[Glen Rapoport]

Does anyone know anything about this new company e21golf.com that makes clubs out of element 21 on the periodic table?

Glen

[Doug Sobieski]

For those of you that don't have a Periodic Table for their mouse pad on their desk, the element is Scandium  

I knew my investment in that mouse pad would pay off one day!!! And everyone wonders why in the world I have it (not much use for it until right now).

[wsmorrison]

Here are some facts on the element:

Scandium was discovered by Lars Fredrik Nilson, a Swedish chemist, in 1879 while attempting to produce a sample of pure ytterbia from 10 kilograms of the mineral euxenite ((Y, Ca, Er, La, Ce, U, Th)(Nb, Ta, Ti)2O6). Scandium can be obtained from the minerals thortveitite ((Sc, Y)2Si2O7), bazzite (Be3(Sc, Al)2Si6O18) and wiikite, but is usually obtained as a byproduct of refining uranium.

Metallic scandium was first produced in 1937 and the first pound (0.45 kilograms) of pure scandium was produced in 1960. Scandium is a soft, light metal that might have applications in the aerospace industry. With a cost of $270 per gram ($122,500 per pound), scandium is too expensive for widespread use.

Alloys of scandium and aluminum are used in some kinds of athletic equipment, such as aluminum baseball bats, bicycle frames and lacrosse sticks. It is expected that scandium-aluminum alloys will be important in the manufacture of fuel cells.

It looks like it will be a trace element in some sort of alloy.  Either that or each golf club is going to cost about $50,000  

I guess the Iranians will have some left over Scandium as they defy much of the world and continue to refine uranium...for peaceful purposes I'm sure  

[JSlonis]

Glen,

The element 21 shaft is starting to gain some popularity on the PGA Tour.  Last fall, Davis Love made some waves by putting these shafts into play during the tourney at Innisbrook in Fla(not sure if he is still playing them).  Currently I know that James Driscoll has these shafts in play in his irons.  I have a friend that has tried them as well, and absolutely loves the feel of them.  Apparently, they have a very smooth feel, without some of the harshness associated with a normal steel shaft.

Here is link to their website:

http://www.e21golf.com/

My friend called them directly and said that he spoke to one of the officers with the company, and that he couldn't have been more helpful when discussing these new shafts.

[Bob_Huntley]

Wayne,

Is this in any way related to...Scamdium?

Bob

[Doug Siebert]

The really bad thing is that if (big IF, I'm sure) shafts made of scandium did perform better than steel or graphite but say cost $5000 each you would see them in play by some of the pros.  That would really be a bad precendent if pros started using clubs that were simply much more expensive than what any of us could afford or would be willing to spend.

I'm more worried about this in the context of shafts made from carbon nanotubes.  They'll surely appear on the tour first and based on other figures I've seen for possible weight reduction for this material versus other materials a shaft weighing less than 10 grams that is as strong as today's should be doable.

[Brad Klein]

Wayne Morrison's post has my early vote for best of the year. I know that's like voting on SI's Sportsman of the Year after the SuperBowl, but that post sets the bar mighty high for intelligence and sarcasm. Best of all, I can't tell if a word of it is true but it sounds really convincing.

[Jack_Marr]

My Uranium-238 golf clubs have decayed into two sets of Uranium-235 golf clubs and a severely damaged bag.

[wsmorrison]

Scamdium it is, Bob.

Thank you, Brad.  Accepting this award (prematurely) from a presenter such as yourself is a real compliment.  I recall Sally Fields's speech at the Academy Awards:

"You like me.  You really like me.  I know this does not mean I am a somebody but I am on my way to become somebody."  

I'd like to thank all of the little people that made this possible, except that I can't remember any of their names.  But if you are out there, I thought of you...for a second or two.

[paul cowley]

wait wait wait a minute...I thought Bob was being a little tongue in cheek, with SCAMdium....whats the real element?

BTW congratulations Wayne.

but wait again , my spellcheck just told me the rest of the story

[redanman]

Their (element 21) website's medical section is rather high comedy.

[redanman]

"E21 Scandium shafts also use a vibration dampening technology called “ShockBlokª” which reduces shaft vibration up to 300% compared to steel and contributes to the shaft’s unprecedented soft feel."

I found this quote trying to find the cost of these beauties.

Someone want to explain the physics of this one to me?  Does the shaft produce waves that actually withdraw previously received shocks to the hands, wrist and forearms?



BTW, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is individual vulnerability related and also related to unrelieves, persistent vibration, I don't think shaft vibration could be considered "persistent", even for Vijay Singh.

Anyone know what this sham costs per shaft?  Davis Love III of all people can certainly afford it, but unless it removes shock waves from his brain, he's still in trouble.  His career even makes Ernie Els look good.

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