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.”




 



WNB Golf Classic

9/22/10

I got out here to the golf course this morning around 6:40. These two photos show how dark it is! I wasn't sure you guys realize they have flood lights for the early risers. The first pro-am goes off here at 8:00am so things are starting to ramp up a little! With the overcast it started getting a little light around 7:40. I wanted to follow up with a few of the players before they teed off this morning to make sure there weren’t any adjustments that needed to be made.

Well Solus has eight wedges in play here this week! I know of two that probably will not show up in the count due to contract renewals. Although on the bubble the player still has to play the wedges. The Solus will go back in on Friday. I hope he posts a good round on Thursday. The pressure from the big companies has spread to this tour.

All in all we had a good week here in Midland. I would really like to work this tour more and in fact very glad I will be doing the Chattanooga event in two weeks. These guys are a lot of fun but really give you the feedback we are all looking for. The politics that are catching up out here aren't that bad. Everybody (reps) works well together. The players will test the equipment thoroughly on the range and the course. If the club doesn't work for them they will at least give you chances to get it adjusted if not they give it back. Pretty simple process out here, but not the big show!

I haven't seen the pros doing this kind of thing on the "big show". Here are three pros putting on a little clinic on the short game. Demonstrating different techniques and showing the performance issues with the new grooves. Quite frankly the pro-am groups love this kind of thing. Everyone wants to know how and why these guys pull off some the shots we see on TV. Refreshing!








I keep hearing a little rumor going around that some of the bigger companies are pressuring the USGA to retract the "new" groove rule. For some reason I think it's just rumor at this point. The pros have made the adjustment over time and most have learned to play with them, the rest have either gone away or are still struggling. The biggest impact will be on you the consumer. This new groove will change the game for most all players. The reason I think it will have a bigger effect is the shear fact most of us will have to change our practice regiment. Let's face it, none of us spend nearly enough time working on the short game! Admit it, we don't! It's a lot more fun to hit a whole bucket of drivers all over the range as to flop wedge shots around. We are all guilty! This is the exact reason everyone is running out and buying up "back up" wedges with the old grooves! Rightfully so! No change has to be made until 2024 for the general golfing public so why wouldn't you get a back up or two.


I think this rumor that is flying around tells me the bigger companies have large inventories of the "old" groove technology that need to be moved out and they are looking for more time. We too have inventory that we are clearing out in good order. The key here is we all have to stop production of this "old" technology this year and have only until December 31st to clear the existing inventories out. As far as I know all production of the old wedges has stopped and all of the new wedges have started making their way to the retailers. Time is running out, you best take advantage of the "old" technology for as long as you can! Just a suggestion!!!


On with the show! One more down with five to go! Man this season has flown by! On to Madison, MS and the Viking Classic!


Have a great weekend!

9/21/10

The weather pretty much stayed the same for today! Clouds and a little light rain on and off all day! Although this photo doesn't show it very well, it’s dark! The flood lights were on for the early risers. As you can see we are already getting the rain! Midland is just far enough west that it doesn't get daylight until around 7:30am and even longer when the sky is over cast. The temps are seasonably cooler this week and the players have been warned about rattle snakes! I hate snakes! Apparently they are coming out during the day since it's so cool! Normally the heat keeps them in cover until early evening. The rattlers down here can get as big as your forearm and around 8' long! Not for me! Man I looked everywhere I stepped!

These photos were taken thirty minutes later around 8:00am. I have prime real estate location right next to the tee and right in the short game area! You know me I was up and out around 6:30am so I had a little time for coffee! Working this tour has a few perks for the reps, breakfast and lunch! Very nice and much appreciated!

We received some bad news this morning. One of the PGA Tour Support trucks was involved in an accident about 200 miles from here close to Lubbock. Apparently they hit a cow or tried to avoid the animal and in the process went across the median into the north bound lanes on through those and across a frontage road where both the truck and trailer overturned. The passenger was asleep in the cab and had minor injuries while the driver had to be cut out of the truck. Both were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries! Thank GOD! The down side the tractor was totaled and the trailer they were unsure about as of this morning. Crews were heading up to the accident site to salvage what equipment they could such as scoreboards, radios, caddie bibs, signage scoring etc. I am not real sure but I think this trailer had the Shotlink gear on board as well! I will keep you updated!

This bag has a good look to it, doesn't it? Big Daddy likes this!

Doing a little ball testing! This is the new Srixon "Tour Yellow"! Yes it is yellow! I think you can see that?

