52 TECHNOLOGY
GBD MARCH/APRIL 2011 11-plus for science class
GBD asked equipment expert Dominic Pedler to nominate top new products and technologies set to make headlines in 2011. Here is his high-tech shortlist covering a wide range of golf clubs and gadgets.
Forged Composite CALLAWAY’S RACY NEW HEAD MATERIAL
Following a formal tie-up with Lamborghini, Callaway are ditching conventional graphite as a clubhead material in favour of Forged Composite derived from a more complex form of carbon fi bre.
The new material, which debuts in the Diablo Octane Black driver and fairways, is one-third the density of titanium (which remains the chosen face material) and has a much higher strength- to-weight ratio. This promotes a signifi cantly greater transfer of power at impact (tests show some fi ve extra yards over the Callaway Diablo Edge); while, being more malleable and effi cient for concentrating weight, also delivers more accurate trajectories than Callaway’s Fusion and all-titanium predecessors. The cosmetics are pretty snappy, too, with the wavy
confi gurations visible beneath the crown distinct from the grid-like patterns of graphite. Twenty years after the fi rst Big Bertha, is Diablo Octane Black another Callaway landmark? £249 (drivers); £169 (fairway woods);
www.callawaygolf.com
Driver adjustability THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT….
Adjustability has been around for a few years but the R&D men continue to fi nd ever more elaborate avenues for self-customisation. The Adams Speedline 9064LS allows you to alter the actual shaft length of your driver by inserting different sized metal spacers into the high- tech hosel section (and compensating for the change in swingweight by switching a colour-coded sole screw). You can only go between 45, 45.5 and 46 inches, but that should be enough to fi nd your ideal trade-off between the speed advantages of a longer shaft and the control benefi ts of a shorter one. £399 with weight kit;
www.adamsgolf.com.
Meanwhile, the new Titleist 910 series is highly novel in the way it separates the adjustability of the driver’s loft and lie angle. Typically, the two parameters cannot be set independently due to the way the shaft enters the hosel at a single angle but Titleist’s technicians have got round this with a nifty SureFit ‘dual angle’ hosel.
Winning the weighting game CLEVELAND’S ULTRALITE SERIES
Cricket bats, tennis rackets and hockey sticks come in a selection of weights that offer a variety of ‘feel’ while highlighting the potential distance benefi ts of lighter weight equipment. So why not golf clubs? Well, the new
Cleveland Launcher Ultralite drivers debut in three different total weights: 310g, 290g
and a positively anorexic 279g (the latter fi tted with a grip and shaft of just 26g and 39g, respectively).
Of course, in the quest for
yardage, the crucial “mass x speed = distance” formula is highly dependent on how each individual golfer swings a
particular weight. But Cleveland are at least raising the awareness of ‘weight fi tting’ which golfers can try for themselves at their retailers and forthcoming demo days. Special mention for the Miyazaki shafts that make this possible. Having mastered the consistency and resiliency of ultra-light graphite where others have failed, they now also adopt a clear system of ‘bend profi ling’ that will greatly help those taking the custom fi tting route. £239;
www.clevelandgolf.com
Back in Black
PVD AND COOL COSMETICS After the trickle of black anti-glare
wedges of the last few years comes a fl ood of jet-black face fi nishes in almost every category of clubs. Black is the new black, not just in crowns and shafts but increasingly clubfaces
to match for
drivers, fairway woods, hybrids,
irons and putters, as well as wedges themselves. It’s all down to ‘PVD’, standing for
Physical Vapour Deposition, the term that refers to the method of applying the smart, if slightly sinister effect. TaylorMade’s dark R9 Super Tri driver led the way in 2010 in the hands of Martin Kaymer and is now joined by rivals with similar fi nishes, including the Callaway Diablo Octane Black and the highly adjustable Nike SQ Machspeed Black that even have the word Black in their names. You could complete the set with Adams’ Idea Super Black hybrid, Cleveland’s Black Pearl irons, the latest model of Odyssey Tour Series Black putter and a sleeve of the new Maxfl i C3 Black balls…..even if they’re actually white.
Of course, check out the white crown TaylorMadeR11 series (page 51) for a notable exception to the rule.
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