FIELDREPORT
A strong presence from Lynx at the Harrogate show underlines the brand’s intent to re-establish itself in Europe. CEO Steve Elford explains how the latest product fits in with the brand’s direction
Lynx:The Second Coming
is also fair to say that it wasn’t a driver powered by a special cocktail of gases and a headcover heated by a lithium battery, that would ultimately be outlawed. This was 2013’s Boom Boom 2 driver, an intriguing episode that sums
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up Elford and Zinser’s verve to re-assert Lynx – and to do it through genuine innovation. During manufacture, its head was injected with a concoction of so-called ‘hot gases’, pressured to more than 120psi to increase stability and boost energy transfer. Independent testing validated the design. So far so good – but the club evidently worked better when its gases were expanded by heat, which is why the Boom Boom 2 was sold with a special heated headcover. This, according to the R&A, fell foul of the rules on changing the characteristics of a club during the round. This put Lynx in the bizarre position of having a fully legal club, but an illegal headcover. “It was amazing the amount of controversy it caused,” Elford recalls.
“There were people writing to the R&A, complaining about us. In the end they didn’t approve the heated headcover. It was frustrating and disappointing, but we didn’t want to fight the R&A.” Instead, the brand’s R&D chief Kevin Woolgar and his team channelled their efforts into improving the Boom Boom 2. The result, launched earlier this year and prominent on the Harrogate stand, is, you’ve guessed
12 SGBGOLF
hen husband and wife team Steve Elford and Stephanie Zinser took over Lynx’s European licence in early 2011, it is fair to say the golf industry didn’t know what to expect from the brand. It
it, the Boom Boom 3. “Basically we found a way to increase the pressure in the head without
the gases having to be heated,” Elford explains. “That gives the club improved power and stability, in a totally conforming package, but there is a new technology in the face that we are calling Effective Energy Transfer. Tests have shown it can reduce ball drag, again boosting distance.” The driver has already made ripples on the European Seniors Tour
with a series of players, including new staff player Paul Eales, either using or testing the club.
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