Travis, Mark Hensby's caddie approached me this morning and said Mark is in the testing mode and needs new wedges. Travis wanted to make sure we were in the mix. I gave him a 56 and 60 with the "Tour Issue" S400 wedge shaft. Here is Mark testing them out on the full shots.

He then moved to the practice green and hit the wedges from all sorts of lies. The Bermuda rough is really dense down here and he hit several shots from that situation. He was really saying a lot of good things as he went through his paces. Here are just a few, soft feel, ball spin and shot control incredible and utility! He did hit a lot of great shots!

He then moved to the bunker. He was very surprised as to how aggressive he could be with the execution of the shot. This bunker was pretty deep and had a real steep lip so the shot had to come out high but spinning to stop, he got both! He then looked at me and said that was the 56! I thought this whole time he was hitting the 60! He asked if I had a 52*? No problem you ask and you shall receive!

He then moved out to hit distances of 62 yards and 76 yards. It was fun to watch! He could not believe what he was seeing! Mark has played the PGA Tour and the Euro Tour and is a very accomplished player. He has been struggling with his wedge game until today! Among the wedges tested were the Callaway, Ping and Titleist. The Solus came out on top! He will have a great week with these new wedges! Best of luck to Mark!

I will keep you posted on assisting a previous Solus player this afternoon. We did some course work and I am holding off on reporting too much due to the respect I have for this player. He is struggling and needed my help but he is currently under contract. At his request he asks that I not use his name until he gets through this process. I respect that and have no problem in fulfilling his request. When it is time I will share with you who the player is! It's an interesting story and I would love to share it with you but only when the time is right!


Fun day!

9/20/10

Well I have to be honest with you all, I don't feel worth a damn! I have had a weird virus for the past 10 days or so and it is kicking my butt! Glad to be here though! Got in front of the "Ol" doc this afternoon and got some more meds! I am hoping this will do the trick!

As you can see the day was kind of "gloomy" day! It sprinkled on us on and off all day. Honestly you had to really look for the players today. There was nothing going on today and in fact there was not a pro-am! Really spooky! Not normal!






The Southwest Airlines with players and caddies from Boise wasn't scheduled in until around 2:30pm or so! Like I said it was a ghost town!

I did want to welcome back an great friend to the tour, Paul Coe! He has been missed at least by a few of us! He is back out with Bobby Grace Putters. Here he is at work with one of the five players that came out today! Paul will be out the remainder of the 2010 season and will begin planning the 2011 season soon! All the best to Paul! He's the best! Ok enough about Paul..........

I am not going to pull any punches here but I am going to bed! Not feeling it tonight! Sorry! Tomorrow I should have new things to talk about! Let all hope??? HIHIHI.......



BMW Championship

9/10/10

I almost forgot a couple of things from this week's blog! Check this out! I scored one of the new Golf Pride putter grips. If I'm not mistaken these were made up for the uhhhh???? Ryder cup team! Pretty cool!

I made a new friend this week! I think it speaks for itself!

I returned the "Tour Pod" to the rental car agency and will move back into the "TAV"! Hey the pod was OK but I really missed the "Big Unit"! I am taking it this morning to a shop other than GM. This mechanic was an engineer for Isuzu and knows the Duramax diesel engine first hand since he was one of the engineers that developed this motor. Once GM bought the motor from Isuzu they let the engineers go leaving the design unattended by the experts. Of course the boys at GM know it all! Guess when all of this happened? 2008! This engineer says he can fix the truck and make equipment recommendations to fix this damn thing once and for all! Yea!!!!

That's all folks!

9/9/10

Well the weather was beautiful for today's pro-ams! There was just a little breeze, sunny with a high of 70! Perfect!

Not a whole lot going on today with the pro-ams. The players were hitting a few balls and on to the course. Let's face it there wasn't much of a chance of these players changing anything this week. Maybe a grip or two or lie angle adjusted but that was about it!

I have a few more new targets to look at. Since Puma acquired Cobra Golf there will be a few opportunities to get a few new players. Cobra really doesn't have any wedges and really didn't need to since they were owned by Titleist. Naturally the staff players all played Vokey's! this will soon change and leave a few more doors open. I started to approach these players today. I will keep you updated as to the progress I make along the way. I am sure the player contract running through the end of this year, however the players are looking to next year's possibilities and are currently negotiating new contracts. Hey you never know?

