Solus Days Off & Interesting Stuff

11/30/10

End of Year Recap

Well, I trust you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! I sure did but as always the fun has to come to and end. I had to take my daughter back to college yesterday so the party is over! We had a great time and as tradition would have it upon our return to Little Manhattan we had to visit our favorite pizza hangout, AJ’s New York Pizzeria! Here’s a little photo op of me and my “pride and joy” my daughter in front. This place is off the charts for both pizza and a specialty “Pepperoni Cheese Bricks”! They are a little “brick” fashioned out of pizza dough filled with a garlic butter, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese bomb! All I can say is its awesome and a must stop on any route through KSU nation! Take it from a fat man, they r gud eatin!

With that behind me I promised to share a little recap of clubs that had been distributed across the tours for 2010. We had a good year considering we didn’t have product until the tour hit the east coast. With the new ruling going into effect this put us at a slight disadvantage. Secondly, due to our size we have been pushed around in what’s called the “que” in manufacturing and was unable to get the other three lofts out this year. The only lofts we had to work with were the 52, 56 and 60. That limits us on fitting the player’s needs. All was not lost and we made due.

 The USGA thought this groove change would refine the game as we know it. Shortening courses, changing balls while punishing players scrambling to get up and down! Sure there was an impact though short lived. Really when it comes down to fat meeting greasy there was very little impact with this level of players. Let’s face it these guys are good! You could hand them a shovel and a little practice time and they same outcome would prevail! The only place this rule change is going to make an impact will be at the amateur level. For those of us who have always had trouble spinning the ball the problem compounds from here! I will not beat a dead horse in the ground since I have several weeks ago. We can all continue to enjoy the old grooves and shot stopping ability as long as they are made available. This too is changing, watch for it!

 You must realize we are a very small fish in a big pond and are swimming amongst whales in comparison, but the numbers fall in line for our size. In fact it is quite unusual to find such a little fish still swimming after all these years but we did! As you know there is a tremendous amount of money that is spent out here for endorsements to lure you in to retail to buy equipment. Somebody has to have an answer “who’s playing your club?” After all, without that nobody would rush out to buy the next hottest thing on tour! I will not get off on another one of my tangents or bore you with such facts. It’s your money spend it the way you want. Just always keep in mind there is a lot of great designs and performance based equipment out there that can lower your scores as well! Don’t overlook these tools! I will sum it up in one word, Solus! Give us a try! I think you will be surprised!

Anyway here are our numbers for 2010 Tour Operations broken out by tour and loft. These numbers reflect the distribution of our new FC-10 Tour model only.

  PGA Tour                       Champions Tour                Nationwide Tour               LPGA

  52- 1                                 52-12                                  52-9                                   52-5
  56-6                                  56-26                                  56-11                                 56-7
  60-14                                60-30                                  60-14                                 60-8
 Total-21                           Total-68                              Total-34                             Total-20

Total distribution for the four major tours 143 wedges.

We also have another category “Other” that encompasses the balance of the distribution for this year. The “Other” category include clubs that are distributed to the USGA/R&A (submission testing and approval), Robot Testing, Player Testing, Golf Publications, Charities, Mini-Tours, Canadian Tour, fellow reps, PGA Tour officials and all golf related TV networks(i.e. Golf channel, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and ESPN). This category will not only show the distribution of the new FC-10 but the Series 4.1 and Tour 7.1 as well.

FC-10                                      Series 4.1                                    Tour 7.1
52-17                                       47-3                                             47-3     59-3
56-36                                       56-2                                             51-3     61-3
60-22                                                                                           56-5
Total-75                                  Total-5                                         Total-20

Total distribution for the “Other” category 100 wedges. With a Grand Total of 243.

I hope you find the above recap of interest. It’s been a fun year and now I have a little time to relax and get ready for next year.

All of us at Team Solus want to wish each and every one of you the Happiest of Holiday Seasons! Thank you for all of your support and kind words! After all you are the backbone of this great technology known as Solus! Be safe and may God Bless you all! All the best!

Bigdog

11/28/10

I thought I would share a few photos that didn't make the blog during the year. I thought it might be fun to look back and reflect on a great year! Heres a few looks from the Champions Tour 3M Championship. Enjoy!

