Callaway Golf FT-i Drivers With I-MIX Technology

After TaylorMade pioneered the idea of changing the weighting of a golf clubs’ heads, it was only a matter of time before someone marketed clubs with interchangable shafts. Actually, though, it’s a tool that’s been available to clubmakers for years. Rather than have hundreds of club and shaft combinations pre-made for customers to try, clubmakers used threaded connectors that allowed them to quickly swap out pieces until the client found the desired mix.

Callaway’s entry into the interchangable shaft market is the I-MIX. With Callaway’s system, you can choose from 22 clubhead designs and 70 shafts for 1600 custom configurations. Wow.

It’s expensive, though. The head is $400, and the shafts run from $150 to $350 each.

HBO is producing a new documentary on the dramatic 1960 US Open at Cherry Hills, Colorado. It will be released on the day before the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines.

Considered by some to be the greatest championship since Francis Ouimet defeated Harry Vardon, the 1960 Open was won by Arnold Palmer. Palmer was eight strokes behind midway through the competition. In the third round, the gap closed by one, when leader Mike Souchak hit his tee shot on 18 out of bounds. Then, in the final round, Palmer came out with a charge. He drove the 313 yard par 4 first, and after missing his eagle putt, settled for birdie. That was the first of six birdies in seven holes. By the end of the day, he had shot a 65 to win.

A lot of other legends of golf were in contention that day: Jack Nicklaus, playing as an amateur, finished second. Souchak, E. J. (Dutch) Harrison, Ted Kroll, Dow Finsterwald, Julius Boros and Jack Fleck finished in a tie for third. Ben Hogan had a chance to win, needing pars on the last two holes. He finished with a six and a seven - four over par. Sam Snead tied for 19th.

It’s the Hogan-Nicklaus-Palmer connection that makes the tournament poignant. There was a remarkable moment at that US Open, when golf’s past, present and future stood together on a tee. Ben Hogan was being eclipsed by Arnold Palmer, while the future, Jack Nicklaus waited. Palmer, the present, won the tournament; Nicklaus, the future finished second. And Hogan, the aging legend, slipped behind.

I wish I got HBO so I could see this documentary.

Fairway Golf has a new blog that focuses on golf courses. It’s an interesting read.

Blog Ahoy!

A new golf blog has been sighted. The Mental Golf Guru has been blogging since last September. It looks pretty good. If you haven’t already visited, give him a warm welcome to the golf blogosphere.

Wilson Staff Zip Golf Balls

Wilson Staff’s new Zip Golf balls gets its name from the fact that the compression core is so soft that it registers a “zero” on compression testing equipment. Wrapped around this is a high velocity mantle layer, and a resilient ionomer cover. The mantle gives th eball its power. The ionomer cover delivers touch and spin. The dimples are flat bottomed and shallow, in what Wilson offers as a unique design. In all, Wilson says, this ball offers a great combination of soft feel, distance and control.

 

Unfreaking believable.

It’s the only way to describe the ending of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday March 16. With Bart Bryant putting the pressure on by finishing at nine under par, Tiger needed a birdie at the last to win the tournament. His approach left him twenty feet from the cup—a distance he had not holed from all week.

There was no way he was going to make that sliding, downhill shot. But he did. Of course.

While I still hold by my prediction that he won’t win the Masters, it’s becoming harder to believe it. With the way things are going for Tiger right now, anything is possible—even an undefeated season.

Was the putt a herald of destiny?

Cobra UFI Irons The UFI in Cobra’s new UFi Irons stands for ultimate forgiveness. Cobra has designed these using multiple materials: a Metal Matrix face incert, a polymer topline, a tungsten heel and toe weight, and steel alloy body. Cobra says that the combination of these materials results in Cobra’s highest Moment of Inertia and lowest Center of Gravity ever. That makes off center shots go further, and helps golfers to get the ball in the air more easily.