It’s The Economy Stupid!
http://www.publinksgolfer.net/articles/877/1/It’s-The-Economy-Stupid!/Page1.html
Adam Barr
By Adam Barr
Published on 12/3/2010
But as the doggedly positive sports metaphor goes, golf isn’t played on paper. So although the dollars, cents, yen, Euro, and yuan may trickle, innovation in equipment continues to flow. Top companies, and even those in the financial second tier, keep pushing for the latest developments to make the game easier, more enjoyable and more attractive to new players. The cynical may say they have to do this simply to compete. There’s some truth in that. But having been around the industry for some years, I can confidently say that in most cases, the work being done in golf equipment these days has broad roots in love of the game.
There are many examples. Callaway itself, despite financial bumps, has linked itself with Italian auto maker Lamborghini, a brand whose very name conjures images of luxury, power and speed. Together, the companies’ research and development engineers have come up with a material they call Forged Composite. Its origins are proprietary, but broadly stated, it is a collection of carbon fiber threads of immense strength struck into shape by an “isothermal forging process,” which suggests hammering or pressing.
Both companies have an interest in making strong parts that are light -- Lamborghini for durable, powerful cars; Callaway for clubs that possess the same qualities. To put it into perspective, consider that titanium’s principal advantage was that it is 40 percent less dense (for all intents and purposes, lighter) than the same volume of steel. Forged Composite, Callaway says, is one-third as dense as titanium. If the chief puzzle of golf club design is weight placement, then the new material amplifies the opportunities for moving weight where it needs to be in clubheads to make them more effective. And that’s the next step for Callaway from its Fusion technology, which featured light carbon fiber crowns and backs wedded to heavier titanium faces and soles.
The material’s first appearance in Callaway clubs will be in the Diablo Octane (yes, that’s right, for auto fuel) drivers and fairway woods. The driver will cost $299 suggested retail.
Elsewhere in golf, the trend toward speed has not -- forgive me -- slowed down. Aerodynamics in driver head design reflect the influence of automotive engineering, verging on the aeronautical. This should be no surprise, considering that many of golf’s equipment’s top innovators came from companies that served the defense industry. Once the Cold War ended, they joined experienced golf engineers to design different kinds of wings, these on the ends of graphite shafts instead of on the sides of CIA drones.
Check out Nike’s SQ Machspeed Blac
driver, whose stepped central sole area helps move air around the head more efficiently as it powers from the top of the swing to the ball. Also, Adams Golf’s Speedline drivers, such as the 9064LS model, offer deep, confidence-building faces in front of airflow-enhancing body shaping. The idea is to get the head moving faster from the top of the swing to the ball with no additional effort -- that is, no over-swinging -- so more energy gets to the ball to give it a longer ride.
Many yards? Just a few? Better quality contact? Golfers will take some or all. And out on the grass, off the paper of the income statements and balance sheets, an economy of strokes feels very robust indeed.
It’s The Economy Stupid!
The battle cry of an election that now seems very distant in the rearview mirror still rings true today. On paper, things have not been good. Flat participation and erratic equipment spending by golfers predates to 2008 recession, which doesn’t feel over, no matter what the economists say. Callaway Golf, the unofficial representative of the industry to the rest of the world, had deeper losses in the third quarter of 2010 than it did for the comparable period in 2009. The company has circled the economic wagons and beefed up its cash position, relying on its experienced forecasters, who say golf economic recovery will not happen until some time in 2011 at the earliest.
There are many examples. Callaway itself, despite financial bumps, has linked itself with Italian auto maker Lamborghini, a brand whose very name conjures images of luxury, power and speed. Together, the companies’ research and development engineers have come up with a material they call Forged Composite. Its origins are proprietary, but broadly stated, it is a collection of carbon fiber threads of immense strength struck into shape by an “isothermal forging process,” which suggests hammering or pressing.
Both companies have an interest in making strong parts that are light -- Lamborghini for durable, powerful cars; Callaway for clubs that possess the same qualities. To put it into perspective, consider that titanium’s principal advantage was that it is 40 percent less dense (for all intents and purposes, lighter) than the same volume of steel. Forged Composite, Callaway says, is one-third as dense as titanium. If the chief puzzle of golf club design is weight placement, then the new material amplifies the opportunities for moving weight where it needs to be in clubheads to make them more effective. And that’s the next step for Callaway from its Fusion technology, which featured light carbon fiber crowns and backs wedded to heavier titanium faces and soles.
The material’s first appearance in Callaway clubs will be in the Diablo Octane (yes, that’s right, for auto fuel) drivers and fairway woods. The driver will cost $299 suggested retail.
Elsewhere in golf, the trend toward speed has not -- forgive me -- slowed down. Aerodynamics in driver head design reflect the influence of automotive engineering, verging on the aeronautical. This should be no surprise, considering that many of golf’s equipment’s top innovators came from companies that served the defense industry. Once the Cold War ended, they joined experienced golf engineers to design different kinds of wings, these on the ends of graphite shafts instead of on the sides of CIA drones.
Check out Nike’s SQ Machspeed Blac
driver, whose stepped central sole area helps move air around the head more efficiently as it powers from the top of the swing to the ball. Also, Adams Golf’s Speedline drivers, such as the 9064LS model, offer deep, confidence-building faces in front of airflow-enhancing body shaping. The idea is to get the head moving faster from the top of the swing to the ball with no additional effort -- that is, no over-swinging -- so more energy gets to the ball to give it a longer ride.
Many yards? Just a few? Better quality contact? Golfers will take some or all. And out on the grass, off the paper of the income statements and balance sheets, an economy of strokes feels very robust indeed.