Our good friend Dana Quigley enjoying one of his favorite cigars!

Good friend Hal Sutton and his longtime caddie, Freddie alongside Mike Nickell our Champions tour rep.



He's a look at Bernhard Langer's wedge with the famous "off-set" adjustment!



Of course Mike had to ham it up with Bernhard!

        

               Solus staffer Bruce Fleisher

Mike took a peek in Bruce's bag this week.

                 Good friend Keith Fergus.

11/26/10

I thought it would be a good time to share with you some of the "behind the scenes" looks at a few of our friends. When I am not on the road or in between tour events this is where it all comes together. My really good friend Max owns a little club repair shop and consignment outlet. His business is known as ProLink Golf. This is a fun place just to hang out especially if you are a golf junkie! As you can see there are a lot of goodies in here!

I utilize ProLink facility and shop for replenishing tour stock or building custom orders. Having this luxury has been very beneficial to me and Solus during the tour season. It gives us the flexibility in having a "Tour Department" and a shop for me to work out of when I am away from our tour van.

I need to put out a "BIG" thanks to Max for all of his help over the past several years. I am not sure why it took me so long to share this with you but I know you have read about it in the past.

Thanks again Max!

11/24/10

For the off season I am going back to see if I missed anything that I should have posted from my archives. There will be a few things I am sure!

Congrats out to our friend Robert Garrigus for his win Sunday at Disney. He started the week just above the 125 mark at 122 and needed a strong finish to keep his card. As we all know he did just that! This winning pressure coming down the final hole sure puts the Memphis debacle behind him and quiets the critics! Best of luck to Robert in 2011!

Well the T.A.V. hit yet another bench mark for the end of the 2010 season, she hit the 100,000 mile mark! By the way T.A.V. did it with flying colors getting 21 mpg average on her final ride!

Here's something I haven't shared with you! This is a screen printed "steel" shaft sample that I received from Loomis Shaft Co. I am going to spec a wedge for none other than OSU Cowboy, Ricky Fowler! Loomis did an awesome job as you can see. They are in the process of getting back out in the tour mix and are offering this service for OEM custom use. I think it would be really cool to have a "Solus" only black and yellow shaft. It would match the high tech features of the Solus design.

11/18/10

Well I guess we should have elected to attend this year’s Q School finals in Orlando.  Since getting back home I have had six club requests from players!  All of these orders are for the finals!  We made the decision not to go several weeks ago thinking the players that really needed our services would contact us before hand.  Four out of the six players that requested equipment called to see if I would be on site for the finals.  Logistically it didn’t make since for us to spend the expense money required to be down there.  The bigger companies attend to see who might be the best picks for 2011 endorsement contracts.

10/16/10

I received a letter from a young upcoming star that I donated a Solus wedge to. The following is the letter of “thanks” he sent to me for the wedge. This young man has a lot of class and will be a great addition to the PGA Tour!

Dear Mr. Mark Thomas


Thank you so much for your kind gift of the 56* Solus wedge. I have been playing quite a bit with it and have instantly fallen in love with it. It has greatly improved my wedge shots around 90-110 yards. I own a 60* Vokey wedge. I can personally say that my Solus wedge plays better in every aspect. I look to buy next year’s model of the Solus wedge! I really want the 51* and will look either to replace my 60* Vokey or get a 54* Solus.


A few things that I have noticed that I like about the Solus wedge, one the head is a little longer and wider then my Vokey which I feel makes it easier to hit but also gives me more spin which is extremely helpful on pitch shots. I love the overall weight of the club, it has great feel when I swing the club! I love the longer shaft, I am about 6’-1” and the longer shaft is a great thing to have.


All in all I truly feel the Solus wedge is a stronger and better wedge than any wedge I have played. I look forward to playing with it more throughout the upcoming season. If you would ever like to play golf I will make myself available! Thank you so much.


Sincerely,

Connor Siler

10/14/10

I celebrated my 29th birthday for the 25th time yesterday! I had a great day and spent a little time with my Dad! There is a little known fact within the Solus family, I came into this world on yes, Dad’s birthday! What a gift! He will never forget that gift! We have a good laugh each and every year, this year was no exception! We had a great day and got a wonderful gift from a real close friend, steaks and cheesecake! All I can say is AWESOME!!

