Viking Classic

9/29/10

Well today was a repeat of Tuesday, nothing happening! I thought I would get to the course early and see if there were any players that I might have looked over! I pressed on!

Don, Lee and I had a great breakfast at Caddie Central. This is a weekly ritual for us three. Best breakfast around!

More new equipment and shafts hit here this morning. One thing that is prevalent over the equipment and that is new balls. I did some launch monitor numbers off of a few. I am not sure I have shared with you some of these numbers that are coming off the new grooves but just one example is 5600rpm to 6300rpm ball spin rate. The old square grooves produced numbers in the 11,000 to 12,000rpm’s which is just about double the new grooves. That’s a big difference and a big change to anyone’s game. To battle these numbers players in some cases are giving up 10-15 yards off the tee by using a softer “higher spinning” ball. If you are a player that had difficulty producing ball stopping spin you are in trouble! Thus the companies are all trying to get the best of both worlds in one ball. This is a very difficult, daunting task at best.

The only answer and solution here is the Solus technology! Although are numbers dropped in ball spin we were still superior to the competition from tight lies and rough conditions! The big issue here for us is just getting the player to try or test it. Those that do test it see immediate results. The majority of these players won’t necessarily pass this news on to a fellow competitor! It’s a vicious circle!

The tournament director for next week’s event, The McGladrey Classic came around handing out instructions to the reps and truck drivers. This event is a new one for this year and has already hit a snag. From what I was told the bigger trailers might not be able to get through the gate. If they do fit they will need to be moved Tuesday night instead of Wednesday afternoon. Apparently the road in and out is a one way and the sponsors want the trailers out no later than Tuesday. If they aren’t out by Tuesday pm they will have to stay put until all traffic is cleared by officials late Wednesday. Most of the big vans will be heading to the west coast and will need to leave as early as possible to get back across country for the events out there, then make the turnaround back to Florida for the finish at Disney! I think the majority of the drivers and companies have started to make changes regarding this new event. Our van will not be attending this event. There are too many miles for the drivers to pull it off legally.

There is subject you haven’t heard much about of late, the truck! We decided to tell GM to stick it where the sun don’t shine and move on with a suggested parts package from Gale Banks Engineering out of California. Banks is the leading expert in the diesel world. I back tracked to Ft Worth to have the installation completed. The truck will be just like a new 2011! I will not bore you with all the details but this will be the final chapter in this saga!

The truck will be finished up on Friday and I will head towards Chattanooga on Saturday morning! The weather is supposed to be beautiful! Have a great weekend!

 

9/28/10

Well I am little disappointed in this event this year. In years past this tournament brought out a lot of new faces as well as faces from the past. The field consisted of a lot of Nationwide players, new Monday qualifiers and PGA Tour players on the bubble or with little or no status. Sponsor's exemptions usually let those from the PGA Tour a last chance. This event was sort of a ramp up for the Q School. Players were looking for anything to give them an edge with at the last minute. I always put several clubs out during this week, however this year nobody is trying anything. Nothing going on at all! Quite boring!

There is good news we had several players that came over from the Nationwide and we have 5-7 clubs in play at this point. I did introduce Solus to a few new faces but no takers, yet. I still have Wednesday!

The whole day wasn't a total loss. Our friends at Viking put on a BBQ on the practice tee for players, caddies and reps. It is always a winner for us all! Pork tenderloin, shrimp, hot links and such were all served. Here is a few shots of us all taking it in! Boo is really enjoying his!

 

Since the tee was pretty crowed with tables I decided to set-up on the putting green. Nice spot and quite a few players looked and tested the club. It is a little less pressure since a lot of the other reps are not around to keep an eye on the player.

This week the talk of the reps was the dethroning of Taylormade last week in the driver category. Titleist took over the number one spot in the driver category with 23 in play compared to Taylormade with 21 at the Tour Championship according to the Darrell Survey! They will be pushing this win all over the media so keep and eye out! Headlines will read Titleist is now the #1 driver on the PGA Tour! You guys will run right out and buy this new driver! Not so fast and not yet! The club is not available yet to the retail market!

This is also the first week the new products for 2011 making their appearance on the PGA Tour. Callaway has three new drivers that hit today and the rest will follow! By Orlando these products will be tested and put into play by staff players! Players will take this equipment for the off season so they are ready to hit the ground running in Hawaii or the west coast swing.


I am afraid this is all I have to report today! Not much happening to keep you abreast of!

9/27/10

Well this week’s Viking Classic will be one of the last two events for 2010 on the PGA Tour. We will finish out the PGA Tour and our season in Orlando the first week of November. We will work next week’s Nationwide event in Chattanooga to finish this tour off and will move on to the Champions Tour in Houston and San Antonio.

Mike will work this week’s event on the Champions Tour, Ensure Classic in Conover, NC. It’s hard to believe this season has gone by so quick!


Solus took a T5 at the SAS Championship in Cary, NC this past weekend. Although the player could not put them in play on Friday due to contractual agreement with one of the “Big” companies he did put the FC-10 in play Saturday and Sunday. That’s OK with us! We can’t beat them with numbers however we still have the upper hand when it comes to closing the tournament out!


This week’s Viking Classic parallels the Ryder Cup but the Golf Channel will carry the coverage from this event as well! We should have a good week since the field this week consists of quite a few Nationwide players. With the top players either playing the Ryder Cup or taking time off, the field here is considered weak, well not for us!


