Gone are the days that equipment manufacturers just ‘shrink it and pink it’ to cater for the women’s golf equipment market. The women’s game at all levels has seen astronomical growth over the past five years and as the number of participants at all levels has increased, the need for women’s performance specific equipment has become more important.
With the launch of Kalea Premier in 2021 TaylorMade started to listen to this growing market segment as they built the range to cater for the splurge of beginners taking up the game and while the Kalea Premier line of clubs looked great, some clubs at the time lacked key performance attributes a growing number of female players wanted.
Adjustability, loft options and custom fit options were all missing back then and TaylorMade set out to evolve the Kalea line-up which is now complete with the launch of the all-new Kalea Gold women’s line.
Building on the design of Kalea Premier, every piece of equipment in Kalea Gold was designed with premium components and proven TaylorMade technologies to help women of all abilities play better golf. No matter if they’re learning the game or vying for their Club Championship, Kalea Gold elevates the experience for women golfers from tee to green.
“We decided to name this line Kalea Gold because we wanted to set the gold standard with our second premier women’s line. We’re building on the momentum of Kalea Premier to create a premium product line through design, technology, and performance. The most important part of the DNA of this product is that it’s designed by women, for women. Kalea Gold represents a new and fresh way of thinking about women’s golf club design,” said Michelle Penney, Principal Engineer, Product Development.
Designed by women for women
In creating Kalea Gold, TaylorMade engineers and designers identified the critical role that input from women would play in the design process. That’s why they enlisted four distinct cohorts of women golfers for their feedback.
The first was the TaylorMade Women’s Advisory Board. This group is comprised of female golf industry professionals located across Europe that represent specific niches such as teaching, club fitting, and even women’s golf travel. Together, these women were able to give TaylorMade teams expert feedback on what both they and their female clients liked and didn’t like.
The second group was the TaylorMade Women’s Golf and Social Club. Consisting of TaylorMade employees, these women were able to provide real-time, organic feedback on everything from colours incorporated into the design to the grips on each club. Women’s data-driven/perception test panels and online reviews from Kalea Premier were the final two cohorts that helped guide the vision of what Kalea Gold would ultimately become.
In analysing feedback from these groups of women, TaylorMade engineers and product creation teams found that two main priorities rose to the top: cosmetics and performance.
Cosmetically, women overwhelmingly advocated for a departure from the soft, pastel colours that are often found in women’s clubs. Instead, they preferred elegant colours like white, blue and gold that are found in Kalea Gold. From a performance standpoint in testing, women found the Kalea Gold clubs to be lightweight, forgiving, and high-performing.
Through this process, TaylorMade teams gained a keen understanding of who the Kalea Gold consumer truly is. While some women would be purchasing Kalea Gold as their first set of clubs, a significant portion will be making the change to the Kalea Gold line for their second or even third set of new equipment. It became clear early on that Kalea Gold showed tangible benefits for women of all abilities.
The Kalea Gold driver utilises Carbonwood construction throughout the club head. This allows for mass to be strategically placed within the head to increase energy transfer, optimise launch, and maximise distance, all while providing the utmost forgiveness and stability. Mass optimisation also allows for the addition of a 2° loft sleeve and a TSS weight for precision tuning.
Kalea Gold fairway woods feature a wrapped carbon crown with an elegant look that provides a confidence-inspiring contrast with the ball at address. Here again, the use of ultralightweight carbon enhances launch conditions, speed and forgiveness. The Speed Pocket and Inverted Cone face minimise the downrange miss on off-centre strikes. The addition of a TSS weight allows for optimised tuning here as well.
Both the Speed Pocket and Inverted Cone in the face of the Kalea Gold Rescue provide an extra layer of forgiveness. Additionally, the carbon crown lowers the CG for enhanced launch and spin.
Kalea Gold irons utilise Cap Back Design which works in tandem with the Speed Pocket to maximise launch and forgiveness. They also feature an ECHO Damper that promotes better sound and overall feel.
The optimised face in each iron is engineered to increase COR for faster ball speeds while visually, the toplines of Kalea Gold irons are thinner than those of Kalea Premier providing a sleeker, cleaner look in the playing position. Kalea Gold iron lofts are also stronger than Kalea Premier to help improve gapping and they have a progressive upright lie angle that aids in draw bias.
The Kalea Gold putter uses Spider S construction and multi-material design to increase MOI and stability while aiding in alignment. Its blue body, grey TruePath Alignment, and gold trailing edge provide the perfect contrast against both the ball and green.
Premium construction and attention to detail don’t stop with Kalea Gold clubs. The headcovers are in line with the Kalea Gold theme with their white, gold, grey and blue designs. Women can ride in style with the blue and white, or white and grey TaylorMade Cart Lite bag that features a 14-way top and weighs just five pounds. For walkers, the blue and white FlexTech bag offers a four-way top and weighs just five pounds as well.
All-in all the new Kalea Gold emphasises TaylorMade’s commitment to providing women golfers of all abilities and swing speeds with the best performing golf clubs for them. Alongside the Qi10 Women’s range, Kalea Gold will be available via custom allowing the golfer to choose the exact setup that suits them, including a variety of shaft and grip options available. Combined with the ability to tweak loft and lie, it allows the golfer to achieve their desired performance for every club in their bag.
Pricing and Specifications
The Kalea Gold driver comes in lofts of 11.5° or 13.5° (RH & LH) with a 44” Kalea Gold Ultralight Graphite 40-L shaft and a SuperStroke Traxion Tour Navy/White 37g grip.
Fairway woods are offered in: RH & LH 3-wood (16°), 5-wood (20°) and 7-wood (24°). All fairway woods come stock with the same shaft and grip as the driver.
Kalea Gold Rescue clubs are available in RH & LH lofts of 23°, 27°, 31° and 35°. Rescue clubs come with the stock Kalea Gold Ultralight 40-L shaft and SuperStroke Traxion Tour Undersize 37g grip. Iron offerings are 6-PW, and SW with the same shaft and grip.
The RH & LH Spider Tour S L-Neck putter is 33” long, has a loft of 3°, and head weight of 365g. The stock shaft is the Kalea Gold Graphite Putter 70, and the stock grip is the Kalea Super Stroke Pistol GT 1.0.
Kalea Golf will be available for preorder at retail on August 20 and at retail on September 6. Individual clubs have the following pricing: Driver €599, Fairway €329, Rescue €269, Irons €165 per iron, Putter €329. For more information visit your local TaylorMade stockist or visit TaylorMadegolf.eu
Leave a comment