Well thank God the miners are out and safely above ground! What a wonderful thing! I am not sure if you noticed just how many companies got involved in the rescue efforts. UPS and Oakley are just a few that were mentioned.


You know if we had been thinking a little farther ahead we would have provided the new Solus FC-10 Utility Wedges for the miners to hone their short game while being trapped in the mine. This would have provided recreation and entertainment while in solitude. Think about it?


I am dreaming and I know I am reaching but wouldn’t it have been something if 33 out of 33 made to the surface during the unloading of each miner and flashed several times? Hey like I said just dreaming!! Just the thought of 33 clubs in play got me going! We would then be on the map!


The new grooves on the tours have proved to be less an impact than once thought! Of course some players have been lost in the change. The balance of the players will play and practice enough to get used to them. Hell there are guys out here that could use a shovel if that is what the ruled call for! The new rule has had a bigger impact at retail! The old aggressive grooves are allowed at the amateur level until 2024. As you know, we the manufacturer cannot produce the “old” grooves beyond December 31st, 2010. With that said the retail wedge sales have increased 12% this year, this is according to Golf Datatech. Golf Datatech monitors and analyzes the retail golf equipment market.

9/25/10

I realize we have a little lull between events each week.  I would like to fill this void with information of meaning not just my routine rambling.  I thought we might try answering a few questions from our fans.  Is there something you would like to know about from the tour?  Something you would like me to expand on?  Are there any subjects of interest?  I would be more than happy to see if I could answer most of your requests within reason.  I am looking to fill the Thursday thru Sunday space with some meaningful content.  Let me know.  Have a great weekend!  The Tour Championship should be quite exciting!  College football time!!! My fav!!!!

9/17/10

These are some pictures from a local golf course here in Wichita. The course is called Auburn Hills, a very nice public course on the west side of town.  This is the result of a Kansas hail storm that rolled through Wednesday evening 9/15/10 and as you can see did quite a bit of damage.  Kind of increases the odds for a hole in one but not so easy to putt on!

 

The best of luck to our good friend Bo Van Pelt this week in Atlanta! Since the reset he might be able to squeeze it out!

If it weren’t for the groove rule change Solus would have 5 players in the top 30! That would have been strong! Best of luck to the entire field this week!


I am heading back to the Nationwide Tour in Midland, TX. I take off on Sunday after a layover in Frisco, TX. This is a fun event, can’t wait to get back out there!


We are in the pre-planning stages about attending this year’s Q School finals in Florida. We have three days at Orange County Nat’l to see some new faces and distribute a few last minute clubs. This will give the players the off season to test. You never know though, there may be a player or two that is struggling with the course conditions and may feel the need for change. You just never know? This is great location to finish out the season.


I am back on the road in the TAV! Let’s keep our fingers crossed! Until next week have a great weekend!


Dawg

8/20/10

Although very hard for me to swallow or believe my little girl is going to college! Her next adventure as she likes to calls it! We are spending Thursday and Friday getting her moved into her dorm and settled in. She leaves Saturday morning for a weekend honors retreat and then she starts class on Monday.

I thought I would share with you my "pride and joy"! She is everything to me! I am one proud Dad! Time sure flies, it seems just like yesterday I was walking her into daycare! She is very excited and eager to get started. She has been a great kid and really neat person with a wonderful personality! I love her dearly and wish her all the best! I will snap a few more shots before setting her free this afternoon. After all, I will be pulling out on my next adventure tomorrow morning heading to NJ!

8/19/10

I am off this week and will return to the PGA Tour next week starting with the Barclay’s then on to the Deutsche Bank Championship and finishing this swing up with the BMW Championship in Lemont, IL. The balance of the 2010 season I am planning to work two more Nationwide, Champions and PGA Tour events. These final events will give us a chance to distribute clubs for the off season for player testing.

Even though I am off this week I still have a full list of things to get done. I am still receiving club requests from the mini tours. I have three requests to ship this week. There are still a few of the mini tours that have not recognized the new groove rule change. I am really surprised these tours are still running on the old rule. I have noticed a slow transition though. Hey they just as well take advantage for as long as they can! I sure would!

