Here’s a look back at the last decade in the golf industry…the so far nameless decade. There was a lot of bad, but there was a lot of good, too.
For golfers, this decade provided a lot of improvements in the equipment we use. Here’s a summary of all the changes and innovations.
A Decade of Rules and Regulations
If there was one common theme regarding equipment that covered the entire decade, it would be rules. The USGA and R&A have published The Rules of Golf for some time now that provides the rules and regulations which golfers and manufacturers abide by. Pressured by the rapid advancement in technology, the ruling bodies imposed several technological restrictions to “preserve the integrity of the game.”
At the beginning of the decade, the largest drivers were in the 325 to 350cc range. Many drivers were 250cc (or smaller) and made of stainless steel. Not one driver, today, is made of stainless steel!
2001 yielded the 400cc driver, and in 2002, a 500cc driver became available. The larger driver would have a higher moment of inertia (MOI) and make it easier to hit the ball straighter, even on off-center hits. Then, the USGA began to propose size limits on drivers because they thought the technology threaten to diminish skill level. In October 2003, the USGA placed a 460cc limit on clubhead size effective January 1, 2004.
Coefficient of Restitution
In 1999, the USGA began a non-conforming club list for drivers, but soon afterwards they needed to create a separate Conforming Driver list. Manufacturers began submitting clubs to become tested instead of relying on the integrity of the companies to police themselves. One of the testing protocols was to measure the “spring-like effect” of the ball coming off the face of the club. Using an air cannon to fire a ball at the clubface, the USGA would measure the velocities before and after impact to formulate the Coefficient of Restitution (COR). Those that exceeded the 0.830 COR measurement were deemed non-conforming effective January 1, 2003.
However, the R&A had a different perspective as they did not adopt the same set of rules the USGA had formed when it came to the spring-like effect. Arnold Palmer stood up on behalf of the ordinary golfer not to limit technology, but only to receive backlash amongst the golfing elite. The R&A even allowed up to a 0.860 COR driver limit for some levels of play. It wasn’t until January 1, 2008 that the both USGA and R&A adopted the same set of rules regarding spring-like effect.
As COR became part of golf’s vocabulary, eventually a less catchy name would replace it called CT (Characteristic Time) to reflect a new, quicker test protocol that is used today. The 0.830 upper COR limit was now 257 milliseconds.
Length
A rule limiting the length of a club (except for putters) was established at 48” and became effective January 1, 2004. The reason club length was addressed was to “not obsolete any golf courses”, which of course has not happened.
Moment of Inertia (MOI)
As mentioned previously, as the moment of inertia (MOI) of a head increased, the more forgiving the driver would become. The USGA saw a trend with the MOI of drivers increasing three-fold in just 15 years.
USGA proposed and implemented a test to limit clubhead moment of inertia (5900 g-cm2) and become effective May 1, 2006. What was a lot of hubbub at first turned out to be much ado about nothing as currently no clubhead (other than a novelty model) to this date has exceeded this limit. But as a result of this rule, it forever changed the shape of clubs to come. “Square” and “triangular” clubs were just some of the geometric shapes created to push the envelope toward this MOI limit.
As a new decade is about to begin, it is only fitting that a new rule will exist on grooves that is bound to spark confusion as well as controversy amongst golfers. Stay tuned! But the rules and regulations were not all about stifling or reigning innovation. The USGA did throw club designers a bone with the allowance for club adjustability. It was relaxed to allow for interchangeable club heads and shafts. Plus new dimensions for putter head became permissible to allow some of the innovative designs you see today.
Dominant Products
There was one product of the decade that deserves special attention. Golf balls are items we all have to use, but no other ball dominated like the Titleist Pro V1. Not just the Titleist brand, but a single ball peaked the charts and accounted for what might be more sales than all other balls combined.
Rangefinders were introduced. That wasn’t good enough, we added GPS devices this decade so you know exactly how far out from the pin you are.
In drivers, TaylorMade had to be considered king of that category for the decade. In what seemed like a roll out of a new driver every 6 months, TaylorMade forever changed the concept of “product life cycle” for all manufacturers. No longer were new designs supposed to last 2 or more years, but you brought out products when they were ready and did not need to coincide with the annual PGA trade show or any other calendar event.
While Scotty Cameron could be considered the name in putters for the decade, it was Odyssey that dominated in flatsticks sold. At one time during the 00’s the Odyssey brand was in the Top 10 in sales if it would have been a stand alone company let alone just one of the divisions of Callaway Golf.
Wedges were dominated by Cleveland, but almost could have shared honors with Titleist. Between those two, it seemed as any other wedge was a boutique brand.
This was a decade were there was no dominate iron model like in decades past.
