Square drivers are ugly. There, I said it. I might have said it already but just to be clear – I think they’re unappealing, unnatural and good old fashioned icky. But I guess square drivers weren’t different enough for one manufacturer. HiPPO Golf has a new offering that makes the square drivers look like pageant queens (I’ll let you decide if that’s a compliment or not).

HiPPO decided to take a hacksaw to the square design and came up with this six-sided gem set for introduction at the 2007 PGA Merchandise Show:

But wait – it’s called the Hex squared. Are there thirty sides on there I’m missing?

Can I just say… Blech! 460 cc’s of nasty. [Say something nice, Kristen] The background colors in the photo go nicely with my blog design.Aside from the aesthetics, what about performance? Maybe the extra wind resistance cuts down the swing speed ever so slightly and channels that power into a more aligned path. Right. Wait… what did their PR person say?

The HEX² features a unique hexagonal shape that allows optimum weight distribution to reduce the effect of side spin and provide more energy transfer from club face to ball resulting in the straightest and longest driver ever designed. The aerodynamically shaped 460cc club head is designed to reduce drag on the backswing and generate higher head speed at impact.
-citation

I’m no engineer but something about that doesn’t make sense to me. If the shape causes weight distribution, wouldn’t that be accomplished via wind resistance, thus slowing down the driver? I guess technically that’s still aerodynamic, just a different dynamic of the aero than is usually associated with the word. Or maybe I’m just full of wind myself and should stick to the aesthetics.

On the brighter side (and I mean that literally), HiPPO released a bunch of new full club sets not too long ago, including this prize just for the ladies:

Maybe I’m harshing on HiPPO, but it sure seems like their new marketing strategy is going for shock value with all this ugly. Maybe they thought their older product lines were getting lost in a sea of sameness? At least it was a calm sea that didn’t induce vomiting.

Next post.

“We may not be able to correct your slice and we sure can’t shorten that dreaded par 5. But what we will do, is make you the most talked about golfer this side of St. Andrews.”

When I started this blog, I was looking for a more interesting name than “The Golfchick” and really just started using that as a placeholder until I came up with something better. It took me too long and golfchick just stuck. Even if I had considered the name Birdie Girl, I probably would have shied away from it anyway. I mean, I doubt I could be that presumptuous since I’m happy when I get any birdies in a given round and hardly qualify as a “birdie girl.”However, I think it’s a great name for this line of bags, umbrellas, headcovers and accessories designed for women by women “who define themselves by how they look – on the scorecard or in the clubhouse.” Birdie Girl had sellouts in their first set of offerings and have announced that they’re doubling their line for this season.

Oooh, I think that orange bag has my name all over it.

Founder of Birdie Girl, Rosemary Brdar, says she “founded this line with a single, stubborn mission: to create a line where women were the focus, not the second thought.” Hear here, girlfriend.

Birdie Girl already has a few supporters on the Duramed Futures Tour – Tina Miller, Jessica Shepley and Connie Isler. Not surprising these women would carry such cool bags with their respective degrees in graphic design/marketing, journalism, and finance/international business.

Compared to some other female targeted product lines, these items are acutally reasonably priced, too! Check out their pink set benefiting the Rethink Breast Cancer program for only $149.

So if you can’t make it to the 2007 PGA Merchandise show, check out the golfanista smorgasbord over at www.birdiegirl.ca. Maybe you’ll be the next “most talked about golfer this side of St. Andrews.” (Wow, really?)

Next post.