LAS VEGAS -- The latest in a line of Alien Sport Ultimate clubs designed by PGA professional Pat Simmons was informally introduced Wednesday and will be officially launched at the 1999 RE/Max World Long Drive Championship in October.
Although Alien Sport does not have a booth at the PGA Merchandise Show in Las Vegas, company officials spoke to golf.com about its latest offering to golfers.
The Alien Sport Ultimate Driver features what the company calls a "power corrugation system" -- thick ridges or indents on the titanium head that prevents that head from deforming at impact. It works on the same principle as corrugated cardboard, where bending the material into ridges makes it much stronger.
"This corrugation is so rigid that the head can't deform. It will break first," designer Pat Simmons said.
When the head doesn't deform, more energy is transferred to the golf ball at impact, leading to more distance off the tee.
A compound radius face, or "hooked" face, promotes a right-to-left ball flight, providing golfers with the ability to correct a slice.
Additionally, Simmons said, the club's center of gravity is positioned to reduce spin rate by creating a parabolic arc. Don't follow? Think of a regular golf shot that goes up and up and then, pulled by gravity, falls sharply down to earth. A parabolic arc is flatter and falls more gradually, increasing roll along the ground and adding length. Alien Sport achieves this by raising the kickpoint on the shaft, thus changing the launch angle of the club and keeping shots on a flatter trajectory.
To balance the head and move the kickpoint up on the Ultimate Driver, Alien Sport worked with Aldila to create a shaft best suited to handle the extra weight in the club head. By filling the butt end of the shaft with a heavy gel material -- a process that Alien Sport patented -- Simmons said golfers won't have to adjust their swing or slow it down to produce successful drives.
"[The shaft] is a main reason for the added power and direction [of the Ultimate driver]," Simmons said. "It can actually change the torque so the hits are straighter, with no twist and more forward thrust."
The shaft insert will also dampen shock to the hands -- ideal for golfers with arthritis or sensitive hands, Simmons said.
"Our staff is excited about the design elements incorporated into the new titanium driver, which we predict will become Alien Sport's No. 1-selling club," said Dick Gianferante, president of Alien's parent company, GDH International, in a press release.
The driver will be available in 6-, 8-, 10- and 12-degree lofts. Retail price on the Ultimate Driver, which comes with a Tour Wrap grip, is $299.99.
