2003 New Equipment Preview

By SCOTT MARTIN

ORLANDO, Fla.  – It should have been a celebration, an all-out blowout, but instead, the 50th anniversary of the PGA Merchandise Show was a bit muted, according to one industry insider.

            “Three years ago, it seemed like it was twice as big,” she said. “Show organizers had to use local hotels to squeeze in all the booths.”

            The weather, arctic by Sunshine State standards, windy, with temps hovering in the 30s and the 40s for the first few days, matched the mood in the hall — unless, of course, you hovered near the booth that hired the Orlando Magic cheerleaders, where things were a bit warmer.

            Despite the general gloom in the golf industry, the show was active and dazzling to your correspondent, a first-time attendee. How many games/sports can fill three aircraft hangers with well over 1,000 booths and attract somewhere close to 50,000 people from around the world? Not many.

            Golf’s major and minor manufacturers used to wait until the PGA Show to unveil their latest gear. Now, many are introducing their latest stuff earlier, often in the fall, or simply when the product is ready. Thus, over the past few years, the PGA Merchandise show has lost a little of its sex appeal. And, once again, there were major no-shows: Ping and Titleist stayed in Arizona and New England respectively. This struck your correspondent as somewhat crazy. Thousands of golf buyers and pros from as close as Lake Mary and as far away as New Zealand attended and many companies were actively writing orders for the upcoming year. Business, however understated, was in the air. The company that undoubtedly tried to make the biggest splash was, surprise surprise, Nike, whose golf line is moving towards the depth that its competitors boast. Like most of the major players in the industry, Nike’s booth looked more like a fortress than a trade show display: there was even a rock lighting array that gave it a Kiss concert feel. And just to keep up with all the major players, Fortress Nike had two levels.

Nike’s forged wedges, new irons, putters, and T-40 fairway woods were on display and attracted a lot of attention. The latter feature a lot of weight (40g) in the sole and come in expert and non-expert versions. At first, Nike’s irons were pure blades but now there’s an attractive Pro Combo set that progresses from short iron blades to long iron cavity backs. On the accessory side, Nike had a new carry bag plus a full line of super-trendy sunglasses. The company is also aggressively pursuing the children’s market with a line of Tiger Woods-branded clubs for youngsters.

Just a lob wedge away, the centerpiece of Fortress Callaway was a life size photo of Annika Sorenstam with the words “The Best Golfer in the World.” Callaway’s booth featured the reintroduction of The Great Big Bertha as the Great Big Bertha II titanium drivers and fairway woods. With Roger Cleveland on board, Callaway’s Wedges look less like Callaway’s oversized irons; the wedges are available in two-degree increments from 48 to 60 degrees. Callaway made minor additions and tweaks to most of its line but the company is clearly banking on the power of the Great Big Bertha brand to be its 2003 money-spinner.

Just about every club from every manufacturer had, at least cosmetically, a beautiful and appealing design. Three years ago, Spalding had huge success with its reintroduction of a new line of Ben Hogan irons; these were among the most “I’ve got to have these now” designs and most golf companies have followed Spalding’s lead. Even Callaway, a company whose Big Bertha products, though effective, were never that good to look at made sure that Great Big Bertha II is aesthetically pleasing.

Spalding displayed products from its Ben Hogan, Etonic, Strata, and Top Flite brands. Hogan founded his club company in 1953 and Spalding’s recent infusion of cash and energy into the Hogan line means there’s definitely something to celebrate for the 50th birthday. The limited edition Golden Anniversary iron set is a must-have for any serious collector. Hogan’s 2003 Apex is the perfect club for the scratch man. The Edge CFT is a titanium-based model for the improving player. The Riviera and Carnoustie wedges are great complements to the irons and will appeal to anyone really serious about the short game. And this year, Hogan plans to introduce a line of putters designed by Bob Bettinardi. But leveraging off the R&D horsepower of stalemates Top Flite and Strata, the hottest Hogan product is the four-piece Apex Tour ball.

