Golf Industry Online Equipment Reviews

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A New Squadron of Bombers Blast the Market Place - 2002

By: Dr. Barry Lotz

Let’s face it! Golf is war. Specifically, the drivers are the opening salvo off the first tee - the machismo and bravado are on display. "Show me what you got" and "I can hit it further than you can" are the insinuated subliminal emotions that can be felt by whomever is within 20 feet of the tee box.

Each year we feature those drivers that are in the greatest demand, perform exceptionally well and are the darlings of the retailers.

This year, with the R&A and the USGA issuing new COR limits on drivers, the marketplace had become confusing to say the least, with driver prices being slashed by manufacturers in order to bring their higher COR models to market then at the next turn, find out that these higher COR models are illegal after all.

Price reductions on lower COR drivers were prevalent when these higher COR drivers were being delivered to the retailer, but more importantly, price reductions were being made because of the general stagnant status of the golf industry. The consumer was the beneficiary in any event.

To this end, this article will cover those drivers that have made the biggest explosion in terms of actual performance and hype. These are "powerful" tools compared to just 2-3 years ago. The most ubiquitous marketing theme seemed to be that each manufacturer was following TaylorMade’s selling point of "for every player there is a club" philosophy by introducing three head sizes per driver model.

As always, before purchasing any of these drivers, take them out for a test flight.

We have identified the following five drivers as being the most popular in 2002:

TaylorMade’s R500 Series and 300 Series

What more can one say about the hottest drivers in golf today?

The 300 Series drivers have been responsible for 122 Tour wins worldwide as of August 31, 2002 and has won seven out of the last Major tournaments. Popular…you bet it is. Retailers are selling them at an unbelievable pace so much so that the 300 Series has broken all other retail sell-in records in TaylorMade history - the most successful product launch ever.

Now, following up on the footsteps of the 300 Series, comes the new R500 Series. Already the driver has started accumulating rave reviews as well as victories at the 2002 British Open (R510), the 2002 Greater Milwaukee Open (R540) and the PGA Championship (R580). Even more impressive is that these victories put the R500 Series in an elite group of drivers that have won a major before being introduced en mass to the public.

The R500 Series offers a driver that provides players the fastest ball speed and largest driver sweet spot currently available in drivers. The models now in the U.S. stores are all USGA approved.

The R500 Series’ innovative design on the inside of the driver's face features inverted Cone Technology, a Tuned Weight Cartridge and also continues TaylorMade's unique "for every player there is a club" philosophy, with three different-sized models geared for different swing characteristics: a 330cc (R510), 350cc (R540) and 400cc (R580).

Lofts are available from 7.5° to 12° depending on each model. Women’s drivers are available only in the R540 & R580 models with lofts of 10.5° and 12°.

MSRP: $499.00 - www.taylormadegolf.com

PINGs TiSi Tec

Following up on their outstanding success of the original PING TiSI drivers, PING’s new TiSI Tec represents the next generation titanium driver. By combining a patent-pending process called Chemical Milling Technology (CMT^TM) with proven TiSI Technology (variable face thickness, nearly parallel top and sole, elliptical back weight and JX hosel), PING’s engineers have created the driver preferred by 4 of the top 5 at the 2001 World Long Drive Championships. Like all PING clubs, it’s custom fit to help you get maximum performance from your game.

The Effective Trajectory (ET^TM) on the sole of the driver represents the driver's effective loft at impact. The TiSI Tec driver is available with ETs of 5.5°, 7.0°, 8.5°, 10.0° and 11.5°. PING’s patented thermoplastic hosel is available in multiple configurations of lie angle and face offset/angle to help control hooks and slices.

MSRP: $495.00 - www.pinggolf.com

Cobra’s SS Series

Perhaps the most popular driver behind TaylorMade Golf, is the Cobra SS Series. The USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of these drivers is the affordable pricing and forgiveness. The shaft combinations and offset features enables the mid-high handicappers to achieve "solid" hits and marvelous feedback on drives.

