F1 drives new golf club

Golf has turned to Formula One in a bid to produce a high-tech golf club.

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Golf has turned to the high-tech world of Formula One in a bid to produce a club which will out-perform its rivals.

The Williams F1 team will provide its cutting edge technology to a new company, Williams Sports, which will market the clubs under a licensing agreement.

The materials used in the shafts and the aerodynamically adavanced shape of the club faces are expected to see players drive the ball far longer than those using conventional equipment.

The innovation comes at a time when square grooves were recently outlawed in a bid to make some shots less predictable and golf authorities are trying to cut down on attempts by club makers to overpower traditional courses.

Williams Sport was started by Michael Lee the former chief executive of Nickent Golf, a US company which collapsed but had previously provided equipment used to win 44 times on PGA tours worldwide.

Lee said the idea was a response to the crackdown on radical technology in the game.

"So many limitations have been placed on golf equipment that it was just a matter of time before a golf company started looking at aerodynamics and new materials," Lee told AAP.

The company says the latest aerodynamics will add significantly to club speed and provide more length from the tees.

The clubs will feature low weight high strength carbon fibre shafts, with tungsten inserts to fine tune weight distribution.

High nickel content super alloy, used in the manufacture of Formula One car exhausts will be used in the exclusive Qualifier Series of Williams Sports irons.

According to the company the gain for a golfer is reduced loss of swing energy and a more stable head angle for a cleaner and straighter ball strike.

In tests the Williams driver has shown 19 per cent less drag force compared to a similar TaylorMade Burner driver. Williams boss Sir Frank Williams said the new equipment had the potential to "revolutionise" golf equipment design.

"We have much proprietary know-how which we are now bringing to wider consumer as well as industrial applications," Williams said.


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Source: AAP


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