Equipment and Accessories (Wednesday, 8th October )

We have had metal woods, titanium heads, Big Bertha's by the score, extra long shafts, you think you've seen it all. No you have not! Here at EuroGolf this week we see the golf industry launch itself into the latest realm of technology. Now we have gripless titanium drivers, titanium filled golf balls, metal coated golf balls, gas injected shafts, putters with concentric grooves, and the 'fat' shaft.

Wilson who were absent from this exhibition last year returned this year with two revolutionary superstar products - the Wilson Staff titanium golf ball and the fat shaft irons.

The new ball has a core made from a titianium compound which, says Wilson, focuses the energy on impact producing greater distance. While a new magnesium Surlyn cover gives greater feel.

Wilson tell me they expect this new ball to contribute to a rise in sales of over 40 per cent over a comparable period last year.

The Wilson Fat shaft irons takes clubs into the next level of technology by building on oversized clubheads with an oversized shaft. Wilson say advanced orders for the new club have reached record levels.

The club incorporates new shaft technology which makes the shaft wider or 'fatter' where the golfer needs it most, above the clubhead. This, notes Wilson, reduces torque, or twisting on impact and provides greater torsional stability, which results in "deadly accuracy and greater distance".

Fat shaft irons will retail at £699 for graphite and £469 for steel and the clubs are available in seniors, mens and ladies options.

The Arnold Palmer Co was showing the GRIPLESS by adding the new Extreme GL shaft to the PHD Titanium driver with its hosel weighting technology.

What advantage could you gain by getting rid of the grip? Well Palmer says, "by doing so we have removed an extra 50 grams of weight from the club, which reduced its overall weight to a mere nine ounces." The majority of the club's weight is toward the PHD titanium head. This lowers the club's balance point and increases clubhead speed by 5 to 10 miles per hour. What does that mean to you? Palmer says , "how about and extra 20 to 30 yards distance off the tee!"

Palmer has also introduced a new Palmer Grip glove which is said to provide an extra-strong bond between the palm and finger of the glove and the club. Amongst its many features it includes a patented Anti-slip palm panel designed to mate perfectly with, what else, the gripless shafts!

If you want to try the latest in putters then go for the ProGear C-Groove. This putter incorporates concentric grooves on the face and is the ingenious design of Britain's Putting Doctor, Harold Swash. The concentric grooves are cut at a 20 degree angle to the face which grips the ball and produces immediate topspin. According to Swash the grooves help to keep the ball on-line in the first two feet of the critical putting zone.

Dunlop is back in the forefront of ball technology with the development of two new balls with metal-enhanced covers. The Dunlop Ti and the Dunlop Mg are unlike other balls with metal compounds in that they have metal built into the cover - the surface that comes into direct contact with the club, giving better playing characteristics and feel. The Dunlop Ti is claimed to outperform the competition in terms of distance and the core/cover combination of the Dunlop Mg generates a spin rate that is much higher than other products and is comparable to the top spin ball on the market.

The Dunlop Ti contains titanium dioxide to harden the cover, providing "incredible distance." The ball features Dunlop's unique 392-dimple pattern and an oversize high-energy core for maximum velocity off the clubface. The balls are competitively priced which should ensure they are a hit with players who, until now, have been forced to pay a premium price for high performance spin and distance balls.

Dunlop has also entered into the accessory market for the first time that offers a wide selection of attractive, good quality bags, gloves, hats and umbrellas.

The Dunlop Stand Bag is an 8 inch bag with a fur-lined top and a variety of useful pockets, six-way full length dividers, towel ring and an umbrella sheath. It is available in hunter green, black and navy and retails at £59.99.

The new Carry Bag also has an 8 inch diamater and comes in three colourways - black and green, black and sand, and grey and navy. This bag also features a non-slip sling for easier carrying and is priced at £49.99.

A new driver with a gas-injected thermoplastic shaft was being shown by Jordon Golf of Tamworth. The company is claiming that independent tests have proved the club hits the ball further and straighter than anything else on the market.

The key to the club's extra performance is a composite thermoplastic material which forms an integral part of the shaft.

The tests showed that the energy transfer within the shaft produced an increase of 6.4 per cent in ball velocity at impact. Translated into driving distance, this means 15 yards further with an 85 mph swing, or 25 yards at 115 mph.

Pre-production Jordon shafts have already made an impact on the Senior Tour with Liam Higgins being one of the first to use them. Other Jordon woods are expected to be in production soon, I am told.