Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial

5/27/10

These last five weeks have been a busy time for me. I attended two graduations in ten days. My sister's daughter graduated from the University of Texas, Dallas and my daughter from high school! Both events proved to be real tear jerker’s for me and we had a great time! With my daughter graduating this past Sunday I didn't get to the Colonial until Tuesday since I had to travel home for the event. Mondays at the Colonial are usually quiet and a good time to get caught up on the daily chores. Monday they have a British Open qualifier and an off-site pro-am so it was good timing for the graduations. I am very proud of both girls and cannot believe they have both hit this milestone so close together! Pretty cool though! Needless to say I had a lot to get done on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I checked in on Rory and he is all good and has the 60 in play. He would like me to go through my 60 degree inventory and see if I have any wedges that might have a more aggressive "milling" application on the face. He also suggested that we send the USGA another sample this time with a more "textured" milling. He feels this adds to the performance of the club as long as it is within the rules. He thought I should maximize the grooves and milling. This is a very difficult thing to achieve and stay within the manufacturing tolerances for approval. We are at that point right now! Like I told you in the last several blogs entries, the grooves are really a factor in these dry hard conditions. I have spoken to our manufacturer rep to see how to go about running a few parts for testing. I will keep you posted.

Rich Beem called and needed his backup 60 over-nighted to him in Austin on Tuesday. Rich had said he would come by and pick it up at the Bryon but didn't make it.

I had one club request from the LPGA Tour this week which I built and shipped.

I received communications that the FC-10/52's are once again delayed! I was really looking forward to receiving these heads and getting the request filled. This will be the third delay regarding these parts. I really think and believe that one more time we were shuffled back in the production due to a bigger company’s immediate needs. There is a pecking order that exists within this little problem. Solus is not the only company getting this treatment. Scratch Golf has an order for 20,000 heads that they have been waiting for. That is a pretty sizable order to get delayed don't ya think? If that order will be delayed we damn sure will experience a delay!

I tried to get in front of YE Yang but had no luck. I will pick him back up in Memphis. He was surrounded by a media frenzy! Not really sure why.

My next order of business was my good friend John Daly. I had his heads laser engraved with his "Lions" head and signature. Additionally John has requested a new wedge shaft for testing from UST. I will install this new prototype for testing. Take a first look at the 454JD. I am sure you know what the "JD" stands for? This shaft is slightly softer than an "R" flex. My only concerns are the full shots might launch a little erratically since the tip section is so soft. John is having the same trouble that a lot of players are having with the new grooves. We shall see once it is tested. Take a look.

Ditto. Pretty cool don't ya think?

I began the difficult task of spec-ing his wedge out. It is one of the more difficult builds I have encounter and will consume most of my time in the morning. The biggest hurdle is John's grip. He uses a Mastergrip leather wrap which has the JD Lion logo. He has gone from a buildup of six wraps to seven plus an extra in the right hand. Hell his grip is almost as heavy as the club head at the other end! In the end he wants a D4 swing weight! Well good luck with that! The only way to offset the ginormous grip and buildup is to add weight to the club head. I started out with the heaviest head I had. In this photo I am "dry" assembling the club to see what I have to do to get the weight up.

Here I have hand cut several lead tape pieces that will have to be added to the club head to achieve the desired swing weight. Yes, it is going to take almost all of these! Are you with me so far?

During the "dry" build I had to add this weight to the head and check the scale for the proper swing weight. Pretty ridiculous don't you think?

Here is a shot after I had installed the lead tape. I had to be careful not to cover the Solus logo but try to maintain the CG of the club as well. Hang on!

I also needed to keep the tape from forming a false "bounce" on the back of the flange.

 

Here is the first look at a new prototype wedge for Jose Maria Olazabal.

With any luck this will be transformed into a new Solus wedge for Jose!

Jose likes a little off-set as you can see.

Last one!

Well I finally finished JD wedge and it came it pretty good!

It only took three hours to build! I will keep you posted on our testing it should be interesting.