We wanted to share with you a little controversy surrounding the USGA “new groove” deadlines and control of manufacturing of the square grooves. As you know the USGA ruling requires the manufacturers to cease production of the “square groove” as of December 31st, 2010. Along with this “order” we the manufacturers can no longer sell these clubs to you the consumer past the December deadline. I have often wondered why or how the USGA feels they control what you the consumer wants to buy. Secondly, why couldn’t we continue to manufacture the “old grooves” since the amateur golfer can continue to play with these clubs until 2024 or for that matter forever! The real question is “why would we all [manufactures] let this happen to our business?” Especially by the USGA?


Well there have been rumors flying around out here on tour for the past couple of weeks regarding the groove issue. I was really surprised to see the first company to step up to the USGA since Ping did regarding the original “square groove” lawsuit. Our friends at Feel Golf have started the process. We thought it might be interesting to you to read a press release that just came out. I personally think it’s time to put the USGA back in their role of controlling club designs and seeing to it they conform to the current rules of golf as opposed to now controlling what and when we can manufacture and sell a particular product! This issue will continue to grow overtime! Enjoy this article! I think you will all agree! After all it is all about you the consumer in the end regardless of what goes on our here on tour!


Feel Golf to make ‘aggressive’ grooves in ’11



By James Achenbach

September 23, 2010 4:03 p.m.

Lee Miller, an imposing, broad-shouldered man with a booming voice, has become the first golf industry executive to defy the U.S. Golf Association over its timetable on new grooves.
Miller, CEO of Feel Golf, an equipment company with annual sales of less than $1 million, announced he would not abide by a joint USGA and R&A policy that instructs golf club manufacturers to stop making aggressive, old grooves at the end of 2010 – although most amateurs can continue using such clubs for another 14 years, until 2024.
With clear marketplace signs that demand for aggressive-groove wedges is on the rise, Feel Golf doesn’t want to forfeit potential sales, Miller said. Though manufacturers are supposed to cease production by year’s end, retailers can sell clubs with old grooves as long as supplies last.
“We’re a business. We’re going to offer what our customers want,” Miller said. “That means we’ll be selling wedges with both the old and new grooves as long as there is a demand.”
So far, no other golf company has joined Feel in its rebellious stance. Major golf club manufacturers declined to comment on Miller’s announcement, citing the often fragile relationship between themselves and the ruling bodies.
Under ordinary circumstances, golf companies voluntarily comply with regulations established by the USGA and R&A. USGA jurisdiction includes the United States and Mexico, while the R&A governs golf in the rest of the world.
Manufacturers do not sign contracts or agreements with the ruling bodies. Rather they simply follow the wishes of the USGA and R&A. For their part, the ruling bodies maintain open dialogue with the golf companies, including commentary periods before most new equipment rules are adopted.
In response to Miller, USGA senior technical director Dick Rugge issued what sounded like an admonition: “We do not see it as our role to actively monitor the distribution of equipment by manufacturers. In keeping with the spirit of the game in which golfers for the most part regulate their own compliance with the rules, we trust and believe that the same ethic will prevail within the manufacturing community on this issue.” But a couple of equipment manufacturers expressed sympathy for Feel Golf.
“The USGA is trying hard to do the right thing,” Ping CEO John Solheim said, “and I compliment them for this. Sometimes, though, they overdo things.
“They can get themselves in trouble when they start telling manufacturers all the things they can’t do,” he said. “They (the USGA) may think they have figured out all the effects of this groove situation, but it may not work out that way. Their track record hasn’t been that good.”
Jesse Ortiz, former Orlimar vice chairman and now the chief golf club designer for Bobby Jones Golf, said bluntly, “He (Miller) can do it if he wants. There’s nothing to stop him.”
Feel Golf’s situation also re-ignited other complaints about the ruling bodies’ decision to implement new grooves, which are smaller in size and have less-sharper edges than the old grooves.
“It’s not hurting the pros. . . . It hurts amateurs,” club designer Dave Pelz said. “They’re going to lose half the pitiful spin they currently have. We already have a declining participation in golf because the game is so hard, and they’re making it harder.
“I think the USGA has totally flopped in the reason they’re doing this.”
The commercial impact of the governing bodies’ decision is a direct result of how they’re implementing the equipment change. It consists of three segments: 1. Worldwide professional tours switched to new grooves at the beginning of 2010; 2. Starting in 2014, the biggest and most important amateur tournaments around the world will require new grooves; 3. Most local, state and regional tournaments will not make the change to new grooves until 2024, when all golfers globally will be required to use the reconfigured grooves.
With a belief that old-groove clubs soon will become scarce, consumers appear to be “stocking up” on such clubs.
“Golfers are scooping up wedges as fast as they can,” said Ron Partridge, Golfsmith’s vice president of club merchandising. “Our wedge sales are up 22 percent for the first eight months of the year. The supply of these current high-spin wedges (old grooves) will dry up over the next several months.”
For Miller, it makes no sense to pass up such potential sales, especially during a recession.
Miller, a golf professional and instructor, founded Monterey, Calif.-based Feel Golf in 1988. The small company, which designs and sells its own wedges, irons, metalwoods and grips, has witnessed sales decline in the past two years to “about three-quarters of a million dollars” per year, Miller said. Before the current slowdown, sales had been “about 50 percent higher,” he said.
Feel is known primarily as a wedge company. Although Feel does not pay any touring pros, its wedges have appeared regularly on various professional tours, particularly the LPGA. The newest line of Feel wedges is named after its CEO (Lee Miller Autograph Series).
Miller acknowledged he was contacted by the USGA and R&A after his announcement earlier this month.
“I’ve had the USGA (call me), and I’ve had the R&A, and now I’m going into seclusion,” he said with a laugh. “The bottom line is that they can’t stop me from doing this. We make great wedges, and we need the business.”