Inside Golf Magazine Show 2 Segment 3

WELCOME BACK TO INSIDE GOLF MAGAZINE, BROUGHT TO YOU, IN PART,BY GOLF MAGAZINE, THE GAME?S MOST WIDELY READ GOLF PUBLICATION. PICK UP A COPY AT NEWSTANDS. HERE?S PGA TOUR PLAYER JOHN ROLLINS TO GIVE SOME PERSPECTIVE ON THE GOLF EQUIPMENT HE USES TO STAY AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME. SRIXON HAS BEEN GREAT. THEY?RE A GREAT COMPANY. IT?S GREAT TO HAVE SUCH A BIG COMPANY BEHIND ME AND SUPPORTING ME. OBVIOUSLY, HAVING THEM ACQUIRE CLEVELAND HAS OPENED UP THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE SOME MORE OPTIONS WITH WEDGES, IF I NEED THEM. BUT, I?VE BEEN VERY HAPPY WITH THE SRIXON WEDGES. I THINK THEY ARE THE BEST WEDGE IN GOLF. YOU JUST DON?T HEAR ABOUT IT. DO THEY HAVE A HYBRID? I?VE BEEN BACK AND FORTH, MOSTLY, WITH AN ADAMS HYBRID IN REPLACEMENT OF A 2 IRON. OUT HERE ON TOUR, THAT?S JUST TO BE EASIER TO HIT. WITH THE HYBRIDS AND THE WAY THEY?RE DESIGNED, YOU CAN JUST STEP UP WITH NO FEAR, SWING IT AND LET THE CLUB DO WHAT IT?S DESIGNED TO DO. I USE AN ODYSSEY ROSSIE II, THE OLD SCHOOL MALLET, IT?S BEEN AROUND FOREVER. A PUTTER IS A PERSONAL PREFERENCE; IT?S WHAT LOOKS GOOD, WHAT SITS GOOD AND, WHAT YOU MAKE PUTTS WITH. NOW LET?S LEARN MORE ABOUT SOME OF THE BEST DRIVER TECHNOLOGY FROM A FEW OF THE INDUSTRY?S TOP MANUFACTURERS, STARTING WITH TAYLORMADE?S NEW R9 DRIVER. OKAY, HENRY, DO YOU HAVE YOUR MAKEUP ON? IN THE HEEL. COMING AT YOU. OH, THAT?S MONEY. WAIT A SECOND, THERE?S FIVE CAMERAS. OH, THAT?S MINE. CAN I TAKE THIS OFF? BEAUTIFUL. READY, SET, TAKE ONE. I'M HERE WITH PAUL LOEGREEN, A PGA TOUR MANAGER FOR TAYLORMADE, IN THE BRAND NEW TAYLORMADE TOUR VAN. PAUL, YOU HAVE SOME REALLY EXCITING NEW TECHNOLOGY, THIS YEAR, WITH THE R9 DRIVER. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT? FROM TECHNOLOGY?S STANDPOINT, THERE?S SOME NEW GREAT FEATURES IN THIS. ONE OF THEM IS FLIGHT CONTROL TECHNOLOGY, AND THAT?S THE MAIN KEY ELEMENT, ALONG WITH MOVEABLE WEIGHT TECHNOLOGY WHERE WE CAN OPTIMIZE BALL FLIGHT, DISPERSION, AND REALLY MAKE SURE THAT THE PLAYER IS OPTIMIZED WITH THEIR LAUNCH ANGLE, THEIR BACK SPIN AND HIT THE BALL AS FAR AS THEY CAN. ONE OF THE UNIQUE FEATURES ABOUT FLIGHT CONTROL TECHNOLOGY IS, I CAN LITERALLY TAKE THE HEAD OFF AND, ON THIS PARTICULAR SLEEVE, WITH 8 DIFFERENT POSITIONS I CAN MANIPULATE THE FACE ANGLES. A GIVEN PLAYER THAT I WANT TO FIT WHO ONLY LIKES TO HIT A DRAW, I CAN SET IT IN THAT POSITION SO HE ONLY HITS A DRAW. AT THE OPPOSITE SIDE, I CAN MAKE SURE A GUY HITS A FACE. BASICALLY, THAT?S ONE OF THE KEY FEATURES. ALONG WITH OUR OTHER TECHNOLOGICAL THINGS AT TAYLORMADE, WE HAVE HIGHEST MOI POSSIBLE, WHICH IS THE FACE OF THE BACK OF THE HEAD THAT HELPS KEEP THE BALL SPINNING THE RIGHT ROTATION WITH MAXIMUM COR, COEFFICIENTS AND RESTITUTION, WHICH IS REBOUND EFFECT. SO WITH THOSE FOUR FEATURES, THIS IS REALLY REALLY NEAT. YOU CAN, QUITE LITERALLY, GO TO THE RANGE BEFORE YOU PLAY A ROUND OF GOLF, FIND THAT YOU HAPPEN TO BE HITTING A FADE, THAT DAY. AND, YOU CAN CHANGE THE FACE BEFORE YOU START TO STRAIGHTEN YOURSELF OUT. THAT?S CORRECT. NIKE GOLF LAUNCHED THE NEW DYMO STRAIGHT FIT DRIVER. GIDGE, TELL US ABOUT THE NIKE STRAIGHT FIT SYSTEM. WHAT A GREAT SYSTEM THAT NIKE?S DEVISED. THE WHOLE FOCUS OF THE SYSTEM IS TO ALLOW A PLAYER TO GET 8 CLUBS IN ONE BY CHANGING THE FACE OF THE GOLF INTO 8 DIFFERENT POSITIONS. YOU GET TO TAKE A SHAFT OUT, YOU ADJUST THE