Also sporting fabulous racks of golf equipment was MacGregor, who enjoyed a 46 per cent increase in sales in 2002 (what recession?). The company entered the driver battle at the show with its forged V-Foil, available in two sizes, large (350cc) and huge (410cc). Both spread fully legal COR over the entire face so that slight mis-hits get almost as much oomph as a shot hit square in the screws. There are V-Foil irons, wedges, and fairways woods as well. But it’s the driver that might be the surprise product of the 2003. With its dark green head, it’s one of the classiest-looking clubs on the market.

To succeed, the V-Foil will have to compete with the Adidas/Taylor Made/Maxfli powerhouse that has been so successful on tour and in golf shops with its ultra-hot flagship Taylor Made R500 Series fairways woods and drivers. While the 500s are getting all the attention, the company currently offers perhaps the most elastic line up of woods, including the Burner models, the hybrid rescue models, the V Steels, plus the 300 and 200 Series. But at the show, it was the R500s that were justifiably getting as much attention as the Orlando Magic cheerleaders about half a football field away.

One of the bigger news items at the show was that Taylor Made had purchased Rossa and has now added this exquisite line of putters to its club portfolio. The putter market has changed significantly over the past few years so look for Taylor Made to be aggressive with its new line. Also prominent at the booth were Maxfli’s M3 and A3 balls. The latter is the company’s entry into the low-compression market while the former is designed for the golfer who wants a high quality all-around product.

As always, Mizuno’s product range looked tremendous. While the company is best known for those grain flow forged irons that so many tour pros use to win so much cash, the company has expanded its line to include some excellent products for the higher handicapper, most notably the MX-20 irons. For the better player, the redesigned MP-30 irons offer a great balance between forgiveness and workability. Aiming to keep pace in the wedge market, Mizuno’s MP Series Raw Black Ox wedges were among the best-looking wedges at the show. Mizuno has never really had a significant presence in the women’s market but that should change with the introduction of the TAVA woods and irons. Mizuno’s engineers studied the swing habits of women golfers and produced a set that is “ground up” designed for the average lady player. The set includes driver, three, five and seven woods, then an iron set that runs 6-W.

The bad news at Fortress Wilson was the discontinuation of the venerable 8802 putter. The good news was the addition of Jesper Parnevik to the Wilson staff; the Swede will play the Wilson Staff True ball and the Deep Red II irons, which were on display and feature a slightly lower center of gravity. Wilson’s new Jack ball is the company’s raw distance product and at a very sensible price should prove popular with recreational golfers.

Mid-sized equipment maker Tour Edge Golf, maker of the new Bazooka JMAX is among the first companies to sell a single driver capable of providing an optimum launch angle and spin rate across all swing speeds.  The company’s president, David Glod, credits this technology revolution to several factors.  “Lower spin rates in golf balls, advanced shaft technology, and breakthroughs in club head design are allowing us to create better launch conditions across the entire driver face.  Now with clubs like the JMAX, golfers can hit drives with a higher launch angle and optimum spin rate.  This means they will be able to carry hazards they weren’t able to carry before and hit their drives longer.” 

If you want to hit long drives you have to get the ball in the air.  Drivers have to create lift for the ball to go anywhere.  “That’s why higher launch angles and optimum spin rates are the next big thing in golf,” says David Glod, president and founder of Tour Edge Golf. 

Yonex included several samples of its V-Mass products including the flagship V-Mass 400 driver with legal COR and power-wave face technology with a slightly thinner face towards the edges. V-Mass extends through the range and now includes putters.

At Cleveland, LPGA Tour star and former North Carolina resident Beth Bauer was a star, attracting a lot of attention from the approximately three million golf management program trainees who were at the show. Also impressive in the booth was the new Cleveland 400 driver, essentially the big brother of the original Cleveland Launcher that is popular on the professional tours. The company also introduced a new version of the TA7 irons in a tour configuration with a smaller head and less offset. Always excellent in the wedge department, Cleveland replaced its copper version with the new BRZ aluminum bronze compound. As Cleveland’s wedge display demonstrated, there are literally a hundred different wedge configurations. Cleveland offers almost its entire line in left-handed versions.

