Over the weekend a friend and I hit up the Tinley Park Golf Expo in the hopes of scoring some free swag and trying out a few new products. Held at the huge Tinley Park Convention Center just a mile or two off of Interstate 80, the Expo seemed to be more geared toward golf courses and vacation giveaways than new product demonstrations. One of the more impressive booths of the day was that of Mistwood Golf Course, located in Romeoville, Illinois. While it was merely another booth inviting visitors to "come out and play", my brief conversation with "Dan" was quite informative in regard to the course redesign. The changes on the course (which I haven't been to in probably 10 years) look amazing, especially with the addition of new hazards and hole layouts on most of the acerage. Most of the major changes were completed in 2011, so I hope to make my way out to Mistwood in the next few months to try out the new look.

I also had the opportunity to hit the new Tour Edge XCG5 driver, albeit against a net in the back of the convention center. Regardless, I can already tell that this was an extremely solid club in both feel and appearance. The red and white coloring makes the club pleasing to the eye at address, and the unique sound the ball makes when leaving the clubface make the latest offering by Tour Edge that much more attractive. $329 is a lot of cash for a man of my ilk, however, so I may have to search for a deal if I plan on putting a XCG5 in my bag anytime soon.

All-in-all the convention was somewhat entertaining. Lessons were available for a modest price of $30, and even the limited number of putting and chipping contests helped pass the time in what appeared to be a rather small expo (in relation to the size of the building, at least). I also was able to pick up a Golf World magazine subscription included in my $10 admission fee, so I'll consider that a win.