SCHAUMBURG, Illinois (July 2, 2008) – The youngest player ever to win the U.S. Women’s Open used Nippon Shaft’s renowned N.S. Pro 950 lightweight steel shafts in her irons Sunday (June 29) en route to a four-stroke victory at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn.
It was the second time this season that the winner of a women’s major championship relied on N.S. Pro 950s in her irons. The winner of the 2008 LPGA Championship also used N.S. Pro 950 shafts.
The 19-year-old South Korean winner of the USWO made three birdies on the back nine to pull away for a four-shot victory, her first as a professional. She was the only player to break par all four rounds at Interlachen, including a final round 2-under 71 and finishing at 9-under par 283. She won $585,000.
“Nippon Shaft would like to congratulate this year’s winner of the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open,” said Hiroyuki Fukuda, head of Nippon Shaft in North America. “Winning a major championship at any age is a significant achievement but to do it at the age of 19 is truly special.”
Introduced in 1999, the lightweight N.S. Pro 950GH is the revolutionary product that propelled Nippon Shaft in to the elite group of golf equipment manufacturers. At 95 grams, it was the first sub-100 gram steel shaft that maintained the consistency of traditional steel shafts, which weighed in at approximately 125 grams – 30 grams heavier.
The lighter weighted shafts enabled players to increase their swing speeds and therefore increase their distance. The stability of the shafts meant that their clubs would perform consistently and accurately.
At the time, the development of a lightweight steel shaft was significant because many golfers were enjoying the benefits of graphite shafts in their drivers, but found graphite too light and too inconsistent to use in their irons.
Nevertheless, the slower swing speeds of most amateurs – and the eternal search for more distance by better players and pros – cried out for iron shafts that were both lighter and more pliable yet consistent. The N.S. Pro 950GH provided the lightweight, pliability and, perhaps most significantly, the stability inherent in steel.
Even low-handicappers and pros took note.
“Before the N.S. Pro 950, there was not a consistently-made, sub-100-gram steel shaft on the market,” Fukuda said. At the time, he said, the lightest steel shaft on the market with acceptable consistency weighed 115 grams.”
The real “magic” of Nippon Shaft sub-100-gram steel shaft is its ability to be both “soft” and “hard” at the same time. The marriage of pliability and stability is an apparent contradiction that is overcome by a combination of the type of steel Nippon Shaft uses in its manufacturing process and in the manufacturing process itself. Both can be traced to the company’s roots in the automobile industry.
Nippon Shaft is a subsidiary of NHK, a Yokohama, Japan-based manufacturer of steel engine valve springs used in automobiles. Such springs must be both pliable and durable over the course of 100,000 miles. That same principle is at work when Nippon Shaft makes lightweight shafts for golf clubs.
“Essentially, we view golf shafts as springs,” Fukuda said. “That’s why we can manufacture our shafts to very precise weights and it’s why they can be both soft and hard at the same time.”
Nippon Shaft is the No. 1-selling steel shaft in Asia with more than 80 percent of the market and ranks No. 2 in the North America. Currently, more than 100 touring professionals worldwide use Nippon Shaft products in their clubs, resulting in more than 50 victories in the last three years, Fukuda said. All shafts sold by Nippon Shaft are made in Japan in order to maintain the highest quality labor and technical expertise.
Nippon Shaft is a subsidiary of privately held NHK, a Japanese automobile parts manufacturer based in Yokohama, Japan. Nippon Shaft’s North American headquarters is in Schaumburg, Illinois.
Contact:
Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-698-1801 (o)
847-867-3032 (m)
bcronin@cronincommunications.com
