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News
Alpha
C830.2 Rated 6th Hottest Driver by About Golf
The
Alpha C830.2 driver comes with a great pedigree earned in long-drive
competitions around the world. But the elements that make the
C830.2 great for
the biggest of the big bombers also make it a good driver for the rest of us. The
C830.2 driver from
Alpha (a division of Kent Sports, Inc.) has been a
favored driver in long-drive competitions since late in 2003, when it first
started showing up in the hands of Long Drivers of America (LDA) stalwarts.
Since then, this driver has won numerous long drive competitions around the
world. But the Alpha C830.2 isn't just admired by long drivers.
Fans of
component clubs - those golfers who prefer to order a clubhead, a shaft and a
grip and put the club together themselves - are also big fans of
Alpha driver
heads, including the C830.2. Count Golf Digest among this driver's fans, too. In their February
equipment issue, GD named the
Alpha C830.2 one of two "best drivers
you've never heard of." "... the C830.2's oval geometry in the back of the face
increases ball speed in impacts around the perimeter of the sweet spot," the
magazine's editors wrote. Alpha uses an airtight, cold-forging process in make the
C830.2 heads. A face
insert of dense but thin and elastic SP700 titanium provides the maximum COR.
That face is backed by the "oval geometry" referenced in Golf Digest;
it's what Alpha calls "Increased Target Design" technology, or ITD. Using ITD,
Alpha says it is able to expand the sweet spot in an oval pattern, increasing
the area on the face that is "hot" but also helping to produce better shots from
areas around the fringes of the sweet spot.
What does it all add up to? We've seen that this driver has many fans in the
industry and among more knowledgeable club-builders. Now it has some more new
fans: those golfers who tried it out along with us during several sessions at
the driving range and over several rounds of golf. The Alpha
C830.2 is an attractive club with its midnight black finish and the
Greek "alpha" symbol on the crown. It's easy to setup; it's shape and size
(460cc) inspire confidence at address.
Alpha says the
C830.2 is a maxed-out driver that still provides workability
without sacrificing distance or accuracy. We found that distance with this
driver was excellent, and dispersion very good. The better players who tried it
were able to shape their drives to their satisfaction. The weaker players - well, some of them were just happy to get the ball
airborne! But they put to the test Alpha's expanded sweet spot, and it passed.
Everyone felt the C830.2 offered great forgiveness on balls struck around the
edges of the target zone. One thing that everyone agreed on - and this was the standout feature for us -
is that the Alpha C830.2 has a fantastic feel and sound at impact. Many 460cc
drivers sound (and feel) as if they are exploding at impact - it's loud, and you
feel it in your hands. The
Alpha C830.2 produced a sound and feel that was very
crisp - the only "explosions" going on were as the ball jumped off the clubface. That's a function of the fine craftsmanship in the head, and its stability over
time.
Alpha brags that no long driver has ever broken one of these clubheads in
competition. You'll understand why when you feel that crispness and stability.
We had a few testers hit popups, but the black finish survived well without any
serious skymarks.
The Alpha C830.2 is available in eight lofts ranging from 4.0 to 12.0. All
versions are 460cc in volume, 45 inches in length, with a face angle of -0.5.
Shaft flexes of X, S, R and A are available for all models (3, 5 and 7 fairway
woods are also available).
Aldila NV shafts rack up
win at PGA Tour Q-School Finals
Aldila, golf’s leading designer
and manufacturer of high-performance graphite wood and irons
shafts, announced today that the winner of the PGA Tour’s
Q-School Finals used the
Aldila NV exclusively in his woods
during his victory.
Furthermore, according to the
Darrell Survey Company
Aldila was the most popular shaft at
the 2005 Q-School Finals. The
Aldila NV Series of shafts led
Aldila to the number one ranking as the leading shaft
manufacturer in both woods and hybrid shafts at this years
event. There were 127
Aldila Wood shafts in play, nearly 1/3
of all wood shafts in play.
Aldila also dominated the Hybrid
shaft count as there were more than two times as many NV
Hybrids in play than our nearest competitor’s hybrid shaft.
The NV product features
exclusive aerospace materials and Aldila's unique Micro
Laminate TechnologyTM that provides the player enhanced power,
consistent flex and precise feel. The
Aldila NV is available
for woods, hybrid clubs, and irons in a variety of weights and
tip sizes.
Long Drivers and
the Indifferent Zone
It is apparent that the
popularity of long drivers among professionals and long drive
competitors has significantly influenced players who are
seeking to drive the ball longer. Although the promise of
increased distance with long drivers sounds good, the question
arises as to how much a driver can be extended to increase
distance without hurting accuracy. To determine this
uncertainty, the designers and engineers of Harrison Sports
have developed and pioneered the concept of the "indifferent
zone."
The "indifferent zone" is where
the optimal physical motion of a golf swing is unaffected by
the weight and feel of the driver. Nonetheless for clubmakers
and golfers, it is evident that there is an obvious difference
in feel and performance between a 43" and 45" club. Among
other things, accuracy can be greatly affected by the strain
caused by swinging the longer club.
If you have customers who are considering changing to a longer
driver, we recommend building two drivers of 45" and 47" for
testing driver lengths between 43" and 47". Test the 45"
driver first. If your customer is having trouble controlling
this length, cut the butt a 1/2" until the person finds their
optimum length. The optimal length being where maximum
distance is reached without hurting accuracy.
However, if your customer is having success with the 45"
driver, have him or her test the 47" club. If the person has
trouble with this length, the butt of the driver can be cut a
1/2" until the optimal length is found. As a result, multiple
lengths can be tested using only two demonstrator clubs. As
your customers practice with the 45" and 47" drivers, they
will able to find a long driver length that produces optimum
performance.
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