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My Golf Spy
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Thursday, February 3, 2011
VB Golf Crew On The Official Myrtle Beach Golf Guide
My Golf Spy Wraps Up The PGA Show
ARTICLE BY: GolfSpy T – Today our head club reviewer gives you a peek into his “Top 5″ items from the 2011 PGA Show!
In an earlier post I shared my PGA Show virgin’s perspective on Demo Day and the absolute insanity that is the apparel side of the golf industry. This time around I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the state of things from the equipment side.
Before I move on to my random musings, here’s my personal top 5 favorite products from equipment side of the show:
1. Never Compromise Putters
The new collection is like nothing you’ve seen before from NC. They’ve moved from a relative budget brand (once available at my local Golf Galaxy for $40) into the type of conversations that includes names like Cameron and Bettinardi. The complete and total transformation of the brand is nothing less than stunning. Mark my words, Never Compromise will be huge in 2011.
2. Scratch Golf’s Insane Customizations
Scratch made a name for itself with its wedge lineup, and while wedges are probably still what the company is best known for, it’s pretty clear they’re not content to rest on their fancy soles. What we saw at the PGA show suggests Scratch is determined to take customization to a whole ‘nother level. Don’t get me wrong, I love what Don White is doing with 100% handmade clubs – the dude is an artist, but the custom finish work we saw on the Scratch irons is off the chain. The matte black irons are cool, but this polished smokey blue head, combined with a copper face, and white KBS shafts…It’s sick…just sick.
3. Srixon’s Custom Mitchell Bending Station
Mitchell quality combined with unmatched precision and the capability to bend up to 6 degrees. The Srixon guys cooked this one up in house, and I think it’s a huge step forward as far as customization is concerned, and is no doubt already in their tour vans. Bonus points for portability (it’s on wheels) and the use of power tools. While not a mainstream product, it’s the coolest proshop accessory I saw at the show.
4. The Mantys
5. MiniZoo Golf Bag Covers
I saw a tremendous amount of gear aimed at the young ones, but, with all due deference to Nike’s new kid’s clubs, the MiniZoo bag covers were by far the coolest. You can turn your tyke’s golf bag into a Dalmation. It’s awesome (except for the part where the head pops off). I’ve got a little one now, and my hope is she’ll enjoy the game as much as I do. Something like this seems like it could help raise her interest level, and that’s really all I’ll ever hope for.
* With my best in show out of the way, in no particular order, these are my other observations from my time on the big side of the convention center.
The PGA Show, it’s not for us
It sounds strange coming from a representative of a web site that’s covered the PGA Show every year of its existence, but yeah, the PGA Show really isn’t for us. It’s primary purpose is to put buyers and sellers together. The rest of us (the media), we’re just observers. Knowing as much certainly helps to explain why, on the equipment side of things anyway, with the exception of Cobra’s forthcoming white S3 Driver, we saw absolutely nothing from the major OEMs that we hadn’t already seen. Don’t get me wrong, just about everyone is delighted to talk you about his product, but at the end of the day, he’s there to sell it to the thousands of pro shop representatives on site for the show.Simulators are growing in popularity
As a guy who relies on simulator technology for nearly all of the testing we do here at MyGolfSpy, I was keenly interested in anything and everything related to indoor golf technology. Millions of golfers take to the outdoor links every year. Only a fraction of those move indoors when it gets either too cold or too hot to play. It’s golf’s next frontier, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
There were 3 large scale simulator installations at the show. aboutGolf, HighDefinition Golf, and Full Swing Golf all showcased their technology. As you know we leverage aboutGolf Simulators for our reviews, so I was especially interested to see how their technology stacks up to that of the other vendors. From my conversations and what I observed, aboutGolf remains the leader. While their presentations centered around their improving camera system, forceplate technology, and some really cool facial recognition stuff, the other guys were mostly talking about their graphics. Don’t get me wrong, graphics matter (and nobody seems to do them better than FullSwing right now), but if the goal is to drive the technology away from the video game mindset and deliver it as a off-season golfing alternative, and legitimate teaching and fitting tool that can rival Trackman, then for now, aboutGolf is clearly the leader. For what it’s worth, the tall blonde booth babe certainly helped keep the traffic steady at High Definition.
European Body Shapers – are all the rage in fitness
There were no less than 3 companies peddling these high speed European full body vibrators. I honestly have no idea if they actually tone anything, or help take so much as an ounce of weight off, but damned if the 2 minute shake I stood through didn’t feel great. It did such wonders for our aching legs, that GolfSpy X and I tried to hit up one of the booths after the show had closed down. We were both disappointed to discover somebody had switched off the power.
Recognition of the MyGolfSpy Brand is High
It comes as no big surprises that all of the major OEMs know who we are. We deal with them day in and day out all year long. Many invited us to sit down at the show to discuss their new product lines. We know some of you love that kind of stuff, but generally we try to leave the rehashing of the marketing info to the other guys, so more often than not we pass on those type of offers.What’s really cool, however, is that not only did just about everyone I spoke with in an equipment booth know about MyGolfSpy, many told me how much they truly appreciate our completely unbiased and thorough approach to everything we do. We definitely do things a bit differently here, and it’s refreshing to know that it’s not going unnoticed.
On a related note, on two separate occasion, VP-level representatives from smaller OEMs commented on our reaction to Golf Digest’s Hot List. I’ll allow them to remain anonymous, but each suggested that, as it relates to their specific situation, they feel Golf Digest is being less than completely honest about the details of their club selection process.
