Callaway Golf Introduces Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Driver And Fairway Woods: They Conform, They Perform
Callaway Golf Introduces Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Driver And Fairway Woods: They Conform, They Perform
October 24, 2000 at 12:00 AM EDT
CONTACT(S): Larry Dorman, Krista Mallory (760) 931-1771
CARLSBAD, CA, October 24, 2000 – Callaway Golf Company (NYSE:ELY) announced today the introduction of the Big Bertha® Hawk Eye® VFT™ Titanium Driver and Fairway Woods. The exciting new Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Driver takes clubface rebound and ball-speed performance to new levels – while retaining a classic look and feel. The Hawk Eye VFT Driver conforms with R&A regulations and can be used in all amateur and professional events around the world. Already, the prototype version of this great new driver has been used in four pro tour victories around the world – prior to its introduction.
“The new Hawk Eye VFT Driver is the result of a lot of creative thinking and R&D by the top designers in the golf club manufacturing business here at Callaway Golf,” said Ely Callaway, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Callaway Golf. “We saw the need to create, design, build and sell a driver that would appeal to serious golfers who choose to play with golf clubs that conform to the regulations of all of golf’s ruling bodies around the world. The new Hawk Eye VFT Driver is that club. The whole new line of Hawk Eye VFT Drivers and Fairway Woods conforms in every way with all the regulations set by the world’s rules makers, and we believe that golfers will find the performance of these clubs to be superior to any competing clubs currently in the market.”
Said Richard C. Helmstetter, Senior Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief of New Products at Callaway Golf, “We know there are many golfers around the world who have been looking for a great combination of feel, classic lines and technological advancement in their drivers and fairway woods. We believe the new Hawk Eye VFT Driver and Fairway Woods provide all those playability features with the look that these good players desire. We concentrated on optimizing the initial velocity that these woods could deliver, and we also used advanced computer analysis to fine-tune weight distribution in the clubhead. The result is a series of aesthetically pleasing drivers and fairway woods that really perform – in distance, forgiveness and durability.”
The Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods are named for their most prominent design feature: Callaway Golf’s patented Variable Face Thickness (VFT) Technology. This Callaway Golf technology is built into all Callaway Golf woods and irons, including the Steelhead Plus Stainless Steel Metal Woods, the original ERC™ Forged Titanium Driver, and the new ERC II Forged Titanium Driver.
With VFT Technology, the thickness of the clubface tapers from thickest in an area near the center to thinnest around the perimeter. Callaway Golf’s engineers use this technology to increase the coefficient of restitution (COR), which makes the energy transfer between ball and club more efficient. The result is better launch conditions, which help golfers of all skill levels achieve more distance and greater forgiveness.
The Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods have a number of unique features. The use of VFT Technology has been calibrated to create the maximum COR allowed by USGA Rules. This allowed engineers to design very hot and very forgiving titanium woods while keeping the conventional shape at address that many golfers have told us they desire. The sole of each Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Wood also features an internal weight port injected with a high-density molten metal. This weight port is situated to create a low, deep center of gravity that promotes a flatter ball flight with the drivers and a high, accurate trajectory with the fairway woods.
While the Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Drivers are 15 percent larger than the original Hawk Eye Titanium Drivers, they have a sleek look at address. This is because the aspect ratio has been increased by making the clubfaces deeper in relation to their length. The larger head size and increased aspect ratio combine to improve the ball speed generated throughout the set, from the drivers through the fairway woods.
The Hawk Eye VFT Drivers and Fairway Woods also feature a new family of ultralight graphite shafts that made possible by another design innovation. A thermoplastic shaft sleeve is bonded between the clubhead and shaft to absorb stress during impact. This technology was a key in the design of the new high-performance System 60 Ultralight graphite shafts that were designed especially for use with the Hawk Eye VFT family. These shafts provide lower torque with a lively feel, creating Tuned Performance between the shaft and clubhead. Each individual flex of the System 60 Ultralight shafts has a specific weight, length and design to provide the desired performance characteristics for each club in the family, including separate shaft designs for the drivers and fairway woods.
Big Bertha Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Drivers are available in lofts from 6 to 12 degrees, while Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Fairway Woods are available in 2-wood (The Deuce), Strong 3-wood, 3-wood, Strong 4-wood, 4-wood, 5-wood, 7-wood (HeavenWood) and 9-wood (Divine Nine) with System 60 ultralight graphite shafts in light, regular, firm and strong flexes and Gems 50 ultralight graphite shafts in both right- and left-handed models. The suggested retail price for the Hawk Eye VFT Drivers and Fairway Woods is $500 per individual titanium wood in the U.S. Availability is expected in January 2001. Big Bertha Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods replace the Great Big Bertha® Hawk Eye Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods in Callaway Golf’s product line.
Callaway Golf Company makes and sells Big Bertha® Metal Woods and Irons, including Big Bertha ERC™ II Forged Titanium Drivers, Big Bertha Hawk Eye® VFT™ Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods, Great Big Bertha® Hawk Eye Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods, Big Bertha Steelhead Plus™ Stainless Steel Drivers and Fairway Woods, Hawk Eye Tungsten Injected™ Titanium Irons, Steelhead™ X-14® and Steelhead X-14 Pro Series Stainless Steel Irons, and Bobby Jones® and Carlsbad Series™ Putters. Callaway Golf Company also makes and sells Odyssey® Putters, including White Hot™, TriHot™, and TriForce® Putters. Callaway Golf Ball Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Callaway Golf Company, makes and sells the Callaway Golf® Rule 35™ Firmfeel™ and Softfeel™ golf balls. For more information about Callaway Golf Company, please visit our Web sites at www.callawaygolf.com, www.callawaygolfball.com and www.odysseygolf.com.