The First Look: BMW Championship

Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White shafts represent the next evolution of the company’s premium low launch, low spin shaft option. Engineers utilized an abundance of high-tech materials in the creation of the successor to the popular CK Pro White — foremost among these is the 1K Fiber that gives the shaft its name. Super-premium 1K Fiber is three times thinner than Carbon Kevlar, and it produces a tighter, more consistent weave. According to Mitsubishi, this allows for the transmission of more high-frequency vibrations through the shaft to create a signature “1K feel.” In other words, pure shots feel really pure, and on the other side of the coin, it’s easier to tell when a shot hasn’t been struck in the center of the face: a valuable piece of feedback. “The Tensei 1K series is the result of a years-long collaboration with our team in Japan. Tensei 1K is the most premium Tensei part we’ve ever made and uses the most premium materials and most advanced shaft construction technologies we currently have. We pulled out all the stops to try to bring the best shaft we’ve ever made into golfers’ hands across the globe,” said Mark Gunther, VP of Sales and Marketing While the fiber gets top billing, It’s the combination of the 1K Fiber and new XLINK Tech Resin System that showcases the company’s commitment to premium materials and performance. As a refresher, resin binds the layers of a golf shaft together. Unique to Mitsubishi Chemical, XLINK Tech Resin System is an innovative dual-phase process that creates a carbon-rich structure that is universally stronger, while still remaining responsive. According to Gunther, “Tech bonded structures are both higher modulus and higher elongation, two key factors we look for to improve stability.” Tod Boretto, Composite Engineering Executive at Mitsubishi Chemical, broke things down further on the 1K front. What does “1K” refer to exactly? TB: 1K Fiber describes the number of individual carbon fiber filaments that are contained with a fiber bundle. These fiber bundles contain 1,000 (1K) individual filaments of carbon fiber that are smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Normally a carbon fiber bundle, commonly referred to as a “tow” bundle, contains upwards of 3,000 to 12,000 filaments which makes the layers of the carbon weave much thicker and heavier than a carbon weave made from 1K fiber. What does 1K Fiber allow engineers to do, for lack of a better word? TB: The very thin-lightweight nature of the 1K weave allows us to place this layer on the outside of the layered composite construction in the upper section of the shaft where the wall thickness is much thinner than compared to the tip section of the shaft. By placing this thin-lightweight 1K weave in the upper section of the shaft, we minimize the thin section of the shaft from ovalizing during the swing under the loads applied by the golfer. This provides superior stability and minimizes tube deflection. It increases accuracy and face placement of the head at impact. Anything else you’d like to mention about 1K Fiber? TB: An added benefit to the golfer is that the 1K weave is comprised solely of carbon fiber compared to prior Tensei Designs, which included kevlar/carbon and our proprietary Aluminum Vapor technology. By eliminating the use of materials like Kevlar and Aluminum Vapor, the 1K transmits vibrations from impact faster and over a broader range of frequencies thusly providing critical feedback to the golfer as to where they struck the ball on the face. In other words, ball strikes on the toe or heel of the clubface are more easily felt by the golfer, which allows the golfer to make a swing adjustment while on the course and not in front of a launch monitor. GEARS A final element of the Tensei 1K Pro White shaft story is the implementation of GEARS 3D motion capture system, which allows Mitsubishi Chemical engineers to measure both the golfer and club simultaneously. Nodes are placed on the club head and shaft to measure how the shaft twists, deflects, droops, loads, etc. For the company, it’s extremely useful to validate new products and prototypes, but equally valuable when it shows designers where to make corrections and adjustments. Zane Nuttall, Manager of Product Development and Innovation on GEARS: “We have always thoroughly tested our products with robotics and player tests. As we continued to apply more resources within this process, we began to work with the GEARS motion capture system to analyze the shaft’s behavior in 3D motion. This allows us to validate existing structures and qualify developmental structures. As we continue to grow, it is important to take our testing processes and systems to the next level.” Weights and flexes Tensei Pro White 1K 50 (R, S, X, TX Flex) Tensei Pro White 1K 60 (R, S, X, TX Flex) Tensei Pro White 1K 70 (S, X, TX Flex) Tensei Pro White 1K 80 (S, X, TX Flex) This special production will be available only at MCA authorized retailers and dealers with a suggested retail price of $500.

