CARLSBAD, Calif., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Callaway Golf Company
(NYSE: ELY) today announced the introduction of a technologically advanced new
driver that is substantially different in design and performance from any
other product currently on the market. The Big Bertha(R) C4(TM) Driver
features a large, lightweight clubhead made from a proprietary blend of
composite carbon graphite material. This fresh approach to driver
construction includes departures from previous Callaway Golf design hallmarks
while furthering the Company's primary focus -- to create new products that
are Demonstrably Superior and Pleasingly Different(R).
C4 refers to the Compression Cured Carbon Composite material used in the
face and body of the Big Bertha C4 Driver. Six years of research and
development went into this breakthrough driver, enabling Callaway Golf to
create a superior approach to composite clubhead design that is a vast
improvement over the composite driver heads produced in the early 1990s by
other manufacturers.
"In the past, composite drivers were designed to perform as close to steel
and titanium as possible," said Richard C. Helmstetter, senior executive vice
president and chief of new products for Callaway Golf. "But composite is a
totally different animal. It has a different set of strengths. So we threw
out the rulebook for designing metal drivers and started from scratch on Big
Bertha C4."
Helmstetter and his team focused their attention on the properties that
set composite material apart from metal: extremely light weight and high
strength. Callaway Golf engineers worked to create a clubhead that is
compression-molded in both bi-directional and unidirectional layers using heat
and high pressure. This process makes the Big Bertha C4 material both
lightweight and heavy-duty, resulting in a durable clubhead that is 360 cubic
centimeters -- the largest clubhead in Callaway Golf history -- but still
significantly lighter than other oversize drivers. A new technology was then
employed to distribute 55 grams of weight around the perimeter of the driver
head. Heavy strips of proprietary tungsten-loaded urethane were laminated
into the ribbon area around the clubhead, which is finished with an aluminum
soleplate. All this culminated in a driver that is remarkably light and
durable with a tremendously high level of forgiveness.
"The moment of inertia (MOI) is a good measure of how forgiving a club is,
and the MOI numbers for Big Bertha C4 are off the chart," Helmstetter said.
"A larger head means a larger face area -- 5.8 square inches in the case of
the Big Bertha C4 Driver -- giving golfers a bigger effective hitting area for
a larger sweet spot. By using the tungsten-loaded urethane strips to move so
much weight to the perimeter, the Big Bertha C4 does an outstanding job of
minimizing any twisting at impact, even on off-center hits. One of my
favorite things about the Big Bertha C4 Driver is that the Big Bertha C4
material produces a very solid pleasing sound through impact with performance
that is downright futuristic."
In addition to forgiveness, distance is also a key part of the Big Bertha
C4 Driver. The lightweight clubhead makes it beneficial to use a longer shaft
in an effort to help golfers of all skill levels generate more clubhead speed.
The new Big Bertha C4 Ultralight graphite shaft is 45.5 inches long, weighs
just 53 grams, and the tip diameter is a generous 0.400 inch to maintain
stability and durability. Five performance-specific flexes are available to
suit the needs of individual golfers. Including a proprietary new lightweight
grip, a finished Big Bertha C4 Driver weighs approximately
280 grams -- roughly 25 grams lighter than other drivers of comparable size.
"As we have always said, you can't argue with physics," Helmstetter said.
"A longer shaft helps create more clubhead speed, which helps create more
distance. While longer shafts have been traditionally viewed as more
difficult to control, the extreme forgiveness of the Big Bertha C4 Driver head
is designed to more than compensate for this possibility."
The Big Bertha C4 Driver is different from any driver Callaway Golf has
ever made -- a fact that is underscored by departures from some patented
Callaway Golf technologies, such as Tru-Bore(R) and Variable Face Thickness
Technology. Those technologies work superbly in metal drivers, but did not
fit the Big Bertha C4 design rationale. Big Bertha C4 is different, and many
golfers will appreciate the difference it will make to their game.
The Big Bertha C4 Driver conforms to the Rules of Golf according to the
USGA and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and is legal for
recreational and tournament play around the world. The Big Bertha C4 Driver
is scheduled to ship to retail accounts in January 2002. It is available in
right-and left-handed models with a graphite shaft in five flexes: Ladies,
Light, Regular, Firm and Strong. The suggested retail price for the Big
Bertha C4 Driver is $540.
Callaway Golf Company makes and sells Big Bertha(R) Metal Woods and Irons,
including Big Bertha ERC(R) II Forged Titanium Drivers, Big Bertha C4(TM)
Compression Cured Carbon Composite Drivers, Big Bertha Hawk Eye(R) VFT(R) and
Big Bertha Hawk Eye VFT Pro Series Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods, Big
Bertha Steelhead(TM) III Stainless Steel Drivers and Fairway Woods, Hawk Eye
VFT Tungsten Injected(TM) Titanium Irons, Big Bertha Stainless Steel Irons,
Steelhead X-14(R) and Steelhead X-14 Pro Series Stainless Steel Irons.
Callaway Golf Company also makes and sells Odyssey(R) Putters, including White
Hot(R), TriHot(TM), and Dual Force(R) Putters. Callaway Golf Company makes
and sells the Callaway Golf(R) HX(TM) Red and HX Blue balls, Rule 35(R)
Firmfeel(TM) and Softfeel(TM) balls, the CTU 30(TM) Red and CTU 30 Blue balls,
and the CB1(TM) Red and CB1 Blue balls. For more information about Callaway
Golf Company, please visit our Web sites at http://www.callawaygolf.com and
http://www.odysseygolf.com .
SOURCE Callaway Golf Company
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Related links:
http://www.callawaygolf.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/124825.html
CONTACT:
Larry Dorman, Mick McCormick, or Millie
Speirs of Callaway Golf Company, +1-760-931-1771
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