“The vibrations from hitting cold golf balls really stung my hands,” said Bruce Burrows, founder and chairman of Burrows Golf Inc., describing that hurtful sensation so familiar to golfers. “The range balls in winter seemed harder than usual and even sounded different. Then it suddenly clicked.”
That morning in the winter of 1994/5 Bruce Burrows left the range and immediately went to the drawing board to experiment with energy wave dynamics and shock waves. The challenge he faced was to find a way to reflect the powerful energy shock wave that is produced at ball impact back to the clubface. Eight years later, with the use of hard science and common sense, he and his associates have figured out a way to generate less harmful vibrations.
“We discovered how to redirect the wasted energy so it doesn’t go up the shaft and hurt your tendons and joints,” Burrows explains. “Instead, it goes back to the ball where it belongs. After the ball leaves the face, the harmful vibrations are released toward the ground having already hit the Powersphere dome which amplifies power evenly across the club face.”
In scientific terms, the 47 year old Burrows, who already holds more than two hundred worldwide patents, has created a hemispheric, paper thin titanium dome in the sole of the club. It’s called Magnitude Amplification Cavity, hence MAC. This Powersphere dome reflects the shockwave, redirecting it back into the ball making the whole face ‘hot’ and the club power acts as an amplifier.
As if that wasn’t enough, the MAC Powersphere delivers more yards and, importantly, the distance drop-off is less with off-centre hits so the player is more accurate off the tee.
To fine-tune the concept, Burrows Golf went through a long series of technical and scientific tests including the development of one-of-a-kind robotics.
“It’s the most innovative club I’ve ever played or been associated with,” said Bill Rogers, 1981 Royal St George’s Open Champion. The very first time he played the clubs Rogers set a new course record of 64. He now uses exclusively the MAC Powersphere on the Champions Tour, currently along with nine other fellow professionals. “They’re longer and more accurate. What more could anyone need?” he said.
Following their launch at the Orlando Trade Show in January this year both the US trade and consumer golf press have given MAC by Burrows Golf massive press coverage. Their overall US sales have been impressive and the product is fast becoming one of the hottest things in American golf.
But Burrows Golf also offers a unique custom fitting service. With the new MAC Quick-Fit and Quick-Grip system any golf professional, according to Bruce Burrows, can now ‘fit’ a client in about twenty minutes.
First the club professional will observe the player’s ball flight pattern, trajectory and overall shot tendencies with his existing clubs. He will then select the appropriate combination of loft, face angle, type of shaft, grip style and diameter using every correct combination of MAC clubheads, grips and shafts to match precisely the needs of the player.
Changing clubheads or grips only takes 20 seconds using a specially developed wrench to facilitate this task. A big part of this efficient system is the quick disconnect mechanism by which the clubheads and grips are secured to the shafts. This spline-coupling mechanism is made from airplane-strength aluminium and patterned after a Ferrari’s transmission. This mechanism cannot slip when you hit the ball.
During this fitting session, the golf pro can select from 510 possible fitting combinations. The system includes 30 shafts, 7 grips, 3 grip diameter options, 17 clubheads and a wrench, all within the Quick-Fit bag. This is the first time a fitting club and custom club perform exactly the same. The ordered club will then be delivered within one week.
The Burrows Golf team, which rejected numerous existing ‘shopping cart’ fitting methods because they were deemed too slow, cumbersome and ungainly, took three years to develop the Quick-Fit and Quick-Grip system. The company placed a premium upon customised clubs early in its development, and the extra effort has paid off.
“Our goal was to eliminate the hassle and very limited selection that the ‘shopping cart’ fitting systems offer. Golfers are smart. Until now they have always wondered whether their shaft and clubhead specifications are optimum for their game. That uncertainty is now over and, with the guidance of their golf professional, science is finally on their side,” Bruce Burrows explained.
Robert Lambie has been appointed Director of European Operations for Burrows Golf (rlambie@burrowsgolf.com) and the former European general manager of TaylorMade is now building a team of experienced agents. The launch in Europe will be rolled out gradually. Shipments to the UK will begin almost immediately and those to mainland Europe will follow early in 2004.
There will be no paid-for player endorsements – the emphasis will be upon gaining prime point-of-sale positions with displays of the Quick Fit bag and the range of all seven clubs with prices at £329 for the driver and £170 for fairway woods.
Burrows Golf, Inc www.burrowsgolf.com