Gear Smart

U.S. Open week is here! Ryan previews this week's gear news before chatting with Callaway's Sr. Director of Golf Ball R&D, Eric Loper, about their design philosophy, their investment in ball R&D, utilizing AI and more.

The PGA TOUR is in Ryan's backyard this week at the RBC Canadian Open. He stopped by TPC Toronto to check out what's in players bags and finally got to check out the new GTS proto fairway wood in person. Then he dives into why players utilize lead tape on their irons, and the trend of mallets winning on tour.

Ryan dives into the success of mallet's on tour and why more players are leaning into alignment technology from tee to green. He also shares why if you're looking for new irons, an older set might be more valuable for your game than the latest releases. Then Ryan chats with Titleist's Sr. Manager of Golf Ball Product Management, Michael Fish, to discuss the evolution of golf ball alignment preferences, why players are focused on alignment precision and their advancements in research and technology.

Ryan dives into Jacob Bridgeman's unique practice routine, discusses if it's worthwhile to practice with less forgiving clubs, and dives into listener questions from Instagram and the Gear Smart Hot Line. If you have a gear question for Ryan, leave him a message at 747-224-1868 ☎️

Ryan breaks down the newest equipment of the week then dives into the PGA Championship and what winner Aaron Rai has in the bag. He's also breaking down the practice routine of tour pros and answers a listener question on how players are winning with older drivers without them becoming non-conforming.

It's a major week with MAJOR gear news. Titleist's new GTS line is officially available for fittings, so Ryan sat down with Sr. VP of Golf Club R&D Chuck Golden and Director of Metalwood Product Stephanie Luttrell to dive into everything you need to know behind the design process.

Ryan discusses the new gear releases of the week, including the McLaren Series 3 irons and the Titleist Mini Driver, then dives into the LIV Golf vs. PGA TOUR debate and what LIV's financial status could mean for players in the future. Enter for a chance to win a trip for two to the American Century Championshio in Lake Tahoe this July by visiting fujikuragolf.com/acc! Use the code "GEARSMART" for an extra entry.

Ryan dives into McLaren Golf's new tour pro ambassadors, then breaks down Nelly Korda's dominant win at at the Chevron Championship–and what you can learn from her irons for your next fitting. He then talks about the newest spring releases in equipment and answers your questions from the Gear Smart Hotline. Make sure to follow the Gear Smart Instagram account for more equipment news from Ryan!

Patrick Dewar, Titleist's Associate Tour Consultant for Ball Performance, joins this week's episode to discuss the ball testing process, fitting tour pros, how to find the right balance between short game feel and ball flight, Cameron Young's switch into the Double Dot and more. Presented by Titleist.

We're back after an exciting week at the Masters! Ryan dives into the club changes this week at RBC Heritage, new releases and debates the question– are there just too many golf clubs on the market?

It's MASTERS week and we're talking all things gear ahead of the action at Augusta National. Ryan is joined by Golf WRX's Club Junkie, Brian Knudson, to talk gear changes to watch for, dark horse picks and the one thing holding Bryson back.

Ryan kicks off this week's episode breaking down Gary Woodland's incredible win at the Texas Children's Houston Open and why his equipment fits his game so well. Then he takes a deep dive into the best golf bags on the market, and why a "perfect" golf bag doesn't exist.

Ryan dives into a surprise Titleist announcement this past Sunday and what we know so far about their new GTS line of drivers and fairway woods. He also touches on Bryson DeChambeau's win with Bettinardi wedges, Fujikura's new blue profile and a recent Barath's Bargain Bin find. Then he's joined by TaylorMade's James Holley to talk about the success of their Spider putter, working with players like Tommy Fleetwood and more.

Ryan dives into The PLAYERS Championship and the "off-menu" hybrid in Cam Young's bag that helped him win, and how it can help you too. Then he chats with Cleveland's Tour Engineering Manager Patrick Ripp about wedge design, working with players and the process of bringing products from concept to testing and retail.

Ryan is fresh from a few days at TPC Sawgrass ahead of THE PLAYERS Championship talking about the gear changes tour pros made ahead of the tournament, visiting all the tour trucks, the surprising reason Justin Thomas put some old clubs in the bag and more.

On this week's episode, Ryan sits down with Callaway Golf's Jacob Davidson, VP of Global Tours, and Brian Williams, VP of R&D to chat about driver face technology, Chrome Tour golf balls, developing protypes, and how they're leaning into equipment that can help golfers blend their bags. Ryan also dives into the announcement of McLaren Golf, including the big names from the industry that are involved. Presented by Callaway Golf.

Vokey Director of Wedge Development Kevin Tassistro joins this week's episode of Gear Smart to chat about their new SM11s, the process of designing wedges, how they're constantly improving their technology and more. Ryan also talks about Jacob Bridgeman's win at the Genesis Invitational, the unique gear set up he has in his bag, and the Spider putter's hot streak on TOUR.

There were some big gear changes at Pebble Beach last week that proved successful. Ryan breaks down Collin Morikawa's winning new putter, Min Woo Lee's swap to a TRTL and more. Then he dives into the new Blackout collection from Srixon, LA Golf's direct-to-consumer rumors, and other gear news of the week.

Coming off his switch to cavity back irons, Rory McIlroy is back in blades at Pebble Beach. Ryan breaks down what it means and what the biggest differences are for Rory. Then he chats about more new mini drivers and answers a controversial Q&A from the gear Hotline.

Ryan breaks down Justin Rose's equipment free-agent win at Torrey Pines, previews gear changes ahead of WM Phoenix Open and shares more about week testing new clubs of 2026. Then he's joined by Andy Hennis of New Level Golf, to talk about club design, their player-driven design philosophy, forged wedges and more.

