Innovation prize goes to putter

Why YES!Golf weight system is a winner

Bob Warters
Wed, 8 Oct 2008
Innovation prize goes to putter

golf putters
Harold Swash (left) and Phil Kenyon with the award-winning Stealex system for Yes!Golf putters

A key feature of the Golf Europe trade show in Munich this week has been the increasing swing towards do-it-yourself custom-fitting of clubs.

While many brands have promoted the various shafts and weights that can be fitted and inter-changed in their clubheads - either professionally or by the use of a simple wrench to deliver different ball flights and trajectories - Cobra introduced an option to changed the angle of the face from square to a draw bias.

Indeed its latest King Cobra L5V driver was highly commended by the judges in the 2008 product awards for its innovative engineering feat which is sure to prove a big hit when it's introduced on November 1.

However, the top prize went to engineer Alexander Kadner for his Stealex (SWS) shaft weight system, which he has developed in conjunction with Yes!Golf putters.

Using a series of variously weighted steel rods separated by rubber 'O' rings, players can maximise their equipment to fit their putting stroke and promote a smooth transition at impact.

The system is initially being integrated into the Callie, Victoria 2 and Natalie putters, which all feature the Harold Swash-designed C-groove face.

Commented Phil Kenyon from the Harold Swash putting academy in Southport, one of seven Yes! Golf fitting centres: "We combine the new system with Harold's philosophy on how to putt.

"Darren Clarke has already used a prototype of the weight system suspended within a Callie putter and says it gives him more consistency and stability in his putting stroke."

As well as providing a different concept within putting, through experimenting with the different weights, Yes!Golf says the system can also be modified to help a golfer adapt to different green speeds.

Putters fitted with the new system are likely to cost around £160 next Spring.

golf putters
Unusual range of granite and marble-headed putters

ONE OF THE MORE eye-catching designs in putters at the show were those introduced by German architect Uwe Wulf - with heads made from granite and marble, which deliver a surprisingly soft touch at impact.

His 'stone-tough' series of putters are made from natural materials including stone from South Africa, marble from India and coloured granite from Finland and Norway.

Uwe, a keen golfer, said he hit on the idea through a friend who who has a stone business.

"After several experiments with natural stone, we came to the conclusion that nature has already provided us with the ideal properties for a putter. They have a superb homogenous structure, are stable, weatherproof and very robust."

He's looking for a UK distributor and expects the putters to sell for around for around £180. Further details from www.stone-touch.eu.