The Space Age Brings New Drive to Golf : Exhibition: Exotic drivers--made of materials such as quartz, carbon and graphite--will be displayed at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Astronaut Alan Shepard once played golf on the moon, but it has taken more than two decades for Space Age technology to take off on Earth’s fairways and driving ranges.

Phrases that once were more common on lunar missions, such as “advanced composite materials” and “center of gravity,” are used in describing exotic new clubs being displayed at the International Golf Show, which starts today at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The show, an exhibition of golf products sold at pro shops and retailers, includes about half a dozen companies that specialize in exotic golf drivers--made of materials such as quartz, carbon and graphite.

“The Space Age is now reflected in the golf clubs,” said David Fernandez, president of Dasia Corp., an aerospace-components and body-armor manufacturer based in Camarillo, which started making golf clubs earlier this year. “Because of the decline in aerospace, we have been looking to other products. . . . These same materials went into the Stealth bomber.”

The composite materials also allow manufacturers to make driver heads fatter and shafts longer, giving the club more power and golfers more area to hit, said Stacey Griffin, a spokeswoman for the Yamaha Motor Corp. golf division in Buena Park. Now, clubs are getting nicknames found at tractor pulls, such as “Whale” from Wilson Sporting Goods Co. in Chicago, and “Big Bertha,” made by Callaway Golf Co. in Carlsbad.

This year, Yamaha introduced the “Top Dawg,” which at 315 cubic centimeters is billed as the largest driver head ever made of composite materials. It is more than twice the size of many standard drivers, which golfers use to make their first shots onto the fairway.

“It’s kind of difficult to get it any larger than that,” Griffin said. “Our engineers have really taken it to the limit.”

Dasia, which makes aerospace components including floor panels for Sikorsky Blackhawk helicopters, created a division called Atrigon to make the clubs and recently won two contracts worth a total of $32 million to supply the clubs to retailers and wholesalers in the Pacific Rim.

Dasia also has a $2-million contract to make interior compartments for Space Station Freedom, which is prominently displayed in an illustration in the company’s show booth. The composite materials, as they do for Space Station components, make clubs lighter and more efficient, Fernandez said.

Dasia manufactures two drivers, the Sterling, made of steel and quartz inserts, and the Unibody 2000, made entirely of composite materials. The Unibody also is constructed in one piece, unlike most clubs in which the shaft is connected to the head. In a two-piece design, some of the club’s energy is dissipated at the connection point, said Jack Savage, the company’s U.S. marketing director.

“You got two things, twisting and accuracy,” he said. “There’s a lot more stability.”

Atrigon is banking that addicted golfers--those who play 24 or more times a year--will be willing to buy the drivers, which can cost up to $360 each.

“The avid golfer is looking for a technological advantage,” Savage said. “It’s a smaller segment of the market, but it’s the best segment.”

And for an estimated 5 million golfers who fit into that category, the competition for their dollar is mounting. Companies such as Yamaha, Yonex Corp. and Callaway Golf already dominate the market, where some drivers cost $600 each.

Another company, High Tech Golf in Arlington, Va., is introducing a driver called the Alladin, with a suggested retail price of $360, which features a graphite shaft with a scale-like pattern. The design gives a swing more stability and consistency, said Robert A. Shircliff, national sales manager.

“When you are talking about avid golfers, you are talking about anyone who wants to improve their game at any price,” he said. “These are the loyal, golf-a-holics.”

But the cost of the driver pales in comparison to a $30,000 set that High Tech introduced at a trade show in January. The clubs, made by Honma, a manufacturer based in Japan, feature gold faces on the club heads and gold sprinkles in the boron-titanium shaft.

So far, there have been no advance orders.