(And golfers reap all the benefits)

Ever since golf has become big business, there has been a disconnect between what the game is to the pros and what the game is to everyone else.  Going from Tour stop to Tour stop has become the dimpled equivalent of an all-you-can-eat buffet, as pros get to sample the latest equipment months before it is released to the general public. A recent ruling by the USGA, though, has shrunk the chasm between pro and not-so-pro, and a few brave companies are dipping their feet into the water to see just how golfers take to this newest development in their favorite game.

  In the past few years, the “Tour van” has taken on almost mythical significance in the world of golf.  Basically a trailer that is anchored at every PGA port of call, the Tour van is the place to go for pros that need to fine-tune their clubs at the last minute.  Break your 7-iron over your knee after hooking one into the water?  Grind down a brand new one in a few minutes in the Tour van. Windy conditions killing that high ball flight of yours?  Switch to a set of clubs that are made with high kick point shafts.  It’s in this last luxury that all golfers can now partake, as the USGA has brought the Tour van to golf shops everywhere with its recent ruling allowing interchangeable shafts.

  As of January 1, 2008, the new USGA ruling allows for adjustable clubs to be used as long as the adjustments cannot be readily made and all adjustable parts are firmly fixed and there is no reasonable likelihood of them working loose during a round and all configurations of adjustment conform with the Rules.

  This rule has made companies design clubs and adjusting tools to make sure players in sanctioned events are not able to easily make changes during a round yet gives the average player an experience that until now only tour players have enjoyed.
  Companies such as Callaway, TaylorMade, and Nickent have taken this ruling and run with it, offering enough head and shaft combinations in drivers to make your head spin like a balata ball off a lob wedge. In the near future, fairway woods, hybrids and all other clubs could be given the same adjustability treatment. Luckily, a PhD in engineering isn’t required to optimize your driver, as each of the company’s shaft-changing systems is relatively easy to use.

  Nickent Golf offers the most economical option with the 4DX Evolver Series. A 4DX driver clubhead and two shafts come in a box along with a wrench for securing a screw through the sole plate with a few turns. Nickent’s Evolver Series is very easy and simple to understand, each box is equipped with a UST Proforce V2 and V2 High Launch shaft. The UST Proforce V2 will give you a lower launch with more roll and the UST V2 High Launch a higher launch with more carry. Exchange your shaft depending on course conditions.

  TaylorMade’s SelectFit Technology comes with an r7 CGB MAX Limited driver, three shafts and nine interchangeable weights. All three shafts in the retail box differ in weight, meaning that any installation into the static clubhead will result in different swing weights. The shafts included are a 75-gram Fujikura Rombax with a medium-firm tip for low spin and medium launch, a 65-gram Mitsubishi Diamana White Board with a firm tip and mid-section for a low launch angle and a 55-gram Matrix Ozik XCon with a  medium-soft tip for a high launch angle.  The three shafts and nine weights combine for 1,071 possible launch conditions. Master the combinations and you have a driver ready for anything.

  Callaway’s new I-MIX Technology includes a box that holds the clubhead and shaft fitting components.  Callaway has created a retail display allowing the golfer to choose from 22 FT-i® or FT-5® clubheads with I-MIX Technology and more than 70 of the most popular shafts in the game for more than 1600 possible I-MIX combinations. There are even more custom-fitting options, as the clubheads in the Callaway line come complete with the company’s Opti-Fit Weighting System, allowing for draw and neutral options so golfers can choose a CG configuration that best matches their game.

  After a few uses, it’s the equipment companies’ hope that golfers will flock to the interchangeable shaft movement with the same fervor they have while cheering Tiger on the 18th green.  Shaft technology has come a long way, and there are literally dozens of high-performing shafts on the market.  For amateur golfers everywhere, taking the Tour van for a spin could be a sweet ride indeed.