Ahead of Brooks Koepka =PGA TOUR return this week, Ryan breaks down what he's got in his bag–including a very old Nike club. Then Ryan chats about Scottie Scheffler's 20th PGA TOUR win, including why he keeps going back to an old reliable driver. And big news this week–TaylorMade has sued Callaway about a video using UV light to show disparities between golf balls. Ryan shares what you need to know.

It's PGA Show week, so Ryan breaks down all the new gear that's dropping, including the Titleist SM11s, and chats about Chris Gotterup's win in Hawaii using the new Bridgestone ball. Then Rob Hogan aka Speed Golf Rob joins Ryan to talk about his journey into the game, trying to play professionally, the differences in walking golf and speed golf, putting together a speed golf bag, and how it changed his game forever.

Ryan is diving into more equipment hitting the USGA conforming list, including a new PING mini driver. Then he breaks down Cobra's new OPTM line, the PXG Gen 8 irons, and fresh equipment contracts in play at the Sony Open before answering a question from the Gear Smart Hotline. Have a question for Ryan? Give him a call at 747-224-1868.

Ryan breaks down the fresh 2026 launches of the week, including Mizuno irons, drivers, and putters, TaylorMade's Qi4D driver, and the Titleist ProV1x Left Dash. Then he brings back Ryan's bargain bin, and answers questions from the listener hot line. If you have a gear question for Ryan, leave him a message at 747-224-1868 ☎️

Ryan wraps up gear news in 2025 and answers YOUR questions from our new listener hot line! Do you have a gear question for Ryan? Give him a call at 747-224-1868 ☎️

Gear heads, rejoice! Ryan is joined this week by the Club Junkie himself, Brian Knudson of GolfWRX to chat about the year's new clubs, trends on TOUR, and more. Have a gear question for Ryan? Our Gear Smart hotline is now open! Give him a call at 747-224-1868 and he might answer your question on the next episode!

Ryan breaks down new equipment at the Australian Open and Hero World Challenge then dives into new drivers that hit the conforming list, PXG's Lightning Series launch and explains why club technology is so important.

We're going back-to-back weeks to talk about all the latest in golf equipment as brands are dropping gift-friendly items. Then Ryan breaks down the gear of the year and shares a fun new toy he's got in the workshop.

The new 2026 releases are slowing starting to appear in the bags of players. Ryan breaks down new TaylorMade and Ping drivers spotted in Abu Dhabi and the latest in equipment drops.

Ryan dives into the equipment implications of The Sentry's cancellation, the latest gear releases from this past week, and an epic haul of used clubs from his trip to the desert.

Ryan dives into the details of the latest drops in golf gear and answers your questions.

Ryan is joined by Fujikura tour rep Marshall Thompson to chat about the Ventus line, product development, their major success this year and more.

Ryan Barath is joined by St Andrew's only independent club fitter Adam Legg to talk about how he got into the industry, the expectations people should have for putter fittings, why he went from club building to fittings, and the time he almost burned down the St Andrews workshop.

Ryan dives into Tommy Fleetwood's breakthrough PGA TOUR win at the TOUR Championship before being joined by Callaway's Zack Oakley to discuss iron and wedge development, the trend of high-lofted fairway woods and more.

Ryan Barath dives into Cameron Young's Wyndham Championship victory using a prototype Titleist ball before chatting with Matt Bovee, TaylorMade's Global Category Director of Irons, to discuss his role, the new MG5 wedges, forged vs. cast, groove design, testing with players and more.

Ryan sits down with Titleist Director of Iron Development Marni Ines to talk about the new T-Series line, creating irons that merge technology and aesthetics, the challenges of making great clubs better, how he got into the golf industry after an engineering career, and watching Cam Davis hit a 3-iron 172 feet high in the air.

Ryan breaks down his two weeks across the pond, including his golf trip in Scotland and the Open Championship before chatting with TaylorMade Director of Product Creation, Andrew Oldknow, about the company's innovation, the Spider putter, their Grand Slam winning fairway wood and more.

Callaway Golf Global Director Brand and Product Management of Golf Balls and Packaged Sets Jason Finley joins this week's episode to chat with Ryan about golf ball development over the years, increases in visual technology in balls and more.

Golf broadcaster, podcaster, and author Shane Bacon joins this week's episode of Gear Smart to chat about being a lefty, playing baseball as a righty, caddying at the Old Course for a summer after college, tinkering with clubs, old school drivers, the first big club purchase he made and more.

This week Ryan opens the show discussing the many new releases from this week in gear, including Cobra's Chipotle Collab, new Wilson Wedges, and more. Then its a deep dive on questions sent in from listeners.

Ryan breaks down Bryson's unique irons used during the PGA Championship, dives into Titleist's sneak peek of their latest T-series irons debuting on tour this week, and chats with Callaway Tour Content Manager Johnny Thompson on all things gear.

R&D veteran Jeff Sheets joins Ryan Barath on this week's episode to discuss building clubs, driver designs, playing with blades and more.

Nico Darras of Golf Blueprint joins Ryan on this week's episode to talk about their shared loved for gear, how he got into the game, the proper way to get fit for clubs, and how a study on golfers' central nervous systems helped him improve his players' practice and performance.

Ryan chats with Titleist golf ball R&D expert Courtney Engle and Golf Ball R&D Project Manager Doug Jones about ball flight, testing, spin axis, materials and more.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Skratch's Gear Smart, a golf gear and equipment-focused podcast intended to help make you smarter about your equipment to help you make informed decisions on the golf course, in your next fitting, or when you're looking to fill that next spot in your bag.To kick off this new series, host Ryan Barath - Skratch's Gear Editor offers up some background on himself and what the show is all about and answers a couple of listener-submitted questions.