Gear Smart
Episodes
McLaren Golf is here, what you can learn from Nelly's irons and new spring releases
30 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Talking Titleist Ball Fitting with Patrick Dewar
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Patrick Dewar, Titleist's Associate Tour Consultant for Ball Performance, joins this week's episode to discuss the ball testing process, fitting tour ...
RBC Chat and asking the question- are there too many golf clubs?
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Talking Masters with Club Junkie's Brian Knudson!
08 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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, ...
A deep dive into the BEST golf bags
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 ga...
Titleist's surprise GTS drop and talking TaylorMade Spider success with James Holley
26 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 al...
Cam Young's Secret Hybrid & talking with Cleveland Tour Engineering Manager Patrick Ripp
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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.T...
Gear changes from big names at THE PLAYERS
13 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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,...
Diving into Callaway Golf's latest driver face tech, Chrome Tour balls, and more with Jacob Davidson and Brian Williams
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 abou...
Talking Vokey Wedges and Design with Titleist's Kevin Tassistro
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Vokey Director of Wedge Development Kevin Tassistro joins this week's episode of Gear Smart to chat about their new SM11s, the process of designin...
Collin Morikawa's winning new putter, Srixon's Blackout line and more gear changes of the week
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Back to blades for Rory at Pebble + More Mini drivers, and a controversial Q&A
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 differ...
Talking club design with New Level Golf's Andy Hennis
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 tes...
Brooks is back, Scottie Wins again, and answering your questions on gear
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 abo...
Speed Golf Rob on his adventure into speed golf and how it changed his game
22 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 w...
Talking Cobra OPTM, PXG Irons, Equipment Contracts, plus another mailbag question
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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, ...
Mizuno, TaylorMade and more new releases of 2026
07 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan breaks down the fresh 2026 launches of the week, including Mizuno irons, drivers, and putters, TaylorMade's Qi4D driver, and the Titleist Pro...
Q&A from the all new listener line and more to end 2025
01 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 74...
Chatting 2025 gear trends with GolfWRX Club Junkie Brian Knudson
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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,...
New drivers hit the conforming list and why club technology matters
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Lightni...
Discussing Gear of the Year and this week's newest releases
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ge...
New Drivers Galore! TaylorMade and Ping debut news clubs in Abu Dhabi
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
From new to old: this week's gear releases and breaking down a used club haul
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Catching up on the latest gear drops and answering YOUR questions
10 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan dives into the details of the latest drops in golf gear and answers your questions.
Talking Ventus, and tour product development with Fujikura's Marshall Thompson
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan is joined by Fujikura tour rep Marshall Thompson to chat about the Ventus line, product development, their major success this year and more.
All things gear with St Andrews' only agnostic club fitter Adam Legg
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 sh...
Talking Callaway Iron and Wedge development with Zack Oakley
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan dives into Tommy Fleetwood's breakthrough PGA TOUR win at the TOUR Championship before being joined by Callaway's Zack Oakley to discuss ...
Cameron Young wins with proto ball and talking MG5 with TaylorMade’s Matt Bovee
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Barath dives into Cameron Young's Wyndham Championship victory using a prototype Titleist ball before chatting with Matt Bovee, TaylorMade's Glob...
Going Deep with Titleist’s Own “Iron Man” Marni Ines
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 aes...
Scotland Golf Trip Download and Talking TaylorMade's Grand Slam Winning Fairway Woods
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan breaks down his two weeks across the pond, including his golf trip in Scotland and the Open Championship before chatting with TaylorMade Director...
Talking Golf Balls and the Rise of Visual technology With Callaway's Jason Finley
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ab...
Justice for lefty golfers, caddying at the Old Course and club building with Shane Bacon
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 rig...
Listener Q&A Deep Dive and New Product Wrap Up
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 m...
Brysons Irons, New Titleist’s Debut and talking shop with Callaway's Johnny Thompson
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
Gear Smart Episode 4: Talking gear with club designer Jeff Sheets
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
R&D veteran Jeff Sheets joins Ryan Barath on this week's episode to discuss building clubs, driver designs, playing with blades and more.
Gear Smart Episode 3: Nico Darras of Golf Blueprint
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 wa...
Gear Smart Ep 2: Talking Golf Balls with Titleist R&D
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ax...
Welcome to Gear Smart
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 equip...