MARCH/APRIL 2007
The shape of things to come

It goes without saying that the golf equipment industry looks vastly different today than it did 30 years ago, or for that matter 20 or 10 years ago. Golf club designers and manufacturers are nothing if not envelope-pushers when it comes to creating new club designs which at once are both revolutionary and fit within the equipment specifications outlined in the Rules of Golf.

But things have really gotten exciting – bizarre might be a better word – recently with a cavalcade of new driver designs rolling off the assembly lines. Some of these clubs are so nontraditional that one wonders if the players of yesteryear would even recognize them as golf equipment.

Clearly, there are a few factors at work here, beginning with the fact that innovation has always been the key to success in the golf equipment biz. But the Rules of Golf also are playing a part, particularly since they have placed limits in recent years on clubhead size (460cc), clubhead dimensions (5 inches from heel-to-toe) and moment of inertia (MOI), which is the club’s ability to resist twisting on off-center hits. (For more on the Rules of Golf and the limits they place on club size, shape and characteristics such as center of gravity and moment of inertia, go to www.usga.org.)

With those limits in place, club designers have had to look elsewhere for their innovations, so there are now clubs on the market in a variety of unusual shapes and utilizing ever more creative weighting patterns and composite materials. Most of those efforts have come in the area of drivers, and, owing to their unique shapes, the term “geometric drivers” has been coined.

As with virtually all clubs on the market, the newest drivers come in myriad loft and shaft combinations, so it’s a good idea to consult your local PGA professional and experiment with various clubs before you buy.

So if you don’t know much about geometry, don’t know what a slide rule is for, read on to learn more about the latest in driving clubs. 

TaylorMade Burner
>>www.taylormadegolf.com
It’s back to the future with a new version of an old TaylorMade favorite. The Burner is back, even if it’s in name only. With a bullet-shaped, 460cc head, the new TaylorMade Burner is a driver which promotes speed. According to the company, the Burner weighs in at just 299 grams, which is about 20 percent lighter than similar drivers. That translates to clubhead speed and ultimately to ball speed. The Burner also utilizes TaylorMade’s Inverted Cone Technology for consistent performance across the clubface.
Suggested retail price: $360

Cleveland HiBore XL4
>>www.clevelandgolf.com
This odd-looking stick is an updated version of the original HiBore, made popular by PGA Tour star Vijay Singh. Featuring an unusual, scooped-crown head design, this driver’s shape is more than just a visual attribute. The design allows the center of gravity to be aligned with the middle of the clubface, resulting in high MOI and a larger effective hitting area. The HiBore XL also promotes a flatter, longer ball trajectory than other drivers on the market.
Suggested retail price: $390

Titleist 907D14
>>www.titleist.com
Titleist’s R&D department went in another direction entirely with this club, featuring a triangular head which the company says offers extreme distance on off-center hits and MOI which is close to the USGA maximum. A more traditionally-shaped model called the Titleist 907D2 is also available. Due out in April, the 907D1 is a 460cc club with a tapered face insert that is thinner at the top to promote high launch and low spin.
Suggested retail price: $500

Tour Edge Bazooka GeoMax
>>www.touredge.com
A more traditionally-shaped club, the Bazooka GeoMax also sounds like a driver should on impact. The club, introduced in January by Illinois-based Tour Edge Golf, features a 20-gram tungsten weight placed low and deep near the back of the sole for increased MOI and forgiveness without the funky shape. Unlike many new drivers which utilize composite construction, the 460cc Bazooka GeoMax is fully titanium, and it sells for about half the price of some other, better-known driving clubs.
Suggested retail price: $199.

Nike SQ Sumo2
>>www.nike.com
Nike staff player K.J. Choi made some obscure history last October at the Chrysler Championship when he became the first player to win a PGA Tour title using one of the new square-headed drivers. The club he used was the SQ Sumo2, which, according to Nike, maximizes MOI by placing weight in the back corners of the clubhead, resulting in reduced sidespin and ultimately improved accuracy.
Suggested retail price: $479

Callaway FT-i4  
>>www.callawaygolf.com
This square driver features a clubhead which is smaller and taller than the Nike SQ. Callaway offers the FT-i in four lofts, but each of them is also available with either a neutral weighting pattern or a draw bias for players acquainted with the right side of the fairway. The lighter, carbon composite construction allows weight to be moved from the crown of the club to the back corners. That means high MOI across the clubface.
Suggested retail price: $625

TaylorMade r7 460 TP
>>www.taylormadegolf.com
TaylorMade has gotten a lot of mileage out of its r7 line of clubs, which revolutionized the equipment game a few years ago with the introduction of movable-weight technology. The latest is this club, designed with better players in mind. The r7 460 TP still offers two movable weights totaling 24 grams so players can match the club to their ball flight, but it also has a flatter – and therefore somewhat less-forgiving – clubface which many low handicappers prefer.
Suggested retail price: $729