This was a quick week but I am in need of some downtime! It has been almost six weeks from home and close to 5400 mile turn around on the road this swing. I am taking next week off and will head to Memphis next Sunday for the St Jude's Classic. I plan on playing a little golf over the Memorial week-end and spending time with my family. You all have a safe and wonderful holiday! This Dawg is north bound for home!

HP Byron Nelson Championship

5/19/10

I got to the golf course around 6:00am to check in with Sabo and follow up with Y.E. Yang. Rory needed a last minute grip change and loft adjustment. Tuesday afternoon Rory had me take a head to the KBS Shaft van so they could put together a back up 60* for him. At the time my gut told me this was not the route to go but I did it anyway since it was the request of the player. Well my gut was right! Rory said that the backup that they had built looked like it had 64* of loft? He also wanted his personal grip installed. I took the wedge to our van for adjustments. The loft was a problem, Rory thought the loft was 64* which is his lie angle number. The loft was in fact off it had been set at 65*!

It was a wonder Rory didn't hit himself in the face with this much loft. He said he knew something was wrong with the bounce? This situation could happen to any of us in the heat of the battle, getting numbers confused. Granted it was wrong but we got it fixed and he is all good. This did give me the chance to explain to Rory that I am the point man for Solus. From this point forward I will tend to his equipment needs as far as Solus is concerned, he agreed. I have decided to build 3 more backups for Rory and leave them in storage on the trailer. Since he has put us in play we will see an influx of wedges going out. He will put a fresh set in about every two to three weeks depending on wear and integrity of the grooves. He is good to go! We would love to see him win here back to back! Watch for him on the weekend!

I will follow up with Y.E.Yang next week at the Colonial. He is searching for a new weapon so I want to make sure he has the best available, Solus! HIHIHI.....

I cannot say enough about the short game area here at the TPC. I really wish I had an area to work in like this every week. It doesn't take long to stand here and identify what players need help with their wedge game. As I said last week the conditions have changed since the west coast swing, the greens have gotten firmer and the grass is totally different. The spin issue just magnifies under these conditions. I took an inventory of players that were in the area and as you can see there was quite a bit of activity going on. This area allows players to hit up to a 60 yard shot, the photos really don't do the area justice. The opposite end of this huge green transitions into the putting green. Perfect work area.

I seized the opportunity to provide a few wedges for testing. Here we have five players testing the FC-10/60. Although there will not be a lot of changing going on this late in the game it will give me a new group to work on next week! Rory will spread the Solus word believe me, he is very vocal when it comes to superior equipment and design. It's all good for us!

Next week is the Colonial in Ft Worth. I look forward to this event since they have a pretty good short game area as well. I am heading home for the weekend to attend my daughter’s graduation ceremony from high school! I am so proud of her and really look forward to seeing her and celebrating this great achievement. It is so hard to believe she is done with high school and heading to college! I have to say I am one "proud" Dad she has made to Deans honor role every year with straight "A's" since kindergarten! It is quite an achievement and I had to brag on her! She has been my glue since her birth which seems like two weeks ago. Its hell to get old, time just runs over you! It should be fun! I will travel back to Ft Worth on Monday and will be at the course after lunch. Until then have a wonderful weekend! Bigdog is north bound!

5/18/10

Today the weather was perfect until about 2:00pm and then the heat came back! It was a great day to work the wedges. I set up in the short game area as planned. I was really in the middle of things compared to the tee. I will show you what I mean below!

I built two sets of the Series 4.1's for mini tour players out of Tulsa. The majority of these tours do not recognize the new conforming groove change. I have had quite a few calls in the past several weeks requesting the Series 4.1 and Tour 7.1's just for this reason.