I will be building and shipping our new FC-10/56 for the Golf Digest “Hot List” testing. We were nominated for testing about three weeks ago. GD will begin evaluations later this year and begin player testing in late September and October.

I have filed the necessary paperwork to GM Customer Service for investigation of my case. The TAV will not be making the trip this next swing. The determination will be made as to how we proceed from here this week which will be too late to transfer equipment from one truck to the other if that is the direction we end up taking. No one can believe it, but the last communication was in the form of a courtesy call from the GM Tech, informing me they cancelled the balance of the warranty. It is absolutely absurd to think this is the kind of thing GM would pull after nine weeks, four dealerships and three techs coming in from all over the country. Still no fix! I chanced it going over to Springfield last week and it laid down about twenty miles from my motel. Cancelling the warranty with still no fix is not the answer! Whatever it is, it is! I will fight it to the end! Please standby for updates!

This week will end on an exciting note that IS positive! I will be moving my daughter to Kansas State University on Thursday and Friday. She will start her college studies on Monday 23rd. She moves in on Friday morning and leaves on a university sponsored honors retreat on Saturday and Sunday. There is a nervous tension in the air and excitement! It’s hard to believe the time has gone by so fast! But then again I’m getting old so everything is moving a little too fast for my liking! I will hit the road for NJ on Saturday morning.

8/18/10

Well gang take a look at this! How much longer?? It seems our friends at Scratch Golf have been very busy of late! I really don’t understand why Scratch Golf doesn’t buy little ol Solus instead of chasing it! Why, I will never know? This is the second time they have done this. Like I said earlier, like 4 or 5 years ago this is the best and rarest form of flattery there is, another company “copying” or “knocking” off the Solus technology! Umm just imagine what this club might be if it had Scratch or even better yet Vokey, Taylormade, Callaway or Nike on the back of the flange. All it needs is a little trade dress change and the design we be off to the races!


Come on boys pony up to the bar and show Solus a little love! Buy it up and take it and run! No more chasing and no more games! Just Do It! As one company puts it! The guys at Scratch golf are good friends and we all get along, but I think the ol fit is getting ready to hit the shan! HIHIHI….

I am on way back to the PGA Tour boys so you better pick up and run with this latest “copy”!!! I’ll be back!!

Children's Miracle Network Classic

11/10/10

May I recommend the Dunkin donuts "Sausage Pancake Bites" for breakfast! I tried them for the first time this morning and I have to say they are really good! Take it from the "fatman!" Of course the single order of three bites just didn't cut it so I had to double up! Delicious!! These are a definite must try!

Well it's finally over! The 2010 tour season is over for Solus and me. Although sad we had a great year out here considering all of the trials and tribulations! It is always a sad day when you are done for the year, however there isn't much time between now and the start of the 2011 season. Q School finishes up the week after Thanksgiving and the reps were already booking their flights to Hawaii for the first event!


We talked to Ron Graham (Wilson rep that had the accident) today. He said he already had his hip repaired but the doctors were waiting for the swelling to go done in his heel so they can see what they need to do to fix it. He is trying to get back on his feet before Hawaii. I thinking it will be rushing things if he makes that schedule. Come to find out he was playing hide and go seek with his dog and fell off an 8' or 9' retaining wall back of his house when he lost his balance! Ron is an accomplished player himself, however this will really change his game especially since the all of the injuries were on his left side. Any of you that play golf right handed can appreciate the problems with injuries such as Ron's really playing havoc with his swing. His swing may never be the same.


I spoke with one of the PGA Tour officials regarding Fulton Allem. Fulton was rushed to the ER on Monday and it was discovered he had blood clots that had come from his legs and hit his lungs. They almost lost him on the table. I understand that he is doing better and expected to fully recover which is great news! Fulty plays the Champions Tour and has a great year. We all send out best out to Fulty for a speedy recovery!

As promised here are the closer views of the "Transformer" putter. Here is a shot of the back of the mallet style where you can see the weight ports.

Here is a look at one of the inserts that are available. Pay close attention to the shaft and hosel as it relates to the what I call the "face plate". This is the single piece the putter is built and spec'd around.