Although the photographer was a little shaky focus your vision balls on the Dawg Hoisting up the cup! How do I look? It fits pretty well don't ya think? Come on now! This cup has a lot of history tied to it and it felt pretty good to hoist the ol cup up!

I have been looking at this putter for a couple of weeks. It's called the Clearview Putter. It is made of a unique material that reduces skid off of the face during impact. Additionally, it has a unique set of alignment scorings or cross hairs that need to be aligned in the address position, this sets the hands in the proper position for a consistent stroke each and every time! I love a mallet putter head anyway and our new friends at Clearview Putter fixed me right up! I introduced myself to the designer and we spent the next hour discussing our technologies, designs and the PGA Tour no less. This sort of product really intrigues me! The reason being is that it flies in the face of traditional design, it's different like the Solus. The design and technology make sense and it works! Here are a few photos to give you a sneak peak of this unique putter. I cannot wait to test this putter next week! I will keep you updated!

Nationwide/mini tour player Alex Carper called for a back up set of wedges to get him through the end of the season. I will get him fixed up as soon as he provides me with the new specs. He has been working with Oban and Nippon shaft companies and has made a change in length and flex. He had a few clubs damaged and needed to get new shafts so I have everything he needs. We should get everything to him this next week.

Sorry I don't have more to report today! I think the last two days have drained me trying to get my point across. I will continue to elaborate on our design over the next several events. It's time that everyone understand how this club will shave strokes off a players round guaranteed!


Well it time to shut this computer down for the day! I will have a few more things tomorrow to share with you which I will post once I get home. I have a few days off before heading to Midland, TX for the Nationwide Tour. Have a great weekend!

9/8/10

Well I hope you all recovered from my dissertation yesterday of the history of wedges from my perspective. Long story short I wanted to make the point that the Solus Utility wedge is different and has been designed to improve wedge play at all levels of expertise! It is the first real breakthrough in wedge design for quite some time! These players know what Solus is and for the most part thought they had an idea of how it worked and how it fit their particular swings or techniques.

Our design has had phenomenal results from some of the best players in the world! Each player fell into the one of the three swing categories that we identified yesterday. If there was nothing to it and it was a gimmick first of all we wouldn't be out here on the PGA Tour! Secondly, if it didn't have some creditability why would all of the "big" companies try to emulate its design? I can tell you why because they are all trying to figure out how it performs as good as it does regardless of swing plane or path! Well my friends that is why I have been out here for the past several years, to explain and demonstrate how this new technology works! But most of the time I still get the ol "Heisman" move put on me or the player seems to get too busy for me! Well there will come a day that the world will finally understand this new sole design and discover the many advantages it has to offer! I hope I am still standing! I can promise you one thing if I had a check book in my back pocket there is no telling what could be accomplished!


Hang in there I will continue this saga until the end of the season, maybe by then these guys will finally catch on to what has been happening on the Champions, Nationwide and various mini tours around the country, Solus!


Well although the temperature was very nice today the wind blew around 30-45mph all day. The player count came close to 28-30 for the day! I think these guys could have hit a wedge around 80-290 yards since the range is set up from the west to the east and the wind was blowing out of the south west most of the day! Not a god day to work on anything!


I continued to access as many players as possible. Ryder Cup Captain, Cory Pavin announced his captain's picks for the 2010 Ryder Cup. Tiger, Zach, Rickey and Cink were all selected to play this year's Ryder Cup matches.


Anyway, let me share a few of the comments that I received today in my survey.


* Hey it's the Playoffs! I am not looking or touching anything but what's in my bag!

* Would like to test one in the off season! Yea right that's a kind way of telling me to move on! Sorry!

* I like what I have and have no reason to try anything else right now! Really?

* I didn't realize that that is the way that sole functions? Really?

* Will that fit my swing path in need more bounce?

* You don't have the bounce I want or the loft. The loft I can believe but the bounce? How do you know?


You know the transition to this wedge is a very narrow window and if committed the player can get adjusted in just a few balls! This same attitude was taken when the hybrids came out. There was still adjustment/transition time.


The biggest puzzle to me is watching a player hit the Solus and then go hit their gamer. There was a difference! I am not being paranoid but the majority of the players loved the wedge and what it did for them. What is the holdup then? You know I could go on and on and on! I will spare you this time! Hey it's the Playoffs and I am trying to get as many clubs in play as possible, short of being a Fuller Brush man! This whole splatter of ramble on my part is just frustration coming out! Fighting these battles week to week can really wear on you mentally if you let it! Can you see it in me? Ya think?

