News

GolfWRX Q&A: Catching up with Jared Solomon of Five Iron Golf

Published

4 years ago

Oct 7, 2022

For the uninitiated, Five Iron Golf is an “urban golf experience” with locations in 10 major cities.

What does that look like? TrackMan, teaching professionals, leagues, in-house fitting, and a place to practice appeal to the serious golfer. A full-service bar, food, televisions, table games, and a wealth of top-of-the-line house clubs draw in the not-so-serious golfer. Simply, Five Iron is a great place to practice, play golf indoors, get fit, or just hang out with friends.

We last spoke with Five Iron Golf founder and CEO Jared Solomon in September of 2019. (You can check out that interview here). In the time since we last talked, big things have been happening at Five Iron, including major expansion and an equally major investment from Callaway.

Check out our conversation with Solomon, below.

GolfWRX: It’s been a couple of years since we talked. I know y’all have had plenty going on and seem to be opening locations all over the place — can you summarize the past few years?

Jared Solomon: Well, COVID-19 definitely changed some of our plans and provided some great learnings. I think what COVID did was force us to focus on the serious golfer. With the surge in the interest in golf, it allowed us to continue to gain momentum and expand to new cities. It worked in our favor to grow the brand for everyone who got the bug to learn the game or just happy to get back out again and hang with friends and have great experiences. Simultaneously we worked on improving our sim build drastically, introduced our three-camera system and also improved our rental clubs, club fitting, lesson experience etc.

GolfWRX: What trends in the larger golf world do you find benefit Five Iron?

JS: Golf is fun. I try to keep telling people this. The more people who hit golf balls, the more who will become consumers of the industry. People playing mini golf, playing at a private club, hitting at Five Iron — it all accomplishes the same thing — growing the interest in the sport.

One thing worth pointing out is that there is a lot of the buzz around “modern golf,” from the Topgolf Callaway rebrand to Tiger and Rory playing sim golf on primetime TV – it legitimizes what we’re doing as “real.” 10 years from now people won’t only think of green grass when they hear the word golf, they are going to think of many different iterations and the amazing experiences they had. Even two years from now, more people will be hitting “off-course” than on. We are happy to be a pioneer, a resource, and an example for this growth.

Jared Solomon

GolfWRX: In my opinion, leagues and the ability to practice on a TrackMan in a state-of-the-art hitting bay are among the two coolest elements of Five Iron. Can you speak to that?

JS: We have a lot of cool elements! Leagues are certainly one of our most successful initiatives. League night is where it all comes together — experiencing a round on amazing courses in the sim, playing with friends, competition, contests and post-work happy hours. It’s all the best elements of the game and entertainment.

We started partnering with local influencers to generate excitement and offer exclusive promo codes on league teams.The prizes we are offering this year are the best yet. We have multiple prize packages to Casa De Campo, a world-class golf and vacation destination located in the Dominican Republic, for the Fall League. The best part is you can literally play one of their courses, Teeth of the Dog, on TrackMan in our sims. All four players on the winning team get six rounds of golf each along with full accommodations. There are also weekly prizes and a closest-to-the-pin competition that brings players another chance to win a trip to Casa de Campo.

As far as technology goes, we really pride ourselves on our setup. TrackMan is the engine, but we custom-build our own bays and have many design elements to enhance the experience, from improving accuracy to better lighting and multiple camera angles. We’ve even improved our TrackMan homes and bag stands. It all matters.

GolfWRX: Of particular interest to GolfWRXers — Can you summarize the fitting services you offer?

JS: We have an incredible fitting experience called The Fitting Lab. It’s a brand agnostic fitting experience that uses a five-step process and best-in-class technology to identify the right components and specifications for each golfer we fit. We build many of our own clubs.

I would say the major difference between us and competitors is that we want to see you again as part of the Five Iron ecosystem. We’re not going to sell you the most expensive clubs just for the heck of it. We deliver a laid-back and personal club-fitting experience that happens inside a Five Iron location, which only adds to the cool-factor. You get fit, you keep practicing, you work with a pro, you check out new equipment when it’s dropped every year. It should all be synergistic to improve your game and lifestyle around golf. That’s the goal at Five Iron. Nothing is mutually exclusive.

GolfWRX: More locations? What else is on the horizon?

JS: We should have 16 by the end of the year, with 5-10 openings next year as well. Boston is a location that’s taken almost three years to open. We’re super excited about that one, which is slated to open later this fall.

GolfWRX: Thanks, Jared!

News

Best current stock shaft 2026 – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

5 mins ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user is asking for thoughts on the best stock shafts offered in 2026. Stock shafts are the shafts included with a club when it’s purchased from retailers or OEMs.

@DTorres asked:

The last couple years has seen a lot of updates and additions to no upcharge stock shafts, which do you think is the best offering in 2026?

