Ugly Duckings

Filed in archive Golf Equipment on February 17, 2007

Courtesy: Callaway

Can a golf club be too good? For the pros?

That might be the case with the new square head drivers that several manufacturers have developed.

The square head isn't a marketing gimmick. It's an attempt to obtain more MOI, that wonderful acronym that translates into better mis-hits and more distance.

The "Moment of Inertia" was wide open to club makers until the USGA established a maximum clubhead size of 460 cubic centimeters three years ago.

That meant designers had to go back to the drawing board to find new ways of maximizing MOI.

Enter the square head driver. Both Nike and Callaway have developed their own.

Other club makers have opted for a, get this, triangular shaped head.

TaylorMade has decided to stay the course and stick with the traditional shaped clubhead.

But why could the square head driver be too good?

Well, the tour pros aren't rushing to embrace it because many of them say the ball flies too straight for them!

It seems the pros can't shape their shots as reliably with the square head. And most tour pros don't need to extend their length off the tee, so the square head's boost in MOI doesn't really matter to them.

What will happen to the square head driver if the pros turn their backs? Well, Nike and Callaway are probably counting on us amateur players to flock to these ugly ducklings.

If the square head is as good as their makers say, then the amateur may be the big winner in the ongoing technology wars.

Usually, it's the pros who benefit and then we amateurs hitch a ride on the wagon.

"I mean, if it's good enough for the pros..."

It's a lot like how motor racing technology filters down to the vehicles driven by the general public.

The square head driver might be the club that breaks that years-old practice.

For a more in depth look at the square heads and the pros, see this article from Tuesday's LA Times newspaper.

And thanks to Geoff Shackelford for posting it. By the way, Geoff is posting from the Nissan Open this week. His thoughts are definitely worth a read.