 No matter when it is I am trying to get in front of KJ he seems to grow new friends! I looked over once and started to make my way over to him, in the next minute he was surrounded by Taylormade reps and swing coaches. We will survive! I am still holding true to my mission! Y.E Yang and KJ Choi are going to see me one way or the other! KJ has been feeling around since the John Deere. Patience will prevail in the end!

I could not leave the Chicago area without having a pizza. I had been told this place has the best pie around, so I thought in serving my readers with a little culinary knowledge and foresight I must tell you this pie is the best I have had! Fat Ricky's Old World Style Pizza is awesome! I got one to go and brought it back to my room. Take a look, I naturally had to have pretty much everything on it so a 9" pizza weighed about 20lbs after my applications! If you are ever in this area of Chicago you must stop by and try one. This location is in Tinley Park on la Grange Rd. I have added this stop to my list!

9/7/10

Well guess what? I won the damn Chicago lottery on Saturday night so I'm moving to Tinley Park, ILL. Take a look at my new digs, pretty sweet uhh? Yea that's right! Hey it doesn’t make me bad to dream a little along the way, does it? After all this is the PGA Tour and anything is possible! HIHI....... Had you going for a minute though! Oh yes I did!

811/812-Friday I decided to go visit a few friends over at Bettinardi Golf. This is my first visit to their plant. What a first class operation! I had a great visit! Quite a place!

Well, Mike did not get on the plane bound for Korea for the next Champions Tour event. If you remember the sponsor chartered a 747 and invited players, wives, caddies and reps. Mike didn't find out until late Saturday that there wasn't enough accommodations (hotel rooms) in Korea to hold everyone. So he was out of the rotation. One thing still gets me somewhat, there was enough rooms available to accommodate a rep from Callaway and Titleist! I am sure I'm just paranoid? Whatever!


Solus and I have to send out a "BIG" congratulations to real close friends for their victory in Pittsburg over the weekend. Kevin Kinser with "Dewey" or as I call him "Heavy D", Duane Bock on the loop won the Mylan Classic! Good for a weekend paycheck of $108,000! Great win! The beer and wings will be on those boys in Midland, TX that's when I will see them both next! Man I will have to starve myself between now and then!


Well as you know there was much going on here at Cog Hill today since the boys are finishing up in Boston. I am glad that big "E" didn't hit as hard as expected. Earl could have pushed that event back a day and this week would have been a wash! With the grace of GOD they will finish and the weather is beautiful up there. Since it was quite and most of the other reps chose to play golf or rest, Don and I opened up as usual and went to work. I got enough stock built to get me through the Nationwide Midland event and back to Mississippi for the Viking Classic. The week after that I go back to the Nationwide in Chattanooga followed by the two Texas events on the Champions Tour finishing up at Disney on the PGA Tour. Boy this season has flown buy it's hard to believe we have yet another season under our belts.


I will continue my player interviews and follow ups this week only this time we have just the top 70 players. The one good thing about this week is if you made the top 70 you are guaranty a paycheck this week since there is no cut. All 70 play all four days with the top 30 heading to the Tour Championship in Atlanta.


I really think the reluctance of some players to try the Solus wedge is the lack of understanding of how the Solus "Crescent Cut Sole Contour" is designed to work. On tour or for that matter at the consumer level the lack of understanding the function of the sole is lacking, this is more so at retail. The wedge has been left untouched so to speak in design since the 50's. Just take a look at all of the wedges next time you go to a retail store. The basic designs are pretty much all the same, right? The only difference is the fact now you have so many clubs, bounces and lofts to choose from. As I grew up in the golf business "back in the day" there wasn't anything beyond the PW until Sarazen designed the SW. Now there was one more weapon to choose from but this time we had an instrument design specifically for the sand. Once you mastered it uses in the sand you could lay it open and create all kinds of shots elsewhere. This is why a lot of the Champions Tour players to this day play sand wedges of 56 degrees or less. Just within the last five to six years have the players dared to go outside that box to the 58's, 60's and now 64. They learned to play the 56 in all sorts of situations! They gave it a chance and learned to use it! It wasn't discarded after the first off-center hit or bad shot.


