Max Headspeed earned instant public acclaim with his debut as Golfsmith's premier "marathon man" and test hitter three years ago. In 2001, the rugged swing test robot took his coveted abilities and cranked them up a notch.
Operation on compressed air, Max can hit any club -- from wedges to drivers up to 50 inches long -- and his speed of swing can also be varied to simulate different golfers' swings. Throughout Max's swings, triggered laser and sound-sensors analyze different views of the ball's flight, carry distance and trajectory as well as record the physical factors which the ball experiences at impact and during the initial stages of flight.
Max proved himself as a valued member of Golfsmith's research and development team, especially during the testing and refining of the PUREing process, licensed by Strategic Shaft Technologies. The fully mechanical swing robot was instrumental in the validation that shaft PUREing lived up to its claims, and it accurately proved that properly orienting a shaft's Principal Planar Oscillation Plane toward the target neutralizes the so-called spine effect and stabilizes the shaft so that it bends exactly on the same plane as the golfer's swing.
This year Max also conducted analytical studies for several shaft manufacturers and comprehensive test-hitting research on face thickness technology. The results he developed were critical in helping the research team determine the thickness parameters which what mean the difference between increased ball velocity and a crushed clubface.
As the only practicing swing robot in the component industry, Max heads into 2002 serving an irreplaceable role as a primary source of hit testing and research data on clubheads, shaft and ball flight. The new year promises to be just as exciting, and Max will undoubtedly show his mettle once again.
