It seems to be the next big revolution in club design.

Unlike some of the club design atrocities from the past, I think this one is here to stay. Remember the Top-Flite Magna soup ladle? Ugh. Well, the square headed drivers are coming on in a big way, and frankly, they look kind of neat if you can get over the initial “new things are bad” feeling.

Since the creation of metal drivers, manufacturers have been toying with ways to increase the “more factor”: more distance and more straightness (and let’s not forget - more money).

In recent years, the trend has been to make the heads larger. The USGA limit of 460cc for club head volume has been the norm for a few years now. The final frontier, at least for the time being, is the shape that is employed in the club head.

There are some limitations there too. According to the USGA’s Rules on Clubs and Balls:

When the club is in a 60 degree lie angle, the dimensions of the clubhead must be such that:

1. the distance from the heel to the toe of the clubhead is greater than the distance from the face to the back;
2. the distance from the heel to the toe of the clubhead is not greater than 5 inches (127 mm);
3. the distance from the sole to the crown of the clubhead is not greater than 2.8 inches (71.12 mm).

So, the distance from heel to toe may not be more than 5 inches wide, and 2.8 inches high from bottom to top. Also, most importantly, that heel-toe distance can’t be greater than the distance from the front (face) to back.

The design wizards got together and found that they couldn’t make the clubs any bigger because they’re already at maximum volume. And they can’t make the faces any more springy because they’re already at the maximum coefficient of restitution (COR). So the only place left to go is shape and because of the requirement on proportion of heel to toe length versus face to back depth, squareish was the next logical step.

What came out of all that is a boost for us players. These square headed drivers claim to have some of the highest moment of inertia (MOI) values of any drivers out there. What that means is that the face is resistant to twisting. And what that means is that off center hits will fly straighter and further.

Callaway and Nike got into the trend recently with their FT-i and SasQuatch Sumo2 models. This week, I saw on The Turn on the Golf Channel that several other manufacturers are offering up square headed designs, one of which is Nickent that I happened to see on a window shopping trip to Golfsmith last night.

These drivers are getting exposure on Tour too. I’ve noticed both KJ Choi and Ernie Els hitting their respective sponsor’s square shaped offerings in recent tournaments, including the 2007 PGA Championship. When technology hits the various tours, it’s a good bet that it’s here to stay.

I haven’t had a chance to test-fire any of these square headed drivers yet, but I’m more than intrigued (hint to equipment manufacturers and/or retailers: got any spare demo models?).

Does anyone have any experiences with these drivers to share? I’d love to hear them!

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Further Reading:

Moment of Inertia and Coefficient of Restitution (Life in the Rough)
USGA’s Rules on Clubs and Balls (United States Golf Association)

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