Precept/Bridgestone had its new U-Tri balls on display. These are three-piece solid core seamless products available in extra distance and extra spin versions. There’s also a new Lady, the Lady Diamond, with an improved dimple design for better control. Precept is trying to replicate its golf ball success with equipment. At the show, Precept had its new Tour Stage line on display. Matt Kuchar and Stuart Appleby are using the forged irons on tour in 2003.

While sales and marketing types from Titleist and Ping stayed at home, several new and not-so-well-known names were at the show, hoping to replicate the success that Orlimar enjoyed in 1997 with its shallow-faced fairways woods; the company introduced the latest version of the Tri-Metal in Orlando. Hippo makes a line of oversize everything and is currently sponsoring John Daly. Its 17-degree driving iron is an under-the-radar product that should prove popular in this expanding category.

In among the giants, several smaller, more specialized companies had a strong presence. Bobby Grace Putters had an attractive display including a new left-handed version of its hand-made Artists Series models. Trinity Golf displayed its attractive line of drivers that the company believes are the longest in the business. The company also produces a line of wedges that look quite a bit like the discontinued Ping models; this is no accident, according to the people in the booth.
            Feel Golf has an extensive line of well-designed wedges including the colorful Designer series that are available in a wide range of loft and lie combinations. The company produces a pure blade set of irons and introduced its Dr. Feel drivers designed by former aerospace engineer Lee Miller. Razor Golf introduced a Tommy Bolt signature series of drivers, fairway woods, forged irons, and wedges. The company also teamed with LPGA star Jan Stephenson to produce a set of ladies’ clubs that interestingly includes even-numbered woods up through eight. These clubs were among the most colorful at the show.

Perhaps the largest golf club in the show was Jazz Golf’s Launcher 500cc; there’s a downsized 300cc model if size isn’t everything to you. The company also displayed a full range of hybrid fairways woods and driving irons plus the mid-priced Oxygen woods and irons. Popular among individual custom manufacturers, KZG Golf offers a full line of equipment and recently introduced Action Grind wedges designed to provide the improving player with a top-quality product at an affordable price. Tour Edge introduced a center-shafted, heel-weighted putter.

Izzo had one of the busiest stands in the accessory section. Their newest carry bag, the Lightfoot, features the new AutoLock lockable stand system plus lighter components; the bag weighs just five pounds, about 70 pounds less than an Orlando Magic cheerleader. The company introduced a line of putting mats, driving nets, and training aids, some of which are co-branded with Butch Harmon. The company intelligently hired a cadre of youthful co-eds to walk around Orlando’s aircraft hangers with a bag strapped to their back.

As always, outside the realm of the major equipment players, there were plenty of unique and interesting products, services, and personalities. One company marketed a golf dice game. Peter Kessler, who is so missed at The Golf Channel, was on hand almost every day either in the Hogan booth or at GOLF Magazine. Golf management system suppliers were there in force, as were travel types, crystal reps, art distributors, and association managers.

Celebrities spotted by Triad Golf today at the show included Dave Pelz, Ed Ibarguen, Peggy Kirk Bell, Tom Fazio, Suzy Whaley, Pia Nilsson and Jennifer Mills, who mentioned that The Golf Channel might bring Golf Central to Charlotte for the inaugural Wachovia Championship. Mills, a Wake Forest alum, knew the exact first-place prize money amount for the Wachovia.

By Saturday in Orlando, extremely pleasant weather had returned. Everyone’s mood picked up. Directly across from the Orange County Convention Center, in the lobby of the resplendent Peabody Hotel, now heaving with show attendees, the mood was brighter. There were orders to fill, dinner plans to make, and so, after all, there was a bit of celebration for the 50th anniversary show.