April 2012: Hot List 365: Golf Digest

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Results for April 2012 Back to Hot List 365 Index

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

Thursday, April 26, 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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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