FGX Sports calls on AMRC to help develop new golf club range

Preston-based FGX Sports has enlisted the help of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) North West to develop an innovative range of golf clubs.

FGX Sports was created by PGA Professional coach Paul Woodhouse and businessman Peter Smith, who have a combined 60 years of golf experience.

They have already developed the Hybrid X putter, which is designed to have a shallower and more natural putting arc, allowing for a more efficient putting stroke.

The FGX Sports team now has its sights set on applying the same innovative spirit to the rest of the 14 clubs that make up a set. By working with AMRC they are able to explore their options and develop prototypes much quicker and at lower cost.

Peter Smith, who is co-owner of FGX Sports, said: "I’ve played golf for 45 years, so I know what makes a good club. What I want to do here is bring together the best of the old style and new style of clubs, to create a design that will revolutionise the golf club industry.

"The project we brought to AMRC North West was all about exploring design options for our new type of high-end club. The team there were great and came up with some nice ideas for us. They also produced a prototype, which is useful for a number of reasons, not least because we now have something to show to potential manufacturers of the product.

"Golf is a multi-billion dollar industry globally, and AMRC North West has taken us several important steps forward in strengthening our work in the sector."

Dominic Haigh is a Project Engineer at AMRC North West, part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, he said: “FGX Sports had a design idea for their new club, which will strike the ball better than other clubs currently on the market, but they weren’t sure about the next steps to take for manufacture.

“We produced some computer-aided design (CAD) options for the business and then manufactured a 3D-printed prototype. Golf clubs tend to be forged using an array of different machines, and it’s usually a long and expensive process that doesn’t lend itself to the creation of prototypes, so this was a faster and more efficient way to test the design.

“This project was all about accelerating their design cycle and providing support to get a product to market more quickly.”

FGX Sports is now currently looking at options for the manufacture of the new type of golf club in stainless steel.

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