Yet a different model

As you can see this is the engraving on the bottom of the flange.

Here is a view of another insert which is on the "plumbers neck" model.

Here is a look at the opposite side of the bag.

Here's a good look of the three different hosel designs, which make up the base "face plate" the rest of the putter is assembled around.

Just a last look of the "presentation"! Really neat design which a lot of flexibility for player customization.

Not much else went on the rest of the day other than everyone cleaning and packing out equipment and wishing each other well. Just because this is the last event doesn't mean it will be the end of the blog spots. I will keep you informed of year end happenings and goings on! There's a lot going on in the off season so I will continue to share my thoughts and information from the "inside".


I am setting in a motel room tonight in Pensacola finishing up the blog up before making my way back home. It will be a long day tomorrow somewhere in the neighborhood of ten hours driving before stopping one more time. Oh one last update on the T.A.V., it's running beautiful and getting an average of 21-23 MPG!! Awesome! I just had to hit you one last time regarding the truck! Quite a few of you offered help and suggestions when I was having all the downtime earlier this summer, thank you for your support and suggestions! But we are all good now!!


All of us at Solus wish you all the Happiest of Holiday Seasons with family and friends! All the best!
The Dawg

11/9/10

Well it's Tuesday morning and here I am heading into the Magic Kingdom! Through these gates all dreams come true! I am dreaming that Solus will be the #1 wedge on the PGA Tour! Hey this is where it all happens! Justa a dreamin!!

I started my day really well running into a real good friend and Solus supporter, Rich Beem. He is finally back after being on medical leave. He made my day requesting a new 52, 56 and 60. It's good to see Rich back out and we wish him the best of luck this week! If you look close you can see the nose of the Solus van down in the left of the photo. Just a little something to point out!

This event is usually the place that the players are requesting equipment for testing in the off season. Quite frankly I have seen anything going out and in fact everyone looks wore out! Usually a lot of Christmas presents are going out to the players this week, however none of that has been going on either?

I built and speced out a wedge for the #1 12 year old junior in the country, Sierra Brooks. She won the US Junior her in Florida and has fallen in love with the new FC-10. She has been using a 56* but it's too long and heavy for her. The request came through a fellow rep and so we got her fixed up. I built her a 33" 60/FC-10 we set the swing weight at D0. She really loves the spin this wedge produces especially around the green.

I made my way up to the locker room to drop Rich's wedges off and on the way I stopped by the putting green to take a look at a new putter line, Samurai. This putter was designed by a very good friend and I saw the first prototypes earlier this year at the Colonial. The putter was then named the "Transformer". It is really a neat design and yields tremendous flexibly for fitting with a simple exchangeable base face plates. If you look there are three hosel offerings, plumbers neck, double bend and center shafted base face plates then you add the black back piece and face insert, BAM you have a putter! This design yields the flexibility of producing several different configurations in a matter of seconds. Pretty cool. I will try to get a closer look for you tomorrow. What you can't see is the weight ports in the back.

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

11/8/10

Well this is it, the last event for the 2010 season! You can tell it by the amount of players that are on site. The weather is beautiful! All of us are taking inventory and moving equipment out of the van. The van goes into the shop for maintenance and fresh decals before hitting the tour next year in January.

I have a couple of things to get finished up while on the van. I have build orders for 10 wedges going out to Nationwide and Champions Tour players. There are a couple of wedges going to players that will be in the Q School finals.

This week I am assisting the LubriSyn hu company get their product in front of the PGA Tour players. I am distributing a dozen samples of this amazing product to few select players this week. I have been using this product myself since San Antonio, I really feel the improvement in my hip. This product improves and maintains healthy joints and the fluids that protect them. I am actually up for a hip replacement in the next few years if not sooner. Since I am on my feet all day my hip really gives me fits by the end of the day especially if the weather is changing. The timing of being introduced to this product couldn't have been better. Simply put it works! Visit their website at Lubrisynhu.com.

All of us at Solus send our best wishes to fellow rep Ron Graham. Ron suffered a fall this past weekend breaking his hip, breaking his wrist and crushing his heel. He fell while playing with a family dog. Ron is the Tour Rep for Wilson Golf and is primarily responsible for everything from A-Z for Paddy Harrington. Thank goodness it's the end of the season but like all of us it doesn't stop there. I am sure he had a hectic off season planned which will have to be postponed in Ron's world! All we can do is wish him a rapid recovery!

