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Golf Equipment: golfdigest.com

Ping research: Fitting makes new club technology better

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Comments

Spent a full day learning about some new ideas from Ping, and one of our big discussion topics was driver fitting and just how much fitting matters.

Consider this study, shared with us by Brad Schweigert, Ping's director of engineering. The Ping team took a group of 100 average golfers and tested them with a current 10.5 degree driver. At first glance, a 10.5-degree represents a middle of the road loft that should fit a significant percentage of a population of 100 average golfers, right? Well, when Ping fitters and engineers optimized each of the 100 golfers for ideal loft and shaft, the average gain for the group was 11 yards over that initial 10.5-degree driver. Some players gained less, of course, but others gained more, as much as 35 yards.

Now, we're not talking about an improvement over an outdated driver. That's an obvious technology upgrade. Rather, this is a test of an approximate fit vs. an exact fit, using up-to-the minute technology for both drivers, and more importantly, using up-to-the-minute fitting technology. In essence, this result is purely a measure of the importance of fitting, not merely the power of new clubhead, face or shaft technology.

Still think your old driver you were never fit to is good enough? Still want to pick your new driver off the rack? Think again about what you might be missing. I'll bet it's more than 11 yards. These guys agree.

--Mike Stachura

Follow me on Twitter @MikeStachura

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Clubfitting research: Unconventional improvement

Monday, May 21, 2012 Comments

Our research project on the effect of clubfitting, which is being conducted in conjunction with Club Champion, is just getting started and already the results are educating us in ways we haven't thought about before.

Case in point: Today I had a conversation with Glenn Goldsborough, a physics and astronomy teacher and golf coach at Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills, Pa., who is one of the participants in our study. His intense fitting resulted in changes throughout his bag, but one of the more interesting developments is one even the more sophisticated equipment geeks might find counterintuitive: Slower speeds yielding more distance.

Here's how that idea played out for Goldsborough, who plays to a 10.6 index: His current irons, TaylorMade's Tour Burner, feature a stock graphite shaft that weighs just 65 grams. But Goldsborough was fit to TaylorMade's R11 irons with a KBS Tour C Taper shaft that weighs nearly twice as much.

Not surprisingly, the new, heavier shafts, reduced his clubhead speed with the 6-iron slightly, but they increased his distance by as much as a full club through the set.

"Even though I'm not swinging as fast, I'm still seeing a bigger distance gain because I'm hitting it more squarely and I also think the shaft is maximizing the energy that I'm putting into it," Goldsborough said.

"It feels like I have a metal ring around me on my swing plane. It just seems like the club just stays there through my whole swing."

Goldsborough said the opposite was true with his fairway woods and driver, where the lighter shafts produced the better results.

"It really was an amazing education for me. You really can't pigeonhole anybody's swing or what they do with different clubs until you actually get on the launch monitor and see the numbers."

The mission of the Golf Digest-Club Champion clubfitting study is to take players who had not been fit for clubs before and see if a clubfitting changes their game. The range of players participating in our project includes low single-digit players as well as those who have a difficult time breaking 90. We'll continue to track the performances and perceptions of the participants in our clubfitting study throughout the summer.

You can find more information about participating in the study here.

--Mike Stachura

Follow me on Twitter @Mike Stachura

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Golf Town buys Golfsmith for $96 million in retail mega-merger

Monday, May 14, 2012 Comments

Mergers, acquisitions and consolidation have been a part of the headlines on the golf manufacturing side in recent weeks, but now the golf retail space is getting in on the game and in a big way.

Golf Town, the largest golf retailer in Canada with 54 stores, had begun expanding in the U.S. in the last two years by opening seven large stores in the Boston area. Today, it announced an even larger expansion: It will purchase U.S. retail giant Golfsmith.

Golf Town, which is owned by Toronto-based OMERS private equity firm, said Monday it has signed a definitive merger agreement to purchase Golfsmith International Holdings for $6.10 per share. Golfsmith closed at $4.71 on Friday. Golfsmith, which was founded 40 years ago as a clubmaking supply company but has since grown to become the largest golf-specialty retailer in the U.S. with 85 stores, had previously announced that it was pursuing strategic alternatives including the sale of the company. With 15.81 million shares oustanding, the Golf Town purchase price adds up to a little more than $96.4 million.

