Callaway Debuts New Tour i(s) Golf Ball at HSBC Champions

Ernie Els got a little help from Callaway Golf in Shanghai at the HSBC Champions, where he finished second after shooting 63 on Sunday.

"I started playing a new golf ball that Callaway made," Els said. "This is what I've been looking forward to, is this golf ball. It would have been unbelievable if I could have won with this ball. It would have been great for Callaway and myself. I'm looking forward to the future now, and I think my equipment is now spot on."

Els was referring to the new Callaway Tour i(s). Ryan Moore, who finished third, also used it.

The Callaway Tour i(s) is a four-piece ball that Steve Ogg, Callaway's vice president of ball R&D, called "the most highly-engineered golf ball product we have ever come out with."

According to Ogg, the Tour i(s) is the softest ball Callaway has produced, but what makes it special is a large degree of spin separation, which makes it possible to put a lot of spin on iron shots and very little spin on drives.

"The ball has a high core compression differential," he said. "That is the difference between the compression of the inner core and the outer core. When you have a high-compression outer core, the ball holds it shape better when you're hitting wedge shots so you can give it more spin."

The greater force of a driver, he said, will penetrate the outer core and compress the soft inner core. That reduces spin and creates greater distance.

"It morphs to the shot that you want," Ogg said, "yet retains all the distance of the previous Tour i golf balls." The Callaway Tour i(s) will be available in mid-January for about $43 per dozen. In the video below, Ogg talks more about the ball.

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(Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Ernie Els Searching for Putter and Magic at Liberty National

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- In 2004, Ernie Els contended at all four majors, but didn't win any. That season the Big Easy ranked ninth on the PGA Tour in putting average, needing only 1.74 putts per green hit in regulation. This year, he's tied for 153rd in that category, averaging 1.801.

So it was no surprise that I saw him spend an hour on the speed practice green at Liberty National Wednesday in preparation for Thursday's start of the Barclays. With the help of his caddie, Ricky Roberts, as well as an assist using a video camera, Els hit putt after putt with an Odyssey putter made especially to his specifications and preferences (below). The stainless steel design is shaped like a classic heel-toe weighted Anser.

However, halfway through his practice session, Els started putting with a custom finished Odyssey White Hot XG #5 (below). Els has used this putter on several occasions this season, including at the PGA Championship two weeks ago.

 

Els did not appear happy with his putting Wednesday afternoon, so it will be interesting to see which putter goes in the bag Thursday. The greens at Liberty National have plenty of contours and are running fast, so regardless of which putter he uses, Els will need to find his 2004 magic is he's going to contend.

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Update: Ernie Els Sticking with Traditional Driver at Bethpage

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Ernie Els experimented with a significantly-heavier shaft in his driver on Tuesday afternoon at Bethpage, but he has decided not to use it during play at the U.S. Open.

According to Callaway, the company that makes Els' FT-9 Tour Authentic driver, the two-time U.S. Open winner with use a 79 gram, 45 ½-inch Fujikura Speeder 757 shaft.

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Ernie Els May Go With a Shorter, Heavier Driver at Bethpage

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Earlier this season, Phil Mickelson put a unique Callaway FT-9 driver into his bag. Unlike the FT-9 drivers that had previously been released, Mickelson's had a hosel, so the club had to be examined by the USGA and deemed legal for competition.

Maybe Phil was onto something, because Ernie Els and a few other Callaway players have switched to the FT-9 Tour Authentic driver. Because the Tour Authentic version of the FT-9 has a smaller head and different weighting, it allows skilled players to work the ball more effectively off the tee. The standard FT-9 has a higher moment of inertia (MOI) that helps mid- and higher-handicap players hit straighter drives.

On Tuesday morning at Bethpage, I had a chance to speak with Barry Lyda, a PGA Tour rep with Callaway Golf, about Els's driver. He told me that the two-time U.S. Open winner is experimenting with heavier shafts so he can feel where the club is in his swing more easily.

"Ernie is using a 100-gram True Temper Project X graphite shaft in his Callaway X 3-wood," Lyda said. "He said he'd like a driver made with the same shaft, but I told him that I can't make him one with that shaft because I don't have a head light enough to offset the weight."

Els has been playing a UST Mamiya ATTAS 76 in his driver.

To compensate for the extra weight, Lyda cut a full inch off Els's driver, making it 44". Lyda said that should reduce clubhead speed and create a lower ball flight for Els. To offset that lower ball flight, Lyda added loft, making an 8.5° and a 9.5° head for Els to try.