I received the first "Prototype" graphite wedge shaft from Penley Shafts. The shaft came in at 110gr-115gr weight which is ideal for a wedge. I sent a head out to their plant several weeks ago for testing. They player tested it before sending it out here. There player panel consisted of playing pros. The feedback was nothing but positive from their group. They think they have nailed this sample. The club was spec'd to Solus measurements and the swing weight was perfect at D4.5. Here is a look at it. I started walking the tee line this afternoon as soon as it arrived. The initial feedback that I have received today was the weight felt great. It felt a little soft and had a slight vibration at impact. This vibration I have experienced in the past when testing the various graphite prototypes. The vibration comes from the shaft walls being too thin in the tip section. This can be fixed. It is really hard for me to get a real good test out here since there are only two players using graphite in their irons. I will test tomorrow and then ship it over to the Champions Tour for testing. We will get a better feel over there since there are more players playing graphite in their irons. The Penley rep will be at the next tour stop for the Champions and will help Mike test.

 Here a shot of the finished club by the bag.

See what I mean about the tee? You cannot see one player for all of the reps and engineers. This is a home game for UST shafts and Adams Golf so the rest have to chime in!

Rory came off the course and came straight to the short game area. I followed up to see how things were going. He had decided to re-shaft his FC-10/60 with the KBS Tour shaft. He is playing the KBS in his irons so he wanted them all to be the same. Once again Rory put on a clinic! Here are a few shots! One of the reasons I am making such a big deal out of this is because Rory is one of the top five best wedge players on tour. Additionally, he is the defending Champion here at the Bryon Nelson Championship. Now you know why!

Here he is with his good friend and swing coach hitting one of his signature "flop" shots or what I refer to as an open face cut lob or better yet the "Hobby Lobby" or "Lobster"! He is the king second only to Phil Michelson! Now that's saying something! Phil and he use this shot quite a bit in competition.

Ditto!

Y.E.Yang doing a little wedge shopping of his own! We will work on him tomorrow!

5/17/10

I had a very busy Monday. This is a great event and a good one to work. The facility is awesome for Solus with this great short game facility. Take a look.

One end of this green is for putting and this end for the short game. This area is straight west of the practice tee behind the golf academy.

This small green is at one end of the practice tee. Opportunities abound!

We are back into the "bull pen" situation this week. I set up here for Mondays Pro-am and will move my set up into a different situation on Tuesday, in the short game area.

I needed to build the back up for Rich Beem, build the 60* for Rory Sabbatini and had a meeting with Nationwide player, Alex Carper. Alex has been a strong supporter of Solus for the past several years. He had called me over the week-end and told me he needed help with his set. Alex was first up. He had pulled the shafts out of his Tour 7.1's and installed them in the FC-10's. He claimed something wrong and the clubs felt heavy. Upon assessing the situation I discovered the shafts he pulled from the Tour 7.1's were parallel tip and the hosel bore on the FC-10 are tapered. This was the root of the whole problem. Since the shafts had parallel tips that he had installed in the FC-10's the shafts were not bottoming out at the bottom of the bore, but were actually 1/4" from going all the way in. I explained to Alex and we decided to rebuild both wedges 56 and 60. We went back in with the new DG Spinner shaft and re-set the loft and lie and installed new grips Alex is back on the road!

I got Rory's 60 built and finally found him in the short game area. Rory flat put on a clinic with his new wedge. Rory plays the KBS shaft so I decided to use the Nippon "orange" wedge shaft. Long story short Rory's eye's really rounded out! Rory hits so many quality shots that amazed him. The Nippon "Prototype" shaft performed beautifully in the FC-10. In fact you would have sworn that Rory was hitting a wedge with the old groove configuration. He doesn't really care about launch angle he just wants all the spin he can get! I think I left him somewhat surprised and he really liked the engraving that I had done just for him. Rory continued to hit shots to the amazement of fellow players and onlookers. I told him I think my job is done here! He had me flattened the lie angle one degree and he was good to go. With just a little last minute adjustment this actually improved the ball flight and launch.

Here is Rory in the next five pictures.

Rory gave a little demo to fellow player, Jerrod Turner. I thought I would stick around and watch things unfold.