I will stop there just to make my point here. The SW was unexplored territory back then until the players got used to it and made the transition. It took trust and practice, but in the end if you didn't have a 56 SW in the bag you were giving your competitors and edge. Soon after several players started having success with the new SW almost every player put one in the bag. As things progressed with the uses of the SW it didn't take long for pros like my Dad discovered he could grind on the sole to give the wedge more utility. Pretty quick my Dad was selling SW wedges and grinding away, every member wanted one just like his. My Dad played a limited schedule on the PGA Tour and mini circuits, but had to hold his full time club pro job to make ends meet. They all listened to Dad since he was an accomplished player and was who they look to for the answers. Who else but your local PGA Professional!


I guess what I am saying is this is where it all started for me! The understanding of the wedge and how it works and what sole works best for each player. On tour you will hear a lot of the different evaluations of the golf swing as it relates to the wedge bounce and sole contour. There are such terms as "digger", "sweeper" and "slider". These all correlate to a particular swing plane and path.

During my Dad's tenure I learned that there were pretty much three swing paths steep, neutral and flat or what was considered around. Each were capable of producing the same result but from a different angle of attack. The mass majority of the players fell in the neutral category. Which brings me back to the Solus sole design.

Just like any other club design that is being played today, what fits one player may not fit another, no matter what is done. The Solus sole contour was designed with one thing in mind, "utility". This doesn't mean it replaces every wedge in the bag or fits every player. However the design does lend itself to swings of all types be it diggers, sliders, drivers or sweepers in which each will benefit in a different way. It will give each swing type an advantage to exercise the players imagination.

This is another weapon that has numerous possibilities within its design. The grind of the sole was designed to fit every situation a player might encounter during a round of golf. However the design will yield results regardless of the swing plane or swing style. The results will vary from player to player. Solus came to the tour with hopes of opening eyes and turning heads, which we did. We were the first to come out with a 100% milled face and grooves! Secondly, we were out to open the minds of players that were stuck in the rut of wedge design. The Solus is a lot like a hybrid wood, just another weapon. Granted it’s not for all but works for the majority of them.

I could go on and on but little Solus has a unique design that will save shots per round for players of all levels including tour pros. We've proved that! We are not killing the tour with the number of clubs in play and will never do so as long as there are contracts and money involved. In the beginning we felt like we could own a little segment of the wedge business and we succeeded to a point. It's hard to play the game with no money! Money talks as you know! With the money comes brand loyalty. To strong forces that the small companies out here cannot compete with. Your product has to be real and good, we have both which have been validated right here!


Long story short if the players kept an open mind and gave the Solus a try, give it chance and discover the benefits the heads would turn! I do think the shear fact the wedge is different and doesn't need to be ground to fit lends itself to a gimmick. But you let a player give it a good test in the heat of battle, they will not throw us to curb. The biggest problem is just getting to that point. Players are set with their wedges and let's face it nothing could be better than Vokey, Cleveland or Callaway! Could it? Well hell yes there are a lot of excellent products that will never dominate the tour but are very good! I still think if this wedge had one of the big names on the back you would see a completely different game. I am not just saying this, but I think every player should have one of these wedges in their bag regardless of loft. If given a chance the Solus will turn your head in one situation or another, it's just finding that niche it will fill within the bag! Enough of that preaching but this is the true reason I think more players don't look at Solus! I have watched several of the best players in the world test our wedge and all look at me like, wow! It's like they don't want to believe that there is something that actually works better in most cases.


I might find out differently tomorrow but I want to stay in front of them, you never know?

Deutsche Bank Championship

9/3/10

I'll give you just a little something today to ponder, unless you seen it on FB? If not today is 90210! HIHI...

I want to send out a big "Thanks" to George Pantos owner and operator of Jimmy's Pub in Mansfield! We all appreciated the wonderful food and hospitality! A good time was had by all!

I stopped and watch good friend Justin Rose practicing with a new toy. This little piece is pretty awesome! It's from Foresight Sports and it's called the "Game Changer". This is a smaller more compact launch monitor version of what all of the major manufacturers test with out here called the Trackman launch monitor. The unit is just as accurate as the Trackman with the exception of distance numbers. All of the other data is spot on as compared to the more expensive Trackman which retails for close to $25,000. The Game Changer provides all launch data ball spin, launch angle, ball speed and velocity instantly right on the screen. The Trackman needs a laptop attached to collect the data while the Game Changer is fully self contained. This would be a valuable tool for me since I could sit it down and show the player instantly the numbers coming off of our wedge compared to their gamers! I could take this in the bunkers, rough and fringe. The cost of the Game Changer is a far cry from the Trackman coming in at $5000.00. Naturally Taylormade had this unit but just wait every player will have his own before it’s over! They can fold it up and carry it in their bag! I am certain that other companies will own one due to the affordability!

