Geotech GT455 and SP Driver

[gocchin]

via golftoimpress.com

I swung by the Geotech Golf office in Chiba the other day to check out the new offerings for the summer season. I chatted with Kensaku Yaita, Geotech Golf's Chief of Sales (picture above) about these new drivers and what they had to offer.

The all new GT455 is the new Geotech flagship driver. The GT455 is a conforming 455cc all titanium driver made for all around performance. Featuring a black PVD finish with dark red accents, the GT455 features Geotech's Gravity Control System with new titanium weights dubbed GT Stabilizer screws. These interchangeable weights allow for the GT455 to be configured for various ball trajectories and draw and fade shots and can add extra weight to the already heavy 205g head. The GT455 comes with a 5g weight in the back and 2 x 2.5g weights, one in the toe and one in the heel.

Yaita-san told me that Geotech spent a lot of time working on the design for this head in order to improve on the already best selling Black SP driver. 3D Auto CAD was used to design the head with a focus on creating a head rigid enough to create maximum energy transfer at impact but soft and stable enough to suppress vibrations. Precision titanium casting which has always been one of the strong suits of Geotech (since their Dynamic Golf days), allow them to create a head with consistent and optimal thickness. The slightly deep face and longer head still retain a rather traditional shape but boast very good MOI at 4466gcm2 and a sweet spot 10% larger, and deeper and lower CG than the Black SP.

When I asked Yaita-san, what golfer group the GT455 was aimed at, he told me that pretty much anyone could play this driver as it is forgiving enough for the mid to higher handicapper but has enough feel and control for the lower handcapper. (The square face angle on the 9.5 matched with the deeper face and lie of 58* actually make a good athelete model). Yaita-san stressed that the GT455's strengths were balance and distance with a mid trajectory ball.

One really cool thing is that Geotech got Ichiro Kanatani (picture at right, a pro and former tour player who does all the video reviews on Golf Digest Japan and one of the most respected golf gear reviewers and commentators in Japan to give his feedback on the GT455. Kanatani liked the shape of the head as it is more traditional and not distracting like some of the larger new high MOI heads can be these days. He noted that the GT455 is very stable at impact and is very forgiving. He thinks Geotech has a winner on their hands with this head along with the matching GT455 Fairway Woods both in design and performance.

It's definitely one good looking driver and I can't wait to get my demo next week.

The SP Driver, released at the same time as the GT455 is 460cc driver featuring one interchangeable weight screw in the back (4g included) which can control trajectory. Yaita-san said that it is aimed at all levels of players on a budget looking for distance and all around performance. While at the shop I decided to borrow the SP Driver Flighted (11.5*) they had on hand. A very simple and clean look paired with a very traditional shaped head, even though the 11.5* is supposed to be a degree closed, it does not look that way as you can see from the pictures I took below.

Those wanting a deep faced, traditional shaped driver, this is it. The face is deep at 59mm tall and the pear shape is sure to please. I hit a few balls with this driver and found it to be very solid and forgiving. The SP produced a mid to higher trajectory and was easy to fade or draw thanks to the deep face which had me tee the ball higher than I usually do (It was like going back to the old Epon 460ZR but with a different more solid feel rather than soft). Great performance at this price as is usually the case with all Geotech clubs!