By JAMES ACHENBACH
Senior Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. – When Padraig Harrington won the Open Championship, he used a unique Hybrex titanium-and-graphite shaft in his Wilson 19-degree Dh6 hybrid. This ExoGrid shaft technology, available to consumers at $250 per shaft, can be traced to engineer Howard Lindsay.
When captain Tom Lehman was looking for a unique gift for members of his 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team, he selected Titus Moto Lite bicycles. The technology behind these titanium-and-graphite bicycles also can be traced to Lindsay.
Then there are the titanium-and-graphite baseball bats and lacrosse sticks with Lindsay’s ExoGrid stamp on them.
Lindsay, 49, is a former vice president of engineering at shaft manufacturer True Temper. He left the company in 1999 and today owns VyaTek Sports, which he founded. Hybrex Golf (hybrexgolf.com) and Titus Cycles are wholly owned subsidiaries of VyaTek.
At the British Open, Harrington relied heavily on his Helix Tour hybrid shaft from Hybrex, hitting the Wilson Dh6 off the tee on the final three playoff holes.
“Because of the combination of materials, and the way they work together, it does not feel like a harsh shaft to hit,” Lindsay says.
It does help to have touring-pro swing speed when using the Helix Tour. Introduced late in 2006, it is a heavy shaft for a composite – the S flex weighs 105 grams, the X flex 111 grams. The X’s torque is listed as an extremely stable 1.8 degrees.
“A guy with a swing speed of 90 mph (with a driver) is probably not a candidate for this shaft,” says Lindsay, although he does offer an R flex as well.
Building shafts with better players in mind is nothing new. The stiff-tipped green Aldila NV shaft, for example, remains one of the most popular shafts in golf even though many amateurs would play better with the softer-tipped Aldila NVS shaft.
The idea behind the Helix Tour was to create a hybrid shaft with torsional stiffness close to True Temper’s venerable Dynamic Gold steel shaft. The Helix Tour is 25 to 30 grams lighter than the Dynamic Gold.
Lindsay says he wants to earn a reputation in the hybrid market, so he will produce only hybrid shafts for now. Lehman has used one, and Kevin Stadler won a Nationwide Tour event with a Helix Tour. Because of the similarity between hybrid shafts and fairway wood shafts, some tour players are using the Hybrex shaft in their fairway woods.
The shaft starts as titanium, with about 30 percent of the material removed through laser cutting. A graphite layer then is fused inside the titanium skeleton. Together, the two materials dampen vibration.
The Helix Tour is being promoted as a replacement shaft for existing hybrids, and Lindsay says much of his sales effort is focused on demo days and other promotions at high-end golf course facilities.
• • •
James Achenbach is a
Golfweek senior writer. To reach him e-mail
jachenbach@golfweek.com.
Posted: 8/14/2007
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