SHAFT INTO THE POSITION THAT YOU?RE LOOKING FOR, RE-ENGAGE THE SHAFT AND YOU?RE READY TO GO. WHAT A SIMPLE WAY TO GET GREAT SHOTS IN THE FUTURE. WHAT?S SO GOOD ABOUT THE CONNECTION SYSTEM, THE STRAIGHT FIT TECHNOLOGY IS THAT IT EMPOWERS THE INDIVIDUAL PLAYER TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS FOR THEIR OWN GAME WITHOUT HAVING TO GO BACK TO A RETAILER OR BACK TO A STORE TO MAKE CHANGES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT WORK. THIS WAY, A PLAYER CAN GO TO THE RANGE IN THE MORNING AND, IF THEY WANT A LITTLE BIT MORE DRAW OR THEY WANT A LITTLE BIT MORE FADE, THEY MAKE A SIMPLE ADJUSTMENT TO THE HEAD AND, THEY AFFECT THE BALL FLIGHT DRAMATICALLY. AT THE ELI CALLAWAY PERFORMANCE CENTER THE LATEST BIG BERTHA DIABLO DRIVER WAS PUT TO THE TEST. I'M HERE WITH DR. ALLEN HOOCKNELL, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF INNOVATION AND ADVANCE DESIGN FOR CALLAWAY GOLF. ALAN, YOU?RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE BIG BERTHA DIABLO. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS CLUB? JESSICA, THIS REPRESENTS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT WAY OF MAKING A TITANIUM DRIVER. WE'VE TAKEN ELEMENTS OF OUR FUSION TECHNOLOGY AND COMBINED IT WITH A VERY PRECISE NEW TITANIUM PROCESS AND, IT LEADS TO A DRIVER THAT HAS A LOT OF PERFORMANCE, THAT WE'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO GET TO, BEFORE. PRIMARILY, THIS DRIVER HAS A TITANIUM FACE CUT, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO THE ONES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR FUSION DRIVERS. IT HAS A HYPERBOLIC FACE THICKNESS PATTERN IN IT AND, THAT IS WELDED TO A SHEET BODY TITANIUM. THE PROCESS REQUIRED TO PUT THESE PIECES TOGETHER IS SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT A SWISS WATCHMAKER MIGHT USE. IT IS VERY PRECISE. BECAUSE OF THAT PRECISION, WE?RE ALLOWED TO MOVE WEIGHT TO PLACES THAT WE COULDN?T MOVE IT,BEFORE. IN FACT, WE?RE ALSO MOVING THE BODY SHAPE TO PLACES WE'VE NOT MOVED IT BEFORE. IN THIS CASE, THE DRAW MODEL, THERE?S A NEUTRAL. BUT, IN THE DRAW, THE HEAD IS DEVELOPED MORE TO THE HEEL AND THAT ALLOWS US TO PUT WEIGHT IN THE HEEL WITHOUT SACRIFICING THE STABILITY OF THE HEAD. WE?RE STEERING THE CENTER OF GRAVITY TO THE PLACE THAT WE WANT, ENABLING PEOPLE TO HIT MORE OF A RIGHT TO LEFT SHOT IF THEY?RE FIGHTING A SLICE. WE FIND THAT THAT?S PARTICULARLY GOOD FOR AVERAGE GOLFERS. WE ALSO HAVE A NEUTRAL VERSION WHERE THE SHAPE IS LESS DEVELOPED TO THE HEEL, IT?S MORE IN THE MIDDLE. THAT PRODUCES A CONFIGURATION WHICH IS MORE WORKABLE FOR ALL TYPES OF GOLFERS, EVEN TOUR PROFESSIONALS. BIG BERTHA IS A NAME THAT?S FAMILIAR TO GOLFERS ALL OVER THE WORLD, FOR MANY YEARS. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW CALLAWAY IS TAKING BIG BERTHA IN A NEW DIRECTION? BIG BERTHA HAS BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH CLUBS WHICH ARE PARTICULARLY FORGIVING OF YOUR MISHITS AND, THAT?S A GOOD ATTRIBUTE TO HAVE. WE DON?T WANT THE CLUB TO BE JUST THOUGHT OF AS A CLUB FOR REALLY WEAK GOLFERS. NOW, STEPPING INTO THE WORLD OF BIG BERTHA DIABLO HAS A NEW ATTITUDE. IT?S GOT BOLDER COLORS, BIGGER GRAPHICS. IT?S ABOUT POWER AND ABOUT HITTING THE BALL A LONG WAY. BUT, KNOWING ALL THE TECHNOLOGY THAT CALLAWAY?S ALSO KNOWN FOR, IS BUILT IN THERE ALREADY AND, YOU DON?T NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT.

Golf Life | May 11, 2009