Curious and at Rory's suggestion Jerrod took the FC-10 through its paces. This is one thing that Rory will do for us and that will be talk it up! I don't think Rory could find a wedge that will stop like this FC-10. I was amazed at what I was witnessing! It was incredible to watch and believe me when I say he put on a clinic, he put on a clinic!

Got Rich Beem's back up finished. Here is a look from the playing position. Rich wants a little off-set so I finished it off. Take a look.

This is the new Nippon shaft that I used in both Rory's and and Rich Beem's wedges. This shaft is amazing.

Regions Charity Classic

5/15/10

Mike reports another successful week on the Champions Tour. This week they are in Birmingham, Alabama for the Regions Charity Classic.

I asked Mike to test a couple of wedge shafts for me and let me know what feedback he receives. I am looking close at the True Temper DG Spinner and the KBS Hi Rev wedge shafts. It is much easier to test shafts on this tour since there isn’t a lot of company pressure and reps let alone money. Both of these shafts are receiving nothing but positive feedback. I am looking at replenishing Mike’s tour stock inventory primarily with these shafts.

I also sent two “off-set” versions of the FC-10 one each 56* and 60* for player testing and feedback. I should have known these would not last! Both Gene Jones and Fuzzy not only tested them but put them in the bag! The majority of these players on this tour want the “old school” look and performance of the off-set. The off-set model would not fly on the PGA Tour. So it’s two different worlds!

Gene Jones took the 60* with the 1/8 shaft off-set and DG Spinner shaft while Fuzzy took the 56* with the ¼ shaft off-set with the same shaft. This will give us a good test and the feedback I am looking for with this shaft. I am going to build Fuzzy a set with the Aldila graphite iron shaft. This shaft is currently in his gamers. I am on hold since he is playing the DG Spinner.

I know this sounds like a broken record but not having the other lofts is limiting us to our “clubs in play” count each week. We have lost some really good opportunities over the past several weeks on both tours. Mike has been approached weekly regarding the 48*, 52* and 54* degree lofts. Good news though, the 52’s are scheduled to arrive somewhere around the 16th of this month. We will then have another new opportunity to see a few more clubs in play!

Other players in the field that picked up wedges were Mike Smith, Trevor Dodds and Mike Goodes. Smith took a 56* with the S400. Dodds took a 60* and had it adjusted to 59* this club had the KBS Hi-Rev shaft. Goodes picked up a 60* with the S400.

All in all Mike had a great week! Mike has a week off and then he is back out for the Senior PGA Championship in Denver the week of May 24th.

Valero Texas Open

5/13/10

Today was really tough to work. We were all standing around waiting for the morning pro-am to start and looked up and they had a second pro-am which was shot gunning off of the other course! The Oak course had the normal format pro-am with scheduled tee times. There are very few events that have two pro-ams working simultaneously. The pros were allowed to wear shorts on the back course. This is something new!

I approached 14 new players this week with little success. Most of these guys are from the Nationwide Tour and haven't had a chance to see the new FC-10. I was shocked to find that the big companies have such a strong hold on even these players. Not having the other lofts hurt me here as well. I did get a few to allow me to follow up next week at the Bryon so not all is lost. It is just surprising! The SST shaft testing results rumor has trickled down to the Nationwide so the rumor is all over the tour regarding the FC-10 out spinning the competition without purring the shaft!! In the next few weeks I am going to really press this issue with the players that show interest. We continue to have an advantage over the others by design. I am hoping we will get the other lofts soon, this will really help.

I started building Rory Sabbatini's wedge for next week and will also get Daly's finished up next week for Colonial. I was told yesterday that Padriag Harrington will not play next week at the Bryon. This means the spin/shaft tests I had scheduled will be pushed back to the Colonial.

Steve Elkington's caddie came by this morning to pick up a 60* FC-10 per his request. He wanted to practice with it before next week. Little by little we are starting to penetrate the tour. Like I have said over and over if Solus could get 4-6 players out here week to week we would be doing fantastic for a company our size. We are getting close to that number. The clubs we currently have out are staying in the bag's which is more good news. The contract staff players as you know dominate this tour making it very difficult to get clubs in play. We are out here and we do have equipment in play. We have earned our stripes to be out here which is very difficult for any company our size trying to play this enormous money game!

