A Guide to Golf Technology
It’s an impossible game full of contradiction. Infinitely simple- you hit a ball into a hole in as few strokes as possible, yet overwhelmingly complex (just ask anyone you know for golf advice.) Still, the more you know about the features and technology behind the tools of the game, the easier it will be for you to select your gear. Understand the concepts below and you’re bound to make better purchase decisions. As a result you won’t feel compelled to second-guess equipment choices mid-round- and that always helps.
So where to begin? It seems logical to start at the first tee. More often than not that means were reaching for driver.
Driver technology
A lot of attention is given to the big stick- and with good reason. The ability to get off the tee sets you up for success. If you’re constantly starting off in a hole (figuratively speaking of course) it makes for a looooong day.
So what makes the big dog tick? It’s not as complicated as you might think- even if it takes teams of aerospace engineers to develop them. So here it is: If you want to hit monster drives you need three ingredients; A high launch angle, low spin and maximum ball velocity. Pretty simple.
Equipment companies have teams of engineers pouring over design details to all in pursuit of the trinity of distance. Each design element at it's root is intended to effect one or more of our three factors.
So there are three major components to a driver the club head, the shaft and the grip. There isn’t a lot to discuss about grips. Nobody has EVER bought a driver because of the grip. With that in mind we’ll jump right to the other two elements.
Club head
They come in all shapes and sizes, but they are all bigger than they were just 5 years ago. Currently the largest allowable club head is 460 cubic centimeters volume. Most drivers hover pretty close to this size.
A large club head accomplishes a couple things. The first is that it gives a larger surface area to make contact with the ball. It's a classic example of; "the bigger the fly swatter, the easier it is to hit the fly." All clubs have a “sweet spot”. That is the area of the clubface where maximum energy is transferred to the ball. Simply said, hit the sweet spot and the ball goes further. It also feels pretty sweet…go figure. The larger club designs also help extend the sweet spot. On old clubs that spot could be a spot smaller than a dime. Today that spot can be 2-3 inches.There are other more technical reasons for the large size, but that involves physics.
Yes physics! By moving all the weight of the structure out wide the club is more resistant to twisting on off-center shots. The technical term for this is a high “Moment of Inertia”. You will also hear this characteristic referred to as forgiveness. Whatever the term, the higher the MOI, the longer and straighter your mis-hits will fly. It’s a lot like life. If you’re really good, you don’t need to rely on forgiveness, but nobody’s perfect. It’s always nice to know that you have some margin of error-just in case you take your eye off the ball for a second.
Shape
Drivers have many different shapes. Square drivers tend to have the highest MOI. Some highly skilled players don’t care for this because it doesn’t allow them to work shots. The appearance and sound of squared clubs is also a sticking point for traditionalists. Other shapes try to balance MOI, CG with slightly more traditional aesthetics. Still, to-date squared drivers tend to be unfailingly straight.
What is CG? Center of Gravity. All things being equal, the lower the majority of the weight of the club head, the higher you will tend to launch the golf ball (High Launch Angle -this is one of the three magic ingredients. Remember?) Most golfers benefit from having a very low CG on their drivers. This helps them get the ball moving on the best trajectory for producing long drives. Some drivers manipulate the center of gravity with their shape while others will do that by positioning weights or screws strategically to get the desired effect.
SHOW OPTIMUM TRAJECTORY GRAPHIC HERE
Thin Faces
All club manufacturers work to make the thinnest club face possible. This allows them to transfer the unneeded material weight to other areas of the club head to maximize MOI and tune the CG. (You know what that means because we just explained it above. See? You’re already well on your way to being a golf gear guru.) Generally, thinner faces have increased “trampoline effect”. This is a spring-like action that happens when the club strikes the ball. The face compresses and then quickly rebounds sending even more energy into the ball. You may hear it referred to COR- Coefficient of Restitution. The USGA limits the amount of this effect a club can have. Most drivers hover at or just below the legal limit.
Loft
The loft of the club refers to the amount the top of the club face is set back from the bottom of the club face. The lower the loft, the flatter the front of your driver.
