June 2012: Hot List 365: Golf Digest

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Results for June 2012 Back to Hot List 365 Index

Titleist shows off new 913 driver at AT&T

Monday, June 25, 2012

Titleist's family of 910 adjustable drivers marked the most successful metalwood launch by the company in more than a decade, but it's been two years. Now, it's time to see if the company can continue the success. This week, it unveils the new line of 913 D2 and 913 D3 drivers to its tour staff at the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club.

The club appeared on the USGA's list of conforming drivers this week.

Although few details have been made available about the design, the head does appear to have a similar SureFit Tour adjustable hosel, which featured 16 separate settings that independently manipulated lie and loft angles. Based on photos on the Team Titleist website, the head appears to be a similar black color with red and white accents on the sole.

Golf World senior editor E. Michael Johnson offers a sneak peek in this morning's Golf World Monday.

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Anchored putters: No decision right now

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Twitter's second definition should be "overstatement." Latest case in point was the recent back and forth yesterday over rumors that the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews was about to make an announcement of a rule change regarding anchored or belly putters.

Well, there's journalism, and then there's "not exactly."

While there have been rumors from several and widely varied precincts on both sides of the pond, GolfDigest.com checked in this morning with both the R&A and the U.S. Golf Association. The word from both is there is no imminent news on this issue. Both the USGA and R&A announced previously they would be taking a fresh look at the question of anchored putting.

Webb Simpson's win in the U.S. Open has triggered inevitable speculation about the future of anchored putters. Photo by Walter Iooss, Jr.

In an e-mail this morning, David Rickman, Executive Director - Rules and Equipment Standards at the R&A, said, "I don't know what reports are circulating, but the final decision rests with the Rules committees of The R&A and USGA and, therefore, I wouldn't believe any reports from elsewhere. No decision has yet been made on this matter." Rickman noted that the R&A released a statement in April in which Chief Executive Peter Dawson said, "We appreciate that this is a complex and emotive issue that divides opinion. Any decision will be made with the best interests of the game in mind and introduced only after a lengthy period of notice."

In a phone conversation this morning, USGA Executive Director Mike Davis explained the way the R&A and USGA are looking at this issue, noting that Webb Simpson's use of a belly putter to win the U.S. Open last week would have "zero effect" on any decision by the ruling bodies.

"The reason we're taking our time on this is because we want to do our homework," he said. "In the history of the game, this is a new type of stroke, especially since so much has changed in the last 18 months in terms of what we're seeing at all levels of the game, including what junior golfers are doing and how some teachers are suggesting this might be a better way to putt.

"It really boils down to whether we believe this is the right thing for the future of the game."

Davis did offer a timeline, however. "I think we do owe the golf world some kind of answer before year's end," he said. "At this moment, though, there is no decision and no votes have been taken. Nothing's been decided."

Davis was clear that were there to be a decision on belly or long putting, it would not be an equipment rule but a rule looking at the stroke itself. As such, he said, it would not go into effect until the next formal revision of the Rules of Golf, which go into effect in 2016. It is believed that such a change would likely be preceded by a lengthy period alerting players of the change. In other words, it seems certainly possible that golf's ruling bodies could make an announcement two or even three years before a rule would go into effect.

Davis said golf's ruling bodies were gathering information from various sources, but that this decision will not be one driven by data from putting statistics on the PGA Tour.

"We do feel it's our responsibility to take another look at this because of the changes recently," he said. "We'd be shirking our responsibility if we didn't."

But it will be a philosophical decision more than anything, Davis said: "You certainly want input, but in the end, you have to do what you think is the right thing to do."

The hubbub apparently grew out of comments on the Teed Off show on PGA Tour Sirius XM Radio yesterday. This led to several tweets suggesting the R&A shortly would "issue a rule saying putter can be no longer than shortest club in a player's bag." That idea mirrors comments made by Tiger Woods in February in which he referenced conversations he had with the R&A's Dawson.

Of course, speculating on rules decisions is easy, even in 140 characters. Doing what's right for the future of the game? That's hard.

Mike Stachura

Follow me on Twitter @MikeStachura

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Brewer making changes at Callaway

Thursday, June 7, 2012

The Chip Brewer era at Callaway Golf technically was announced in February, but the company's president and CEO may have really announced his presence in the last few weeks.