Im a bit of a shaft nerd and recently during my Members Testing with the Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond I found the updated Project X Denali Frost Black to be a fantastic stock shaft. I absolutely did not mesh well with the original Denali. Just curious what other people think are the current best Stock shaft offerings out with new models and stock Ventus options and LinQ options popping up here and there.

We were given the option for any stock shafts for our members review. I went with the 70g Black Frost 6.5 because it’s a shaft I don’t have, it’s an updated version of the original Denali and hear little about. I typically use a Diamana WB, GD VF or a HOF Raptor. I’m not saying it was neck and neck with any of those but it was a pleasant surprise I’m not accustomed to in stock shaft offerings.

Our members in the forum have been offering up their own thoughts on the best stock shafts available in 2026. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

rsballer10: “IMO – MCA Ka’ili White Darkwave, Tensei 1k Black/white, UST Lin-Q White. People are free to spend their money however they see fit, but for me personally the shaft catalogs these days have enough options that I don’t see the value of a $400 upcharge. I have never had a problem finding a no upcharge shaft that fits the bend profile and weight that I need. Whether the paint job is good enough or not is above my pay scale.”
bcflyguy1: “Project X Titan Black. I’ve had one in 60TX in my Quantum TD Max for several weeks now. Have to give Titlieist their flowers for finding a way to make it available as a featured option; very shrewd bit of business and one that I suspect will be duplicated by the other companies. TT/PX have a certified banger on their hands with Titan.”
CTG77: “Undoubtedly, it’s the Tensei 1K RIP shafts from Titleist. The Tensei line gives about 98% of the performance of a Ventus VeloCore+ shaft at a tiny fraction of the cost if you’re looking for a blue or red profile. The white is not an exact match for Ventus Black, but it’s closer to it than the non-VeloCore+ Ventus shafts that come from Callaway or formerly came from TaylorMade.”

Entire Thread: “Best current stock shaft 2026.”

News

GolfWRX’s Father’s Day Gift Guide (2026)

Published

2 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

A reminder from your friends at GolfWRX: Father’s Day is June 21. And as we do every year, we’re rounding up the best gifts for dad.

As we say every year, there’s no better golf-related Father’s Day gift than a round of golf with pops. Be it a country club or your favorite muni, take the time to get together to play 18 if you can.

Let’s get to the gifts.

Ghost Golf Qualifier Diamond Polo

We like the new polos that Ghost is offering, as the fabric and fit are so good. These new Qualifier Collection polos breathe well, are lightweight, stretch with your swing, and of course look great. You can wear them on the course, in the office, or just out at a casual event and they will fit right in.

Buy here.

STR8-Strip Grip Tape Remover

If your dad is an equipment aficionado and tinkers with his clubs, this tool works wonders. Removing grip tape has never been easier, just put a little head on the tape and the STR8-Strip peals it right off the shaft without any damage.

Buy here.

Why Golf: Putting Thing

When it comes to practice, it is good to have a purpose. This “Putting Thing” sure does it. We know from personal experience how challenging it can be and how rewarding it is on the practice green. This also provides some competition for your kiddo to see who will unload the dishwasher or do the next chore around the house.

Buy here.

OluKai Lae‘ahi Men’s Breathable Slip-On Shoes

Riding to and from the course in style and comfort is always a good thing. If you’re in a hurry, it’s a nice feature to slide into your shoes and get to the tee time. For the post-game shoe, at your locker or while putting your clubs away in the car. Nice to slide into a shoe that looks good anywhere. Pair that with meeting the family for dinner, no need to change!

Buy here.

Therabody Theragun Relief

A little wellness goes a long way. Keeping loose is a good way to go when it comes to the weekend game or treatment during the week. If there is a little ache or pain, the Theragun is there to help out. Help loosen up the back for a pre-game warm-up or cool-down.

Buy here.

World Cup golf apparel

Something for the soccer dads. Embrace the World Cup fever this summer on the course with custom gear to support the nation of your choice.

Buy here.

FootJoy Pro SL spikeless golf shoes

Give the old man a break and save his feet with the Footjoy Pro SL Men’s Spikeless Golf Shoes for some added comfort on the course.

Buy here.

Bushnell Wingman 2 GPS speaker

Combine all the hits as well as some game improvement with the Wingman 2 Golf GPS Speaker by getting audible distance readings from 38,000+ courses worldwide through the Wingman 2 remote or speaker.

Buy here.

Personalized Titleist Pro V1 golf balls

The No. 1 ball in golf is a safe bet, and the Pro V1 fits the largest chunk of the bell curve if you don’t know what ball pops plays. Add personalization for a, well, personal touch!

Buy here.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 OccuNet Classic

Published

2 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

With the PGA Tour across the border in Canada this week, GolfWRX Tour Photographer Greg Moore stayed stateside and headed to the OccuNet Classic presented by Amarillo National Bank in Amarillo, Texas.

It’s always interesting to see what the guys are playing on the KFT, and this week certainly hasn’t disappointed so far, with some incredible wedge stamping on display.

Check out links to all our albums below.