Keepin' it Square

My Nike SQ Driver has literally revolutionized my game off the tee (for the better). I have much more confidence with this driver than any other I've ever used. In my opinion, the square club head is incredibly helpful (at least on the driver), especially for beginner golfers.

I honestly have very little idea what goes in to the research and development of a club like this, but I do know that added confidence equates to added success. When I look down at a square club head it makes it drastically easier to align my club properly at address. I can see and feel the club head travel down and through the impact area (the foot behind the ball and the foot ahead of the ball) on the downswing so much better than I could with a conventional driver. The fact that the club head is bigger helps me stay aware of where it is throughout the swing (which is a key to developing good feel by the way).

There is a theory that the square headed drivers don't twist as much at impact and thereby keep the ball on a straighter path. The square drivers supposedly have a higher M.O.I., or 'moment of inertia' than conventional clubs. This involves moving the majority of the weight to the perimeter and away from the center of the club head to prevent the club head from twisting at impact. Granted, 'moment of intertia' may be the catch-phrase of the moment in golf circles, but I buy into this. When I hit a shot with my SQ driver and it feels like it should be a thirty yard slice, I am thrilled when I look up at my ball and it has only faded five or ten yards. Again, I'm not exactly sure what science goes into this but I do know that my shots don't veer off course nearly as much as they used to.

I think a big reason why pros may not have jumped on board with this technology is that they are often more interested in clubs that have the ability to 'shape shots' as opposed to straighten out ball flight. They could hit a straight drive with a broom stick, so straight ball flight is not necessarily what they're after in a driver (similar to the blade irons many pros play as opposed to cavity backs which are easier to hit straight).

Many golfers may also be turned off by the price tag on these square headed drivers. Rest assured though, the prices are coming down quickly as the clubs become more mainstream. I believe that within five years at least half of all drivers will have a square head.