Q. What makes Bobby Jones drivers different from the competition?
A. Accuracy and distance are derived from the efficient combinations of weighting, material selection, and shaft technology. I have designed the drivers with the strongest, hardest, and lightest Russian Titanium available. Because it is more expensive and more difficult to heat treat, companies that focus on mass production have avoided this material. I am convinced our process elevates performance. On the fairway woods, I have found a steel alloy material that provides advantages similar to the Russian Ti. Utilizing the superior strength properties of a given material, allows us to maximize the weight re-distribution and deepen the center of gravity, exaggerating the gear effect.
Q. What is the gear effect?
A. Gear effect is the phenomenon whereby balls hit ‘out on the toe’ of the face, start out right of the target and then correct themselves somewhat by tending to work back to the left. Conversely, balls hit on the heel work somewhat back to the right. This corrective process can be heightened through the use of weight, face hardness, and ‘bulge and roll.’ Bulge and roll is the curvature of the wood’s face that compresses the ball and reduces spin. The same principle is used in the face of a hammer to drive a nail. All of my wood designs have bulge and roll, because I believe a curved surface is more resistant to deflection than a flatter face. The less the deflection on the face, the more compression of the ball…that means more distance and better accuracy.
Q. What is so special about the Titanium face used in the Bobby Jones drivers?
A. If I can use a stronger and harder face material, I can make it thinner without concern for face failure. Since all Ti alloys weigh the same, the thinner the face, the lighter the face. I can therefore redistribute face weight into areas that benefit the golfer. Recently, Golf Digest of Japan rated the top 86 drivers in the world for distance, accuracy, feel, and ease of performance. One of my designs was ranked #2 in the world, well ahead of my US competitors. In fact, mine was the only US design to crack the top 16. The face material and how it was shaped, was a primary reason. Our face has a Rockwell Hardness rating of 42 HRC…versus a more typical 34 HRC. Our tensile strength is 215 KSI versus the more customary to 180 KSI.
Q. Is any of the technology visible?
A. Yes. The crown of the driver is made of graphite which you can see because we used a transparent paint; and, the weighting is shown with the copper tungsten inlays and the tungsten weight screw on the heel.
Q. What does the graphite crown do for performance?
A. Normally, a Ti crown would weigh 22 to 24 grams. Since our graphite crown only weighs 10 grams, I can reposition 14 grams to the heel of the driver to deepen the center of gravity which allows the toe of the club to close more readily at impact…reducing the tendency to ‘slice’ for some golfers.
Q. Why are the Fairway Woods made of steel and not titanium?
A. Titanium is not as strong as the new generation of super steel alloys. Developed for the aerospace and defense industry, these new steels are so strong that they have replaced aluminum and titanium in many applications, even though the steel alloys tend to be heavier. I introduced these ‘super steels’ to the golf industry in 1998 with tremendous success. My Trimetal wood design was No.1 on Tour for three straight years. Again, titanium’s only advantage over steel is in weight. This allows us to make the heads bigger, but Bigger is NOT better in fairway woods. Compact, shallow, fairway wood design performs better than large, titanium fairway woods…as evidenced by the fact that there are few, if any, Ti fairway woods used on tour.
Q. What makes Bobby Jones fairway woods so special?
A. The crown of our fairway woods is made of a super steel that is forged to a thinness of only .35mm…which is the thickness of three pieces of paper. It is so thin, that it weighs 10 grams versus the 35 to 40 grams of ordinary steel cast crown. This allows us once again, reposition 25 to 30 grams toward the sole area to lower the center of gravity and make the ball much easier to get airborne. The low CG, coupled with maraging steel face, reduces side spin for straighter shots. Due to our material’s strength, the face is only 1.6mm thick versus the Industry standard of 2.5mm, for better sound, feel and performance. The Bobby Jones face is made of the same Carpenter Metals alloy that is used in my Trimetal designs; however, new heat treatment technologies have improved the strength for the Bobby Jones line. The Carpenter face has a Rockwell rating of 52 HRC versus the 28 HRC of the common stainless steel used by many of our competitors. The tensile strength rating for example, is 285 KSI versus 215 KSI of stainless steel.
