SST Pure

MIAMI, Fla. -- It has long been believed that the next great innovation in golf equipment would involve a technological breakthrough, rather than another "what's next" material introduction. While titanium and combination metal materials have dominated the game-improvement landscape over the past several years, it appears as though the next big innovation in golf will involve a process rather than a product.

In February 1999, Strategic Shaft Technologies, L.C., founder Dick Weiss sought and received a modified USGA rules interpretation concerning the bending and twisting properties of golf shafts. Now, the Miami-based company finds itself holding a series of patents which could revolutionize the way in which all golf clubs are made and assembled.

The aligning and assembly process is called PURE or PURING, which references "Plane of Uniform Repeatability™" and involves shaft stabilization through the use of state-of-the-art golf shaft analyzing equipment specifically developed by Weiss along with noted engineer and golf shaft expert, Howard Butler, of Golf Science Consultants, Inc.

If interest during the recent PGA Merchandise Show is any indication, you can expect to see golf's major manufacturers incorporating SST PURE™ technology into their club lines in the near future. Golfsmith International has already become an SST PURE™ licensee and that company offers the process on new shafts, new clubs, and additionally, through a retrofitting program utilizing a customer's existing set of clubs.

"The interest from golf equipment manufacturers during the show was gratifying," said Weiss. He added, "Virtually every major manufacturer met with us to review our technology and our findings. The level of attention we received from the top technical people in the industry was unprecedented."

It is already believed by some that PURE technology could be more important than Frequency Matching for fitting a set of clubs. "Our early test results show that PURING improves impact repeatability by as much as 14-51 percent," Butler said. "That improvement level was particularly remarkable in that it was achieved by players across the board at every skill level."

Despite modern manufacturing capabilities, every golf shaft made remains as unique and individual as a fingerprint, with no shaft being perfectly round, straight, or stiff. The SST PURE™ process locates certain irregularities within each golf shaft, which cannot be detected until after the shaft has been manufactured. Once identified, these irregularities are neutralized in assembly, thus providing a more stable and uniformly matched set of clubs. The process utilizes visible technology by way of a color printout which is provided to customers detailing each PURED shaft's performance both prior to and following the process.