The Start of a New Category: Hybrids
Utility woods as they were once called were clubs designed to be the solution between those hard-to-hit long irons and fairway woods. I don’t even think the term hybrid was coined until 2004. TaylorMade might be given credit for the boon with their “Rescue clubs” and a few other companies like Kasco and Sonartec paved the way with their wares too. But there is no doubt, this category exploded and helped more golfers enjoy this game a little bit more. In fact the way clubs were bought and sold changed so much that the traditional 3 and 8 set (3 woods and 8 irons) is pretty much a thing of the past.
A New Look in Putters
Mallet putters look a whole lot different now then what was considered a mallet at the beginning of the decade. Back then a mallet was either a solid half-round block of wood or a hollow-body metal shell. No manufacturer would dare produce many of the putters you see today in fear of that Plain and Simple Rule written into the Rules of Golf.
Then all of the sudden the Odyssey 2-Ball putter came out with a hole through it to re-distribute mass and more importantly it sold like hotcakes. Well it probably had to deal more with the two alignment balls on the top than the hollow opening, but soon the whole industry soon followed with all sorts of looks that had not been seen before. That was aided by the USGA relaxing the rule on putter dimensions allowing more varied high-MOI shape are now available to help improve your putting.
Putters became milled. No, we are not just talking about face being milled, but the whole putter. Overnight, anyone with the ability to design (or copy) a putter in CAD and had CNC milling machines could enter the high end putter market. These new milled boutique putter companies charged what was an unheard of $200 per putter if they were lucky enough to get one of their products in the hands of a PGA tour player.
Shafts
Only two graphite shafts (Aldila VX/VL and Grafalloy ProLite 35) are familiar faces from a decade ago as graphite shaft manufacturers have been busy creating newer models at a rapid pace. Big butt shafts (0.810” and larger) came and went. So too did the True Temper BiMatrix™ which was part steel and part graphite. Steel wood shafts are disappearing and not being even made when a new steel shaft is introduced. I wouldn’t be surprised to see those go 10 years from now, not because they became obsolete like stainless steel drivers, but due to lack of demand. Steel iron shafts have become lighter and lighter during this decade.
True Temper Dynamic Gold still remains the number one shaft on Tour and for the better player, although 70% more expensive than 10 years ago. Premium graphite shafts in 2000 were well under $50; today premium models are more like twice that figure and some can fetch nearly $300 as more exotic materials, material lay-ups and marketing have driven prices north.
Grips
Men’s grips at the beginning of the decade were almost all black, except for this new company called Winn. Insiders were skeptical that $4.00 grips would sell. Now popular grips sold today are nearly twice that and consumers don’t make a big fuss. While longtime favorites like the Golf Pride Green Victory were retired, now there are all sorts of colors, new materials that remain tacky, dampen shock or vibration to the hands or all the above.
Putter grips gained a lot of attention this past decade instead of being an afterthought. Not only were made in every conceivable size allowed by the USGA, but the introduction of long, one-piece belly grip came into existence.
Tools
Once staples for clubmaking shops, the availability of whipping and polyurethane for wooden woods soon disappeared from component clubmaking catalogs as the demand fore those service went quietly away. Re-gripping became more environmentally friendly with the new and improved water re-activated tape, although few clubmakers paid attention.
Clubmaking shops became more sophisticated with the advent and access of the portable launch monitor to obtain accurate information. Now one could truly compare two drivers and definitively say which performed better on a given day.
Few mass produced clubs are assembled in the USA as that work had mostly shifted to China for cheaper labor where the heads and shafts are made. Certain manufacturers doing assembly in the US is only on a small scale for custom work. The same thing occurred with the manufacturing of the clubheads themselves, with only a few boutique putter manufacturers and persimmon woods still being produced here. Even the venerable Ping golf club head were shifted abroad, although still assembled in the US.
Industry Consolidation
The big got bigger and gobbled up their competition. In some cases they got so big they burst when the golf boon waned. Storied names like the Ben Hogan Company and MacGregor were bought and sold and in some cases never rose from the ashes only to remain a footnote in golf’s long history.
The consolidation didn’t just affect club manufacturers, but all facets of the industry like golf chains, shaft and grip manufacturing, component companies to name a few. Sadly the local independent Ma and Pa golf shop is all but a relic by the big getting bigger and the popularity of the Internet.
Product Information
Even though consumers were buying clubs on the Internet at the beginning of the decade, they were not at the rate they do today. Who would have thought, ordering a new set of irons on your portable phone while out on the golf course? Forums where fellow clubmakers and consumers could gather in cyberspace became popular. People could communicate about golf and golf products anywhere in the world with an Internet connection 24/7/365.
Blogs, what the hell were those just a few years ago? Tweets, Facebook and other social networking sites sprung up to provide product information, reviews, videos, you name it. Now we can’t seem to live without them. What does the next 10 years have in store for us we can only imagine and probably someone is planning that as we speak?
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