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The Future Of Feel
"Every iron shape is like a bell," says Tom Stites, director of product creation for Nike. "You hit it and hear how it rings."
Don't let Stites' country-boy modesty fool you. The truth is, he and other clubmakers have a good idea what an iron will sound like before the first one is cast or forged. With computer-aided design files, the frequencies at which a clubhead will vibrate on various impacts can be predicted with accuracy. Stites won't disclose his data, but he says there's a range of palatable frequencies or "feel zones" that his team works to design in.
More and more irons are implementing viscoelastic materials, such as rubbers and gels, to mask bad vibrations and get into these zones.
Of course, those times when an iron is struck dead center, hardly anything is heard or felt. Somewhat ironically, good feel is the absence of feel.
"To grow the sweet spot larger and gain distance you make the face thinner," says Mike Nicolette, a club designer at Ping. "Thin faces can give a tinny sound and unreliable distance. Dampeners address both these problems."
Though the materials of these dampeners might be new, the idea of muting the consequences of off-center hits isn't. Wilson put rubber in the hosel of its Staff Fluid Feel iron starting in 1956.
Others aren't convinced of the benefits. "We've experimented with different materials," says Tim Reed, vice president of research and development at Adams, "and not to say it can't work, but the feel and sound we got was 'dull' and 'dead.' "
"Someday we'll see an iron head made entirely of polymer, then coated with metal," predicts John Hoeflich, senior vice president of Nickent.
What about classic-looking irons? How do designers balance forged feel and forgiveness? Again, it's the shape of the bell. "The idea is to maximize moment of inertia through shape," says Reed, "then stop just short of when feel starts to drop off. A thick sole feels solid and adds forgiveness."
By Max Adler
Photos: Jim Herity
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Srixon
The forged SRIXON I-701 is a two-piece constructed head with a 1025 carbon-steel body and a soft 1020 carbon face. It comes in a tour version, which has minimal offset and a thin topline and sole profile.
$1,000, $1,200 for tour
srixon.com
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Mizuno
Touted as the most forgiving MP iron to date, the MIZUNO MP-57 is the first MP iron with a full cavity. The topline is 6 percent thicker than the MP-60, which had a half-cavity.
$1,000
mizunousa.com
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Adams
The ADAMS A3 OS Hybrid irons transition to a conventional shape at the 8-iron. The rest feature a wide sole and hollow construction.
$700
adamsgolf.com
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