Well yet another health bracelet hits the tour! This is supposed to be the most powerful of the all. Good friend and fellow rep Paul Coe brought them out this week to distribute a few out to players. I have to say it is comfortable, it's constructed of soft rubber. I am a firm believer of these health bracelets. This technology happens to be the one currently being advertised on TV. They prove it works by pushing people over with and without the band showing the results.

I am really not sure why I snapped this shot but it does look a little awesome! It's the tour truck line up! Of course Mizuno just got their new truck and it dwarfs the rest of us. Mizuno was one of us being "pick up" trucks but has now graduated to the bigger class! He still runs and stands with the best of us! Like I said not sure why I took it but I thought it would look good in the history books!

My friend Paul has all kinds of goodies this week, check these puppies out! They are from a manufacture in Canada and they are competing with Crocs. I have never seen them but I guess they have been around and sell a ton of these here in the states. Paul has product to distribute to caddies, players and reps. They are seeing if there is any interest on the PGA Tour, if so they are planning on some sort of incentive program for the caddies next year. I snagged a pair to test since I am an avid wearer of Crocs. In fact that is all I wear until the snow hits the ground! These are really nice and feel great on my feet! I am not sure you have noticed the name, but it is appropriate don't you think? Dawgs! Ya man! That's what I'm talkin bout!

I am not sure all of you follow us on Facebook so I took a few photos for the blog. I went out to the truck to leave and felt something behind me as I walked over. Well I was right there was something following me, wild turkeys! These fellows were on the tee this morning and have no trouble walking right up to you close, but not that close! I may pull one in for thanksgiving! I realize this is Disney where all your dreams come true, but come on, wild turkeys!

As you can tell I am reaching since there wasn't much player interaction today!

AT&T Championship

10/28/10

I got a little earlier start this morning in order to have breakfast with a couple of the players. It's dark thirty at around 6:45am! Like the ol Eveready battery it just keeps going and going!

The caddie shack is all Solus'd up! Looking good in the neighborhood!

I had a pretty good little session at breakfast with a few of the players. Naturally the talk of the round table was the grooves. The players think it's funny that the grooves did not make as much impact as first intended by the USGA. The players are testing new balls this week and guess what they are not getting softer! My topic was to pick this groups brain as to why or what could we be doing to get more players playing the club?


Not surprising to hear that the design is awesome and the club works beautifully. No bad vibes regarding the design and performance, but the lurking questioned remained unanswered, until my friend Billy Glasson spoke up! Billy said all of us are scared to try anything different unless it's for money or distance. He went to expand upon the Solus wedge, which is the only real change that has been made to a wedge is God knows how long. He continued on to say that there really isn't much difference from wedge to wedge and if fact the grooves have pretty much leveled the playing field. All of the wedges feel good, look good and now pretty much perform the same. Nothing really stands out. This is when I jumped in to say you are all wrong! Until you try the Solus design most of you will never know or have the advantage this wedge produces! They all looked stunned. Billy jumped back in and said Mark you must realize something about us players, we are all PSYCHO and in some cases just plain stupid! Being afraid to change is the biggest road block when it comes to wedges. Boy this was the answer that I had felt all along but needed to hear it from the horse's mouth!


We had another little argument regarding shafts, swing weight and perception of weight distribution within a wedge or for that matter any club. They ask me how I would swing weight a wedge for proper feel. I explained a lot of time players that are really good wedge players are swinging the wedge about 60% of their total speed therefore some like the wedge heavier and most want a little softer shaft. On the other hand there are players that want nothing but to match whatever is in their irons regardless of how the wedge feels. Rory Sabbatini is that kind of player but has the talent to pull off the shots regardless of the shaft. This is a natural born talent that not every player has. So I explained I usually start with player explaining to me what he is and isn't feeling and go from there. Every player has a different perception of weight, more times than not I will test a few shafts. If the player says the wedge feels to "heavy" I will start by going to a stiffer shaft. The question then becomes, why? Well if the shaft is stiffer it is usually heavier and doesn't flex naturally as much producing less feel back to the hands from the club head. Conversely if the player wants a little more head feel or swing weight I will go to a "softer" shaft. These players are a lot like Rory, they have excellent eye hand coordination and touch thus a softer shaft is heavier and produces the "heavier" feel since the shaft is flexing more. You see this is just a start! The only thing I heard from the group was "really"? Hey gives you all something to think about! I do know a thing or two and can really show you a few things if you give me a chance! I left them there in a steaming pile of knowledge! Stunned is a good word!