Q. Are the Bobby Jones woods only for golfers with modest swing speeds?
A. No. Although our standard shaft offering benefits golfers with modest swing speeds, we will offer the heads in a wide range of shaft options, weights and lengths. I expect Tour players to play the woods with custom shaft options that are best suited to their games.
Q. Why aren’t other companies using the technologies that we are using in Bobby Jones woods?
A. The raw cost of materials and time care necessary to heat treat and sub-zero cool the various metals is troublesome for some companies that mass produce. They feel that certain performance enhancements are minor and do not justify the expense. I will argue, again, that my most recent driver design was ranked No. 2 in the world by the Japanese…and that my fairway wood designs once dominated the US Tour. I know from experience, it’s all the little things that add up to something special.
Q. How do you plan to keep Bobby Jones at the forefront of technology and design without the R&D budget of your big competitors?
A. For over 30 years I have made clubs by hand, first with persimmon, and later with metalwood ‘masters.’ I learned the craft of shaping woods and the invaluable ‘eye’ for design from my father. The basic principles of physics that govern equipment playability have not changed…only the materials available have. Where and how to move weight, and how it is blended into an attractive package is the essence of what I do. The shape and style of the Bobby Jones woods are timeless and classic. This will be the foremost in my mind, when we move on to design wedges, irons and putters. My philosophy has always been to make equipment, with Asia’s most sophisticated manufacturing partners, that visually appeals to the best players in the world, and with the design features that benefit the average golfer. I have sold over 2 million woods in the past 6 years, and they have been used by over 700 Tour pros worldwide. However, I am most proud of the fact that I have helped thousands of amateurs enjoy the game. I am confident that with my imagination and desire, we will keep the Bobby Jones products at the pinnacle of our Industry. You have my word on this.
Sincerely,
Jesse Ortiz
Vice-President Design
A. Accuracy and distance are derived from the efficient combinations of weighting, material selection, and shaft technology. I have designed the drivers with the strongest, hardest, and lightest Russian Titanium available. Because it is more expensive and more difficult to heat treat, companies that focus on mass production have avoided this material. I am convinced our process elevates performance. On the fairway woods, I have found a steel alloy material that provides advantages similar to the Russian Ti. Utilizing the superior strength properties of a given material, allows us to maximize the weight re-distribution and deepen the center of gravity, exaggerating the gear effect.
Q. What is the gear effect?
A. Gear effect is the phenomenon whereby balls hit ‘out on the toe’ of the face, start out right of the target and then correct themselves somewhat by tending to work back to the left. Conversely, balls hit on the heel work somewhat back to the right. This corrective process can be heightened through the use of weight, face hardness, and ‘bulge and roll.’ Bulge and roll is the curvature of the wood’s face that compresses the ball and reduces spin. The same principle is used in the face of a hammer to drive a nail. All of my wood designs have bulge and roll, because I believe a curved surface is more resistant to deflection than a flatter face. The less the deflection on the face, the more compression of the ball…that means more distance and better accuracy.
Q. What is so special about the Titanium face used in the Bobby Jones drivers?
A. If I can use a stronger and harder face material, I can make it thinner without concern for face failure. Since all Ti alloys weigh the same, the thinner the face, the lighter the face. I can therefore redistribute face weight into areas that benefit the golfer. Recently, Golf Digest of Japan rated the top 86 drivers in the world for distance, accuracy, feel, and ease of performance. One of my designs was ranked #2 in the world, well ahead of my US competitors. In fact, mine was the only US design to crack the top 16. The face material and how it was shaped, was a primary reason. Our face has a Rockwell Hardness rating of 42 HRC…versus a more typical 34 HRC. Our tensile strength is 215 KSI versus the more customary to 180 KSI.