In a press release, Don Morrison, Senior Managing Director and Canadian Country Head of OMERS Private Equity said, ""Golfsmith is a company that we have admired for years. This transaction will give us a formidable footprint in North America and will also provide a strong platform for future growth. Together with management we look forward to enhancing the value proposition for the companies' loyal customers."

Among the plans for the merger: Martin Hanaka, current CEO of Golfsmith, will assume the role of CEO of the combined company. Sue Gove, President, COO and CFO of Golfsmith will become the President and COO of the combined company and Ron Hornbaker, who had been interim CEO of Golf Town, will assume the role of Executive Vice President-Stores.

"We have been very pleased with the building momentum at Golfsmith and I am proud of the accomplishments that our team has made over the last three years in developing a solid foundation for long term growth. We hold Golf Town in the highest regard and believe them to be an ideal partner to take Golfsmith to the next stage of growth," Hanaka said in a statement.

The Golfsmith model in recent years has been toward developing large square-footage "experiential" retail outlets with multiple hitting bays, large putting greens and an emphasis on clubfitting and increased apparel offerings. In addition, Golfsmith has seen substantial growth in the online arena with golfsmith.com.

Golf Town's model is similar. While it is Canada's No. 1 golf retailer and it bills itself as the second largest golf retailer in the world, it recently opened seven stores in the U.S., all in the Boston region in the last two years. That expansion included more than 100,000 square feet of retail space. Golf Town is also bringing a new technology to the clubfitting space through a partnership with Swing Labs, an unbiased, fitting sofware designed to more efficiently match players to clubs based on swing data.

Related: How club-fitting is getting smarter, faster, better.

The full text of today's press release announcing the acquisition is here.

--Mike Stachura

Follow me on Twitter @MikeStachura

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Fitting clubs is getting smarter, easier

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 Comments

One of the (many) perks of this job is the opportunity to go for a club fitting often. I probably haven't been through as many fittings as a tour pro, but I've probably been through more fittings than any 10 average golfers combined.

One thing stands out every time: Why aren't more golfers getting this done and what are they waiting for?

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Those hickory-shafted clubs on tour this week available for you, too

Thursday, April 26, 2012 Comments

When seven PGA Tour players participated in a throwback event at this week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans, one of the equipment questions had to be whether the gear of a century ago with its small wooden heads and whippy hickory shafts would stand up to the swings of today.

The fear seemed reasonable, until you talk to Chris McIntyre, the man behind the clubs they were using.

"I've seen good players in some of our events drive the green from 290 yards away," says McIntyre, whose company Play Hickory has provided vintage era clubs for more than 100 events since the company was founded in 2004. "I've seen an analysis of Bobby Jones swing where they took his old video and calculated his swing to be about 115 miles per hour. That's pretty comparable to a lot of the pros today."

In Tuesday's event, held to commemorate Zurich's 100-year anniversary in the U.S., Ben Crane and Camilo Villegas finished at 1-under in the 3-hole exhibition, while Luke Donald holed out from the fairway on the second hole for an eagle. Players admitted the equipment required a swing adjustment. "The hickory shafts are obviously quite soft," Graeme McDowell told WWNO radio. "You've just got to wait on them a little bit and you can't really put the same amount of pressure as you would on the shafts that we're normally used to playing."

Villegas said the event gave him an appreciation for what the game used to be like. "It is fun," he said. "It is fun to mix it a little bit, go back in the day and see how those legends used to do it."

Fun is a word McIntyre hears a lot from his clients, which are often country clubs hosting anniversary events. His company has 80 sets that it rents out for these events, all are authentic antique clubs that he has refurbished. He also provides special low- compression, soft-cover balls that are made to mimic the performance and look of the hickory-era clubs.

"I think you get an appreciation for the game of the past," McIntyre says. "Not to take anything away from today's game, it's just different.

"Playing this way, for me, brought the fun back into golf. It was good for the soul."

He thinks the event with PGA Tour players this week will get a lot of passionate golfers thinking about the way things used to be.

"I'm sure there are people who just look at these clubs as toys and wonder why anyone would want to do this," he says. "But we think it draws people out who have an eagerness about remembering the game. That's the game it was.

"There's more time in the history of the game played with clubs like this than with the clubs being used in today's game."

--Mike Stachura

Follow me on Twitter @MikeStachura

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Is non-conforming equipment OK now?

Monday, April 23, 2012 Comments

Bill Pennington's blog on the potential changing attitude of golfers and those in the golf industry toward non-conforming golf equipment struck me as just a little unsettling.