Cobra’s patent pending "Optimal Sweet Spot" face construction includes a resilient 15-3-3-3 Beta Titanium oval insert, surrounded by an even thinner 6-4 Titanium outer perimeter.

Three models, the 310cc, 350cc and 427cc are available in lofts from 7.5° to 13.5° depending on each model.

Cobra SS Beta Ti Driver Lofts: 7.5º • 9º • 10.5º • 12º.

Cobra SS 350 Beta Ti Offset Driver Lofts: 9º • 10.5º • 11º . Most models offer flexes in Senior, Regular, Stiff, and X-Stiff shaft flexes.

MSRP: $299.00 - www.cobragolf.com

Titleist 975 Series

Building upon the success of the Pro Titanium^tm 975J^TM, Titleist^® expanded its tour-proven driver line with the addition of the Pro Titanium 975JVS^TM and 975LFE™ high performance models in May of 2002. True to their pedigree, all three Titleist Pro Titanium 975 driver models have been played in victories on the 2002 PGA Tour. These drivers elevated Titleist to the number three best seller in the marketplace in 2002.

The 975J•VS is the most played Titleist driver on the PGA Tour. This is a driver that provides a marvelous combination of high ball speed and launch angle with reduced spin so it is ideally suited for the stronger player. The head has been weighted to enhance players who prefer a straight to drawing ball flight.

MSRP: $499.00 - www.titleist.com

Nike

2002 was the year NIKE entered the golf arena with their typical fanfare and top celebrity endorsers. Their booth at the 2002 PGA Show in Orlando was the largest and best-attended booth. Throughout the rest of the year NIKE introduced irons, wedges, balls, bags and kid’s equipment. Time will tell just how well all their efforts are rewarded.

The forged titanium Nike 350 driver is a forgiving driver that allows a lot of leeway on mis-hits. It feels good in the hands and swings with a very pleasant sense of balance. It sets ups nicely and appears less large than it actually is.

Whatever their motivation, the Nike designers did create a uniquely attractive wood. It is a driver that begs to be hit. In their attempt to maintain minimalist, aesthetic standards, Nike did make one peculiar choice. They decided to omit the model designation from the head and shaft. The Nike driver is also built with extremely rigid weight and face angle tolerances for superior consistency. Also offered are 275cc and 400cc models with lofts ranging from 8° to 11° depending on model.

Most models offer flexes in Senior, Regular, Stiff, and X-Stiff shaft flexes.

MSRP: $369.00 - www.nikegolf.com

GolfGear’s Tsunami Driver

GolfGear's new Tsunami driver is the flagship of GolfGear's line of technologically advanced products, and is based on GolfGear's proprietary, multi-patented forged-face insert technology. The new Tsunami drivers have a very unique top dome design. The "Wave Design" structurally strengthens the entire club head. This maximizes energy transfer to the hitting area, thus preventing energy loss in the head. The result - greater distance and enhanced control for the player.

From what we can ascertain, The Tsunami Driver has one of the strongest heads in golf. Its Multi-Patented forged face insert maximizes energy transfer to the ball and that’s where it counts. The Tsunami driver features a 10-2-3 beta titanium forged-face insert, which has been double-struck to maximize density evenly throughout the entire hitting area, and is fused into an investment cast beta titanium body. 10-2-3 beta titanium was developed by the aerospace industry for use in aircraft applications that require light weight, high tensile strength and durability, and is both stronger and denser than conventional titanium alloys.

GolfGear was founded by Don Anderson in 1989, and features a full line of proprietary golf equipment. GolfGear's patent portfolio with respect to insert technology is the largest and most comprehensive in the golf industry, with nine domestic and foreign patents issued related to forged-face insert technology. These patents incorporate a wide variety of forged-face insert materials, including titanium, beryllium copper, stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum, and related alloys thereof, and include technology relating to varying the face thickness of the insert.

Gerry James, a GolfGear staff member and currently the number one money winner on the Long Drive Tour is also the holder of the pending world’s longest drive record with a 473-yard drive using the company's new Tsunami Driver.

