Square may well be the shape of things to come in drivers. It's definitely the shape of the Callaway FT-i driver (click the photo for two more images), which follows Nike's Sasquatch Sumo2 as the second square-headed driver from a major manufacturer.
Why would manufacturers all of a sudden start tinkering with the traditional shape of metal clubheads? What's so hip about square?
It's all about moment of inertia, or MOI. The higher a club's MOI, the more resistant the clubhead is to twisting on off-center hits. If you strike the ball closer to the toe of the driver, for example, you expect the clubhead to twist a little at impact. A higher MOI club will twist less, limiting the damage from the off-center strike compared to a lower MOI driver. The higher MOI club will be, in layman's terms, more forgiving.
And a square-headed driver gives talented engineers and club designers new ways to increase the MOI. After all, the back corners of a square-headed driver don't exist on a traditionally shaped driver head.
The Callaway FT-i driver is called by the company its "most advanced driver ever." And it's called by Gary Player "the best driver I have ever had the pleasure to use" (yes, Player is on the Callaway payroll).
The Callaway FT-i driver incorporates the company's multi-material Fusion approach to building a clubhead, just with a completely new geometry. It is 460cc in clubhead volume, with discretionary weight positioned in the rear corners of the clubhead. The FT-i also utilizes what the company calls "Complete Inertial Design" to target not only horizontal MOI (what we usually think of when we hear MOI - resistance to twisting on off-center hits heel-to-toe), but also vertical MOI (resistance to twisting on off-center hits sole-to-crown).
The FT-i driver comes in Draw, Neutral and Fade models, and boasts the largest titanium cup face that Callaway has yet produced.
The Callaway FT-i driver is available in standard and Tour models as well as men's and women's versions. The standard model has lofts of 9, 10, 11 and 13 degrees; standard shaft is the graphite Fujikura Speeder 586. The 10- and 11-degree models are available left handed.
The Tour version has a slightly more open face. Tour version lofts are 8.5 and 9.5, with a left-handed version of the 9.5 also available. The standard shaft for the Tour version is the graphite Fujikura Speeder 686.
The official coming out part for the Callaway FT-i driver takes place at the January 2007 PGA Merchandise Show. It will be available at retail beginning in February 2007 with an MSRP of $625 per driver.
The Callaway Web site includes a great .pdf file that details the development of this club and its shape and construction; check it out here. The file includes many photos of Callaway FT-i driver prototypes at different stages in the club's development.
