By Seth Kerr (Cooper)

GolfWRX Contributor

Shakespeare said, “What’s in a name?” Clearly, Shakespeare wasn’t a golf fan, because picking a golf club based on its name is like picking a date based on her picture on a website. Wait … never mind. The fact is that most major golf club manufacturers spend millions of dollars naming and marketing of their clubs and they do so for one reason — it sells.

Brands like Titleist and Mizuno have been conservative with their club names — Titleist’s 710 and 712 iron series, Mizuno’s MP-53 to MP-59 iron releases. Many other manufacturers change the name of their latest drivers, irons, wedges and putters each year.

As the need to capture attention and market share has increased in recent years, the names have also become more creative and more inventive. So GolfWRX has decided to create a list of the top ten equipment names. The rules: the name has to be from a major manufacturer, the name has to be from the last 15 years and whether good or bad, the name has to be memorable.

Without further rambling, here’s my top 10:

10. Titleist Kombi Putter

What Titleist lacks in creativity when naming their irons, woods, and wedges they make up for with their putter choices. “Kombi” which depending where you are in world is: 1) a battle fought in 1647 between Ndongo-Matamba (a former African state) and the Portuguese; 2) a Japanese term for comedy duo; 3) a Polish synth-pop band formed in 1976; 4) a Volkswagen van (think Woodstock) introduced in 1950 and 5) the key to Bill Haas winning the FedEx Cup. The Kombi line of putters are made from 6061 aircraft aluminum and have a three-point weighting system placing weights in the toe, heel and rear of the putter head.

9. Nike Slingshot Irons

First released in 2005, the irons gained even more acclaim with the release of the 2006 Nike OSS Slingshot.  The club had a wider sole, which stopped the club from digging in the ground and helped those who tended to hit shots fat.  In addition, the club had a higher MOI and deepened center of gravity, making it easier for the average golfer to get the ball in the air.

8. Srixon XXIO Impact Power Body Hot Driver

Ever heard of it? Me neither. An ode to our friends in Japan, Srixon should probably make this list for their name alone. Srixon is a leading manufacturer of tires, sporting goods and industrial products in Japan (think Bridgestone). Srixon released their first golf ball in Japan in 1930 and acquired Cleveland Golf and Never Compromise in 2007.

Released in 2005 (which is about one year before most Americans knew Srixon existed when Jim Furyk signed with Srixon in 2006), the driver featured a 405cc titanium head. Srixon may not be popular in the U.S. yet, but in 2005 the Power Body Hot Driver became the No. 1 driver in Japan, the second largest golf market in the world.

7. Cobra Trusty Rusty Wedge

While other brands keep their wedge names pretty close to the vest, Vokey, Jaws, and 588 to name a few, Cobra has gone in the other direction with the Trusty Rusty. The Trusty Rusty is a retread from the 1990s and is Cobra’s first foray back in to designing wedges since breaking from Achusnet and joining Puma.

The wedge comes in three finishes, Satin, Black PVD, and Rust. All three are designed to, wait for it … rust. Each comes with a Black Dynamic Gold S200 shaft, which Cobra says will reduce glare. Proponents say the club and rust improves spin for the average golfer.  No word on if Rickie will be putting a Trusty Rusty in his bag, but at least it would match his outfits on Sunday and OSU colors. From the pictures at the Humana Challenge it appears Bo Van Pelt has one in his bag.

6. Cobra Long Tom/ Long Tom Raw

Adding to their successful line of ZL drivers, in November of 2011 Cobra introduced the uh … Long Tom and Long Tom Raw. The Long Tom Raw is a limited release with only 500 made at a whopping $499 each. Named in honor of a cannon used during WWII and the Korean War, The Long Tom is 48 inches long and weighs only 269g. The face is made of Ti 8-1-1, which you probably need a degree from MIT to understand, but it’s supposed to provide added distance. As of now, none of the tour pros listed on Cobra’s website have put the drive in the bag.

5. Odyssey White Hot Putters

The No. 1 selling, No. 1 winning, No. 1 major-winning and No. 1 putter on the money list has to crack the list. First released in 2000, the White Hot line of putters joined Scotty Cameron and Ping as a dominant force. The White Hot 2-Ball, released in 2001, quickly became the best selling putter in the world. By 2003, fueled by a number of tour pros using their equipment, Odyssey had nearly 50 percent of the market share for putters.

4. PING CRAZ-E

Released in 2004, the CRAZ-E line of putters, the first long putter released by PING, became an instant hit and quickly became the top selling model in the U.S. within months of its release. The putters are still popular today with many players, including Webb Simpson, who has found success on tour using the G5i Crazy-E B Belly.

3. Cleveland Launcher

Cleveland released their Launcher 330cc driver in 2002. Only a year later Cleveland introduced the Launcher 460cc driver, the first 460cc driver from a major manufacturer. Vijay Singh used the driver in 2003 for four wins and 18 top-10s, edging out Tiger Woods for the money title that year. In 2004 he used a Launcher to win the PGA Championship in a three-hole playoff over Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard.

2. Callaway Big Bertha

All right, so I cheated with this one. First released in 1991, yes 1991, Callaway, in my humble opinion started the naming craze with their Big Bertha driver and has to make the list. By the end of 1991, the Big Bertha was the number one driver on the Senior Tour, LPGA and Hogan Tour. By 1992, sales reached $133 million and by 1993 the Big Bertha was No. 1 on the PGA Tour as well.

In 2003, Callaway released the Big Bertha Titanium driver, and the 2004 Big Bertha Titanium 454 Driver was used by Dave Mobely to win the REMAX Long Drive Championship. While names like RAZR and Diablo are fine, it’s time to bring back the name that launched it all for Callaway.

1. TaylorMade RocketBallz

Does it really need an explanation? At a time when new and inventive names from club manufacturers are the norm, RocketBallz stands out. According to TaylorMade, the name comes from watching Dustin Johnson hit the hybrid model during testing. He kept commenting that the ball came off the face like a rocket. The fairway woods come in at a whopping $299 for the standard version and $329 for the tour version. TaylorMade claims to provide an extra 17 yards of distance with their fairway woods. With a name like RocketBallz, it better.

There’s the list. Agree, disagree, don’t like the order? Let us know. Did we miss any? Leave your comments, I’ll be sure to read them and respond back to as many as I can.

Click here for more discussion in the forums