The body of the Tsunami driver utilizes GolfGear's contour dome design, which stabilizes club head geometry at impact to ensure consistent performance. The Tsunami driver is plated with a tungsten cobalt coating to harden the hitting surface and protect the club head.

The Tsunami driver comes standard with a proprietary Graphite Design shaft (Graphite Design Shafts are one of the most successful and leading money winners on all the Tours 2001 and 2002).

Our testers were very surprised how good the driver felt and the distances achieved on a consistent basis. RANKMARK Testing rated the Tsunami Driver - #1 in distance in 2002.

The Tsunami driver comes in 300cc (9°) and 340cc (10°), and the new 360 cc (11°). Also available will be new deep-faced models in 300cc (8°) and 400cc (8° - 11°).

Depending on shaft selection, the Tsunami has a basic suggested retail price of $499.95.

GolfGear International - www.golfgearint.com

La Jolla Club

La Jolla Club Golf Company introduced a full line of titanium drivers, which included 300cc, 350cc and 400cc titanium drivers that simply took the market by storm to say the least. So good was this driver, that their sales for these drivers outpaced, in fact, doubled the sales of their famous kid’s lines of golf equipment!

This Beta Ti driver, when fitted with either the UST Accra, Graffaloy ProLite and Aldila One shafts, produced one of the most solid feeling drivers in the 2002 market place. Reviews from pros to high handicappers marveled and loved this driver. Additional distances achieved ranged from 20 to 60 yards.

La Jolla Club offers a fitting cart to retailers, which feature the best shafts for their clubs. In addition to the aforementioned shafts, also available are the Penley Stealth, Fujikura Vista Pro, UST Pro Force, True Temper Bi-Matrix Rocket and the Aldila Hm-40.

MSRP ranges from $299 in a Pro Force shaft to $699 in a Fujikara Speeder shaft. Rather pricey but players today are ready to pay for performance.

www.lajollaclub.com

Zevo Golf

Zevo Golf made a name for itself a few years ago with their custom-fitting program. Now they have made a big splash with their new line of drivers and irons.

According to Zevo, a consistently thick face is stronger and flexes less at impact than drivers with variable face thickness. Less flex, if designed properly, actually can produce better energy transfer across the entire face. This is critical for large titanium club heads. And so the 410 cc Zevo Compressor driver was born and introduced to the golfing market.

Zevo invented PreLoaded technology to prevent the energy robbing expansion that occurs at impact. They compressed the club head crown and sole of the club head together using a specially designed compression device that places the club head structure in 12,500 PSI of permanent tension. This prevents any expansion or deformation from occurring as the club head impacts the ball and assures the maximum energy transfer.

The use of a new Digital Winding process in combination with a new super fiber, Zylon (40% stronger and 12% lighter than graphite), has allowed Zevo designers to develop a golf shaft with superior "Hoop Strength" that reduces "Ovalization" and "Oscillation" of the shaft when it flexes during the golf swing

The results produced a driver that is both aesthetically good looking and delivers performance. Two aspects that the reader should be aware of regarding this club, is its very distinct sound, that of a bang and the scarcity of retailers stocking the driver.

Compressor Titanium Driver lofts: 8° • 9° • 10.5° • 11.5°. Available in Senior, Regular, and Stiff shaft flex

Those players, who own the driver, swear by it and claim to have increased their distances considerably. Our group of 25 testers, pros to high handicappers, found the Zevo to be one of the three best drivers available in 2002.

MSRP: $399.00 - www.zevogolf.com

The Cleveland Launcher introduced in 2001, still continues to be very popular this year. Cleveland also released their 400cc Launcher in October. The biggest disappointment this year was Callaway’s C4 driver.

Barry Lotz, J.D., Ph.D. is the director of the Professional Golf Teachers Association of America. He is also a member of the Golf Writers Association of America and the California Golf Writers Association and a Mediator for the golf industry. He is a contributing writer to numerous national magazines. He can be reached at drlotz@cbsgolf.net.