For Lynx, the Black Cat is a good sign.
Lynx, one of the most popular golf brands in the U.S. through the mid-1990s, which included major championships won by Fred Couples and Ernie Els using the classic Lynx Parallax irons, has been rediscovering itself in Europe over the last few years. It’s now making some intriguing technological inroads toward returning to the U.S. market, including bringing back one of its more well known microbrands, the Black Cat.
The Black Cat irons were first introduced in the U.S. in 1995 and featured an oversized shape with a first-of-its-kind polymer ring lining the cavity and a unique graphite shaft designed with a flared tip section. The thinking was to improve the sound and feel of the oversize head with the polymer damping material, while providing a shaft that kept the head stable, too. It was out of the box thinking for the time.
Trying to push that same mentality, the new Black Cat lineup will feature unique hollow irons and a two-way adjustable driver.
The Black Cat irons ($650 in steel, $720 in graphite) are a hollow design that use a variable thickness face to improve ball speed consistency from on-center to off-center hits. Each head is filled with a polymer to support a thin face of just 2.0 millimeters. The standard set is six clubs, 5-iron through pitching wedge.
The Black Cat driver design features both adjustments for center of gravity and loft. Most distinctive is the adjustable weight bar on the sole. The lopsided bar features 14 grams on one end and eight on the other. According to the company, depending on the orientation and the impact point, spin can be reduced by 500 to 1,000 rpm.
The Black Cat driver utilizes a cup face design with “a face-hardening treatment to improve ball speed.” Its single model design features an adjustable hosel that tweaks loft between 8.5 and 12.5 degrees.
The Black Cat driver ($440) is joined by a fairway wood ($240) and hybrids ($190), both of which also feature cup face designs. The fairway wood is a single model adjustable between 13 and 17 degrees, while the hybrids are offered in 20- and 23-degree models. The fairway wood also features the weight bar in the sole to adjust launch and spin.
The Black Cat lineup is expected to be available in May.