This week in Birmingham, Mike had Gene Jones, Fuzzy and several other players take a look at the "off-set" samples I shipped over. They were a big hit! I am thinking this would be another great product line for the future. We could offer an "off-set" set which currently is not being offered by any major manufacturer that I am aware of.

I received the graphite shafts for Fuzzy's set this week. He wants a 52 and 56 with the same off-set and his shaft. Done!

I started on Rich Beem's back up and will have it ready for him on Monday morning at the Bryon.

I am also going to test this shaft from UST. Originally it was made for a putter but after talking to the rep it might make one hell of a shaft for a wedge! It is a combination of composite and steel joined together with a special fitment in the middle. You never know until you test! I will keep you posted as we go through the testing.

I told you yesterday they it if were me I would be camping out in this area, well take a look at today! Things are a little different since the greens are so hard to hold a shot on. I had my bag sitting right out in the middle but caught two amateurs helping themselves to my bag. I know better than this but thought I could keep an eye on things. I had to politely go retrieve my equipment with the help of security. The amateurs explained they thought they were there for demo? Yea, right!

It's amazing what a new Solus hat will get you! These are our ad dollars at work front and center in "Player" parking spot #1! Every amateur and pro had to walk right by here to catch the shuttles to the clubhouse. Perfect!







Our tour tech Don continues to have a downside in the "luck" department! Not only did his truck get broken into for the fourth time he encounter even more bad luck. Tuesday afternoon the wind blew so hard the steel door on the back of the trailer kept slamming shut and the clip to hold it open wasn't strong enough. After about the fourth or fifth time the door slammed this time knocking the thermostat off of the wall inside the door. Don was standing in the doorway attempting to replace the thermostat when the door blew closed yet again this time his fingers were in the jam. Yes the heavy steel door closed and smashed his last two fingers. His luck did change though it didn't break or cut them off which both were possible. So it's had been a rough road up to here. His back has two bulging discs position 4 and 5 making him walk at an angle. He is scheduled to go through therapy when he gets over to Memphis in a few weeks. In the meantime we are all pitching in to run the trailer while Don is injured! He is one stubborn dude!

Next stop Irving, TX for the HP Bryon Nelson Championship! The weather is already starting to boil up for the event. Every year we get hit at the Byron with inclement weather this year looks to be no exception! Rain, Hail and tornados are all predicted! It will also be very hot!

5/11/10

Well I know everybody's is tired of seeing the set up each week but it is important to this game we play out here! For those of you that want to see it here is the set up for Tuesday morning. This is the "short game" area. Nobody else moved in on me this week? Not sure why, maybe they knew something I didn't? It made sense to me so here I am!

Since this is a new venue for these guys most of them were hitting about 50 balls and heading straight to the course. The other factor is the wind! This course is up on a hill and the wind really blows through here, today winds were 35-40mph at times. Great day to test a new wedge! Not!

I will tell you one thing if it were me I would go play my practice round and then I would camp out at this short game area for the rest of the day! These guys will find themselves off to one side of the green or the other due to the green designs. There is a lot of undulation and run offs around the greens, additionally the greens will be hard targets in this wind. It will not be fun but your short game better be sharp and in order!

I thought I would give you a little sneak preview of the custom wedges I am building for Rory Sabbatini. Although he is not in the field this week I am getting them ready for the Bryon Nelson next week. Rory loves the "skull and cross bones" thing so away I went! Pretty cool don't ya think! Hey I will do whatever necessary to get our wedges in play sometimes you have to go to these lengths to do so! Here we go! Hold on!

I spotted John Daly and his caddie, Dee on the putting green this morning. It looks like JD is still in search of the extra spin. Out with the Callaway's in with the Taylormades! John and I have had our moments but I still really want to help him and I have the tools to do so if he will just give me a chance.

