LIAM HIGGINS, the Waterville professional, has become a key figure in a development which is expected to revolutionise the golf industry. A new thermo plastic shaft, manufactured by the Jordan company in Staffordshire, England, is claimed to increase the length of the average drive by as much as 10 per cent.
The invention, which is to be officially launched at the PGA of America's annual Merchandise Show in Orlando next month, has already been used to telling effect by Higgins, in a driver and a wedge on the can Seniors' Tour. Indeed helped the 53 year old raise more than a few eyebrows during The
Player Championship at the Buckinghamshire on October 18th to 20th.
At the par our 17th, a 3 year dog leg, Higgins took the short line to the green a carry of 310 yards, and landed the ball two feet from the pin. So, while colleagues assumed he had sunk a pitch for his eagle two, he could point out that his in fact, a putt.
Renowned for his big hitting, which included a record drive of 634 yards down a runway at Baldonnel (Aerodrome, Higgins turned to the the revolutionary shaft three months' (ago. "It's unbelievable," he enthused. "I'm hitting the ball 20 yards further, which gives me an average of around 300 yards off the instead of 280.
Speaking from his home in Waterville, he went on "I believe it will revolutionise the game, especially for handicap, amateur players. Meanwhile, players like Tiger Woods and John Daly could get another 40 to 50 yards. It could mean reaching the green with drives at 400 yard holes.
The manufacturing company are experts in plastics. Explaining the (technology behind the shaft, their representation Luther Bradbury said "We use gas injection and thermo plastic composites. Apart from the additional length it delivers, the shalt doesn't deform to any great extent in the swing.
He went on "Particularly significant is that the club head unwinds back to square appreciably faster than with steel or graphite." Independent tests carried out at Nottingham University and at laboratories in San Diego have proved that the golf ball goes further and with greater accuracy.
But is it legal? Yes, as long as it conforms to specific requirements, said Michael Bonalack, secretary of the Royal and Ancient. For example, it has to be straight, circular in the cross section and have certain bending and twisting capabilities.
Bonallack added "There is nothing in the rules covering the performance of a shaft but if we feel it is causing a problem, we'll take a closer look at it. If this shaft does' (what it is claimed to do, it would, (make all other shafts obsolete."
Interestingly, this is the second occasion in recent weeks when Bonallack has been called on to comment about longer hitting in the modern game. The previous occasion had to do with work currently in progress on the Old Course at St Andrews where new tees at seven holes will add 180 yards to its over jail length.
As it happens, John Daly, winner of the British Open at St Andrews, is not particularly pleased about the advantages off red by the new shaft. If technology takes over and compensates for everyone faults, it will destroy the self sat is faction and sense of achievement's an essential part of the game.
Meanwhile, three Irish players Darren Clarke (62nd), Paul McGinley (81st) and Padraig Harrington (95th) have ended the year in the top 100 of the Sony world Rankings. Further down the list, however, Philip Walton, ate 174th, is the only other Irishman to earn inclusion in the leading 200.
As might be expected, Harrington's improvement was the most dramatic. Tied for 754th place or effectively unranked at the end of 1995 the Spanish Open champion achieved an upward movement that was bettered by only five players internationally.
There were the American Paul Stankowski who leapt from 292nd to, 59th, England's Lee Westwood who won in Japan haying earlier captured the Scandinavian Masters Yoshinori Kaneko of Japan and Americans Tim Herron and Clarence Rose. Interestingly, Harrington's gain of 84 Sony points was more than that of Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, who was preferred to him in the poll for Rookie of the Year McGinley, who achieved a long awaited European breakthrough by capturing the Austrian Open last August, improved 80 places since the end of last year when he languished at 161st. Clarke went from 188th to 62nd, helped by his October (victory in the German Masters.
In terms of quality, however, these (movements tend to pale when compared with Tiger Woods who made an astonishing transition from amateur to professional ranks last August. The three times US Amateur champion improved by no fewer than 476 places from 509th to 33rd.
