Callaway Golf Europe Ltd. today announces the introduction of a very dramatic development in driver technology, the new ERC Forged Titanium Driver from Callaway Golf Company. The new driver has an ultra-thin, ultra-hot forged face that features Callaway Golf’s proprietary “Variable Face Thickness Technology” – a design breakthrough said to result in more ball speed. This feature helps increase the golfer’s chances of achieving more distance off the tee. The driver’s design also delivers exceptional forgiveness and optimizes launch parameters.
Due to the extremely limited production facilities for this unprecedented driver, initial quantities will be restricted. Current plans are that it will be offered for sale in Europe in May.
The new ERC Forged Titanium Driver was designed and engineered by a team led by Richard C. Helmstetter, Callaway Golf’s Senior Executive Vice President and Chief of New Golf Club Products. Mr. Helmstetter was the creator of the original Big Bertha Driver. R&D engineers at Callaway Golf tested multiple metal alloys, every type of titanium, including Beta Titanium and Tri-beta Titanium, and a variety of engineering options before they decided upon the optimal design and metal chemistry for the ERC Forged Titanium Driver.
The result of this advanced research and development effort can be clearly seen in the 300cc, enlarged clubhead. This gives the ERC Driver a larger face size and a higher moment of inertia, for increased forgiveness and ease of use. The engineering in Callaway Golf’s advanced internal weight positioning process has placed two precision weight chips into the clubhead to generate a higher launch angle with less backspin – also meaning greater potential for increased distance.
“We have in the ERC Forged Titanium Driver the hottest face we have ever designed for a golf club to be sold in Europe,” said Chuck Yash, President of Callaway Golf. “We think it will compete very well in the European market.”
“Once again we think we have shown our global leadership in golf equipment technology,” said Ely Callaway, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Callaway Golf. “We believe that this dramatically improved driver will bring great pleasure to the golfers in Europe.”
“We are very excited about the potential for the ERC driver in Europe,” said Kai Flint, President and Managing Director of Callaway Golf Europe. “We are confident that it will be enthusiastically received by European golfers at every level.”
The ERC Forged Titanium Driver has been designed to conform to the regulations of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Saint Andrews (R&A) as they exist today. It has been submitted to the R&A for the purpose of determining its conformity with the Rules of Golf as applied in those countries where it will be sold. Because there are no plans to sell the driver in the United States, the ERC Forged Titanium Driver has not been submitted to the USGA.
The clubhead of the ERC Forged Titanium Driver has been manufactured with state of the art fabrication technology. The face, crown, sole and internal hosel are formed separately and then welded together. The forged titanium face is stronger than cast titanium, which allows Callaway Golf design engineers to reduce the wall thickness in key areas. By using a separate internal hosel that is not attached to the face, more mass can be moved away from the face to create a larger effective hitting area.
The ERC Forged Titanium Driver has a deep metallic black finish, creating a new and powerful look. The new scoreline pattern on the brushed metal face frames the ball for greater confidence at address. A variety of high performance graphite shafts developed by Callaway Golf and Graphite Design add to the performance benefits of the ERC Forged Titanium Driver. The ERC™ Ultralight shaft is offered in a complete range of flexes to help golfers increase clubhead speed while still enjoying stability and solid feel.
The suggested retail price in the U.K. is £499.00