The Idea

Elevon--A control surface on an airplane that combines the function of an elevator and an aileron.

My first clubhead design had truly selfish beginnings. My foursome has played every Wednesday for the past 7 or 8 years at a course with 195-205 yard par threes. We play for "greenies" for a buck, rolling it over if nobody hits the green and gets their par. We're up to about $500 in the pot. Nobody can hit a straight, soft, 200 yard shot with their hard to hit long irons and fairway woods, with a lower trajectory and hotter roll out, simply aren't designed for this type of shot . The new Elevon Tour Grade Hybrid was designed to put an end to my greenie madness.

Looking at other Hybrids, I found most have a closed face and/or offset, creating a club that many call "hook machines". Difficult to control at best.

My mission was simple. Design a club that will end the greenie drought, be easier to hit than a long iron, have a square face angle and zero offset to avoid the dreaded duckhook, offer it as a component or assembled club, and finally, to find the ultimate hybrid shaft for controlled distance, trajectory, and feel.

I didn't have to look far in my search for the perfect shaft. My friend Jody , founder of Accuflex Golf, FGI Sponsor, GEA participant, and all around good guy, contributed this particular missing piece of the puzzle.

Accuflex is known for making the ultimate long drive shafts...the longest drivers in the world use their 50" XXXX shafts to hit 400 yard + drives with SMT, Bang, Ashton, and Alpha Reaction clubheads.

Watch a guy hit an Accuflex Assassin II with an SMT 455 with a 150+ swing and you'll agree that Accuflex sweats the details. His goal is to make "golf shafts to fit every swing".

It just so happens that a certain very famous Senior British Open Champion (among others) uses his shafts on Tour because they offer the kind of consistency and performance that PGA Tour players demand.

The new hybrid shaft had to be low torque for control, not too light/not too heavy, have a mid-low bend point for the proper trajectory, and, most important, had to look cool with Elevon Tour Grade Hybrid.

Featuring Accuflex's premium A2 technology, the Icon HL is 78 grams, 2.5 torque, has a mid-low bend point, .370 parallel tip for stability, 41.5 inch raw length, and offers a beautiful metallic burgundy paint treatment that compliments the burgundy to gold sunburst finish on the Elevon clubhead.

Let's just say Jody hit a home run with the new Icon HL Hybrid shaft, and my customers agree. Click here for feedback from my customers on the Elevon.

There were a few details I added to the Elevon's design that, although minor, I felt were important.

First, I hate boring plain black ferrules. I also hate trying to match the rings to the thousands of shaft colors available today. Ever try and find a ferrule to match KJ Choi's bright orange MCC/Apache MFS Matrix shaft? Can't be done. My simple solution was a black ferrule with a clear ring so the shaft color shines through.

Second, I added an adjustable swingweight "slot" on the bottom of the clubhead. Simply add hunks of high density lead tape to fine tune the feel and swingweight of your club. The weight slot is indented in the sole of the club so the lead tape won't catch on the turf, twist the clubhead, and further screw up any chance that I can collect the greenies that are rightfully owed to me.

The final piece of the puzzle was the grip.

My choice is the new Full Release grip from Feel Golf. The "reverse taper" technology helps release the club through impact, reducing slices, pushes, and all other horrible things that happen during the course of a golf swing. The grip is very small under the left hand and oversized under the right hand. If you're left handed, then guess which hand it's oversized under. It looks weird, feels a bit odd for the first few swings, but it works. Period. You'll probably end up switching all of your grips to the Full Release. Email me for a price on these exciting new grips. I can also build you a club with a standard tour wrap grip from Star Grips.

120cc volume
Square face angle
20 deg loft
No offset
Swingweight Slot for lead tape
Accepts .370 parallel tip iron shaft for control
Mirror finish on sole with black gloss accent
Beautiful Sunburst finish on crown
Black/Clear Ferrule to highlight and compliment shaft
Hosel Depth: 30mm
Face Height 1.375 inches

$125 with Accuflex Icon HL Graphite Hybrid
$145 with the new Matrix HB-T Flame Hybrid

Questions

Do you like to build your own clubs? Email me for component price

Click here for feedback from my customers on the Elevon.

The Components

Shaft Choices

Crossfire is the first alloy shaft designed specifically for hybrid clubs and fairway woods. Incorporating True Temper’s revolutionary TX-Technology, Crossfire weighs less than many graphite shafts promoting unmatched accuracy with remarkable distance. Crossfire features a mid-flex tip design to work in conjunction with fairway woods and hybrids to get the ball easily in the air and maintain ultimate control.

Crossfire has already claimed victory on the PGA Tour at the 2003 Valero Texas Open, and is available in a 44” fairway wood and 41” hybrid club version in all standard tip sizes. In addition to its unique design, the shaft features a state-of-the art coating technology giving it a cutting edge bronze metallic appearance.

Accuflex Icon HL Graphite Hybrid
A2 Technology (R,S,X)78 grams, 2.5* torque, mid-low bend, 40.5" long .370 tip
These are designed for Long Irons and the new Hybrid clubs.

The Grip
Feel Golf Full Release Grip

Employing the same logic and principles from other sports, Feel Golf has developed the revolutionary "Full Release" grip, which allows a golfer to fully release the club and attain maximum club head speed. The "Reverse Tapered Technology" design of this grip is thinner in the left hand and thicker in the right hand - similar to the grip of a baseball bat. The new shape of these grips allow the golfer to easily hold the club in the fingers of the left hand promoting a correct grip and allowing the golfer to release the club through impact, virtually reducing or even eliminating the dreaded slice that plagues so many of today's golfers.

Questions

Click here for feedback from my customers on the Elevon.
More hybrid's here