The higher your club’s loft, the higher the ball flight. The easiest way to demonstrate loft is to look at a sand wedge compared to a three iron. The sand wedge has the higher loft. It will hit the ball higher, but not as far as the three iron. It is also easier to hit well. This is because the ball runs up the face in a way that maximizes backspin and mitigates side spin.
LOFT EXAMPLE GRAPHIC
The same principles apply when we talk about different lofted drivers. Higher lofted clubs also help less-advanced golfers by reducing side spin. HOW? Because the ball runs up the clubface (spins up the clubface) it takes less spin to the left or the right on glancing blows. This means less of a tendency to hit slices, hooks, fades or draws. Straight is great. (Minimize spin and you will maximize distance.)
Bias
By strategically adding weight to drivers, manufacturers can influence the club’s shot tendency. Some clubs have movable weights that you can adjust to tweak the shot shape of the club. Others feature adjustments to the hozel which allows you to swing the club more open or closed. The can also adjust the club tendencies by manipulating weights or the amount open or closed the club head. Drivers can have a neutral bias or a draw or fade bias. 75% of amateur mis-hits are fades or slices. The key is to find a club that compliments your most common ball flight. This will help reduce spin and create longer- straighter drives.
BIAS GRAPHIC
Offset
You ever wish you had just another split second to get something straightened out before you ran out of time? You could have used offset. In golf clubs, offset is a setting back of the clubface/clubhead from the hosel This feature gives you another split second to close the face of the club and deliver the ball on a straight path. It is a very effective way of mitigating a fade or slice. It will tend to magnify a hook or draw.
Show offset compared to non offset
“Adjustables”
Some new clubs can be adjusted either by rearranging weighted screws in the clubhead or by adjusting the hozel of the club to affect ball flight. They can provide up to 30% difference in ball flight from left to right based on the same swing. With a club like this you can easily accommodate various swing afflictions. This means that you can buy a club and it can accommodate your progression from a case of “the rights” to that nice high draw you’ve always dreamed of.
Just remember- you cannot adjust the club mid-round. That would be a violation of the rules of golf.
Aerodynamics
Some of the new marketing schtick for drivers mentions aerodynamics. Big clubheads certainly experience more drag than small ones, but this author isn’t convinced. Aerodynamic design features have been touted by club makers in the past. Typically, this is something somebody would talk about if they didn’t have anything of real value to promote.
Fairway Woods
Master the fairway wood and you’ll never be intimidated by a long golf course. Accomplished players can hit par 5’s in two and short hitting amateurs can bring the lengthy 4 pars into play in regulation.
Fairway woods borrow many design principles from drivers. But designers have another factor to consider- the ground. They call them fairway woods, but they are also hit out of rough, the occaisional waste banker, and off tees. Only the tee provides the ‘perfect lie’- each of the others will come in contact with the club and can affect the shot. Because of this a massive bulky clubhead won’t work like it does in a driver.
There are some fairway woods focused on being hit off a tee. They are larger and have driver like features. Most however are utility players and designed for varying lies.
Sole design is the way most designers account for different lies. A good sole design will help the club cut through rough and still help the club maintain a low center of gravity. It is wide enogh to be stable and still small enough to minimize unneccesary contact with the turf.
Decide how you want to use your fairway wood and then choose accordingly.
Hybrids
They don't use fossil fuels and they've done to the game of golf what the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup did to candy.
"Hey! You got your iron in my fairway wood!"
"You got your fairway wood in my long iron!"
When you take the larger MOI of a fairway wood with the very low CG and pair that with a shorter shaft and more upright “iron-like” address you have the hybrid. These have become a favored replacement for long irons for many. Depending on your preference you can swap hybrids for clubs ranging from a 2 iron all the way down to 6.
So why the big switch? The reasons are many.
1. Hybrids are easier to hit than long irons.
2. Hybrids are more forgiving than long irons.
3. Hybrids have a higher flight path and are better at holding greens.
4. People tend to have more consistent gaps between different lofted hybrid clubs than they do with long irons.
Seen enough? Good. Go get yourself some!
Irons- the set has changed
It used to be that iron sets were simple. They all came in a matched set. Usually that meant a 3 iron through pitching wedge (4 through sand wedge in ladies’ sets). Today things are a little more complex and that’s a good thing. Maybe it’s better to think of complexity as flexibility. And we all know that flexible is the new strong.
