So who is Robert MacKeil and how did he come up with this unique club?
"I have a pretty good working knowledge of mechanics and math as well as manufacturing processes," MacKeil said.
That's because his background is as a machinist and mechanic with General Electric. MacKeil worked at GE's jet engine manufacturing, testing and development facility in Lynn, Mass., the facility that developed and produces most of the jet engines used in U.S. military aircraft.
MacKeil explains the development of his idea this way:
"Some time ago I observed that the ball marks on a club face will always form an oval pattern that is nearly perpendicular to the shaft. This has also been noted by Karsten Solheim in one of his patents, but he did not utilize it, apparently because he did not think that the sweet spot formed in this shape would be large enough that the shape would matter.
"It has been recognized by the USGA since the 1930s that if the center of gravity can be moved far away from the clubface, the golfer could obtain great advantage. Since then this has been controlled by the rule that requires that the width (of the clubhead) be at least equal to the depth.
"I obtained a patent that combined the above factors in a way that would maximize the depth of the center of gravity, which in turn increases the radius of gyration and stabilizes the clubhead when hit off center."
MacKeil even sketched out the patent drawings himself. It took two years for his patent to come through, and then MacKeil set about working on prototypes. The Mac's Ax was first developed as wooden-headed model.
"After the basic shape was carved, the face area had to be machined to accept the face plate," MacKeil said. "The face plate needed to be both light and rigid to take the blow. These pieces were cast from high-strength marine epoxy and reinforced with G-10 fiberglass. One of the holes was also reinforced with fiberglass tubing. By lightening the front and body I was able to save enough weight to allow for a very large backweight to pull the C.G. (center of gravity) back. This was cast in a tin/antimony alloy in vinyl rubber molds that could take about 700 degrees. All mold and fixture work was done in my basement."
After the masters were made, MacKeil contracted with Louisville Golf - the last major manufacturer of wooden woods - to turn blanks on their machinery. MacKeil continued producing the face plates and backweights in his basement, but the assembly and finish work was handled by Louisville Golf. Louisville Golf was impressed enough with MacKeil's invention to produce its own version of the Mac's Ax, marketed under the "Stealth" name.
Around this time, due to outside circumstances, MacKeil started having difficulty finding an affordable supply of wood. So he turned to titanium (he still has about 50 walnut and cherry Mac's Axes left).
His wooden heads served as models for the titanium version. Heads are manufactured overseas, the brass weights are made in Massachussetts, and MacKeil still personally handles the machining of the heads to fit the screws.
Next Page: How Does the Mac's Ax Perform?