You know when my Dad was playing and in the business he was on the playing staff at Ben Hogan Golf Company. Back then the players such as Hogan were installing "R" flex in their wedges as did my Dad. The wedges always had a different shaft than the balance of the set and it was always a regular flex. Something to ponder.


I went back out to the tee and walked the tee line. It still blows my mind how many players that have bought the new conforming wedges. Most of these players are double digit handicappers! Still why would they change? Oh wait, because these guys(tour players) had to! I forgot? These guys are not having much fun and I can promise you they are wedging at least two times per hole. Why give up that advantage? I will never know?


I was informed that if a player plays the Srixon ball they have to play the Cleveland wedges, regardless.


Well all in all it was great to get back here and see ol friends on the Champions Tour. It's been a fun two weeks! It is still hard to believe the season is almost over! I have one more stop and that is Disney the second week of November. By the time I am done and at home the snow should just begin to hit the ground! Nice..................:-(


Have a great weekend!


 

10/27/10

Well today turned out to be pretty busy with the two pro-ams. It was very difficult to work in and around all of the teams. Oh well you can only do what you can do! It is a little frustrating to me so I can just imagine how the pros feel. The round will take six hours to complete and for some teams longer.

Hey these guys start in the dark and a little rain also. There was a heavy fog move in right around day break and it was just enough to keep you wet! It was all supposed to burn off around noon and then the temps were to get in the lower 90's possibly setting a new heat record for this date which is 91 degrees. I am not sure it got that hot but it sure felt like it around 2:00 this afternoon.

There were still a lot of players that hadn't shown up even today such as Freddy, Nick and Bernhard where just a few I noticed missing.

I guess Yes Golf will be going through a restructuring mode. We all wish them the best of luck for the future and hope they return to the tour soon! Such a good product!

I took a look at the scores from the morning pro-am and caught an eye of J.C.’s team score! Check it out! I have never seen a pro-am score this low! Well you know how my mind works and know right where I am going, yea the wedge we built him yesterday! I thought man that wedge really helped him and his team! Granted these teams are sometime loaded with high handicappers and his team would be no exception.

I decided to ask the Champions Scoring Official if I could take a look at their scorecard. He said sure. Well after I looked at it I discovered the team only used two of J.C.'s scores! Take a look at this card. I could not believe how these guys played, four net "1's"! Holy cow! These guys will not be liked at the after party! Like I said it was pretty wild to see a 48 and to think the next team that was even close was five shots back! Boy that will take a little air out of the ol balloon!

I heard this will be the last year for this event here at Oak Hill. The event will be moved to the new TPC course. This is the same course that hosted the Valero Texas this year. I guess it only makes since, but Oak Hill has a lot of history and a very loyal fan base.

Rich Beem returned to the tour since a layoff in April when he had undergone surgery for a herniated disk. He had played two Nationwide events and put in quite a bit of practice getting ready for Las Vegas, but he missed the cut shooting 72-76. I hope to see him in Orlando in two weeks. I was told the Solus wedge was still in the bag!

I had a couple of pro-am players asked me a few questions regarding wedges. They follow my blog and believe me they knew it frontwards and backwards inside out! Both of these players had Solus wedges in the bag. I know some of you are saying how can they play the non-conforming wedges in a PGA Tour Pro-Am event? You must remember the amateurs can continue to play in any event that is structured towards amateur play such as these pro-ams. These events are for "FUN" they are not qualifying for a PGA Tour event where the payout is money! Please keep in mind unless you are planning on qualifying for a US Open or attempting to Monday qualify for a PGA Tour sanctioned event you can continue to play the non-conforming grooves until 2024 according to big brother USGA. Have fun! Who is going to be policing this when 2024 comes around and "big brother" says stop playing them? How'd they or who selected the random number 2024? Hell the entire world and this game will have changed by then! I hope I am still standing to see how this all pans out come 2024 it should be interesting!

