what ELSE is there left to improve on present golf equipment?

[jmvargas]

just pondering this question lately considering all the technological breakthroughs and innovations that have happened already and here is my take:

 

BALL--nothing else can be done to improve performance and there are even moves to dis-improve it.

 

DRIVER--unless new materials are discovered which are lighter and stronger than the current titanium and carbon...not much.

 

...shafts however can still be lightened without compromising integrity.

 

IRONs..shaft materials as in drivers.

..iron head design has reached its optimums.

 

 

my thoughts are confined to improvements for the average golfers...pros are not included.

 

so anyone planning to purchase new clubs--most improvement claims not related to any of the above are just marketing hypes and mostly cosmetic in nature..

 

your thoughts??

[Sean2]

I was thinking about this the other day. COR's have been maxed out, so perhaps they can strengthen the lofts and lengthen the clubs? lol

 

I think a lot of it is simply cosmetics dressed up as new technology. I don't think most people will see THAT much difference in their games if they purchase the newest equipment.

[EaglesGolf99]

Was kicking this around the past couple months myself.

 

I get a Driver in the bag and I may be going on WRX hiatus.

 

Kinda bored.

[MadGolfer76]

Price.

[jmvargas]

the answers so far seem to reinforce my thoughts on this..

 

but if any genuine innovations are to happen at all i believe it will be in the Japanese Domestic Market stuff..

 

the materials they are using in their high end shafts look awesome but very very pricey!!

[Pigems]

Interesting topic, I’d like to see where this goes.

[Saskwatch]

A birdie told me that we can expect new technologies like Twist Shaft, penitentiary break and Active Recoil Grip to come to the driver market in the coming few release cycles.

[dciccoritti]

Looks? :cough: Callaway :cough:

[sdandrea]

Grips that feel as good as Skecher insoles.

[dbleag]

The USGA has manufacturers pretty much handcuffed with performance limits.

 

That leaves us mostly with "skill" improvement.

[phen0men0n]

COR's have been maxed out, so perhaps they can strengthen the lofts and lengthen the clubs? lol

 

They've been doing this for at least 10-15 years already

[bullie76]

Stronger lofts. :wave:

[thug the bunny]

Plutonium faces, neutron activated shafts, krypton balls.

 

If WRXers are so hell bent on improving distance and performance, why don't they do blood doping? It's actually not that hard.

[ChronicSlicer]

I`d like for the head of my driver to have Smart Technology. "Hey Driver, how come I can`t hit you?" "Hey Driver, why did my ball go 40 yards to the left?" "Hey Driver, I suck today, wheres the closest bar?"

[thug the bunny]

I`d like for the head of my driver to have Smart Technology. "Hey Driver, how come I can`t hit you?" "Hey Driver, why did my ball go 40 yards to the left?" "Hey Driver, I suck today, wheres the closest bar?"

 

Smart Driver (with pleasant female voice): "On next tee, stop lurching from the top". "Try to pause at the transition". "Focus on a square face angle at impact". "OK, you're toast, the nearest bar is 1.6 miles to the west. I recommend you go there immediately".

[SwingMan]

It looks like the trend is forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness, and with that theme, more forgiveness all over the face whether it's straighter shots or more distance in fairways, hybrids, irons.

 

That's where you find improvements. For example, the Rogue Driver may not be any longer than Epic, but you'll find more forgiveness across the face where the ballspeeds are maintained.

 

In fairways, hybrids, irons, it looks as if the trend is hotter, thinner materials for faster ballspeed with more forgiveness across the face.

 

Ball - lighter core, more MOI in ball design.

 

In the future, who knows? Depends on the market.

[scomac2002]

It looks like the trend is forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness, and with that theme, more forgiveness all over the face whether it's straighter shots or more distance in fairways, hybrids, irons.

 

That's where you find improvements. For example, the Rogue Driver may not be any longer, but you'll find more forgiveness across the face where the ballspeeds are maintained.

 

In fairways, hybrids, irons, it looks as if the trend is hotter, thinner materials for faster ballspeed with more forgiveness across the face.

 

Ball - lighter core, more MOI in ball design.

 

In the future, who knows? Depends on the market.

 

You have hit the nail on the head! As long as golfers are ready and willing to consume enough new equipment to justify releasing "improved" models every year this will continue. Whether there is material improvement or just cosmetic change is the subject of another debate. Once the demand for new equipment starts to wane, we will see an increase in the cycle time between model releases. We're already seeing that as the release cycle has started to creap back up again from a few years ago.

 

Prices are starting to have an impact as well. With custom fit drivers at $650; irons at $1500 for a set and so on down the line you are going to start to run into an impediment to sales overall. I noticed at my local Golftown a display of TM RBZ Stage 2 woods; not the originals, but a reconfigured rerelease with different graphics to cater to a lower price point. Taylormade and Callaway have been doing this for a while where they would rerelease a previous model year's frontline product with different graphics, less adjustability, cheaper materials to hit a price point for the walk in OTR consumer. It maybe cheaper, but it's likely that the frontline stuff is better value especially if you get custom fit in the process. Not sure how this will all play out in the equipment marketplace, but I would think that maintaining profitability is going to be a struggle going forward without some change in approach by manufacturers.