The 2017 Staunchie Awards
Latest > The 2017 GolfPunk Reader Awards Results
Jan 24th, 2018
The 2017 GolfPunk Reader Awards Results
Who won all the Equipment & Fashion Staunchies????
Words: GolfPunk Readers
The results are in. Who have you chosen to honour from the top equipment, moments and personalities from the last 12 months golfing action? Thank you all for voting in your thousands!! Dive on in to find out...
1) Driver Of The Year 2017
The driver market was dominated by Callaway and TaylorMade in 2017 but you have a clear winner with the TaylorMade M2 which grabbed 29% of the votes compared to Callaway Epic GBB/Epic Sub Zero. Ping and Titleist also made good showings but the M2 is the GolfPunk Driver Of The Year 2017.
Click here for the Top 10 Drivers for 2018
2) Better Player Irons Of The Year
Mizuno increase their reputation for creating beautiful looking, high-performance clubs for pros and low handicappers as they culled 34% of your votes. I mean, just look at the MP-18... it's Drool Central...
Click here for the Top 6 Blades for 2018
3) Mid-handicapper Irons Of The Year
Wow, this was close, but the winner of the 2017 GolfPunk Mid-Handicapper Irons Of The Year is... Ping G400. Between Ping and Mizuno, they cornered 47% of the vote. PXG will be encouraged with taking a decent slice of the vote also.
4) Fairway Wood Of The Year
What a year for TaylorMade as they walk away with the GolfPunk Staunchie for Fairway Wood Of The Year, with 36% of your votes. Ping G400 & Callaway Epic/Epic Sub Zero cornered 30% of the vote between them but nothing was getting near the TaylorMade M2.
5) Hybrid Of The Year
Did I say that TaylorMade had a great year in 2017? Well, shut my mouth, put the cat out and double lock the pantry doors,... they've only gone and done a 'woods-clean-sweep' in the Staunchies!! Yes, indeed, the TaylorMade M2 family just keeps getting prettier as you guys voted the hybrid in as this year's winner. 31% of the vote was enough to see TM cruise to another victory. The Ping G400 family continues to impress as they picked up 18% of the vote and there was a strong showing for the Cobra F7.
TaylorMade twist the script with the new M3 & M4 Drivers
6) Putter Of The Year
This is no surprise as the TaylorMade Spider Tour was the talk of the pro ranks in 2017. Scotty Cameron and Odyssey were always going to be in the mix but with the likes of Jason Day and world number one Dustin Johnson using the Spider and rolling the ball in for fun, it's no wonder you have declared the 2017 Putter Of the Year to be... TaylorMade Spider Tour. Elsewhere in the voting, new kids on the block EVNROLL culled an impressive 16% of the votes for the ER7, while Odyssey and Scotty Cameron clearly had excellent years also.
TaylorMade's putter that analyses your stroke!
7) Wedges Of The Year
You can't argue with this result. Almost 40% of you voted for the Vokey SM6, with the next most popular wedge being the Callaway Mack Daddy 4. Put that in yer spin pipe and smoke it!
6 Of The Best Wedges
8) Golf Ball Of the Year
Another Staunchie for Titleist and you could have bet your house on this being the result. The ProV remains the most trusted golf ball in the business, whether you're choosing it because your level of play demands the best, or you're teeing it up more in hope than expectation, with the expectation being that a freshly unwrapped ProV1 will not be seen again after your first tee shot. 41% combined voted for the Prov1 & ProV1X. New kids on the block TaylorMade TP5 have made inroads, while Callaway Chrome Soft continues to impress. It will be interesting to see what the voting looks like in 12 months time.
Titleists new SM7 Vokey wedges
9) Shaft Of The Year
Many of us might not know our Mitsubishi Tensei from our Aldila X-Torsion Copper but those that pay attention and get fitted for the shaft they need tend to see immediate positive results in their game. But which is the most popular shaft amongst the GolfPunk readers? The GolfPunk Shaft Of The Year as voted for by the GP readers is... Fujikura Speeder Evo 3. Kaboom.
10) Innovation Of The Year
This is our favourite category of the year. Golf is always coming up with exciting and useful innovations that take us by surprise. I mean, a few years back who would have thought we'd be able to walk up to our golf ball and know the exact yardage to the pin just by looking at our wristwatch or phone? And who would have guessed you could have a gizmo in your grips that lets you know how far your shots are going (Cobra Connect F7 Arccos) and in what direction?
The traditionalists might think such advances are all a bit new-fangled for their palate and, this year, they will be becalmed by the technology behind our winner. It's so simple, it's genius. Cobra Golf One Length clubs: All the same length. No meddling about. All the same. GP's Equipment Ed Dan has been using these all last year and he swears by them. In fact, he's got a bit above his station if truth be told, giving it all 'Pah, amateurs!' when he sees us flailing around with our 'normal' multi-lengthed golf sticks.
And you, the GolfPunk readers agree, giving 29% of your votes and ensuring another innovation Staunchie for Cobra Golf.
Track all your shots as Cobra reveals new 'Smart Set' King 8 Clubs with Arccos:
12) Fashion Brand Of The Year
Crikey, you guys really love the Under Armour golf threads. 31% of you voted in favour of the US brand, with Swedish fashionistas J.Lindeberg runner-up with 17%. But, let's face it, we're all winners when we've got our fancy golf clobber on and are heading to the golf links.
jhjh
13) Outerwear Brand Of The Year
This was a straight shootout between Galvin Green and Under Armour, but Galvin ended up a comfortable winner with an impressive 36% of the votes. In bronze position is JL's fellow Swedes Oscar Jacobson., with PUMA just behind them.
14) Golf Shoe Of The Year
Footjoy. You just can't trouble them. 35% of your vote went to the world's most established and trusted golf shoe brand. But there is real competition with 37% combined voting for adidas, PUMA and Ecco, while Nike and Skechers also make a good showing. Right now I'd settle for playing in a pair of flip-flops if the weather would just cheer up a bit!! Golf Shoe Of The Year 2017... Footjoy Pro/SL
FootJoy's new Tour-S range for 2018
Coming next week: The rest of the 2017 GolfPunk Staunchie Awards including Players Of The Year, Help the Gravy Moment Of The Year, Swingin Siren Of The Year and GolfPunk Of The Year!!!
