As the 2025 PGA Show – golf’s annual trade show that brings together much of the world’s new golf equipment, apparel and accessories under one roof in Orlando – came to a close this morning, it was evident that the industry is in a very healthy position. Attendees I spoke with were not only excited to see all of the new gear and clothing styles for 2025, but many were buying the goods to sell in their pro shops. And that’s great for golfers everywhere, who perpetually seek out the latest and greatest items to help them negotiate their favorite courses in the least amount of strokes.

As I walked the aisles, I couldn’t help but be struck by all of the technology that’s now in place. While I haven’t watched the new TGL indoor golf events on TV for more than a few minutes at a time, I realize that more than ever the concept of alternatives to playing real golf courses outside is being pushed heavily. And that means plenty of companies selling indoor simulators, artificial putting greens with putt path projections from overhead, launch monitors (portable and large), ball tracking systems and devices, solar-powered GPS handheld units, laser rangefinders with amazing accuracy were all on full display here. Like most people, I prefer to play golf the traditional way. But for people in cold-weather climates, or limited time, or those who can only play after dark, going to teched-out ranges or playing 18 on an indoor golf simulator are viable ways to keep their swing grooved while having fun. So I’m all for that. And that’s clearly a direction companies are catering to with their latest products. Even this show had its annual indoor driving range that extends maybe 40 yards into a hitting net. But PGA Pros I spoke with about it said that’s actually enough of a distance for the ball to travel to let you know how well you hit it and what kind of ball flight it would’ve been, had the ball traveled its full distance.

One of the other things I noticed people chatting about was club adjustability getting even more intricate. With many drivers and fairway woods – and now hybrids – you can take a wrench and adjust the loft of the club, as well as the lie angle in a limited but effective way. Now with Cobra Golf’s Futurefit33 adjustabie hosel system on its new DS-Adapt club line, you can pretty much zero in on your exact desired ball flight. There’s even a phone app that comes with it, to help the process. I’ve tried it, and it’s fairly easy. Of course, the downside is when the ball doesn’t go where I want it now, I cannot blame it on the club.

What else can golfers expect to see in the pro shop this year? The clubs collectively look a little sleeker and more stealthy, and aim to help keep the ball moving straight and far. They should help minimize the severity of your misses, which is no small engineering feat. Titleist debuted the latest Pro V1 and Pro V1x balls that have now been out on fairways for 25 years. I asked one of the brand’s ball team members how much better they perform than the originals, and he said nobody has actually asked that before. But essentially, the latest models are faster and longer, they have deeper dimples that help them fly much better, the ball flight has a tighter dispersion to find the fairway more often, the consistency is superior, and the spin is much more optimized. Of course, it’s all incrementally gotten that way with updates every other year since the originals were introduced. Every brand has new ball models out for 2025, and I can’t wait to try all of them.

Bottom line here is that any of the new club or ball models emerging this year may well help improve your game, one way or the other. The fun part is the process of playing golf with all of it to see which ones are your favorites.