IN BROAD OUTLINE

New 500 Series: Chapter 2

By Inesis

May 2^nd, 2023

In the last chapter, we took stock of the 500 series and Nicolas, product manager for clubs, laid the foundations for the new version. Let's see today how Charles, club designer, worked on the first lines.

THE LEGACY OF THE 500 V1

For Charles, it was important to inscribe the lines of the 500 V2 series in the continuity of the series released in 2019. It is a desire not to start from scratch with each new product but to capitalize on the existing in order to build a beautiful consistency of range and a strong product identity. In short, we keep everything that has worked and we improve everything that can be improved.

The first 500 irons had a strong identity that inspired the design of the 900 irons and then the 100 V2.

“LES FERS 500 ONT ÉTÉ LE POINT DE DÉPART D’UNE NOUVELLE IDENTITÉ POUR LES CLUBS INESIS”

Charles Garbani, Designer clubs

The lines of the new 500 irons are a synthesis of the stylistic DNA of the first generation 500 irons and the elegant simplicity brought by the 900 irons.

To meet the need for forgiveness and power, while bringing the style closer to that of the 900 irons, the "hollow body" technology was quickly adopted. It ticks all the boxes and provides cleaner lines than a cavity back.

A MORE COMPACT HEAD

Visually, the head of the new 500 irons is more compact. You would think the face would be shorter, but it's not. It is still generous enough to provide a lot of forgiveness on off-center hits. On the other hand, it is a little bit higher which changes the proportions of the head. It is less elongated, more sporty and more harmonious.

LESS OFFSET

In his brief, Nicolas wanted to reposition the 500 irons a little more towards the 900s. So the offset (the backward shift of the head in relation to the axis of the shaft) is no longer important. We reduced it without completely eliminating it and we also worked on the hosel-head junction to make the transition more fluid and therefore more pleasant to the eye.

The top line (the edge on top of the head) is also thinner without reaching the values of the 900 series. It is more racy but without scaring the address as it happens sometimes with blades.

WE HAVE REDUCED THE "PAN COUPÉ

The "cutaway" is an identifying element of the current 500 series. This area located to the left of the Inesis logo on the pictures below is not a hitting area, it is wise to remove some material to lower the center of gravity and thus generate higher ball trajectories. On the new version of the 500 irons, we worked on this curve to continue to save weight while having something much more visually elegant.

THE BIG BROTHER 900

The lower part of the head clearly evokes the 900 series. We are clearly in the codes of the blades. It is all the interest of the architecture "hollow body", one can approach exclusive clubs with the facility in more.

THE FINISHING TOUCHES THAT MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE

Once the design is validated, it remains to work on the finishes. On an iron head, there are many possibilities: matte, satin, glossy, black. They can of course be mixed to emphasize this or that part of the club. A work all in subtlety that show how much we want to push the attention to detail on these new clubs.

A PRECISION MACHINING

The central part of the back of the head will be finely machined. These tiny ridges will add a lot of detail and relief. The 900 series will have nothing to envy to the premium clubs in terms of design and manufacturing quality.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The design work has progressed well. In order to meet the deadline of the first half of 2024, there is still a lot of engineering work to be done to develop the lines of all the clubs in the series and to make progress on the architecture and the choice of materials. Would you like to see it next time?