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Taylor
Made to Launch
'International' Driver
Taylor Made have confirmed that they will sell an international
version of their recently introduced 300 Series driver that
conforms to Royal & Ancient
Golf Club rules but exceeds 'spring-like' limitations set
by the United States Golf Association.
The decision
to sell an international version, which would be classified
as a non-conforming model in the United States, was made to
accommodate potential global demand for products to compete
with Callaway's ERC II driver.
Robert
Erb, Taylor Made's vice-president for global marketing, said
the only
difference between the international and US models was that
the overseas
driver had a coefficient of restitution higher than limits
set by the USGA.
Golfsmith International, another leading American equipment
retailer and
manufacturer, are set to launch a Snake Eyes clubhead that
is expected to
fail the USGA's test for trampoline effect, according to vice-president
and
chief technical officer Tom Wishon. The steel-faced clubhead
is simply a
renamed version of the Lynx Black Cat HI-COR driver that has
already been
deemed illegal by the USGA.
"If
Callaway, the leading company in golf, is doing it and the
demand is
strong, we may need to fill the market with some line and
this would likely
be the candidate," said Wishon.
Following
the unveiling of Titleist and Callaway's new balls, Spalding
have
announced that they will introduce three versions of their
premium Strata
ball line at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando next January.
Two of those entries are replacements for current Strata models,
with the revamped Distance becoming the Professional Distance
and the ML Balata becoming the Professional Balata.
But the
big news is the third ball, which is rumoured to be named
the Tour
Assault. Eddie Binder, executive vice-president of marketing,
said: "The technology is the first of its kind and will
send the competition back to their labs. We have been refining
this technology for several years and have made
significant investments in equipment to produce the ball.
This will take the
Strata brand, which has more than doubled its share of the
business over the
past year, to a whole new level."
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