I think my luck is making a turn to the positive side! I had left the golf course to make my turn towards Chicago. I made as far as I could which was Utica, NY. I had called ahead to see if Hampton Inn had any rooms available, Utica was the only one left. It was 9:30pm and I was really tired. I'm standing at the front desk checking in another customer came walking in and the manager came out to take care of him. The gentleman said he had a reservation for none other than "Mark Thomas"! You mean there are two of us, much less checking into the same motel at the same time! What are the odds? Hey I made a new friend! I didn't realize how big the old family tree was! I think it's time to buy a lottery ticket! Hey I think it's finally going my way! We all had a great laugh but I still think this is the sign!! Oh by the way he wasn't nearly as good looking as the "ol Dawg"! I bet his truck is still in warranty! Did I say that out loud?

There was a lot of conversation about "Big E" you know the storm that is bearing down on the east coast. It looks like it going to hit up here by Thursday or Friday. Evacuation procedures were being reviewed!

Well I didn't reach my goal this week of 35 players but I did manage to get the attention of 16! Not bad considering.... Don't get me wrong I am not complaining, just frustrated. If I didn't want all of this stress and frustration and I could be doing something else, instead this is a real challenge which I enjoy! Still frustrated though!! HIHI....The difficult thing to swallow is just this. If you take a look at the majority of the wedges out here most have been ground or manufactured to basically emulate the Solus sole design. Most big companies will not agree but I didn't see or hear things such as "relieved heal", "milled grooves", milled face" and such terminology until Solus came out here in 04. Now it is everywhere! Which brings me to frustration stage, why would these players overlook or pass by even trying the Solus technology? Especially now with the new groove rule? I sit and watch each week while players test new grooves, new grooves and new grooves, but they never once maybe think the shaft may have a little more to do with it than most think! I know they look at me and go "what does that fat turd know about wedges?" Hey don't turn your cheek to me you might just be surprised! This ol fat "turd" knows more than you think! Grind away boys, roll around in your bounce issues when the dust settles they all end up looking similar to the Solus sole contour less the crescent cut! I will share with you what comments I received from the players below.

These three weeks before the Tour Championship everyone wants to get as much in play as possible. Looking for the "Golden Rocket" to brag about to the retailers and magazines. But wait, you can't use anyone's name! They are under contract and cannot endorse another golf club! That was when you go in to your nearest retailer locate the sales associate and say "hey so n so won the xyz open" it must be good, I need to buy it! If he won with it, I need it! BS!!! Come on, how much longer?

So with that said, I am on a mission to maybe get a few in play before the Championship. You know something happened with Matt Kuchar's win last week that for as long as I have been out here I personally have not ever heard of! Keep in mind Matt is one of the few players that has a limited contract and can play other equipment such as putters, wedges and hybrids. Thus Matt is hounded week to week by the likes of ME! Well Matt told his agent to let Rife putters have the right to his name and likeness for their advertising. So far every press release that Rife has produced has had Matt's name in it! He wanted to show his appreciation for the company helping him with his game improvement and career. This is a class act and I think people need to hear this kind of thing. From my side of the fence it is in one word "awesome"! Now given that what do you think Rife's sales has done in just one week's time, well enough said, you know. You know what I'm saying! Now this act of kindness would give me the incentive to go buy the putter, not because Matt won with it but what he did to recognize the little guy! Thus my attack on the players this week! Just looking for a little love!

You know in the grand scheme of things there are close to 250-300 wedges in play this week. Here we stand with Fourteen and Scratch Golf jockeying for a few pieces of scrap that's left lying on the tee. Between the three of us we represent probably 14-16 wedges in play. This number is phenomenal considering we are not spending any money, can't afford to? So what I am saying here in a nut shell is this "it's a tough, frustrating game" to be playing each week especially if you keep getting the "Heisman" put on your ass week to week! I know you know what I am talking about when I say the "Heisman" move? Well you picture the trophy in your mind's eye and I think you will break the code! Hell, let's get back to where I was going here! Oh, I forgot? Where was I going with this? Oh, I got it, no really I got it!

