Can you name the 21^st element on the periodic table? For those of us who tread lightly in the world of science that’s exactly the type of information we don’t need to know, and frankly, don’t care to know. For golfers, however; that may be about to change. The answer, by the way, is Scandium. You might want to write that down; it will be on the test.

Element21, a small Canadian company I’m betting you haven’t heard of, has introduced a line of golf equipment largely made from their proprietary Scandium alloy. I’ll admit that prior to stumbling across some product information, I had never heard of Element21, Scandium, or Canada (actually, I have heard of Canada, but my English teacher taught me things are better in threes, and since I only had two things I needed to pretend Canada was foreign to me, both as a nation and as a concept…moving on).

So why should you, a golfer who is no doubt at least passively satisfied with his (or her, I suppose) steel shafted irons, care about a new shaft made from some element you hadn’t heard of until 30 seconds ago. Well, not to pick on steel, but we’re already learned that in some areas, Titanium has some pretty significant advantages over steel, and as it turns out, so does Scandium.

First, Element21’s Scandium Alloy offers the highest strength to weight ratio of any material used in sporting goods today. The company boasts that Scandium’s strength to weight ratio is 40% better than Titanium and an impressive 70% better than steel. As nearly every golf manufacturer on the planet has shown over the last few years; anytime you can reduce discretionary weight in one area, it allows you to place it somewhere where the golfer will see some real benefit.

Strength to weight isn’t the only compelling reason to consider Scandium shafts on your next set of irons. Element21’s conducted tests using identical clubheads (6-irons, if you’re curious). In those tests, the scandium shaft outperformed all others in accuracy. Dispersion tests showed the Scandium shaft to be 5x more accurate than its closest competitor. The Element21 shafts also increased distance by up to 16 yards. Raise your hand if you don’t want more distance and accuracy. Nobody? Thought so.

If distance, accuracy, and strength to weight ration weren’t enough (see, 3 things), Element21’s Scandium Alloy shaft also feature what the company calls ShockBlock™ technology, which reduces vibration, which in turn reduces stress on bones and joints. Element21 says that the Scandium shafts offer 279% better attenuation than steel. Once again, I’ll admit to having to look that one up, and although there’s a whole bunch of physics involved, it basically means the shaft dissipates unpleasant vibration a heck of a lot better than steel.

Now I know what you’re thinking: This sounds a bit like one of those silly infomercials for yet another product that promises to increase my distance, lower my scores, and cook me some dinner when I get home. I’ll admit to being a more than a little skeptical myself, and I’ll be honest and tell you that I’m not about to swap out my iron shafts anytime soon, however; the company does have some serious PGA muscle using their shafts. While the company can’t name names (I think it probably has something to do with existing sponsorship agreements and what not), they can provide enough information for us to figure out exactly who they’re talking about. I’ll save you from having to do the research for yourself. Sufficed to say, this golfer who finished 2^nd at the recent Pebble Beach Pro-Am, is well-known for his exhaustive practice habits, and for the fact that he hails from Fiji. He was also the last golfer not named Tiger Woods to be ranked #1 in the world. So yeah, there’s at least one big time golfer embracing Scandium technology, and to the best of my knowledge, he isn’t being paid to do it.

In addition to their Scandium shafts, Element21 Golf also offers up a complete set of irons. The EMC² irons feature a wide sole and a hollow face for high MOI, with Thermoplastic elastomers for improved feel. The progressive offset is designed to meet the needs of players of varying abilities. It should come as no surprise that the EMC² irons feature the company’s now well-known (to you anyway) Scandium alloy shafts.

The company’s EMC² hybrid (retail $239) is available in lofts of 18, 20, 23, and 26 degrees, which gives you plenty of options for replacing your unforgiving long irons. The EMC² hybrid features, you guessed it, Scandium shafts. It also has an open face, which is still a bit of a rarity in the hybrid world, but certainly something I appreciate. The minimally-thick crown, which features alignment louvers (sort of looks like a Klingon’s forehead to me), allows for more discretionary weight to be placed internally where it can help the golfer get the ball in the air.

Finally, Element21’s new EMC² driver offers up a one of a kind Scandium face which offers a softer feel, and lower spin rates, when compared to Titanium or steel.. The variable wall thickness makes for a large sweet spot, and increased distance on mishits. The crown is made of a composite material, which allowed Element21 to utilize a steel sole to further lower the center of gravity.

With a retail price of $599, the EMC² driver may be a bit of a tough sell to the golfer more accustomed to paying $399 for a Titleist, TaylorMade, Nike, or Callaway driver. That said, if the opportunity presents itself, you can bet I’ll at least take a few swings with the club just to see what this Scandium thing is all about.

For the golf consumer it’s often difficult to distinguish between the next big thing, and the latest bottle of snake oil. While I can’t definitively say that Scandium is prior, and not the latter, the fact that one of the world’s best players is using the technology, at least lends some credence to the idea that Scandium alloy is for real. Let’s be honest, who among us really cared about Titanium until somebody thought to make our drivers out of the stuff?

More detailed information about Element21’s golf products can be found at the company’s website.