10/26/10

Well it was a pretty laid back Monday, oh wait this is Tuesday! Sorry I had a little crampage of the cranium! Naturally I have to bore you with the amount of pro-ams we are having this week! This morning to my surprise there was a pro-am off site! Not only that we are having two on Wednesday and two on Thursday! Ok now you are set for the week! I got that cleared up in a quick and painless fashion! Hey it's all part of the drill! Grit and bear it!!!

I heard today that Yes Golf closed their doors. I am really finding it hard to believe though? Jim Furyk just won the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup with a Yes putter! It's true though! I confirmed it with Mark Wiebe. He carries the Yes staff bag and plays the putter out here on the Champions Tour. It's a sad day, they had an excellent product line and had several wins out here on tour. I am hoping that they get picked up by one of the bigger companies that don’t have a putter line, such as Adams Golf.

Here's a photo of Lee "Buck" Trevino holding court on the tee. Tommy Armour III, J.C. Snead and Gene Jones are all listening to his sermon and taking it all in! Lee is funny when they get him started!

Not having the other three lofts have just killed me out here. I had three more opportunities for clubs in play if I had only the 50 and 54 in stock. Several of these players were playing the 47 Series 4.1 and Tour 7.1 until the groove change. I am missing the boat with these players as well since we don't have a replacement loft. They liked the versatility and utility of the old 47 so it only makes since for them to want the new FC-10 in a 48! Oh well!

My ol buddy J.C. Snead came by and wanted to test one of the 56 FC-10's. Here he is putting it through a few maneuvers. He had discovered he had a wedge in his bag that wasn't conforming. He asked me to take a look and sure enough it doesn't conform. J.C. hasn't played much this year so he needed to get caught up on the new changes! As if he didn't know?

About two hours later J.C. came back to me and picked up the 56 again. He said if I would pull the leading edge back slightly, add 1/2" to the length and re-grip it he would put it in play. Away I went!

I wasn't sure if I had shown you the inside of the Champions Tour workshop, so I snapped a few shots while I was having J.C.'s club altered. Take a look.

           This is Brian grinding on J.C.'s wedge.                        This is Mike one of two techs that run the van.

I had to make a couple of trips out to J.C. until we got it right. I feel a little helpless out here since I am more of a hands-on kind of guy. Sometimes it is hard to let go and let the techs do their thing. Brian is very good. Here is a look of the first pass on "squaring" the leading edge.

The sole contour after the adjustments had to be reworked and finalized per my spec.

                    We got his wedge finished and here he is testing before taking it to the course.

Since I hadn't been out on the PGA Tour since Mississippi, I had to get brought up to speed on all the news from a fellow rep today. He said things have started to show change. When I say "change" I mean with contracts and endorsement deals. This time of year players and agents are jockeying for their positions for next year's tour contracts. I have been telling you this was going to happen for the last two years but it has finally happened! My friend said that players are being dropped and the multi club contracts are dwindling away by the day. He said so far the rumor was there are no more 6-7 figure contracts which should open the door of opportunity for a little company like us to finally get in. The trend so far seems to be each company selecting 5-6 top players for their stable and the rest are getting partial deals depending on their position on the money list, the balance are history. I will keep you posted as this situation develops. After all it drives what you the consumer buys, right? Give it some thought?


He went on to say that there seemed to be a few bag, hat, ball and driver deals being offered in place of the 13-14 clubs deals that have been so evident over these past few years. Please keep this mind I am getting this information second hand and have not heard this for myself firsthand. I will be able to find out in the next two weeks when I head back to the season ending event in Orlando. This rumor has been floating around though way before now. The contractual process usually starts in early September and ends by the end of November if not before. Finally you will start to see players resurface since they have disappeared due to equipment they could not play. Just look at who has come out of the back of the field of late, David Duval! Hey if they cannot play the equipment which is bigger the weekly purse or that multiyear contract. Oh by the way most contracts have protection over this kind of thing happening.