Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open

8/4/10

 Wednesday turned out to be another record setting heat day! Very hot! I followed up with Luke List to see if he had the new wedges in the bag, not! I thought he was going to take them out and test them during the pro-am. He was pretty “Luke” warm so to speak. I know why it the Titleist factor. He doesn’t want to rock wagon. These manufacturers do put pressure on these guys if they even sniff another brand! I know this first hand as you know!

I did make my way around to a few players that I noticed didn’t have staff bags. These guys are normally Monday qualifiers or players that have not settled on an equipment contract while a possible 1 or 2 coming in as a sponsor’s exemptions. I mainly wanted to introduce myself and the wedge, more of a courteous call since it is Wednesday. The thought that one of these guys changing today was out of the question.


I sat back and watched the Fourteen rep jump and run to get new equipment (wedges) to Mike Lavery. The little display that he put on in front of the boys was pretty impressive so it put the pressure on Fourteen to go into salvage mode. This isn’t a wedge war, YET! But if I were out here more it would be! The available targets are so few and far between that we are like vultures on road kill!


I continued working over the phone with two mini-tour players getting them adjusted. Both Alex Carper and David Huffman are struggling with shaft changes. We are working with Nippon and True Temper to get the problems resolved. I have shafts on the way that should help both players.


I wanted to thank Max Evenson at Pro Link Golf for helping me with my club needs this week and use of his shop. Max and I have been friends for several years. His shop is fully equipped for club building and repair. Solus doesn’t have a tour van contract with the Nationwide Tour, it is just not cost effective when I will only be out here 4-5 events. This makes Max’s shop my “tour van” for this swing. It very handy and a huge asset! Thank you, Max!!


Oh as a little sidebar: Gm came back with their final “Word” on the truck and guess what that was? Not only did they sign off on it they CANCELLED the warranty on the truck! They said I was using an aftermarket tuner which voids the warranty! Well guess what they sold it to me! They are looking for a way out of this one due to the ol “Lemon Law”. It states that after three strikes you are out! They were in the sixth inning! But please make note the tuner had not been installed during this down time and if fact when I broke down the first time in the ‘Bermuda Triangle” they told me to use the tuner to reset the computer and cancel the “check engine” light code. This was suggested by GM to get me back home. This is all horses@*t!!! I will not stand and take anymore of the BS. Enough said just a little update! So let it be written, so let it be done! HIHIHI……. On to Springfield, MO! Yes in the truck! Let it ride baby!

8/3/10

Well Tuesday was a record for Wichita temp wise. We were under an extreme temp advisory and the temp did not let us down topping out at 107! Jee-ma-nee it was hot! I need to say this out loud! HOT!

Man check this little set up out! It was perfect for wedge testing! Great set-up for the ol local boy!

Here's a look of the Skychaser from Cessna. They flew this little piece into this location landing it on the 18th fairway! It came in over the tree line from the west to the east and needed to be steered into the dogleg of the hole to stop! Not sure how they will get it back out of here but it should be interesting!

Here's a look at the set I built for Luke List. Although on the Titleist staff he has agreed to test them and see how they do in the hay. He will test tomorrow in the pro-am and will be in Springfield next week so I can follow up. He picked them up this morning. He has room in the bag! The putter and hybrids are the clubs he is rotating in and out. He really like the look of the wedge and was quite surprised, I think.

Good friend Gavin Cole came by the green to take a look at the new Fc-10's. Gavin has been on my player panel giving me feedback as I went along in refining the design. He said it only took me two years but he believes that we have finally arrived with the new product! Gavin would like a 54 and 58 when the time is right.

Here is a look at my DWA (designated work area) this afternoon. Even though the heat was unbearable there were still a few brave souls!

I think picking up the tab last night at Hooters really paid off today. My new friends came by today for a look at the new wedges! This kind of thing now and then really brings them over once the ice is broke!

UST FedEx their new proto wedge shafts into today for testing. I built a 52 and 60 for players testing. Preliminary testing shown the kick point or balance point was too high. In other words the shaft is too stiff in the grip section to allow the player to "trap" or "pinch" the ball against the turf. I didn't get any "oh no's" which was nice for a change! We will continue to test tomorrow and provide the feedback to UST. There will need to be some adjustments needed in the overall profile. They painted the shaft to look like chrome so it has the appearance of a steel shaft. During testing today I didn't mention to the players that the shaft was graphite. There are some players that have preconceived thoughts that graphite means "senior" and is not as macho as steel. Funny isn't it!

I had one of my caddie friends (Dennis) introduce me to Mike Lavery. Mike qualified for the Wichita Open and is the current leading money leader on the Hooter's Tour. We had talked about him looking at the wedges today. Dennis (the caddie) has been a friend and supporter of Solus and in fact his son is playing the new FC-10's. Here Mike is testing the wedges. He wants to change to a four wedge set-up. Since I didn't have the lofts he was looking for we tested the 52, 56 and 60 to see how the change might affect his wedge play strategy. He was very impressed and in fact thinks he might go ahead and make the change. If I had a 48 degree I think we have a real chance of four going right into play. This player has a wedge game. He knows where his hands are and can hit any shot that is called up. Now as luck would have it he is currently playing three wedges from Fourteen Golf. The rep was keeping an eye on what was going on. Fourteen is a small company a lot like Solus so taking these four out really hurts. With as many contracts out here what are the chances of me getting a player that has equipment from another small company as opposed to Titleist or Cleveland. The rep started the damage control as soon as I finished up with him which is SOP on tour. Oh, SOP stands for Standard Operating Procedure!! HIHIHI....

8/2/10

Well this week is a home game for me! I get to sleep in my own bed and drive right to work, of course in a rental car but all good! The heat is a real factor and will be for the next two weeks. It made it to 105* today and the forecast calls for 107*-109* tomorrow. Believe me it is HOT!

My Monday started out with three players approaching me to tell me they had heard Solus was going out of business? Puzzled at what I heard from the first player only getting better after I had heard it for the third time around. I am not sure where this rumor is coming from but it is as far from the truth than anyone can get! It’s all the nature of the beast! I think this is starting over on the PGA Tour. But why? I do not know.

If that isn’t enough I had all this hit at once!

I heard from a couple of players that they had been looking for me but stopped since the TRUCK isn’t here. I was really surprised to find out some of the players were at least looking for me and expected to see me on this swing. Although we will continue to trudge along and see if we can actually make a difference, my hopes are not high. If I do get clubs in play the chances of those clubs staying in is slim to none. There needs to be a rep out here to service week to week. These players get that now from all of the big companies so that service alone is enough to keep these players loyal to the brand.

I have the set built and ready for Luke List. I will probably see him on Tuesday.

I headed out after a hot, hot day and went to have a couple of brews with the boys. We all converged on Hooters and had a great time trying to cool off! This outing gave me a little time to talk to a few of the pros about contracts. I discovered there was maybe a few more opportunities than I once thought. I talked to a pro that doesn’t have a contract but plays one of the big companies’ equipment. Even at this level the intimidation factor is still in play and evident. Although the player didn’t have a full bag contract he is still being serviced with equipment and clothing coming to them at no charge. In some respects this is a contract. Most of these guys without a contract are expecting one in the future. Still the big four prevail anyway you look at it! Brand loyalty, that’s what it’s all about!

I got the set for Kevin Smith finished and delivered. I also have another caddy checking out the equipment for his player. He said he would be by the bag in the morning to pick up a couple for testing.

Did I mention it was hot? Hey it’s hot out here!