Not bad.
Here are the high points:
Cavity back w/ perimeter weighting- this has to do with the concept of MOI and CG. Most irons are designed with a hollow spot in the the back middle section of the clubhead. The materials there is pushed out to the perimeter. This make the club more forgiving and can be manipulated by designers to impact the CG for improved ball flight characteristics.
Forged vs. Cast
If you don’t know the difference between the two, get the cast. Forged irons are made for elite players. They tend to have a softer feel because they use a softer steel, but they are also less forgiving (typically). Forging is a more expensive process where metal is hammered into a shape as compared to casting, where liquid metal is poured into a mold and allowed to cool in that shape.
“Game Improvement” the majority of recreational golfers would benefit from playing any kind of game improvement club. Game Improvement irons tend to have extreme perimeter weighting and wider sole which lowers the club’s CG while also eliminating fat shots.
Offset almost all iron sets have some offset. The offset is largest in the long irons and progressively decreases with each shorter iron. Wedges typically have very little to no offset. “players clubs” will have little to no offset and “game improvement” clubs will have maximum offset.
Shaft stiffness (see driver section)
Balls
Some leading golf professionals believe that the most significant equipment change players can make to improve their game is to change the kind of golf ball they play. With that in mind, the choice of what to tee up warrants a little consideration. There’s a lot at stake here.
Most people either don’t put much thought into their choice, or give up when faced with the seemingly countless number of options. It doesn’t help that most manufacturers’ descriptions of their balls all sound remarkably similar- something to the effect of “designed for maximum driver distance and soft feel for short shots.” Keep reading. When you’re done you should have the little bit of insight needed to select the right ball for your game.
In the past it was more of an “either/or” proposition. Balls that went long off the tee were usually hard and had a harsh feel that was despised by better players. Balls that were softer had great touch on and around the greens, but distance off the tee was sacrificed- as was durability of the ball. Less-skilled golfers also had a greater tendency to hook and slice these balls. That isn’t the case today.
Today’s golfer heaps a lot of expectations on golf balls. We generally want a golf ball to be all things to all swings. Golf ball designers have come pretty close to living up to the expectation. Just read their hype and they’ll tell you. Long and soft, long and soft, long and soft.
Still, some balls are still better for more experienced players while others are more focused on generating distance.
Construction
Most golf balls are comprised of two or more layers. The outer layer or “cover” is usually Suryln or another elastomer.
Additional layers comprise the interior of the ball. The more layers, the more complex the design (duh) and typically the more expensive the ball. Each layer imparts a characteristic that will affect the way the ball reacts to different forces.
Two Piece
Two piece balls have been the standard choice for most recreational golfers. . If you tend to lose balls, this is the choice for you. They offer a good blend of distance and durability. They employ a harder cover – typically Suryln- which is more resistant to unwanted side spin that produces slices and hooks. Two piece balls are the least expensive balls available.
Three Piece
More advanced, the three piece ball is able to marry the longer distance characteristics of the two piece ball on long shots with some of the softer greenside feel. A solid core is surrounded by a thin hard mantle and soft-feeling cover made of urethane or a similar elastomer. Think of it as a two piece ball wrapped in a very thin soft cover. The additional cover gives the ball great feel with putts and soft shots, but hardly has any impact on long irons and drives.
Four Piece and Beyond
The future? Four and five piece balls are already making inroads on the tour. With each additional layer, ball response and flight characteristics can be further fine tuned. If you’re on the market for this kind of ball you are looking for the ultimate in performance and you should have a game to back it up.
Cover
All golf balls look the same on the outside, but if you put a couple different kinds together, you start to see significant differences in the design. All have dimples. These help the ball generate lift and fly further. Differences in dimple patterns can affect the height of the ball flight, the amount of carry and the balls susceptibility to the effects of wind. The softness of the cover will affect the feel of the ball with putters and short irons. Surlyn is most common and typical in two piece balls other elastomer/urethane covers are typically softer and found on balls made with three or more layers.
Mantle
This is an intermediate layer that sits between the cover and the core. Some really advanced balls have multiple mantle construction.
