Why Are DLC Coatings Used on Golf Clubs? From Black Finishes to Wear Protection and Validation

2026/11/11

Black golf clubs create a distinctive visual impression. They also raise a practical question: what functions can the coating provide?

On November 10, 2026, MyGolfSpy reported that McLaren Golf had introduced black versions of its Series 1 and Series 3 irons. The brand’s official product pages identify DLC (diamond-like carbon) as the coating used on both black models, emphasizing hardness, low friction, and surface protection.

This example offers an accessible way to understand surface engineering in sporting equipment. Product developers need to consider appearance, contact conditions, and how the surface changes during use.

1. What Functions Matter When Evaluating DLC for Golf Clubs?

DLC is a family of carbon-based thin films. Different coating designs can provide hardness, friction, and wear characteristics suited to particular applications, which is why DLC is used in a range of sliding-contact and wear-resistant components.

For golf club development, its potential value can be evaluated in three areas:

Wear resistance and surface protection: Examine wear marks, coating damage, and substrate exposure after repeated use under agreed conditions.
Friction behavior: Evaluate friction and how it changes with the actual contact materials and environment.
Appearance retention: Compare changes in color, gloss, and surface condition after use, storage, and cleaning.

These are application considerations requiring evaluation. The face, sole, and back of a clubhead experience different contact conditions. The coating coverage and improvement objectives should therefore be defined before the corresponding tests are designed.

The McLaren product pages and report reviewed do not provide quantitative wear, friction coefficient, or service-life test data that would support a comparison. The brand’s durability claims should therefore be assessed alongside test conditions and results. Any claim of improved distance, ball speed, or accuracy would also require separate validation.

2. A Black Finish Does Not Establish Coating Performance

Color alone cannot confirm whether a black product uses DLC. Even when products are labeled as DLC-coated, the coating type and configuration warrant further examination.

Oerlikon Balzers’ technical information explains that DLC can be engineered through hydrogen content, doping elements, interlayers, and deposition methods. These differences affect coating properties and application requirements.

When comparing products, materials and processes should also be distinguished: DLC describes a coating material family, while PVD describes physical vapor deposition, a manufacturing process. Some DLC coatings can be produced using PVD, while others use plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Comparisons should therefore identify the coating material, process, substrate, and test conditions together.

For procurement and R&D teams, understanding what has been deposited and how it has been validated provides a stronger basis for decisions than comparing color or a single hardness value alone.

3. Wear Protection Depends on the Coating–Substrate System

Coating performance is also related to the underlying substrate. ASTM C1624’s publicly available description explains that the response observed in scratch testing depends on factors including coating and substrate properties, surface roughness, and test parameters.

During product development, it is useful to establish:

Substrate conditions: Material, heat-treatment condition, and existing surface treatment.
Contact conditions: Contact materials, loaded areas, and whether sand particles, impacts, or repeated sliding are involved.
Improvement objectives: Reduced wear, appearance retention, or preservation of dimensions and function.

A broad request for “better wear resistance” should be translated into specific targets. For example, after an agreed number of uses under defined conditions, which areas must remain covered, and how much wear is acceptable? Such targets establish a basis for comparing coating options.

4. How Should DLC Wear Resistance and Adhesion Be Validated?

Validation can address three levels: coating damage, sliding wear, and actual product use.

1. Scratch testing: examining failure behavior in the coating–substrate system

ASTM C1624 applies to hard thin films, including DLC. It assesses the response of a coating system by applying a load and examining scratch damage. Results should be interpreted together with damage modes and test settings; they should not be treated directly as the intrinsic interfacial bond strength between the coating and substrate.

2. Sliding wear testing: comparing options under the same conditions

ASTM G99 provides a method for pin-on-disk or ball-on-disk sliding wear and friction testing. Load, speed, sliding distance, contact materials, and environment all influence the results. Reports should therefore state the test conditions, and a single test should not be used to directly predict service life under different conditions.

3. Use-condition validation: establishing the durability the product actually needs

For golf clubs, possible evaluations include surface inspections after repeated ball strikes, contact involving sand, contact during storage, and cleaning. Images and measurements from the same locations can be compared before and after testing. These are proposed evaluations, rather than tests publicly reported as completed by McLaren or Creating Nano Technologies Inc.

Development teams can compare uncoated parts, an existing surface treatment, and candidate DLC options using the same substrate and comparable conditions. Agreeing on sample quantities, inspection locations, and acceptance criteria in advance helps connect test results with procurement and product development decisions.

5. From Golf Clubs to Surface Engineering for Industrial Components

Sporting equipment makes DLC more visible to consumers. In industry, surface wear and friction are also important product development considerations.

The DLC applications publicly listed on Creating Nano Technologies Inc.’s website include molds, cutting tools, bearings, slide rails, and transmission components. Application requirements and improvement objectives vary among components, so suitability should be assessed using the actual materials, contact conditions, and validation results.

If you are evaluating DLC coatings for sporting equipment or industrial components, share the material, main wear locations, and improvement objectives with Creating Nano Technologies Inc. to discuss coating suitability and evaluation options. Test items, testing providers, and acceptance criteria can then be agreed on a case-by-case basis.

Explore Creating Nano Technologies Inc.’s DLC Coatings｜Contact Creating Nano Technologies Inc.

This article discusses technology and applications. There is no public evidence that Creating Nano Technologies Inc. participated in this McLaren project.

Sources

Creating Nano Technologies, Inc.
59 Alley 21 Lane 279, Chung Cheng Road, Yung Kang City, Tainan, TAIWAN
TEL:886-6-2323927 FAX:886-6-2013306 URL: http://www.creating-nanotech.com

BACK TO LIST