I decided to go down the tee line and just revisit some of our old friends present and past to review the FC-10 with them. I want to see what they say when I ask, "give this another look"? Now keep in mind I am not going to mention any names. I feel it doesn't do you any good nor me since I have to see these guys every week. Granted there is a lot of contracts and a lot of equipment out here, but you need to keep one thing in mind, there isn't one piece of equipment that is designed to fit every player! Yes, I said that! Although all of the manufacturers would like to think theirs will fit everybody they don't necessarily do. So with that in mind I am just looking for those players that I think our technology will fit. Obviously, I think every player should have "one" Solus wedge in the bag for the simple utility of it. I always thought that if I could put one club in the bag that would give me more than one particular shot I would have the flexibility to work my way around the course and attack it as opposed to it attacking me! But that's me and that's why I am on this side of the fence!

No doubt these guys are good! But let's face it they are always looking for an advantage be it with a longer ball, hotter driver or different putter. The wedges are always the least tinkered with and I think these guys are in a rut and have learned to play what they have and forget it. The wedge is the toughest to get a player to change no doubt, but like everything else technology has improved over these years just a little slower coming around. Bounce is the biggest issue and believe it or not they think they know what bounce works best for their particular swing, yet I never see a bounce gauge in use! Why you say, it's not that critical of a measurement. The tech will grind and the player will test if it works they leave it alone but if it doesn't they go back and grind it more! It is not a rocket! I have players look at me and say I need 12 degrees of bounce on my 60 degree wedge, you don't have that! Well my question to the player is how do you know you actually have 12 degrees? Have you measured it? No but the company builds them to my spec and that is what it is! No, the tech realizes that a player is a "digger" or "sweeper" and grinds the club accordingly to optimize the performance for a particular swing path or technique. This doesn't mean the wedge had had 12 degrees ground on it, maybe it did at one time. The only gauge I have seen in use out here on tour is the eye! This is from my house personally, never seen anyone measuring bounce other than with the eye! If those numbers were that precise there would be bounce gauge machines as prevalent as loft lie machines.

That is why the Solus sole is so unique! I have had both diggers and sweepers have phenomenal success with the design. It's just getting them to try it and put it into battle in competition. It's all about trust, you can't really trust something until you really need it. If it works under these conditions it's in! Hell a shovel would be awesome if in the heat of battle you won a tournament! Can you just imagine what would happen at your local True Value Hardware if a player won a tournament using a shovel! Hell yea you would run right out and buy that shovel! Oh yea you would!!!! Come on Bra! You would! Shovels would be flying off the shelves! Home Depot and Lowes would have weekly truck loads of shovels arriving!

Ok once again I am getting long winded here and got completely off my subject! As you know I am passionate about our product and do know a thing or two about fitting a wedge! I will admit one thing I am always learning and do not stand on the "expert" stand of knowing it all! You can never stop learning new things. You must stay open, look and listen!! Ok that's my sermon for the day! Get on with it!

Anyway, out of the 16 players here are just a few of the more common reasons they haven't selected the Solus.

#1 Contracts/money

#2 They like what they are playing and are not interested in looking at anything right now(I did notice this player looking at 3 drivers and several new hybrids).

#3 I am a digger and I think the design "looks" like it would dig (tried it and was quite surprised). Wants to try it next week though!

#4 You have only three lofts. I need the three you don't have yet! Naturally!

#5 The bounce cannot be customized. Yes it can just tell what you need beyond perfect!

This is a few of the more common reasons but I think you see where I am going. I just have to continue to stay in front of them week to week. I will share more from next week's findings. I am trying to give you a feel for how tough this job is! After all everybody thinks this is the perfect job, a dream come true! Travel almost like a perpetual vacation so to speak. Well boys and girls I have always said this "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is"! Try grinding your teeth flat to the point of breakage, eating gravel for breakfast or smoking a shotgun! All are symptoms of this job and the effects they will have on you mentally! It’s a mental game even on my side of the fence! Hey but anything's possible on the PGA Tour!

Until next week I will give you a little something to think about! Have you ever wondered why the Braille ID markers are on the drive thru ATM's? This is the kind of things you start thinking about when you have the "dream" job! Hey you think about it?

Hope everyone has a safe Labor Day weekend!

Dawg out...........

9/1/10

Well there wasn't a whole lot going on early! Very frustrated!! I am on a mission this week and am going to discuss the Solus technology with at least 35 out of the 100 players! I want some of these players to tell me what has happened, if they can or will? That's if 35 players show up today! I want some answers from the players as to why they have completely pushed me to the curb? I can't even get a sniff, what has happened I asked? I am going to find out! Great area to work though!

