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Powerbilt launches Air Force One DFX

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Though not one of the “big-name brands” in golf equipment, Powerbilt has striven to push the envelope in club innovation with its patented Nitrogen N7 “Nitrogen Charged” technology in its new Air Force One DFX driver.

The cavity of the DFX (Deep Face Extreme) is filled with highly pressurized Nitrogen (80 pounds per square inch), which independent testing has shown increases distance through a trampoline effect when the club face strikes the ball. This pressurized effect allows Powerbilt to reinforce the driver head without adding weight, which further increasing the trampoline effect of the club face to the maximum allowed by the USGA and also enables Powerbilt to increase forgiveness on less-than-perfect hits.

The DFX also has a 5 millimeter deeper face than the previous version, and six more grams of weight have been moved low and forward in the head to improve smash factor, the company says.

“We reduced the nitrogen pressure to 80 pounds, for better impact feel,” said Ross Kvinge, president of PowerBilt. “This new amount of nitrogen generates a tremendous trampoline effect for increased ball speed. In fact, now the trampoline effect is up to the USGA maximum limit. Shot dispersion is also the tightest ever in our drivers.”

The Air Force One DFX features a forged titanium body and titanium face and will be available for both right-handed and left-handed golfers in lofts of 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 12.5 degrees. Several shaft options will be available, including premium options from Fujikura, Fubiku, and Aldila. The Air Force One DFX will retail for $299.

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Neil Crutchfield picked up the sport of golf at the tender age of 34 in 2012 and has been completely infatuated ever since, much to the chagrin of his wife and bank account. Currently, he is a 11 and working hard to get down to being a single-digit handicapper, with the ultimate goal of being scratch.

12 Comments

12 Comments

  1. Martin

    Jul 31, 2014 at 5:06 pm

    I was just fitted w/this driver. It’s for real. Did it on a launch monitor. Compared it to my SLDR and titleist 913 D3. Also used a new Adams head. Switched out a bunch of shafts and heads over 2 fitting sessions Adams was longer than both of my drivers. Performed great. The Power Bilt was just a notch above the Adams. Carry distance was a few yards longer. Spin was down and launch was up. ( About 2400rpm and 12+ on the launch) difference for me was the smash factor. Was around 1.45+ w/the Adams. Was 1.5 nearly every time w/Power Bilt. Had a few max out at 1.52. Went from low launch high spin with my sldr that gave me about a 240-245 carry to a 260+ carry with the right launch and spin w/Power Bilt. Swing was 105-110. This will surely help my game.

  2. jtizzle

    Apr 7, 2014 at 3:49 pm

    The top end jdm brand Kamui Pro has a nitrogen driver that is supposed to be one of the longest out. I am actually waiting on one to arrive right now. I have also heard that the Powerbilt drivers are fairly long too.

  3. Jack Nash

    Mar 24, 2014 at 11:45 am

    I remember when My brother and I were kids, we had the old style wooden matches we’d put between the ball and the old wood driver head. We’d do it in a corner of the course where we were surrounded by trees. When hit properly it would sound like a gun going off, making a scotch mark on the ball and club head. I would imagine that with this new driver that act wouldn’t be recommended? Would this new driver come with the appropriate warnings?

  4. Taylor Made

    Mar 22, 2014 at 8:54 pm

    Do I have to yell “POOOWWW!” “BOOOMM!” when i swing it? Air Force One??? Even the name is gimmicky. Ill pass.

    • Jed

      Mar 23, 2014 at 5:53 pm

      Leave it to somebody with the name Taylor Made to talk about being gimmicky.

      You hitting 400 yard bombs yet?

    • Travis

      Apr 16, 2014 at 12:32 pm

      Yea, because TaylorMade “ROCKETBALLZ” and “JETSPEED” isn’t gimmicky…

  5. The dude

    Mar 22, 2014 at 6:51 am

    Awesome!!…..now they can get Fuzzy and Jodie Mudd back 🙂

  6. Perry

    Mar 22, 2014 at 1:34 am

    Nice to see a different manufacturer for a change. Get a bit sick of only seeing Taylormade and the other biggies. This site sure must be greeting some good kick backs.

  7. RadioActive

    Mar 21, 2014 at 2:57 pm

    isn’t everyone up to or near the .830 limit?

    • Jack

      Mar 26, 2014 at 12:05 am

      That’s what I thought. So the hydrogen brings it up to (or close to) the limit that everyone has been at already. Wonderful. Thanks for no advantage. Isn’t this the definition of a gimmick?

      • Beau

        Apr 6, 2014 at 1:59 am

        Um, its nitrogen not hydrogen that powerbuilt uses. They have been using nitrogen in their drivers since the mid 90’s so would that really be a gimmick?? At least they can think outside the box for a change… maybe stop mocking companies that don’t conform to what is seen as normal? cheers

    • Joe

      Mar 28, 2014 at 10:42 pm

      Actually, the .830 limit is no longer used as the standard for top limmits. What is used is something called Characteristic Time, which is how long the ball stays on the face when being struck.
      That said, I agree with your premise about everyone being at that limit.
      Supposedly though, there can be a lot of variance amongst clubheads, even though they are all “supposed” to be at that limit.
      Adams Golf, for example, claims that they test all of their clubheads to make sure that they are at the top limit. That’s something other companies do not do. With most companies, the goal is to make a clubhead where the top limit of the best one is at the limit, but many of them may not reach that level. That’s why pros test many of them, looking for that “hot driver” amongst the group, according to legends like Lee Trevino.
      As for Powerbilt, I really don’t understand how the Nitrogen gas helps that trampoline effect, but I’ve heard that somehow it actually does so. Perhaps it helps on mishits somehow? In any case, Powerbilt drivers usually get extremely high marks in the distance category every year when numerous drivers are indepently tested, such as on sites such as this. Not bad for a brand that most folks don’t give a second thought to, and one that many stores don’t even bother to carry because of that.

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Whats in the Bag

Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.

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Whats in the Bag

Gary Woodland WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (8 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 70 M5

  • The white circle that appears at the top of the face a removable sticker that’s used for launch monitor tracking, and Woodland removes it for competition!

3-wood: Cobra Darkspeed X (14 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

7-wood: Cobra LTDx LS prototype (20 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

Irons: Wilson Staff (18 degrees), Cobra King MB (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X

Wedges: Cobra SB (48), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-14F), Cobra King (60)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X (48 degrees), KBS Tour V-Ten 125

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0P

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

See more in-hand photos of Gary Woodland’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

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As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

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I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

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