Core
The center-most element of the ball. Come in varying compressions designed to compliment different swing speeds. Compression is a relative misnomer, but some are softer than others and therefore easier to compress when struck with a club. People with slower swing speeds benefit from hitting lower compression balls. The ball will fly farther and also feel softer.
Feel
The soft feel manufacturers tout can be achieved a couple different ways. Tour-caliber balls feature softer covers and mantles. (see three piece designs) Two piece balls soften their feel by utilizing a softer compression core. The ‘soft’ two piece balls are much firmer with a putter or wedge but they give a more pleasant feel when struck than previous generations of two piece balls that were often lovingly referred to as ‘rocks’.
Spin
If you were to ask Yogi Berra about spin he’d probably say “Spin is tough. You don’t want it until you want it.”
Translation: Some spin can be good and some bad. Spin on driver shots can rob distance and cause fades, slices and hooks. Spins on wedges and short irons can help a ball to check, stop or even back up when the ball lands on the green. That’s highlight reel material. It looks great, but unless you are good enough to manage it properly it will be a detriment to your game.
Most casual players should avoid high spin balls. They won’t go as far and there’s a good chance they’ll quickly be lost. Even if you are good enough to get them well off the tee and safely in play you have the issue of managing spin. If that isn’t an issue for you, than we tip our caps to you and urge you to hit the high-spinning show stoppers.
Hopefully this helps. If you are looking for more pointed suggestions, give us a call. We can discuss your game and help you find a little piece of equipment that will have a big impact on your game.
Golf Glossary
Materials
Titanium
You can trace the use of titanium in golf clubs to the end of the cold war. When military-aerospace engineers weren’t needed for designing aircraft and missiles they migrated to the golf industry and began applying their knowledge of super-high end materials to golf club design.
For the past ten years Titanium has been the favored material used for drivers. It is stronger than steel at half the weight. This is what has made larger clubheads feasible. If you want to get really technical, drivers are really made with Titanium Alloys. Typically 6-4 titanium (6% aluminum and 4% Vandium) is used for cast clubs and Beta Titanium (15% Vandium, 3% Chromium, 3% Aluminum) is used for forged applications.
Composite Materials
Composite materials are made of strands of fiber which are woven together in varying patterns to create desired effects with very light weight. All drivers now come with composite (a.k.a. graphite) shafts. Some drivers utilize composite materials as structural elements of the clubhead as well.
Stainless Steel
The most common material used for clubheads in quality irons and fairway woods and still the most common material used for shafts in men’s irons. Stainless Steel is durable, hard without feeling harsh and amenable to varying designs.
Maraging Metal
This is a steel that has been treated to be super hard. Because it is so hard and strong, it can be extremely thin. The weight savings can than be distributed to other areas of the club head to improve MOI and CG. This thin very hard face is a “hot” surface- meaning the ball really flies off the face of the club creating higher ball speed and more distance.
Carbon Steel
High carbon steel is usually found in forged iron heads and premium wedges. It is slightly less durable than standard stainless steel, but better players like it for it’s softer feel. (As an aside, you might like to know that science shows that people cannot differentiate the feel between carbon steel and stainless so don’t buy a club JUST because you think it will have a softer feel. Let the other features sway you one way or the other.)
Metal Matrix
Metal Matrix sounds like something you’d find on MTV at 3 a.m., but it’s actually a term used to describe a combination of metals. Typically this is employed in less expensive clubheads. It is heavier and more brittle than stainless steel. This can be confused with Metal Matrix Composites, but not the same.
Metal Matrix Composite
This is a combination of a metal with any other material- including a metal. For the golf purposes this typically involves carbon fiber. The Metal Matrix Composite material gives the benefits of both materials. It is currently being used to produce ultra light shafts. Look for more MMC construction in golf in the years ahead.
Elastomer
This is any material that has rubber-like properties. Elastomers are used in golf balls to produce covers, cores and mantles. It is often employed in iron construction on the back of the iron to help absorb unwanted vibration. Some shafts have even used elastomer inserts to further dampen vibration (sensicore). Some putters also utilize elastomer as an insert in the putter face to soften feel.
