Club Lab
Club Lab
Gene Parente, Jonathan Wall
Club Lab is a golf equipment podcast hosted by Golf Digest managing editor Jonathan Wall and Golf Laboratories founder Gene Parente, diving deep into the gear generating buzz through real robot-testing data, tour trends and conversations with the people who matter most in the industry. Every episode is designed to make you smarter about the equipment in your bag.
Scottie proves our robot testing right
The Golf Laboratories swing robot showed us lower launch, lower spin and increased ball speed with the Qi4D compared to previous TaylorMade models. Guess who switched into the new Qi4D head, picked up distance off the tee and won two events in three weeks? That's right, Scottie Scheffler. JWall and Uncle Gene break it all down. But first, even more on Good Good and Rory weighs in on bifurcation. Plus, Tommy Fleetwood makes a putter change and a new putting gadget hits the market.
Sep 2
59 min
A warning sign in the golf equipment space
A potential canary in the coal mine emerged earlier this week when Golf Datatech released numbers showing July 2026 equipment sales were down in almost every category compared to July 2025. JWall and Uncle Gene dive into why. But first, the crew weighs in on the Good Good ad that's caused a stir. Then, New Release Season never stops and the boys have the latest news.
Aug 26
41 min
Here's the deal with Open Flight, an open-source launch monitor
There's a drawback to almost every launch monitor on the market. The best ones are expensive, often prohibitively so. A middle tier typically charges a subscription fee. Others use software that "guesses" what your ball does based on a split second of captured data. Some store your sessions and make it difficult to download your own data to analyze it. But what if there was a launch monitor that had none of those roadblocks? That's the question Coleman Rollins has been asking himself. Now, he's building an open-sourced launch monitor.
Aug 18
52 min
How today's equipment enables today's swings
It's no secret today's golf gear is easier to play than in generations past. It's kind of the focal point of the whole distance/rollback debate. But one swing coach posits that three of the most unique, effective swings in golf today — all from PGA Tour winners — would not be possible with the clubs and balls of yesteryear. But first, Uncle Gene played Cypress Point, FedEx and Odyssey team up on a headcover and blade putters near extinction at the U.S. Amateur.
Aug 13
46 min
We robot tested 54 golf balls
JWall and Uncle Gene put 54 golf balls to the test on the Golf Laboratories swing robot to find out which performed best on the critical 40-yard wedge shot test. But first, the equipment release calendar knows no bounds. Several new clubs hit the market in the past week or so, and the boys break them all down.
Aug 5
1 hr 1 min
Chris Marchini on the latest fitting trends
Golf Galaxy Director of Golf Experience and master fitter Chris Marchini is back to answer your questions about club trends and club fitting. We bounce from driver heads, to shafts, irons and everything in between.
Jul 29
58 min
And now, a Royal Rumble of drivers
A couple weeks ago, we gave you a Royal Rumble of irons. Now, we've done the same with drivers. But first, an equipment recap from the Open Championship, including why you might want to put a putter head on a telephone pole.
Jul 22
37 min
Equipment notes for the Open Championship
You asked, we listened. We tested Titleist's GTS drivers at 105 mph on the Golf Laboratories swing robot, and the results were intriguing. But first, it's Open Championship week, which means a whole lot of changes at both ends of the bag for many tour pros. High lofted woods become long irons and mini drivers and new bounce options are in play for wedges on the baked, firm, sandy soil.
Jul 15
46 min
A Royal Rumble of irons
Who says irons need to be in one category or another? We put every iron we tested on the Golf Laboratories swing robot in one big pot and picked the most outstanding few in a bunch of categories. But first, some tour talk as players head over to Britain for the Open Championship. Look for some long irons this in place of fairway woods. Plus, L.A.B. Golf collabs with Uncrustables?
Jul 8
40 min
We put Titleist's GTS drivers to the test
Titleist made waves with its April release of its new GTS line of drivers. And there was a whole lot of hullabaloo around how much ball speed, and, in turn, distance pros were gaining. JWall and Uncle Gene finally got their hands on some drivers and put them to the test on the Golf Laboratories swing robot. Also, Viktor Hovland's driver change pays off and what's the deal with Damascus steel?
Jul 1
53 min
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