Special report by Kirwan Kanwar.

Only one of the #ElectricEight (Jordan, Justin, Bill, Billy, Rickie, Zach, Patrick and Paul) whose #GolfScience is being followed every week in www.golfbytourmiss.com is competing in this week’s 2016 Sony Open in Hawaii – Zach Johnson.

As Zach is most in the news for his switch to a new brand of clubs ($5000 a set), let’s study the science behind the PXG golf clubs now in his bag (information from the manufacturer’s website). PXG, incidentally, stands for Parsons Xtreme Golf, after the owner of the company, Bob Parsons who hired some industry leaders in golf club design and gave then carte blanche with respect to designing the best possible clubs. The only mandate (at least for the irons) was that they should be sexy and “look like blades, launch higher, go further, feel softer and have a sweet spot the size of Texas. ‘PXG clubs have to feel like butter and the difference has to be noticeable.’”

So, aside from the jargon-y names which honor military men and machines, the iron technology allows for a low-density “thermo plastic elastomer” being injected into the center of the irons, which helps to dampen vibrations and give better feel. The face of the irons is especially slim, so that more weight can be put further back and around the perimeter of the club, to allow for a better ball-launch and greater resistance to twisting. The perimeter weighting takes place by placing many small, heavy, tungsten weights all along the edges of the back side of the clubhead. The combination of materials used is said to be unique too.

Double Major winning Zach Johnson the only one of the ‘Electric Eight’ competing in this week’s Sony Open.

The wedges have a blasted face with a laser-etched pattern and a wider groove to generate greater friction between club and ball, which should increase contact time between the two and thus result in greater backspin. Heel to toe tapering of the wedge’s sole combined with the same tungsten weights along the perimeter not only helps reduce clubhead twist but also to reduce the wedge’s bounce, allowing it to get “under” the ball.

The driver has 16 moveable weights and an adjustable hosel. Leaving in or taking out some of the weights moves the balance point or center of mass of the clubhead towards its toe (for more fade), heel (more draw), front (lower launch) or back (higher launch).  Adjusting the hosel changes the loft of the club. Thus the weights are able to, says the PXG company, optimize the ball’s launch, spin and direction.

All of the above is information may be seen on the PXG website. What can some knowledge of science allow us to infer on our own? Firstly, all across the industry, clubhead materials are being experimented with to put in light-weight ones juxtaposed with heavy-weight ones, for more usefully distributed weight; and new concepts are being utilized to reduce clubhead twist during impact. Nothing new in that.

Next, if one looks at a shaft manufacturer’s website, they make similar claims of being able to control ball trajectory and club twist by adjusting shaft weight; shaft tip technology for resistance to torque; and flex point height for different launch angles (see a good explanation from a famous shaft manufacturer athttp://www.fujikuragolf.com/golf-club-shaft-selection). Why use expensive clubs if shaft changes alone might fix an issue? Has anyone scientifically studied what contribution the clubhead makes versus what the shaft makes?

One very well conducted study by an engineering student of Worcester Polytechnics found that grooves do not change the coefficient of friction which affects the time of contact between club and ball, an important contributing factor towards backspin (see https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-043015-113722/unrestricted/Golf_MQP_Final_Report.pdf).

As regards the many adjustment options these clubs offer? Most pros do not know their swing pattern of the day until they start their warm-up on the driving range, so would all their clubhead adjustments be changed daily, and would that mess-up their comfort level with the changing settings? Tiger Woods once said, “Some days when I warm up I am hitting the ball low, other days I’m hitting it high. Some days the ball is drawing, others days it is fading. I just play what I am doing that day.”

Zach Johnson has switched from using, in the words of one report, “Titleist his entire PGA Tour career that includes 12 victories and two majors.”  (seehttp://bigstory.ap.org/article/ace3a540d3da4820bde3c503dbcf59b0/zach-johnson-among-8-players-moving-pxg). How does such a change take place? Typically a pro might hear of some exciting new clubs from a fellow-professional who is a first-mover in trying all things new. Then perhaps he checks out some clubs which are made to his “specifications”, based on sophisticated launch monitor results and upon his own swing posture and mechanics. Perhaps using these clubs over a few rounds of golf and acquiring the opinion of everyone on his team from “caddie to coach” (as Johnson did) cements the deal.

All of these “testing” conditions under which golfers make their new club choices are not truly “generalizable” to competition conditions. When under pressure, the human body bumps up its secretion of certain hormones, which are said to affect how fast and forcefully muscles contract. So, without volition, the swing might suddenly change. How would golf clubs help then?

From a practical stand-point, can you imagine Zach or his caddie adjusting his driver, 3 wood, 5 wood, hybrid, 4-9 irons, and 3 wedges on a daily basis (see the clubs he now carries at https://www.pxg.com/pros/zach-johnson)? Based on the fact that many pros will “find” their swing pattern for the day on the driving range, do Zach and caddie fine tune the clubs just before tee-off, then? As we know, clubhead adjustments are permitted only once per round. So, suppose a golfer uses his 5 iron four times during a particular round, would he adjust for the three wind-against or the one wind-with holes? What if the wind suddenly changed direction or died down? How many holes would he wish to draw his 5 iron versus fade it on? If used for an approach shot, would that not depend on where his tee-shot landed? Same question for the driver and the woods too!

Well into the 21st Century, a time during which science and technology have infiltrated and improved every aspect of human existence, it is vital for scientifically-proven golf swing changes to match club and shaft changes, so as to benefit every single golfer. Swing changes, moreover, which can prevent incorrect body-sequencing while, at the same time easily delivering more clubhead speed, and a more inside, shallow club approach to the ball. It is high time the big golf club manufacturers tied up with golf swing researchers to give the golfer the best possible experience, and to retain more golfers too.

Kiran Kanwar

•   Developer of The Minimalist Golf Swing System -100% scientific, simple and specific
•   BS (physics, math); MS (sports science, nutrition); PhD (biomechanics – student)
•   Class A Member: the LPGA, The PGA (GB&I), The NGA of India, The PGA of India