So we talked and I explained! Damn JD lost the weight but look who found it! UMM.......

Obviously I am the "big one" so to speak, hell maybe I need the lap band thing? Whew!!

Well I am finally making some head way here and the door is open. We decide to test a new shaft the Nippon Prototype wedge shaft first if this doesn't work I will build him one with the graphite shaft of his choice. But he agreed to let me see what I could do to help. JD cannot spin the ball believe it or not.

Here I go again! We will start with the 60 and go from there. If I fail today we will have another ready and waiting for him in FT Worth. This is the next event for John.

I know you have seen it before but bare with it some haven't seen this yet! We do have new friends each week on this blog so hang in there! John has a custom Master Grip leather grip which has six wraps of build up tape underneath the grip. It is like holding on to a tennis racket! No kidding......

Well we tested with mixed results. He loves the head but the dead weight of the club is too heavy for him as compared to graphite shaft he is playing. He wants to feel the club head, however it is very difficult to get him the swing weight he wants with all of the tape and leather at the other end! We did produce more spin though! As you know John had tremendous touch around the greens, the point of his "feel" is a big factor when fitting the right combinations together. I am going back to the trailer and order the graphite shaft in for next week. I will get this one built and see him in Ft Worth!





Rich Beem came by the trailer to order a "back up" wedge to match the one we spec'd him with at the Houston Open. Rich has had shoulder surgery and will be off of a couple more weeks. He did say the FC-10 is in play and he loves it! In fact his swing coach has been playing the Series 4.1's for years. He asked me if I could fix him up with a new set of the FC-10's. Rich will be at the Bryon next week and will come by the van to pick his "back up" wedge up. I started on it today and will finish it up next week. I have quite a few alterations that need to done such as the leading edge squared, 1/4 shaft off-set adjusted into the wedge and the new Nippon Prototype wedge shaft installed. It will take a few days to get everything in order!

I will get back after it in the morning!

5/10/10

Well the weekend didn't end up on a positive note for our driver/tech. On Friday while he was in checking in at the front desk of the motel his truck was broken into again! This time they broke the driver's side window out and took his computer and briefcase. He lost not only the computer but $800.00 in cash and two back up credit cards along with all passwords and banking information. Don called me Friday night to warn me of the break in. This all happened in broad daylight and nobody sees a thing! I heeded the warning and decided to take everything out of my truck and pack it in plastic tubs for storage in the bed, out of sight. Texas has not been good to Don!

The Texas Open has been moved to the new TPC of San Antonio. Although a little unorganized which is typical of a new venue. Here is a look at the new Marriott resort. No expense has spared! The parking for all of us reps was probably two miles away. The funniest thing was I parked and looked over to see a row of SUV shuttles staged and ready to take you to the clubhouse, I thought? I parked and jumped in to the first shuttle in line. The driver drove about 50 yards straight forward and turned and said "here you go!" Once I stopped laughing I said "You have to be kidding right?" The driver said no I can’t go any further! I then asked where the driving range was? Nobody knew? I arrived at the course at 6:30am and arrived after my morning stroll around 7:45am! Hard way for a fat man to start his Monday!

I am really pumped over the short game area! It is perfect and is about 30 yards from the trailer and directly behind the practice tee! Daddy likes this!

Here is another view from the practice tee. The photo doesn't do this view justice! This facility has two courses which are layout in the rolling quarrys and hills of the property. The players are saying this is the hardest course they have played yet! The greens super said they were going to hold the greens to 9 to 9.5 on the stimp meter. Otherwise there wouldn't be a player break par!

The trailers are set up right behind the practice tee. Not a bad set-up! Only half of the trailers came in for this tournament. This is usually an off week for a few since the field is primarily made up of Nationwide Tour players. So this week is pretty weak.

I was hoping to work with Sabo this week but he is not playing after all. I will share a photo of the personalized herds in tomorrow’s blog. They are cool!