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After entering the weekend in contention at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, Carlos Ortiz heads to Houston to defend in one of the PGA TOUR’s longest-running host cities. To win this year’s Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open, however, he’ll have to top a field boasting many of the game’s top players. FIELD NOTES: Brooks Koepka will head back to Houston – and the course he had a hand in shaping – to find his game after some continued struggles saw him miss the cut in Mexico… Koepka is joined by 13 other major champions in the Houston field… Matthew Wolff, who held the 36-hole lead in Mexico, is teeing it up… Past Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open winners teeing it up include the last four champs: Ortiz (defending a TOUR title for the first time), Lanto Griffin, Russell Henley, and Ian Poulter… Texas native and U.S. Ryder cup team member Scottie Scheffler is in the field after sitting in second place halfway through last week’s World Wide Technology Championship… Adam Scott, who won in Houston in 2007, is returning to action after a T5 at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT… Sponsor exemptions include Arizona State senior Cameron Sisk, Houston-area residents MJ Daffue and Shawn Stefani, and Brooks Koepka’s younger brother, Chase Koepka… Sisk earned his spot by winning the Maridoe Intercollegiate. He is 18th in the PGA TOUR University ranking. Sisk has finished in the top 5 in all three of his starts this season, including a win and runner-up. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Memorial Park Golf Course, par 70, 7,412 yards. This municipal course underwent a dramatic renovation by famed architect Tom Doak, with consultation from Brooks Koepka, before returning to the PGA TOUR after an absence of nearly six decades. To prepare for the TOUR’s return, holes were both shortened and lengthened, and trees were removed. The course boasts strategic bunkering, and unique green contours with dramatic short-grass runoffs – making it a second-shot golf course. STORYLINES: The Houston stop is the penultimate event on the PGA TOUR schedule in 2021… With just one more event left after Houston, this is prime time for many to earn valuable FedExCup points. Sixteen of the top 30 players on the FedExCup standings (as of Nov. 6), including leader Sam Burns, will tee it up in Houston. Three past FedExCup champions (Bill Haas, Brandt Snedeker, and Henrik Stenson) are scheduled to play… Ortiz is looking to become the first golfer to defend his title in Houston since Vijay Singh in 2004-05… While there hasn’t been a playoff in Houston since 2018, the event has still seen playoffs 23 times out of its 74 editions – the second most of any in the TOUR’s history after the U.S. Open. 72-HOLE RECORD: 266, Curtis Strange and Lee Trevino (1980 at Woodlands CC), Vijay Singh (2002 at TPC Woodlands). Golf Club of Houston record: 268, Phil Mickelson (2011), Russell Henley (2017). Memorial Park Golf Course record: 267, Carlos Ortiz (2020) 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Ron Streck (3rd round, 1981 at Woodlands CC), Fred Funk (3rd round, 1992 at TPC Woodlands). Golf Club of Houston record: 63, Johnson Wagner (1st round, 2008), Adam Scott (1st round, 2008), Jimmy Walker (1st round, 2011), Phil Mickelson (3rd round, 2011), Scott Piercy (1st round, 2015), Sung Kang (2nd round, 2017). Memorial Park Golf Course record: 63, Hideki Matsuyama (4th round, 2020), Talor Gooch (4th round, 2020) LAST TIME: Carlos Ortiz finally broke through to win on the PGA TOUR (after winning three times on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2014) after a final-round 65 in Houston. He became the first Mexican player in 42 years to win on the PGA TOUR. … Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama tied for second, then went on to win the next two Masters. Johnson won 2020’s unique November Masters the following week and Matsuyama won in the tournament’s return to its traditional April date … Ortiz needed two putts to win on the 72nd hole, but drained a 20-footer for birdie to finish in style. Matsuyama and Johnson finished tied for second, two shots back of Ortiz. Talor Gooch finished fourth, while Brooks Koepka and Sepp Straka rounded out the top five. Koepka had a role in redesigning the tournament’s host layout, the Memorial Park Golf Course. The 2020 Houston Open was the first domestic PGA TOUR event that allowed spectators since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 2,000 tickets sold per day. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Featured Groups) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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