I do stand corrected on the subject of cuts across these three events. I was wrong this week's cut will be the top 70 out of 100 instead of the 60 that I thought! The cut next week at the BMW will be the final cut to the top 30 for the Tour Championship.

Man I would really like to get back in this bag, but as you can see I don't have a chance! This bag belongs to good friend Bo Van Pelt. He played the Solus wedge for a good many years. The money was just too much! He has had a wonderful year and I wish nothing but the best for Bo!

Well look who snuggled up to Solus! I can sure keep them going! Good friends at Scratch Golf though! We all work well together, for now!

Things started picking up around 11:30am. I think the reason for the delay of players showing up was either the heat or possibly Golf Pride buying all of us breakfast and lunch on the "caddy wagon"! The offer extended to reps, caddies and players. Very nice gesture and appreciated by all.

Here is Titleist testing new wedges with Jason Dufner. If you look closely you will see a Trackman launch monitor under the towel. I tried to find out what was being tested but had no luck!

Ditto/Jason Dufner

Out of the rough with Ryogi Amada.

I dropped off another 56* head to Matrix to see if they might have an answer for the swing weight issue. We will continue testing the new proto wedge shaft once this issue is resolved.


I tried again with KJ Choi and Y.E. Yang both were busy with swing coaches and were quite busy! I am going to stay on it though!

Waiting for Paddy to warm up. I'm not giving up on him yet!

The Tiger man came out to the tee around 2:30 or 3:00 this afternoon followed by about a dozen members of the media mainly photographers. He hit several shots and the photographers were pulled off of the tee at his request. He then made his way over to the short game area for some bunker practice. Something is strange here? When I looked around there couldn't have been more than 80-90 spectators hanging around, unlike the past where the spectators were six and seven deep to catch a glimpse of him. I’m not sure, it might have been the heat or the lack of luster? It's like he has transformed into just another player. Nothing special, which he might like the lack of attention! Who knows? Just as surprising was his exit from the tee. He actually stopped to sign autographs for about ten minutes. In years past he never stopped! “Not going to do it, can't make me!”

8/31/10

Well there are a couple of things to make note of here. First of all this is a perfect short game facility to test wedges! I love this if there were only some players! I took these photos at 11:45am from both directions. Is there something missing in both views? Players! That's right no players? We had a total of 5-6 players all day. Now keep in mind there will only be the top 100 here this week. Once the play is complete this week the field will be cut to the top 60. I am going to use the next two weeks to get some very real answers from the top players regarding the FC-10!

Granted they know who I am and what I am out here for. They know the Solus brand! What is the hold up on even giving me the time of day? Come on guys! The reason I am so adamant about this it's time to at least take another look at Solus!


Anybody and everybody that loves golf watched the Barclay's over the weekend and witnessed Matt Kuchar win in a sudden death playoff. I want to share this with you because over the past several days, months and years I have preached "contracts, money and brand loyalty" amongst the tour players. Well Matt's win gives me the renewed vision among the contract players. Matt as you know has a contract with Bridgestone Golf. It is evident with the hat, bag, and ball let alone logos on all four corners. Within his contract he leaves hope for all the rest of us fighting this war. Several smaller companies shared in his victory, Rife Putters, Tour Exotics, Fourteen Golf, Aldila Shafts and Graphite Design Shafts! Matt is the exception not the rule! There is always hope for us small guys. Matt is such a good guy and a great player, its fun to watch him play well! You know what will happen since he just had his first win don't you? Bigger contract and few opportunities if Bridgestone has their way! It's a nasty circle isn't it? Whichever direction Matt takes we wish him all the best! He is in a great position going into the playoffs!


Since there wasn't much going on this time was well spent getting Sally Little's set assembled and shipped along with Mike's inventory for the Champions Tour.

I am looking into some new ferrules for the tour. There's a new company that has "colored" ferrules which I will test for fitment and we will look at several colors to jazz the club up. I will show you as I go along.










We dry assemble the new Matrix composite wedge shaft today. The dynamics and balance point of the shaft yielded swing weights in the low D's. I am not sure but the balance point seems too high. It seems to almost counter balance the club. We are working closely with Matrix and I will keep you updated along the way.


Here is something I bet you didn't know or were aware of, the month of August this year has 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays and 5 Tuesdays! This will not occur again for another 823 years! Guess what? I am going to have to miss that one!