The new FT-i Callaway Fusion Driver...

.....For much straighter big hits!

Introducing!!!
'The new FT-i Callaway Fusion Driver'

The FT-i Callaway Fusion Driver represents a quantum leap in driver design and performance. Callaway Golf have produced a driver with the highest ‘moment of inertia’ of any on the market today.

They have achieved this exploiting their proprietary Fusion Technology and precisely positioning all the effective weight to the extreme corners of the club head in a revolutionary geometric design. The phenomenal ability to defy the damaging results of miss-hits combined with the ”Optifit” choices (either draw, neutral and fade, with a high ball velocity, and a powerful trajectory).

This of course means that all golfers now have access to the most potent weapon available in golf in a combination that suits their individual game. This driver is the biggest turnaround in golf since the step over from persimmon to metal woods.

The FT-i Callaway Fusion Driver will be available with 4 different lofts of 9°, 10°, 11° and 13°HT(High Trajectory)for right handers and 10° and, 11° for left handers. These come in four shaft flexes, Ladies, Light, Regular and Stiff. Add the ”Optifit” choices and there is a great new driver for every level of player.

The Callaway FT-i Driver is also available in a tour version for the lower handicap with the one loft of 9,5° and in Regular, Stiff and X-Stiff for the really fast swingers.

Callaway golf has revealed that its staff players Phil Mickelson and Michael Campbell are already testing the new square-headed FT-i Callaway Fusion Driver and FT-i Tour Driver, with a view to including them in their bags for 2007 when the clubs will be available to the golfing public. Link here for a little taste of the FTi Inertia Monster buzz on the Pro Tour.

The breakthrough clubs were unveiled at trade shows over successive weeks in Sweden and Germany and received outstanding responses, with pre-ordering from buyers reaching 'unprecedented volumes' in readiness for April availability, says a spokesperson for the Chessington (England)-based company.

Dr Alan Hocknell, Callaway's British-born vice president of innovation and advanced design has been answering questions about the driver and says:

“The club naturally wants to hit straight shots, which is great news for the average golfer."

Here are extracts from his latest interview:

Where did the idea for a square FT-i Callaway Fusion Driver come from?

“The first time we discussed a square driver was in 2001 during a brainstorming session where we were thinking up ways to produce the ultimate performance driver based purely on physics. At that time we weren't thinking about a real driver, just the most efficient design. “

What makes a square shaped driver better than a traditional rounded head?

“The FT-i Callaway Fusion Driver 'reduces miss-hits'!”

“What usually happens when a shot is miss-hit or not precisely struck from the centre of the clubface is that the club twists, resulting in the ball flying off-line?”

" However, the square shape of the FT-i Callaway Fusion Driver allowed us to create extreme weighting in the corners of the clubhead, outside the weighting zone of a traditional driver, which reduced the amount the club rotated around its centre of gravity."

"Essentially, we have optimised how the club reacts to hitting shots anywhere on the face so it naturally wants to hit straight shots, which is great news for the average golfer."

Why is the FT-i made of different materials?

“We have known for some time that carbon is the future of driver design because there are some things you can do with carbon that you can't do with titanium. By using a lightweight carbon composite for the FT-i's body (carbon is significantly lighter than titanium), we created discretionary weight that could then be precisely positioned to enhance the club's performance.”

Is the FT-i legal? The Rules of Golf say club heads must be 'generally plain in shape.'

Yes it certainly is. We discussed our ideas with the ruling bodies at a very early stage and made our plans clear. That included showing them sketches and models of what we were designing.

Any designs with a flat surface on the rear of the head were rejected because they could have been used as another striking surface.

On the face of it - the shape of things to come.

“It also allowed us to create the OptiFit weightings to generate the draw, neutral and fade shot bias. Combined with the titanium cup face, the golfer will benefit from increased ball speed on shots all over the face.”

Will Tour professionals be using the FT-i Callaway Fusion Driver?

“There is a Tour version, aimed at better players. Phil Mickelson, who I work closely with, has already tested the club. We will be working together on an equipment strategy for each of next year's Majors.”

“Phil used two drivers to win the Masters in April. Is there any chance he or other players might use the FT-i for straight drives and a traditional shaped driver for shaping tee shots?”

“Clearly, it's a possibility and Phil has shown how you can use two drivers for different shots. The FT-i is great for long-carrying, straight drives, but there may be an advantage to carrying a driver for a specific shape of shot, too.”

This interview was carried out at the Munich Golf Europe Trade Show in October 2006.