In it he refers to the growing sales of the Polara golf ball, a ball designed to correct hooks and slices. While still a trifle at $3 million, it is noteworthy that Pennington says Polara is being test-marketed by Dick's Sporting Goods and is being sold in 60 of 86 Edwin Watts stores. (One caution: The golf ball business generates more than $500 million in annual sales so it's not as if everybody and his neighbor are storming the gates to play non-conforming golf balls.)

But what the blog made me think of was how we were just here having this same discussion a year ago, and then before that, a decade ago. Specifically, it reminded me of the situation the game, its stakeholders and its participants found themselves in surrounding the sale of non-conforming drivers at the turn of the century.

If you remember, this was when Callaway, spearheaded by its namesake and founder Ely Callaway went forward with plans to introduce a driver that did not conform to the newly installed spring-like effect that golf's governing bodies had first put in place in 1998. The issue percolated at the game's fringe for a few years and reached a head in late 2000 and early 2001 when companies were deciding whether to ramp up production and sales of non-conforming drivers.

I was fortunate at the time to be given the assignment to write a story on the eve of the PGA Merchandise Show in January 2001 for Golf World to set the stage or perhaps draw the battle lines. It was clearly a case of manufacturers, or at least some manufacturers, going all stand-your-ground on the U.S. Golf Association. Callaway led the salvos when he told me, "If they make rules that are against the growth of the game and the enjoyment of the game, then we do not feel that we are wrong, immoral, cheating, bad people to give the public a choice."

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Ping to increase pink G20 donation

Thursday, April 12, 2012 Comments

Ping announced today that it was changing its decision to donate five percent of the sales of a special limited edition version of Masters champion Bubba Watson's pink G20 driver to the golfer's "Bubba & Friends Drive to a Million" charity. Instead, the company will donate $50 for the sale of each of the 5,000 limited edition clubs for a total donation of $250,000 by the company.

"We looked back at the last few days and realized that with all the tremendous energy Bubba has created with his win at the Masters and for our brand, we needed to do more with this opportunity to give back to those in need," said John A. Solheim, PING Chairman & CEO. "The response to the pink G20s has exceeded expectations at this point, so we're increasing our commitment to help bring Bubba closer to his goal of raising $1 million for charity this year."

Watson set a goal of raising $1 million for charity at the start of this year, and his pink Ping G20 driver was the calling card. On his website, he explained his motivation: "I've always felt the need to give back and now I have the chance to in a big way. Helping these charities and more importantly, the families involved, can be more rewarding than winning a golf tournament."

His tournament win last week at the Masters seems to be paying dividends on his charitable goals, too.

--Mike Stachura

Follow me on Twitter @MikeStachura

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Callaway's RAZR Fit now in 8 colors, your choice

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 Comments

The era of mass customization -- the idea that consumers can directly select the features they want on a new product -- has been creeping along for the last decade in golf, or at least since the emergence of the adjustable driver. It's certainly been part of the boutique putter business for many years, while more recent developments include wedge programs like Titleist's Vokey Wedgeworks and Cleveland's My Custom Wedge program.

Now, that idea of completely optimized and personalized clubs is moving into new territory. Callaway is expected to announce tomorrow a program that lets consumers choose custom lengths, custom shafts, custom grips and custom head colors for its new RAZR Fit driver. The program is accessed through an interactive Callaway website called uDesign.

"Golf equipment already is very personal, certainly compared to other sports," says Callaway's Luke Williams, senior director of global woods and irons. "This is a way to further that. It's clear that when a club looks good to you, it's going to inspire confidence."

Callaway says the uDesign system accommodates more than 70,000 possible combinations of its RAZR Fit driver, including eight separate colors for the head.

According to a company press release, Callaway tour professional Alvaro Quiros has asked for a clubhead in each color "and I will match my driver with my apparel."

The RAZR Fit driver with the uDesign option will be available for $400 with a $50 upcharge. Certain custom grips and shafts will incur the usual additional charges. The uDesign drivers will begin shipping early next month.

--Mike Stachura

Follow me on Twitter @Mike Stachura

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You can buy Bubba's driver--same color, too

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 Comments

There are clubs used by Masters champions that so capture the imagination of golfers it creates demand for the product. Ray Floyd's 5-wood, Jack Nicklaus' MacGregor Response ZT putter, Fred Couples' Ashworth shirts and Jose Maria Olazabal's TaylorMade Bubble shaft come to mind.

