Golfsmith’s SR-460 driver head is its entry in the strangely shaped drivers sweepstakes. Bearing a striking similarity to the Cleveland Hi Bore, the SR-460 has a cavity crown design that shifts the center of gravity low and to the back of the clubhead. This raises the launch angle and reduces spinning, delivering longer drives on the course.

Inside the cavity crown, the clubhead has a baffle system to minimize flexure, or bending, of the crown and sole, allowing maximum energy transfer while tuning the acoustics. In addition, a tungsten heel weight in the head’s sole provides a draw-bias flight pattern to reduce pushing and slicing.

While it may look like a knock-off, GolfSmith has for years produced its own designs, so I am certain that this is—as they say—the result of two years of research by their design staff. The similarity to the Hi-Bore is most likely a case of form following function, just as Nike and Callaway both are offering square driver heads this year.

I’m a big fan of GolfSmith’s Snake Eyes line. I’ve built five sets of Snake Eyes irons—each using a different head—and have found them to all to be well-designed, and well-made. They were all well within tolerances for weight and angles. More importantly, they all played well. Unlike a lot of component manufacturers, GolfSmith’s products are original designs, well executed.

The Snake Eyes Z9s are next on my build list. It’s a great concept: a thin faced, undercut, perimeter weighted “forged” iron.

GolfSmith does this by plasma welding a 1025 carbon steel billed forged face to a 431 stainless steel body. CNC milling on the back of the face is designed to help focus the optimal center of gravity location. The design, Golfsmith says, offers the feel of forged, with the benefits of improved distance and tighter dispersion.

I like the idea a lot.

Element 21 Golf says that Scandium is the new wave of golf club materials, replacing Titanium. Scandium, the 21st element on the periodic table (thus, Element 21), has a weight to strength ratio that is 25% better than titanium, 50% better than graphite and 70% better than steel. Its used in the Russian space and missile program.

I can’t put my finger on it, but I am sure that a few years ago, I had a clubhead that claimed to use materials from the Russian ICBM missile program. Maybe someone out there also had one and can drop a comment on what it was.

At any rate, Element 21 is trying to pull off what has to be the greatest publicity stunt in the history of golf: they’re going to have someone drive a ball using their club off the International Space Station, and into orbit, for the longest drive in history.

The original scandium products were shafts, but the company now has branched out into clubheads. Interestingly, the company thinks that, unlike titanium, it holds the exclusive rights to clubs made from the material.

More here.

Its College Football Saturday again

If you like the feel of Winn Grips (I don’t personally like them, but I know a bunch of golfers who do), you might want to look into the collegiate grips. They’re in your favorite college colors, with a logo emblazoned on the surface. The following teams are available: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana State, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas.

Winn College Grips

I’ve been a clubmaker for a long time, so I know all about swing weight, component weight, and the interaction of all the parts.

But waggleweight?

That’s a new one on me.

The folks at Waggleweight claim that its a new form of balancing the club that takes swingweighting and translates it to how it feels to a human being.

I don’t know about this, but I’m not going to spend $25 to find out.

You can read the full press release below:

If you’re like most golfers, you’re still playing with the same set of grips that youhad on your sticks last fall.

Not the Golf Blogger. I change grips like Liz Taylor changes husbands. Sometimes, if I’m not playing well, I’ll change the grips. The new look gives me a new attitude. And its a heckuva lot cheaper than throwing the clubs in a pond and buying new ones. (Mrs. GolfBlogger has the same attitude about earrings. When things aren’t going well at work, or the boys are driving her crazy, she buys herself a pair).

If you haven’t changed grips in a while, you should. And don’t bother to take them to the proshop. You can do it yourself. I’ve got some instructions here.
Golfsmith offers grip kits that contain everything you need to do the job: grips, tape, solvent and a small rubber clamp for your workbench vice.

Ralph Maltby’s Golfworks has recently completed a much-needed upgrade to their website. The old one was really clunky.

If youi haven’t tried them yet, Golfworks offers some very good club components. Maltby is sort of a mad scientist, so the heads feature all kinds of game improvement ideas.