GolfDigest.com has learned that Brewer recently has hired a former senior level employee at rival TaylorMade-adidas Golf to join him at Callaway. Harry Arnett, vice president of brand and marketing for the Adidas golf and Ashworth brands has accepted a position as senior vice president of global marketing at Callaway. Arnett joined TaylorMade-adidas Golf in 2007 and later served as a brand director and then global vice president of product marketing for clubs and balls at TaylorMade starting in 2008. According to a TaylorMade spokesperson, Arnett resigned from TaylorMade-adidas Golf on May 30. He is expected to start at Callaway later this month.

GolfDigest.com also has learned that several upper-level management changes have been made at the company in the last few weeks. Steve McCracken, senior executive vice president and chief legal officer, and Jeff Colton, senior vice president of global brand and product, are now no longer with the company. McCracken and Colton had been with the company since 1994. Colton's position was eliminated after Brewer restructured the company so global directors of Callaway product categories in clubs (Luke Williams), Odyssey putters (Chris Koske) and golf balls (Steve Ogg) would report directly to him. Previously, those posts reported to Colton.

Tim Buckman, Callaway vice president of global communications, confirmed the restructuring.

The decisions seem to reflect Brewer's and Callaway's stated mission to improve efficiency and the company's focus. In previous months, Callaway settled its long-running litigation with Acushnet over golf ball patents, sold off the Ben Hogan and Top-Flite brands and restructured the North America apparel license with Perry Ellis International.

In the company's first quarter earnings call in late April, Brewer said, "While the actions we have taken recently to reduce costs and provide renewed focus on the Company's core brands were important initiatives, there is more work to be done to maximize the Company's full potential. During my brief time here, we have already made changes aimed at strengthening our business and increasing our long-term competitiveness and we will continue to do so. With a renewed focus on our core business, strong Callaway Golf and Odyssey brands, industry leading research and development capabilities, and an outstanding group of employees, we believe we have all the components necessary to drive sustainable long term growth and increase shareholder value."

Callaway (ELY) shares closed at $5.50 on Wednesday, a little over a 2 percent gain. Its 52-week high is $7.29 The company will announce second quarter sales figures July 24.

--Mike Stachura

Follow me on Twitter @MikeStachura

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Father's Day is coming; watch out for fake clubs

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

With Father's Day on the horizon and shopping to be done, it's worth reminding folks that a big problem for the uninformed golf consumer is counterfeit clubs, a subject we've touched on before. Just this morning I received a report from the Golf Anti-Counterfeiting Group of a raid in China of 7,500 counterfeit golf clubs:

"The Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group announced today two successful raids in Shanghai, which resulted in the seizure of more than 7,500 counterfeit golf products. The raids were made possible, in part, by information gathered from prior raids involving the Golf Group. In the last 18 months, the Golf Group has petitioned Chinese law enforcement to execute 18 raids resulting in the seizure of nearly 110,000 counterfeit golf products.

"On April 12, members of the Shanghai Public Safety Bureau (PSB) concluded a month-long investigation with simultaneous raids against two suspected counterfeit operations in Shanghai City. Three suspects, Xue Yan, Zhai Qiang and He Tieqi, were all arrested for their roles in the counterfeiting of thousands of clubs and products. The investigation of their illegal activities began after key details were discovered during a February raid and the subsequent arrest of Zhang Qun. The most recent raids garnered nearly 4,000 pieces of finished or semi-finished golf clubs while the rest of the merchandise included balls, bags and apparel.

"These actions wouldn't be possible without the help of the Chinese authorities and their continued investigations into these issues," said Don Reino, Vice President of Legal Operations for Cleveland Golf. "Their support in the pursuit of these criminal activities helps send a stronger message to the counterfeiters."

"Fighting counterfeit clubs is a long war, but we're trying to take it one battle at a time," said Joe Nauman, Executive Vice President for Corporate and Legal for Acushnet Company. "The counterfeiting of clubs is a global issue but raids often generate new information that leads to future arrests and protects the future of the game."

