Could a $900 driver be a worthwhile investment?

Golf season is spreading northward across the country. Long afternoons and emergency nines - not to mention summer golf trips - are around the corner.

Club manufacturers and product brands are salivating at the opportunity to turn latent enthusiasm for the game into profit. If you're looking to upgrade, be it with some fresh threads or a $4,500 full set of clubs (we're not judging), here are some ideas.

The all-new XXIO Prime driver, which launches April 14, will certainly raise eyebrows with its premium $899 price tag. The Prime Royal version adds another $300. The XXIO Prime drivers tout elevated power and speed, while maintaining control, thanks to lightweight clubs specifically built for moderate-swing-speed golfers. Between a new rebound frame, lighter face, premium shaft and redistributed weight (deemed Weight-Plus Technology), all the components that promote maximum distance. “This innovative design is created with lighter components in the Driver, Fairways, and Hybrids, delivering more MOI for straighter, more powerful distance," said Chuck Thiry, Vice President of XXIO. "To further help with swing speed, we included Weight Plus Technology, which counterbalances and stabilizes the club, creating a more efficient path, more consistent contact and greater ball speed.” XXIO Prime/Prime Royal Costs: Driver: $899.99-$1,199.99. Fairway Woods: $599.99-$799.99. Hybrids: $419.99-$499.99. Irons: Four Graphite irons: (7-PW) $1,199.99-$2,099.99 (7-SW). - Jason Scott Deegan

There are a lot of loud - sometimes dizzying - golf shirts out there right now (including the over-the-top Tipsy Elves). Stitch, which got its start with headcovers, golf bags and now apparel, leans on refined Raleigh, N.C. roots for its mostly traditional threads, which include lots of stripes and some relatively subdued patterns. Of the two polos I've tested on the course in recent weeks, I am particularly fond of the blue and white Club Stripe ($98), whose light, polyester-and-spandex pique weave I find more breathable than the smoother, denser textile that most poly golf shirts employ. It reminds me of a shirt in my closet by the no-longer-existent Fennec brand, which is five years old but remains a favorite. If you're wanting a little relief on hot days, I recommend this offering from Stitch. - Tim Gavrich

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One of the effects of the explosion in small-label golf merch is that seemingly every region and state is represented. Hailing from Connecticut (go Huskies) but living in Florida, I sometimes feel like a bit of an expatriate. I recently added a bit of New England to my golf bag in the form of a headcover ($89) from ForeWind. Owner Mike Norcia sources used sail canvas to make headcovers and other accessories with a wind-weathered charm. It's a great alternative to the (also wonderful) many wool headcover offerings from other brands, and a great example of repurposing material that might otherwise be discarded.

Accessibility and affordability in golf are closely tied. The USGA's limit on golf clubs a player can carry at a given time is 14 - that's a hefty investment for anyone who is not all-in on taking up the game from the start.

Although the concept dates back decades, all-in-one clubs have historically been relegated to the novelty corner of the golf equipment sector. Enter Q Golf (née Urquhart), a New Zealand-based company that has put serious thought into making a legitimate adjustable. Begun from a KickStarter that raised just over NZ$300,000 (More than $187,000 in American currency), Q Golf's adjustable golf club looks like something that could share space in a sporting goods store with the manufacturers you've heard of.

Having received a club for testing, I am impressed at how the Q Golf club could potentially spark a new golfer's interest. The look of the clubhead is a little wonky to us experienced players, but newbies won't really know the difference. They'll be grateful for the relatively large overall clubhead and easy adjustability. What the club does best is immediately connect a golfer to the sense that touch and feel are crucial parts of the game; gripping up and down the extended grip on the club's 39-inch, high-quality graphite shaft is important for modulating the distance. At $399, it might seem pricy for a club by a smaller brand, but considering it's possible to play an entire round with it, it's not a bad deal at all.

Based purely on my own observation, Skechers have exploded in popularity on the golf course in recent years. As more of a traditionalist golfer, I've always thought they looked a bit too much like sneakers for my liking, even though golfer after golfer I've asked has praised their comfort.

I finally took the plunge recently wearing a pair from its 2023 line of shoes. What intrigued me was not so much the overall Skechers promise of comfort as the Twist Fit closure, an alternative to traditional laces.

I am a big believer in BOA's high-tech, whole-foot-lacing system, and the BOA golf shoes I do own tend to get the most use. To be clear, Twist Fit is not BOA, but the concept is similar: a knob along the shoe that subtly tightens it as you twist clockwise. I like that level of customization.

The rest of the features of the shoe are as advertised, with one unexpected bonus: a stiff heel section that enables the wearer to easily slide their feet into the shoes from a standing position. A sop to golfers of a certain age, for sure, but I also find it provides some nice stability.

Overall, Skechers' GO GOLF Elite 5 Slip-in shoe ($130) is a solid value, well-suited for lengthy range sessions and casual rounds.

One interesting recent entrant to the rangefinder market is the Korea-based CaddyTalk and its new CUBE rangefinder.

In addition to optional slope functions that claim to consider environmental factors, the CUBE offers a truly new feature: triangulation, which the company calls Caddy Mode. With Caddy Mode enabled, you can shoot any two points downrange and the unit will tell you the distance between them. The implication here is that if, say, dreaded cart-path-only rules are in effect, if you're well away from your ball, you can sit in your cart, first shoot your ball, then shoot the pin, and the CUBE will tell you how far apart the two are.

Potentially brilliant in theory. In practice, my personal experience is inconclusive. Having performed several tests where I'll use Caddy Mode from a ways away to triangulate the distance from my ball to the pin, and then shoot the pin while standing next to my ball, I have seen some disagreements in the two numbers. It could be user error at times, where I am not initially capturing my ball properly, and distorting the ultimate results. The manual also says this feature may need to be recalibrated at times. That seems a little cumbersome, but keep in mind this feature is in its relative infancy compared to the features that come standard on rangefinders these days

Otherwise, there is a lot to like about the CUBE, especially its impressively diminutive size and no-frills, industrial look. It also uses USB-C charging, so you won't need to buy pricy CR2 batteries for it. With a full charge, the company claims it lasts 10,000 shots, which should get even the most avid players through months between re-charges. The unit comes with a nice protective case, and protective silicone skins for the rangefinder itself are also sold separately.

At $350, the CUBE is well-priced considering its almost dizzying range of features. All those modes mean a little bit of a learning curve, but a tech-savvy golfer should really enjoy deploying its bells and whistles.

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