Over the last couple of years new equipment has been coming out at a faster pace than ever before. Everytime you turn around a new “state of the art” driver is on the market. Claiming to be the longest and straightest driver we have ever seen. The same claims have been made for the last 30 years by every company that puts out a product.
Also in the last few years we have seen club innovation like never before. Squared drivers came to be, the hybrid, deeper grooves for wedges, and crazy putters. All of these clubs have two things in common. First they all claim to be the one club that will make you a better golfer. The second thing is of course technology.
With the USGA putting restraints on clubs now more than ever before, it begs the question, can they do more? Most people around the internet seem to think that club technology has reached a plateau and we won’t see any innovation for quite a while. But if we remember back just five years ago, we had no hybrids and no square drivers. With all of that being said, I decided to take it to a manufacturer and find out.
We spoke to Adams Golf this morning about this very subject. In our conference call with two of the lead design people, we learned a couple of things. Adams shift is geared more towards performance than ever before. They spoke lengthy about MOI (Moment of Inertia) and what it can do to your clubs. Here is a little insight into MOI if you are confused (http://golf.about.com/od/faqs/f/moi.htm) They went on to say that by tinkering with this just slightly can make the biggest difference in ball flight and pattern. The second thing they spoke about was shaft technology. The general public has long been the consumer that bought a club for the head and now with shaft technology at an all time high, it has raised the bar quite a bit. By focusing on the shaft in their clubs consumers will have far more choices. They spoke so highly about equipment education and how the little tweaks can make gigantic differences on the course. We got examples in interchangeable weighting systems on both woods and hybrids.
When it came to the end of our conversation, I asked one last question. “Have we seen the end of innovation?” The answer was different then expected. “The last time I heard that question, was about 7 years ago and then we unleashed the hybrids to the world. I assure you that myself and Adams Golf have some things up their sleeves and will show the golf world a thing or two about technology in no time.”
Now that is what I like to hear. We got confirmation about new gear for the 09 season and we should be getting our stuff in anyday to put up a review for you guys. Check back all weekend long for tourny updates from Craig and Golfer Girl’s style article.
Till Next Time
Josh B
