Case Study: Wilson Sporting Goods achieves faster, aerodynamically optimized driver designs with Altair

Innovation in Golf Club Design for Wilson's Driver vs. Driver Competition

Wilson Sporting Goods partnered with Altair and Altair ProductDesign to support contestants on the televised Driver vs. Driver competition, aiming to accelerate innovation in golf driver design under a compressed timeframe. Facing the challenge of rapidly exploring form, fit and aerodynamic performance, Wilson relied on Altair tools including solidThinking Evolve for rapid 3D concepting and Altair HyperWorks’ Virtual Wind Tunnel (VWT) for CFD analysis.

Altair’s design and CFD teams worked directly with contestants to iterate models, produce rapid prototypes and simulate airflow (notably refining crown radius) to verify designs earlier and improve aerodynamics. The workflow enabled faster, higher-confidence development; the winning design (Eric Sillies’ Triton) earned the $500,000 prize and incorporated features—adjustable weights, interchangeable sole plates and a white alignment stripe—developed and optimized with Altair’s technologies and expertise.

Wilson Sporting Goods

Doug Thiel

Global Marketing Director