwanted material from the back of the clubface can be removed thanks to an acid chemical reduction process, and Callaway says the result is consistently high speeds for balls struck from all areas of the face.

Wilson Golf has launched a range of women’s equipment so extensive that a new sub-brand has been established: Wilson Staff for Women.

Designed for the committed female golfer, the range includes the Shockwave HL driver, Di9 irons (pictured), FYbrid HS hybrids and the 8885 putter.

MD Golf has extended its line of Superstrong woods for 2010 with a pair of ‘Fairway Finders'

MD Golf has added a pair of clubs it calls the ‘Fairway Finders' to its Superstrong line of woods for 2010. The new clubs are designed to fill the gap between 3-wood and driver.

While adidas is building on its heritage of producing technical and athletic apparel for Spring Summer 2010, one of the brand's three collections is taking on a more subtle and sophisticated tone; the adiPure collection has been designed to combine technology with a simple, unfussy look, to compliment the ‘3-stripes' and ‘Formotion' collections.

We have an intriguing situation with Ping's latest drivers, the G15 and i15. G15 is stepping into the shoes of the UK's best-selling driver of 2008, the G10, so the G15 has a lot to live up to as it is, but we also have the unknown quantity of the new, mean driving machine that is i15. This club is not replacing a previous Ping model, but following the success of Ping's i10 irons, the new driver is part of a new and expanded i15 range.

As the 138th Open Championship approaches, it seems hard to believe that 25 years have passed since Seve Ballesteros stole past Tom Watson to win the 1984 Open at St Andrews. The people who brought you MD Golf's Seve Ballesteros Icon range of equipment have again collaborated with the Spanish legend to produce a commemorative set.

Never Compromise is the American brand that's mantra is to ‘Never make excuses' and ‘Never stop pursuing perfection', and, more than likely, golfers will Never have seen see anything quite like their new NCX-Ray putters, which begin shipping on June 15.

PGA professional Ian Melville claims to have invented a training aid that will help golfers hone the perfect pendulum putting stroke; the CentreCup.

Orka Golf is establishing itself as hardware custom-fit specialists, and from April the company's offering will extend to putters with the launch of its SGS (Short Game Specialists) ‘boutique brand'.