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Comment Issue No. 68 July 2008
First words...
Jack Nicklaus rarely rants, but he got pretty close last month at the the KPMG Golf Business Forum at Powerscourt
where he was picking up a lifetime achievement award. A comment about Royal Birkdale extending 16 holes for the
Open opened the floodgates about one of Jack’s pet subjects, rolling back the ball.
“To take a course that has hosted seven Open Championships and spend the money that they must have spent to
redo the course,” groaned the Bear to RTE, “all the records for that course go out of the window. It’s another golf
course, a new site. That course is out of the window and it’s all to do with, frankly, the ego of the golf ball
manufacturers. It’s all because of the threat of lawsuits. Frankly it’s ridiculous that manufacturers can control the
game of golf. The biggest problem we have today is keeping golfers in the game. Well, you have golfers taking longer
and longer to play the game because of the equipment.”
The problem for Jack is that modern balls are perfectly legal; they do not exceed the Overall Distance Standard set
out by golf’s ruling bodies. But when the ODS was set, the only balls that nudged it were rock-hard bullets; now,
thanks to multi-layer, solid core, soft covered balls, you can have the power with control.
The other problem for Jack is that the recent power explosion is caused by several factors, and not just ball
technology. Wally Uihlein, Chairman and CEO of Titleist parent company Acushnet, likes to point to launch monitors
and better optimising of equipment, improved golf course conditioning, and stronger athletes. Jack is right; rolling
back the ball would go a long way to reversing course obsolesence and slow play. But why ballmakers should take the
hit while everyone else continues to develop and progress? That’s a tough one. Duncan Lennard
duncan@wordperfect.plus.com
Contents
Regulars Features
4 News 18 FlightScope
New TaylorMade hybrids and fairways • ECCO introduce Craig Jacoby, head of clubfitting at Silvermere GC,
carbon shoe • New colours from FootJoy • Motocaddy installed the FlightScope radar ball tracking system last
add lithium battery • New Spherical Blade range • September. Nine months on, he explains the difference
Versatile Power Tornado from Kasco • Latest Ping it has made to his ability to fit and sell clubs, and
Collection garments describes a sample fitting session
12 View from the industry 20 Hybrids
Kevin Kean of Golf Marketing Commander reveals how Modern hybrids offer a forgiving alternative to the long
he would improve the fortunes of the UK golf club – and irons and are designed to ensure the transition from the
explains why he believes a vibrant and updated website mid-irons down is as seamless as possible. We showcase
plays a crucial role in boosting a club’s marketability a host of the latest offerings from the big brands
14 PGAs of Europe 24 Equiam
Education partnerships open for top teaching aids • How We talk to Andrew Walkington, the man who brought
Iceland is producing its own PGA Professionals • Support together a host of brands including Hippo, Lynx, Howson,
needed for golfers who ‘play with broken clubs’ Fazer and Progen under one banner. Walkington explains
how the brands meld together, and discusses his
16 Golfsmith Europe
strategies for dealing with such a broad brief
s
Shaft PUREing – the facts. Golfsmith Europe Technical
Director Neil Cooke was a self-confessed cynic about the
26 Custom-fitting
benefits of shaft PUREing – until he saw the latest set of Golf brands are showing an ever-increasing commitment
statistics from club testing in the US
to offering customisation services for the public. We find
out how a stack of companies are catering for the
individual
tour pro’
Datateam Publishing Ltd, July 2008
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Latest product news
TaylorMade unveil new
Burner fairways and
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hybrids
The astounding grip-to-toe cleaning
Website: www.sgb-sports.com
wipe was launched at Golf Europe
every time
Publisher: 2007. Four months on – CleanStrike
Paul Ryder
On the radar
The features and had distribution deals on all five
pryder@datateam.co.uk
benefits of ball-tracking
device FlightScope
continents. They quickly produced a
Tel: 01622 699105
Golf Shoe & Bag Wipe and the ultra-
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The personal touch
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How custom-fitting is
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Full story in the next issue.
Scores a Providing the winniing edge for
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