Technology Advances Featured In New PING TiSI Tec Fairway Woods

Contact Bob Cantin
602-687-5480
or Pete Samuels
602-687-5487

PHOENIX (April 4, 2002) -- Golfers looking for the latest technological advances in fairway woods need look no further, thanks to golf equipment innovator PING, the leading manufacturer of custom-fit, custom-built clubs.

A versatile line of new TiSI Tec titanium fairway woods, which complement the highly successful PING TiSI Tec Driver introduced last fall and a proven winner on major tours worldwide, will soon be available in four lofts.

Utilizing the same technologies incorporated in the TiSI Tec Driver, the TiSI Tec fairway woods will be offered in four different club heads including a strong 3-wood (12 degrees), standard 3-wood (14 degrees), 5-wood (17 degrees) and 7-wood (20 degrees).

Customer club-fitting options are numerous, including eight hosel positions with varying lie angles from 2 degrees flat to 4 degrees upright and three different face angles. In addition, various graphite and steel shaft options along with grip styles and sizes are available.

TiSI Tec technologies that are the same in the driver and fairway woods include CMT or Chemical Milling Technology, a process that increases durability while reducing weight in titanium allows for the redistribution of weight in the clubs. Also, weight pads strategically placed in the clubs help to control ball flight.

These advancements, along with the innovations introduced in the TiSI metal woods including the JX Hosel, nearly parallel tops and soles, variable face thickness and variable weight control, allow these to be the most advanced fairway woods offered by PING.

"With the TiSI Tec fairway woods, we've added several new design and manufacturing features to create an innovative product that enhances club performance, while still maintaining the ability to custom-fit each golfer individually," said John A. Solheim, PING Chairman and CEO.

PROGRESSIVE WEIGHT PAD PLACEMENT

PING engineers have strategically placed weight pads in the TiSI Tec fairway woods to fine tune the spin and lift characteristics of the golf ball, based on each metal wood's loft.

In the 3-wood, the weight pads are positioned toward the face to reduce and spin and maximize roll. In the 5-wood the weight pads are centered inside the club head. The 7-wood features weight pads placed further away from the club face.

"In addition, these new fairway woods feature a zirconium sole plate and tungsten bottom weight for a low center of gravity," said Solheim. "They are very easy to hit."

CHEMICAL MILLING TECHNOLOGY (CMT)

The new TiSI Tec fairway woods will be manufactured using an aerospace industry process called chemical milling technology, a non-traditional and highly sophisticated process.

By removing the alpha or outer layer of the titanium casting through the use of chemical milling technology, PING engineers have succeeded in improving the performance and durability of the TiSI Tec fairway woods.

"Removing the titanium casting's brittle alpha layer permits us to precisely control wall thickness and more than double the durability of our new titanium fairway woods," said Solheim.

PATENTED JX HOSEL

An important fitting feature of the TiSI Tec fairway woods is the JX Hosel, a multi-functional, thermoplastic device patented more than two years ago.

The JX Hosel offers golfers eight combinations of lie angle to match their stance and swing, enabling them to hit longer, straighter and more accurate fairway shots.

CLUBHEAD SHAPE TRANSFERS MORE ENERGY

Because all PING metal woods are engineered with nearly parallel tops and soles, minimal club head distortion occurs at impact, which in turn provides greater transfer of energy to the ball for increased distance.

PATENTED VARIABLE FACE THICKNESS

Another key feature that helps the TiSI Tec fairway woods achieve greater distances is variable face thickness, which PING introduced to the golf industry on the original TiSIdriver in the 1990's.

More mass is positioned in a large, central impact area to optimize performance. More than twice the thickness as the face's perimeter, the variation creates a more efficient energy transfer for greater distance.

VARIABLE WEIGHTING CONTROL

A small elliptical-shaped weight inserted into the back of the fairway wood heads plays an important role in their performance.

The back weight is positioned far from the center of gravity in line with the club's impact point to stabilize the club head during impact.

"The back weight also provides resistance to twisting on heel or toe shots for greater accuracy, while reducing loft changes caused by hitting the ball high or low on the face," said Solheim.

SEVERAL SHAFT OPTIONS AVAILABLE

The TiSI Tec fairway woods are offered in custom-fit steel shafts in JZ regular, stiff and extra-stiff flexes. They are also available in five proprietary flexes and three PING Graffaloy Tour flexes to give golfers the ability to select the proper shaft for their golf game, no matter their skill level.

Called the "350 Series," the proprietary flexes include L, A, R, S and X while the PING Graffaloy Tour flexes include R, S and X.

CUSHIN' SELECTIVE FILTERING INSERT

Developed by PING in 1997, the Cushin Selective Filtering Insert screens out and dissipates unwanted shaft frequencies that can cause muscle fatigue. As a result, golfers receive less vibration with greater feel on each shot.

Because the Cushin Insert reduces muscle fatigue, golfers can still play to their full potential toward the end of an active round.

The Cushin Insert is standard in all PING steel and graphite shafts on metal woods and irons.

LENGTHS, SIZES, PRICING, AVAILABILITY

Custom-fit lengths of fairway woods are available. Standard length of the TiSI Tec 3-wood in both 12-degree and 14-degree models will be 43 inches. Head size will be 199cc.

Standard length of the TiSI Tec 5-wood will be 42.5 inches and 165cc. The TiSI Tec 7-wood will be 42 inches long and 150cc.

Suggested retail price of steel shafted TiSI Tec fairway woods is $450, while graphite shafted models will be $515.

Orders for the new TiSI Tec fairway woods are being taken now with deliveries of right and left-handed models scheduled for this spring.