Now you can add Bubba Watson's pink Ping G20 driver to that list.

That demand actually has been building since Watson first used the club earlier this year. Now with Watson's Masters win, Ping has announced it is making available a limited number of pink-colored G20 drivers starting June 1. Ping, which pledged $10,000 upfront as well as $300 for every drive Watson hits of 300 yards or farther (up to 300 drives) to the "Bubba & Friends Drive to a Million" initiative since January will donate 5 percent of the proceeds from the driver sales as well.

Earlier this year, in announcing his charity initiative which includes both his equipment sponsor Ping and his apparel sponsor Travis Mathew, Watson even referred to a Masters victory.

"This is not just about me trying to win golf tournaments or win a major," Watson said. "But if I won Augusta this year it would be great, but how many drives (did I hit) over 300. How many outfits did we sell? That's really the big thing. That's what I want to be about. That's what I've been trying to be about."

The driver is the same technologically as the regular G20 but boasts a pink clubhead (that comes with a matching pink headcover) and a bright pink shaft. The shaft is a high-balance-point Ping TFC 169D labeled, "Bubba Long in Pink. Driven by PING. Special Edition 2012." The pink G20 will be available in regular, stiff and ladies flexes and in lofts of 9.5, 10.5 and 12 degrees. A 10.5-degree model is available for lefties and a 12-degree version in women's. The MSRP on the club is $430. (The actual pink shaft on Watson's driver is a Grafalloy BiMatrx, and his loft is 8.5 degrees.)

"Our customers have been asking, through word of mouth, social media, and phone calls, how they can get one," said John A. Solheim, chairman and CEO of Ping. "We want to satisfy that interest while bringing even more visibility to Bubba's goal of raising $1 million."

After Watson's win Sunday, there's sure to be a lot of interest to satisfy.

E. Michael Johnson

Follow me on Twitter @EMichaelGW

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Callaway sells Top-Flite to Dick's

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 Comments

At one time Top-Flite enjoyed one of the largest market shares in the golf ball category. Today, the brand was sold by Callaway Golf to Dick's Sporting Goods for $20 million in cash, according to an 8-K filing. Included in the 8-K filing is this statement: "The net effect of the sale of these brands, including the gain recognized, is not expected to have a material effect on the Company's net income for 2012."

In 2003 Callaway purchased Top-Flite Golf (which, at the time, was comprised of the Top-Flite, Strata and Ben Hogan brands) for $125 million through a pre-packaged bankruptcy agreement. Callaway sold off the Hogan brand to Perry Ellis earlier this year.

Although some may look at the numbers and see a dramatic loss on the deal, fact is Callaway had a revenue stream for nine years with Top-Flite. It also still owns the Chicopee, Mass., ball factory (which greatly reduced production costs) as well as all the valuable intellectual property.

In fact, at the time of that deal, then Callaway CEO Ron Drapeau said, "It's a good marriage on paper." The purchase gave Callaway an impressive--and much sought-after--portfolio of intellectual property and golf-ball patents, while the combined market share of Top-Flite and Callaway balls made it the No. 2 ball company. Further, Jim Furyk had just won the 2003 U.S. Open with a Top-Flite Strata ball and in 1998 Mark O'Meara had won a pair of majors, including the Masters, using a Top-Flite Strata Tour 90.

At the start of 2005, Top-Flite still held a healthy 12 percent market share at on- and off-course golf shops. That year, however, began the start of a steady decline in sales and by year's end the company's share in balls had eroded by some 25 percent. Today, the company's market share is only about one-third of what it was in 2005 with all of its current models selling for $20 a dozen or less.

"The decision to sell Top-Flite reflects the Company's renewed focus and commitment to driving the proficiency of our core businesses, specifically the success of Callaway and Odyssey products," said Chip Brewer, Callaway's recently hired CEO. "Our strong working relationship with Dick's Sporting Goods went a long way towards the completion of this agreement and we look forward to their stewardship of the Top-Flite brand." The divestitures of Hogan and Top-Flite follow a global restructuring at Callaway that was designed to streamline the organization and reduce costs.

On the acquisition side, the addition of Top-Flite is additional validation of Dick's commitment to golf and gives them another recognizable brand name to go with its Walter Hagen brand as well as more recent acquisitions of Maxfli and Nickent.

-E. Michael Johnson

Follow me on Twitter @EMichaelGW

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