The 1st Real Square Head Driver! (No, It Wasn’t Nike)

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There aren’t many truly revolutionary, pioneering or fresh new ideas in the golf industry. Yes…there are new models coming out more frequently then ever but most of them are only changing a paint color, moving a decal or adding a pointless adjustable weight.

Nike Was Not First

But this changed or most thought it did when Nike launched what was thought to be the first square driver ever. It was thought of as one of the most revolutionary designs in the history of golf. Revolutinary it was (every company followed their path shortly after) but pioneering…well not so much. You see before the famous Nike Golf designer Tom Stites worked at Nike, he had been running Impact Golf Technologies, a small club design operation in Texas…making clubs for Tour players and a few other companies.

AccuForm Golf

One of these companies, which is almost all but forgotten about now, but one that still provides great memories for many pros on tour…was AccuForm Golf. And the driver they made (which was square) was called the AccuFrom Whistler. The Whistler was the real FIRST square driver ever made…not the Nike Sumo.

It was back in the mid 90’s and AccuForm had hired a guy by the name of David Huber. Colin McDougall, whose father, Don, was one of Accuform’s owners, said that Huber “drew a rough shape [of a square-headed driver] on a cocktail napkin at a restaurant and talked about the idea.” Huber, McDougall remembered, sent the idea to Tom Stites and he simply finished and tested the club.

How Many Other Nike Designs Are Someone Else’s?

Now, Stites does acknowledge the Whistler…but of course claims that the SUMO he designed at Nike is superior. Superior it might be but original it was not. I wonder how many other ideas he has used from companies he worked with while at Impact Golf Technologies?