The Callaway FT-9 Tour Authentic driver is currently only available to the public on the company's Tour Authentic Web site. In the video below, Lyda explains the differences between the standard FT-9 and the Tour Authentic model.

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(Photo by Fred Vuich/SI)

Ernie Els switches to new UST driver shaft

Ernie Els, who switched from Callaway's FT-5 driver to the FT-9 earlier this season, also recently made a shaft change.

The South African has been using a Fujikura Speeder 757 for several years, but changed to a UST Mamiya ATTAS 76 shaft in his driver.

According to UST's Randy Stuart, the ATTAS shaft has a special woven carbon fiber material in the butt section that increases the shaft's hoop strength, making it extremely firm and solid feeling. The ATTAS also features a rigid mid-section that is made from high-modulus graphite.

The ATTAS is different from the popular yellow and black AVIXCore Tour Red (used by players like Davis Love and Stewart Cink) in the tip section. That shaft is extremely stiff in the tip, but the ATTAS is relatively flexible.

Stuart says that because so many clubhead makers are now focusing on increasing the moment of inertia (MOI) and making products that are inherently more stable, shaft companies can use a more-flexible, feel-enhancing tip for fast-swinging players.

In the heavier shaft weights, it will take a lot of swing speed to maximize what the UST ATTAS shaft can do. However, Stuart says that when the shaft is released to the public there should be lighter options more tailored to weekend players.

Look for the UST ATTAS shaft to arrive in specialty club fitter stores late in 2009 for about $350.

(Photo by Darren Carroll/SI)

Ernie Els tries the Callaway FT-iQ driver

 

Learn more about the Callaway FT-iQ driver:

 
• + Gallery: A detailed look at what makes the FT-iQ tick
 
• + Tried it? Rate and review the Callaway FT-iQ

Els switches to Callaway's new FT-9

Although Callaway recently provided GOLF.com with a video showing Ernie Els testing the new square-headed Callaway FT-iQ driver, during the first round of the Merecedes-Benz Championship Thursday in Hawaii, the Big Easy was using a new FT-9. Click on the image for a better look.

(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Secretive putter grips

Tiger Woods is synonymous with Nike's swoosh. Thirteen of his 14 clubs are made by Nike, and he's outfitted by the company from head to toe. The lone exception is his Scotty Cameron putter. But the grip on King Arthur's Excalibur isn't made by either company, it's made by Ping. (Woods used a Ping Anser for years as a junior golfer.) 

While going through images of Ernie Els recently, I noticed the Big Easy, who uses an Odyssey putter, is also using a Ping grip. (Click on either image for a closer look.).

If you want to get the same look on your flat stick, consider buying a Ping Blackout. As the name implies, the logo on this replacement grip matches the black color of the grip itself, so it's barely visible.

At $4.99 on golfsmith.com, the price of this grip is well within your reach. 

(Photos: Travis Lindquist/Getty Images (Woods), Jerome Delay/AP (Els))

Swing changes mean driver changes for Ernie Els

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — After working for three days last week with swing coach Butch Harmon in Las Vegas, Ernie Els is in contention at the Players Championship after shooting a two-under 70 Friday.

Els started using Callaway equipment in 2007 after having previously played with Titleist and TaylorMade clubs. He has been experimenting with several drivers this season, including the square-headed FT-i and the new  FT-i Tour Low CG, which features interchangeable shafts.

However, after talking with his caddie and taking a peek into Els's bag, I learned that he's using an original version of Callaway's FT-5 (8.5˚) this week, not the new i-Mix version.

When asked why he'd chosen this particular driver, Els said, "The FT-5 launches the ball a little higher. I started playing the softer ball Callaway makes — the Tour i ball* — and that ball launches lower. I needed something to get the ball up in the air, and it didn't quite work for me with the FT-i driver, the square driver, so I went to the FT-5."

In extremely windy conditions, Els used his work-in-progress swing and the FT-5 to officially hit eight of 14 fairways for the second day in a row at TPC Sawgrass. However, today's number is deceiving because Els hit just two poor drives Friday — his opening shot of the day went well right on the 10th hole, and his drive on the fifth hole went straight right and into the pond. Els missed the fairway by less than two paces on three holes.

But if the winds continue to blow, will Els switch drivers? "No, I'm hitting good with this one," he said.

(Photo: Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

*According to Callaway's Web site, a new Tour i ball will be available in July.