Throughout the history of the sport, golfers have sought to improve their ball-striking -- and thus their games -- by adopting the latest in technology.
This is the theory known as: "Buy a better game."
Yes, lessons and practice are still important. In fact, very important. But, when it comes to putting equipment in your hands to "activate" all that preparation, technology is the buzzword today.
"How do you become a better ball striker?" asks CBS Sports analyst Gary McCord. "Buy the technology."
The theory works for golfers of all skill levels, from the best pros to advanced amateurs, to higher handicap and recreational players. What's key is matching the technology infused in clubs with the level of the golfer.
In talking technology, it's always interesting to take a brief look back at the evolution in equipment making.
As author Edward Willett explains: "When golf started out, and for centuries after, golf clubs were all made of wood. At a fairly leisurely pace, other materials began to be used for both the heads and the shafts. There were fiberglass shafts, aluminum shafts and steel shafts. Club heads eventually began to be made out of both wood (hence, "woods") and steel (hence, "irons"). But in recent years, more exotic materials have been used."
Today, the most popular material in making driver heads is titanium. For fairway metals, hybrids and irons, both titanium and steel heads are popular. Some clubs are also multimaterial, combining various materials in strategic ways.
Titanium is both light and strong. It's so light, clubheads can be made larger than they've ever been before. A large clubhead gives the golfer a larger "sweet spot," the point on the clubface where you want to hit the ball, because it's at that spot that the club is perfectly balanced and will send the ball on its way most efficiently. Yet, as we'll see, technology has also added a large degree of forgiveness on off-center hits.
Strength and light weight have also brought graphite into the forefront as a primary choice for golf club shafts, along with steel. A lighter shaft means a faster swing and more energy transferred to the ball. And where graphite shafts in their earlier stages were subject to inconsistencies in flex and durability, today’s graphite shafts are very responsive and reliable. Virtually all driver shafts today are graphite. For fairways, hybrids and irons, there's usually a choice between graphite and steel, depending on players' individual characteristics and preferences.
The period from 1900 to 1930 was marked by many innovations in club design, according to historian David Nicholls, such as "the hollow faced irons (which didn't work); Walter Hagen's concave faced (now illegal) sand iron with the extended flange, a variant of Gene Sarazen's initial idea (still universal); a club that could be adjusted to give different lofts; ... and experimentation with a variety of alloys. There were many bizarre clubs made in this period, such as the "giant niblicks" whose faces measured over 6 inches across! "Probably the most important change (back then) was the move from smooth faces on the irons to the grooves we use today. This started around 1908. The designers realized that you could get more backspin on a ball with a grooved club, and that this led to more distance."
Interestingly, grooves -- size and shape -- are a hot-button topic among rules officials and equipment manufacturers today, with new regulations about grooves possibly forthcoming.
Also in recent years, both science and the regulating organizations (U.S. Golf Association, R&A) have had considerable impact on what happens when a ball is struck. The Rules of Golf now set limits for how big a clubhead can be, its width versus depth dimensions, the spring-like effect of the clubface, length of shaft, responsiveness on off-center hits, and so forth. Just about all manufacturers have agreed to play by the rules, and it's within the limits of these regulations that technological advances are being made.
Some of the most recent terms that are now widely known to golfers include COR, CG and MOI. COR stands for coefficient of restitution, which pertains to the spring-like effect of the clubface. CG is the center of gravity, a major factor in attaining efficient ballstriking. And MOI stands for Moment of Inertia, a mathematical formula that relates to the stability of a clubhead on off-center hits. In considering MOI, the higher the number, the more stable and forgiving a club should be.
"The new technologies from TaylorMade help all golfers to be better at 'ball-striking' in several ways," explains Tom Osalvsky, the company's senior director of product creation. "We have a number of crown technologies, such as Dual Crown Technology and Ultra Thin Wall Technology (0.6mm), which produce a lower center of gravity. Lower CG helps all golfers since it provides a higher launch angle and less spin, which are key elements in creating optimal launch conditions, ultimately translating to more distance."
Two other technologies built into TaylorMade drivers also enhance control and distance. One factor is a high MOI, making the drivers extremely stable and forgiving on off-center hits. That benefit is combined with the company’s Inverted Cone Technology, which is characterized by a shallow cone milled directly onto the inner side of the club face, changing the way the face behaves at impact so that a larger area delivers higher ball speed.
"When a golfer missed the center of the clubface on a shot, higher MOI and Inverted Cone Technology provides more distance than older designs as we're able to preserve more ball speed," says Osalvsky. "This benefits all players because our research shows that even tour players mis-hit the perfect center of the club."
In irons, similar technological advances have been employed in shifting weight to lower the CG, moving weight further back from the face to help golfers get balls airborne, along with progress in materials and construction. Historically, the evolution from a blade iron to a cavityback really opened up the technological possibilities. Today, both blade and cavityback irons exist, with a lot of cavitybacks wholly suitable for better players as well as mid to higher handicap golfers.
What's the difference between a blade and a cavityback iron? A blade iron offers a smaller hitting surface and a thinner topline. It also has more mass behind the middle of the clubhead, sometimes called a "muscleback." In contrast, a cavityback or perimeter-weighted club has more weight around the outside edges of the clubhead to produce a larger sweet spot.
TaylorMade's Tour Burner irons, engineered to deliver improved performance to players of all levels, represent a good example of how technological advances are being used to enhance ball-striking. Among the technologies in these cavityback irons is an ultrathin, 2.2ml clubface that delivers a high COR for increased ball speed and distance. The irons feature Inverted Cone Technology, visible on the back side of the clubhead. Distinct heel and toe weighting is also visible, a feature which increases MOI for greater stability on off-center hits. And, a large multifunctional sole is beveled at the back to make it perform like a thinner sole, increasing playability from a variety of lies. The sole also features a lower and deeper CG to help launch the ball.
One small item, sometimes overlooked, is a badge positioned in the back cavity of the irons. Engineers designed the badge to help tune the feel at impact for all golfers.
All in all, when you visit a golf shop or specialty store to purchase a set of clubs, remember you are not just buying a driver, a Rescue club or a set of irons. Truly, you are buying the latest in technology.