Yard-Sale Time Again For Golfers Titanium Clubs Next ‘Must’ Items Industry Has Coming Up Cart Path

What’s the absolutely, positively, can’t-live-without-it, gotta-have-one-in-your-bag innovation in golf?

Titanium.

No, it’s not the stuff that makes Superman double-eagle. Titanium is golf’s newest fuel for its ever-rising rocket.

“Stainless steel will be jettisoned and we’re going into a whole new area,” said Mark McClure, president and CEO of Cobra Golf Inc. “Somewhere between 15 and 20 million titanium woods will be sold in the next three to five years.”

As reliable as Ben Crenshaw over a two-footer, the golf industry has found something new to hang its visor on every couple of Ryder Cups. The industry leaders have seen their sales rise like one of Greg Norman’s towering tee shots.

Perimeter-weighted clubs, graphite shafts, oversized woods and irons are but a few of the recent favorites.

“It’s not so much a brand-driven industry as it is a product-driven industry,” McClure said.

Ping, Taylor Made, then Callaway and Cobra, have grown with escalating sales that have resulted in company mergers and acquisitions that have taken golf from the sports pages to the A section.

And now, it’s titanium’s turn in the spotlight, as witnessed by a slew of new clubs at the annual PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla.

Titanium is a metal that’s harder but lighter than steel. In its raw form, it’s also harder to find than your last slice into the woods, so it’s not cheap. But manufacturers are gambling huge investments that golfers of all handicaps will want this precious metal in their bags. There are only four foundries worldwide that can pour titanium, and Cobra has a deal with a foundry in Pomona, Calif.

“This game is going to be over by the end of ‘96,” McClure predicted. “By the time new foundries come on board, it will be too late. If you’re not No. 1 or No. 2, you’re going to lose the game.”

Cobra has added an extra twist that it feels will make it the titanium leader, just like its King Cobra oversized irons top that market segment. The designers at Cobra are building their titanium woods with specific but varied handicappers in mind.

“We’re building clubs meant to help golfers immediately,” said Rob Hirsch, vice president of product development at Cobra.

The King Cobra titanium drivers will vary not only in loft, but also in the design of the club. The shallower the loft, meant for the better player, the smaller the head and less pronounced the runners on the sole plate. As the loft climbs in degrees to 10.5 and 11.5, the head increases in both overall size and face size, enlarging the “sweet spot” for the less-accomplished player.

“The beginner doesn’t have to learn the game any longer with clubs meant for professionals,” Hirsch said. “The design can help compensate for a player’s ability.”

The face angle will also change with the loft. The higher handicapper will grip a club with a more “closed” face, thus helping to square the club at impact and straightening the ball’s flight. Sort of like training wheels, only on a 10-speed.

Cobra makes its own shafts and finishes the titanium heads at its Carlsbad plant. It also has developmental projects under way that could allow it to make its own heads, rather than have an outside foundry pour them.

All this means that titanium will be put to the test on the course as consumers try this latest innovation. McClure says Cobra’s tests have shown that golfers play better with titanium woods than current woods.

“You have to outperform the previous standard to have a long-term success,” he said.

Cobra will introduce its King Cobra Ti at $367, cheapest on the market. McClure said Tommy Armour was forced to drop the price of its Great Scott Titanium from $458 to $375.

Other titanium drivers, including from Taylor Made and Callaway, sell for $500.