Alpha Golf

In Feb 2007, the USGA formally proposed allowing more club adjustability. Specifically, this nearly guaranteed that drivers with interchangeable shafts would soon be ruled conforming.

“PGA Tour players have long had the opportunity to have their clubs adjusted or modified quickly and often. This has allowed them to fit their clubs to their swings as they feel the need to do so. By relaxing the rules to permit club adjustability, average golfers can enjoy similar fitting benefits.”

Alpha Golf was in close contact with the USGA throughout 2007 for the interchangeable driver that we filed a patent for. When Dr. Yeh heard the news that our design was approved in Aug 2007, we immediately ramped up production and got it in the hands of Champion Tour players by October. By January ‘08 (technically 1/1/08), the C830.4 was legally conforming and in play on the Tour.

It’s worth noting that our interchangeable shaft driver is completely different from the Taylormade SelectFit or the Callaway OptiFit systems. Both are great innovations and toolsets that remove some of the mystery of pairing shafts with heads. They’ve allowed many mainstream retail outlets to become bona fide fitting centers. But both systems are designed to replicate the actual golf club to be produced. And not designed to be the golf club used in play.

The new USGA ruling doesn’t affect the OptiFit and SelectFit clubs. But the ruling does open up opportunities for adjustable golf clubs like ours that explicitly got conforming clearance by the USGA, effective Jan 1st 2008. But we owe a debt of gratitude to Callaway and Taylormade for educating the mainstream golfer on the benefits of custom fitting.

Hopefully more golfers will take advantage of fitting with the interchangeable shaft technology…