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Since the inception of the game of golf over 600 years ago there have
been essentially three shaft materials – wood, steel and graphite.
Steel golf shafts came on the scene in the early 1900’s establishing a
new level of consistency and performance that could not be attained in
wood golf shafts, thus making hickory shafts virtually extinct by the
1930’s. The introduction of graphite in the 1970’s provided remarkable
weight advantages compared to steel thus allowing for the production of
shafts with increased distance advantages and improved feel due to its
inherent vibration damping characteristics.
Why do virtually all touring professionals play a graphite shaft in
their drivers? The simple answer is because they can achieve greater
clubhead speed through the reduced weight. On the flipside, why do
virtually all of those same players use steel in their irons? Because
it is imperative that they have complete control over the golf ball and
steel golf shafts provide superior shot consistency and control
compared to graphite. You can draw the conclusion that the Holy Grail
would be a shaft material that would combine the very best performance
advantages of both steel and graphite into one package.
We set out over three years ago to develop a new material offering the
weight and feel advantages of graphite with the superior consistency
and dispersion control available only in metallic golf shafts. At that
time, we entered a joint development initiative with PowerMetal
Technologies, a leader in the field of nanometal research and
development, with the hopes of combining their expertise in nanoalloys
with our knowledge of high modulus composite material.
Through countless hours of analysis and testing we were able to develop
an entirely new shaft material called Nanofuse. Nanofuse is a patented,
proprietary material produced from the fusion of metallic
nano-crystalline molecules with high modulus composite material.
Nanofuse offers the very best of graphite in terms of weight and feel
while providing all of the consistency of a steel golf shaft.
What makes Nanofuse so special? The nano-crystalline material used in
the Epic shaft is 1000 times smaller than the grain structure of steel
or other common metals. Its grain structure is actually 20 nanometers.
How small is 20 nanometers? A golf ball typically has approximately
400 dimples on its surface. Each of those dimples is over 4,000,000
nanometers wide!
The incredibly small grain size of the material gives it astronomical
strength to weight characteristics. One of the most impressive
demonstrations of the exceptional strength of this nano-crystalline
material is that a ping pong ball with .001” of nanofuse applied can
hold the weight of a full grown man. Please don’t misinterpret
strength with “stiffness”. The superior strength of the material is
what allowed us to create a superlight shaft with all of the vibration
damping qualities of graphite.
Some have asked how Nanofuse compares to the nanotechnology currently
in the golf shaft industry. Until now, all nanotechnology applications
have focused on the incorporation of carbon nanotubes into the resin
system of a graphite golf shaft to provide improved strength. While
these applications have provided incremental improvements to graphite
shafts, they should not be confused with this technology. Nanofuse is
a brand new, multi-patented material that is neither steel nor graphite
made possible only by advances in TRUE nanotechnology. This material
is so advanced that there is a brand new manufacturing facility that
was constructed solely to produce the Epic shaft.
A key feature of the Nanofuse® material is that it is isotropic meaning
that it has the same strength properties in all directions. This
provides remarkable hoop integrity throughout the swing (the shaft’s
resistance to ‘ovalizing’ during the downswing). This provides two
very key benefits - the first is that the head stays square throughout
the downswing and is delivered to the ball consistently providing
improved shot dispersion. The second benefit is there is no reduction
of energy transfer to the ball. All of the energy created in the
downswing is transferred to the ball efficiently.
Ultimately it all comes down to performance. Epic’s high launch / low
spin design has shown in our testing to deliver as much as a 35%
improvement in shot dispersion compared to graphite golf shafts on the
market today. We received a resounding endorsement when we introduced
the shaft to a national golf publication in early January prior to the
PGA Merchandise Show. We provided the editors with playing samples and
asked them to perform their own tests and draw their own conclusions.
The shaft was placed on the front cover of the magazine with a two-page
feature article.
Epic is available in a 68 gram driver shaft with complimentary fairway
wood (88 gram) and hybrid (85 gram) models in all tip sizes. More
information about the Epic shaft and its Nanofuse material can be found
at www.epicshaft.com
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