Now the 'Gwanseong Moment Era'

Direction Over Distance in the Equipment Industry
Lightweighting Using TaylorMade Carbon Material
Wi-Fi Shot Correction 'Score Dowmi'

Golfers are greedy. They expect "further" and "more accurate." They want to have both the spear and the shield. Every golfer wants to hit the ball far. However, the more they aim for long drives, the less confident they become about the ball’s trajectory. Shots scatter left and right. They suffer from what is called the "Wi-Fi trajectory." Even if the distance increases, if they cannot keep the ball on the fairway, they cannot confidently increase their swing speed. If the ball curves, even with the same distance, it ends up farther from the hole. Good directionality is essential to maximize the effect of distance.

The golf industry is working hard to solve this problem. They are putting effort into creating products that secure both sufficient distance and directionality. What the equipment industry is focusing on is the Moment Of Inertia (MOI). MOI is a physics term expressed numerically. Its dictionary definition is the measure of an object's tendency to continue rotating about its axis of rotation.

Tiger Woods made a successful comeback wielding TaylorMade's 2024 new product, the Qi10 LS driver, which features excellent moment of inertia.

When the rotating driver head meets the resistance of the golf ball, the force of inertia can be called MOI. In other words, it is the resistance to the twisting of the head. Forgiveness is closely related to the MOI value. The higher the value, the better the forgiveness. Clubs with high MOI maintain consistent directionality even on off-center shots. The reduction in distance is also relatively small.

This is the history of drivers where MOI has been intensively addressed. The era of wooden driver heads ended in 1979 when TaylorMade’s Gary Adams introduced the metalwood era. New materials such as steel and titanium appeared one after another, leading to development through several innovations. Later, self-tuning features that allow adjustment of weight, loft, and face angle were introduced.

Recently, golf equipment companies have been investing in lightweight materials. Carbon materials are being actively applied to the heads. The volume is increased and weight distribution adjusted to increase ball speed. TaylorMade is at the center of this trend. They even released a driver face made of carbon, causing a sensation. The introduction of carbon is an innovation. By using lightweight carbon and reallocating the saved weight to the back and bottom of the head, the head structure was radically changed to maximize the MOI value.

The "Golf Emperor" Tiger Woods (USA) demonstrated excellent performance equipped with a new product scheduled for release. On the 3rd, at the Hero World Challenge, his first tournament in seven months, he showed stable skills. Over four days, he recorded an average driver distance of 304.90 yards and a fairway hit rate of 65.38%. He carried the TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver, which has an outstanding MOI value, in his caddie bag. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) also used this line at last month’s DP World Tour season finale, the Tour Championship.

Golfers’ physical strength has improved compared to before, and there is great interest in data such as head speed and ball speed. This is why swing lessons to increase distance are gaining popularity. Also, the intense passion for distance naturally leads to interest in forgiveness and MOI. The era of comparing distance alone is passing. Driver shots that cannot be hit straight do not help golfers. From now on, it is the MOI era that will solve golfers’ concerns.