Q. Is any of the technology visible?
A. Yes. The crown of the driver is made of graphite which you can see because we used a transparent paint; and, the weighting is shown with the copper tungsten inlays and the tungsten weight screw on the heel.
Q. What does the graphite crown do for performance?
A. Normally, a Ti crown would weigh 22 to 24 grams. Since our graphite crown only weighs 10 grams, I can reposition 14 grams to the heel of the driver to deepen the center of gravity which allows the toe of the club to close more readily at impact…reducing the tendency to ‘slice’ for some golfers.
Q. Why are the Fairway Woods made of steel and not titanium?
A. Titanium is not as strong as the new generation of super steel alloys. Developed for the aerospace and defense industry, these new steels are so strong that they have replaced aluminum and titanium in many applications, even though the steel alloys tend to be heavier. I introduced these ‘super steels’ to the golf industry in 1998 with tremendous success. My Trimetal wood design was No.1 on Tour for three straight years. Again, titanium’s only advantage over steel is in weight. This allows us to make the heads bigger, but Bigger is NOT better in fairway woods. Compact, shallow, fairway wood design performs better than large, titanium fairway woods…as evidenced by the fact that there are few, if any, Ti fairway woods used on tour.
Q. What makes Bobby Jones fairway woods so special?
A. The crown of our fairway woods is made of a super steel that is forged to a thinness of only .35mm…which is the thickness of three pieces of paper. It is so thin, that it weighs 10 grams versus the 35 to 40 grams of ordinary steel cast crown. This allows us once again, reposition 25 to 30 grams toward the sole area to lower the center of gravity and make the ball much easier to get airborne. The low CG, coupled with maraging steel face, reduces side spin for straighter shots. Due to our material’s strength, the face is only 1.6mm thick versus the Industry standard of 2.5mm, for better sound, feel and performance. The Bobby Jones face is made of the same Carpenter Metals alloy that is used in my Trimetal designs; however, new heat treatment technologies have improved the strength for the Bobby Jones line. The Carpenter face has a Rockwell rating of 52 HRC versus the 28 HRC of the common stainless steel used by many of our competitors. The tensile strength rating for example, is 285 KSI versus 215 KSI of stainless steel.
Q. Are the Bobby Jones woods only for golfers with modest swing speeds?
A. No. Although our standard shaft offering benefits golfers with modest swing speeds, we will offer the heads in a wide range of shaft options, weights and lengths. I expect Tour players to play the woods with custom shaft options that are best suited to their games.
Q. Why aren’t other companies using the technologies that we are using in Bobby Jones woods?
A. The raw cost of materials and time care necessary to heat treat and sub-zero cool the various metals is troublesome for some companies that mass produce. They feel that certain performance enhancements are minor and do not justify the expense. I will argue, again, that my most recent driver design was ranked No. 2 in the world by the Japanese…and that my fairway wood designs once dominated the US Tour. I know from experience, it’s all the little things that add up to something special.
Q. How do you plan to keep Bobby Jones at the forefront of technology and design without the R&D budget of your big competitors?
A. For over 30 years I have made clubs by hand, first with persimmon, and later with metalwood ‘masters.’ I learned the craft of shaping woods and the invaluable ‘eye’ for design from my father. The basic principles of physics that govern equipment playability have not changed…only the materials available have. Where and how to move weight, and how it is blended into an attractive package is the essence of what I do. The shape and style of the Bobby Jones woods are timeless and classic. This will be the foremost in my mind, when we move on to design wedges, irons and putters. My philosophy has always been to make equipment, with Asia’s most sophisticated manufacturing partners, that visually appeals to the best players in the world, and with the design features that benefit the average golfer. I have sold over 2 million woods in the past 6 years, and they have been used by over 700 Tour pros worldwide. However, I am most proud of the fact that I have helped thousands of amateurs enjoy the game. I am confident that with my imagination and desire, we will keep the Bobby Jones products at the pinnacle of our Industry. You have my word on this.
Sincerely,
Jesse Ortiz
Vice-President Design