As the above report details, these clubs, which look like the real deal, are not made the same way, nor do they offer the same guarantees the original products provide. But then you won't know that because what you think you're purchasing and, at times, what the store thinks it's selling, look legit. It's only when they don't work and you want to send them back to the manufacturer that everybody finds out that what you bought isn't worth the copied logos on its cavity badge.

That's why you should make sure you're buying from an authorized dealer by specifically asking that very question, or better, checking with the manufacturer's customer service department to see if the vendor you're purchasing from is an authorized seller.

A good place to go for guidance is the Golf Anti-Counterfeiting Group's website.

--Mike Stachura

Follow me on Twitter @MikeStachura

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Something much more important than Tiger's victory

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

It was the most significant day of golf perhaps in the recorded history of the game. Tiger's 73rd victory on Sunday? Nice, but not that significant. How many wins he now has will have no impact on the future of the game, but a golf ball that goes 10 or 20 yards shorter? That could change things forever, and that's why the weekend's activities outside of Stockholm, where the R&A conducted events with a shorter golf ball, were infinitely more important to the game than anything that happened outside of Columbus, Ohio, greenside miracles from the greatest player who ever lived notwithstanding.

Of course, I'm overstating the case. But only slightly. The short ball tests in Sweden were interesting exercises, if only because it's the first time we've had on-the-scene reports of these sorts of tests involving average players since golf's ruling bodies began conducting such events four or five years ago. (Look for a first-person account in this week's Golf World.)

We have heard reports of events in Canada involving professionals, but to me, that's the difference between trying to get real-world useful information from a New York Times restaurant critic vs. what people like you and me are saying on TripAdvisor.com.

Of course, the weather in Sweden over the weekend appeared to be ridiculously inappropriate for assessing anything other than rainsuits, outerwear and cart mitts. Nevertheless, the R&A set out to conduct a test of a proposed shorter golf ball (eight percent shorter by previous announcements), using a range of real golfers as its test subjects, and the reports we've received from our correspondents there say the R&A seems to have achieved just that: shortness.

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Is Groove Rule Finally having an Effect?

Friday, June 1, 2012

As we all wait for the weekend and whether Sweden's test of a shorter golf ball will either fuel or douse the flickering flame of a ball rollback, I am reminded of the last golf equipment standards speculation kerfuffle of this generation: the grooves debate.

The grooves debate, which led to the rule change that was designed to reduce the effectiveness of grooves to impart spin to the ball for shots out of the rough (among other things), got its public start when USGA Senior Technical Director Dick Rugge studied the correlation between various golf statistical skills (driving distance, putting, greens in regulation, driving accuracy) and rank on the money list. Rugge produced some charts based on that research that showed most notably how the correlation coefficient between driving accuracy and money rank had deteriorated to the point where it was less than zero by 2004. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, it was around 0.5, which is a pretty significant correlation as these things go. (For you non-statistics geeks, a correlation coefficient ranges from 1 to -1. Example: A correlation of "1" means the player ranked first in driving accuracy also was ranked first on the money list, and so on down the line. A correlation of -1 means the person ranked last in driving accuracy is ranked first on the money list. A correlation of "0" means there's no statistical link between driving accuracy and money rank.)

The groove rule eventually developed from there, and since its implementation on the PGA Tour in the 2010, the question has been would the correlation between driving accuracy and money rank return to the halcyon days of the 1980s. Rugge has made the case that it would take three years before anyone should start seeing how the rule might be changing play at the elite level.

We're six months away from the three-year mark, and while there has been little indication in the first two years that the correlation between driving accuracy and money rank has changed, there is a curious movement in the numbers this year.

By my calculations, through the first five months the correlation coefficient is 0.38. If maintained through the end of the year, it would be the highest that number has been in 20 years. For the last three years that number, by my figuring, has hovered around 0 (again meaning there is no relationship between a year of driving accurately and a year of consistently winning a lot of money). It's about five times the average of what it was from 2001 to 2006.

Could the change in grooves be dictating who is successful on tour? So far this year 13 of the wins have come from players who rank in the top 50 in driving accuracy. Only 4 winners this year rank outside the top 100.

Half a year does not a trend make, but it bears watching.

--Mike Stachura

Follow me on Twitter @MikeStachura

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