Natalie Gulbis is Hot
Alright, maybe this is restating the obvious, but you know how these thing work. Cameras, lighting, and highly-skilled makeup artists can turn a guy like me into Brad Pitt. It’s my pleasure to report that their is no smoke and mirrors with Natalie. What she looks like on TV is what she looks like from 3 feet away. Just an FYI, she apparently does her grocery shopping at Whole Foods.
Grips, Grips, and More Grips
Winn, Lamkin, Golf Pride, Elite, Best Grips, Black Widow, Iomic, NO1, and a couple handfuls of other grip companies were all on display at the show. Golf Spy X loves the counterweights offered in the Elite grip. I’ll take the feel of the NO1. What’s absolutely clear to us is that if the American companies don’t figure out how to make a high-quality, brightly colored grip before the Japanese guys hit the US market full force, they’re going to lose a lot of business.
More Putters Than You Can Shake Your Flatstick At!
Everybody and his brother (literally) is trying to sell a putter at the PGA Show. From the well-established brands like Cameron, Bettinardi, SeeMore, and Grace, to the up and comers like Piretti, to the brand new kids on the block like Redemption putters, EVERYBODY is selling a putter. I didn’t do the math, but there absolutely have to be more putters per square foot than the all the rest of the clubs in the bag combined.
A Dollar and a Dream
The slogan for the New York lottery used to be “all you need is a dollar and a dream”. $5000 and dream gets you a small booth at the PGA Show. You wouldn’t believe the number of people pouring their life savings into one shot at hitting it big with their product. From head covers, to ball makers to fitness gizmos, guys with a big idea and a barrel of guts are taking their shots. A few will succeed, most won’t, but I applaud them all for having the stones to go all in.
Branding the Brand
For me this was the most fascinating part of the show. Clearly, each of the major OEMs was trying to make a statement with their booth. For a company like Adams, budget can sometimes be a concern, but it was still strange to see them missing from both the indoor driving range and the showroom floor. Nike, Mizuno, Fourteen and others had a presence at the indoor driving range, but elected not to set up shop on the showroom floor. Given Nike’s apparently limitless budget it was a somewhat surprising move, but nevertheless the Nike team at the range tent was both accessible and welcoming. At the very least, it was nice to put faces to some of the names we know over there. In the single most entertaining conversation I had at the show, our primary contact at Nike went out of her way to point out that Nike has not announced a new golf ball. I say again, there is no new golf ball from Nike. Of course there isn’t…Though Ping had a booth, it was understated and served primarily to showcase the company’s nFlight fitting technology. There were as barely there as anyone with a large booth could have been.
Callaway
The company had one of the larger booths at the show, but chose to fill it with an identity crisis of sorts. The carnival minigolf atmosphere they set up for the Odyssey putters contrasted significantly with the image portrayed by the Lamborghini parked in the center of the booth. Both seemed at odds with the all business mindset of the corporately dressed booth reps on hand for the duration. If the company has a unified message, it was lost on me. Granted, they seemed to be having fun on the apparel side, but the equipment booth played like an awkward episode of the Price is Right.
Titleist
While I can’t say I was a huge fan of the dress code (reps all dressed in white suite jackets), the booth was exactly what I would have expected from Titleist. In direct contrast to the audacious TaylorMade exhibit, Titleist played true to its reputation. Regardless of whether you support their approach to the business of golf, everything they did served to cement what most golfers believe about the Titleist brand. They had perhaps the classiest booth at the show, which is lock step inline with the company’s conservative, no nonsense reputation – even if the guys working the show sorta looked like the waitstaff at Morton’s.
Speaking as an equipment junkie, the wide open layout provided easy access to what seemed like truckloads of woods, irons, wedges, and of course, Scotty Cameron putters. Whether you just love their drivers, are all about da Voke, or you’re a hardcore Cameron collector, the Titliest booth left the company’s fans wanting for nothing.
Srixon (Cleveland and Never Compromise)
For the most part the Srixon conglomerate was the booth that just was. Like Titleist, the sprawling setup was fully stocked with equipment. The staff was friendly, and happy to talk about anything and everything related to their equipment, but beyond that, with the exception of the previously noted Never Compromise branch – where things are radically different these days – not much of note was going on. My take on things is that they weren’t trying to convey anything specific beyond “here’s our gear”. It’s certainly nothing profound, but the simplicity of it all was refreshing.
Cobra PUMA
For my money, no company had a better show than the newly formed union of Cobra Golf and PUMA. Perhaps they benefited from location (in the heart of the equipment section), but their booth was packed for the duration, and the non-stop party atmosphere, made Cobra PUMA the hot spot, regardless of whether one wanted to check out the latest equipment, or just have a good time.
It’s no secret that PUMA is well positioned as the brand for the youthful, hip, and trendy. One look at their apparel collection and it’s pretty clear what’s up. What’s cool is that the company is taking that same approach with the somewhat newly acquired Cobra equipment line, and thus far it seems to be working. When it was under the Acushnet umbrella Cobra was always Titleist’s little brother – always on the cutting edge of technology, but doing so without much fanfare. Now Cobra has become the natural equipment extension of the PUMA brand. They’re still on the cutting edge offering the same quality equipment they always have, but thanks to infinitely better marketing, Cobra is getting a real opportunity to shine on its own. Cobra is cooler than it has every been. For those worried that PUMA would destroy the Cobra brand, so far we’ve seen nothing but positives come from acquisition. As with the outdoor demo day, it seemed like there was always a party in the Cobra PUMA booth.
TaylorMade
3 days later and I’ve only just now sorted out my feelings on TaylorMade’s setup at the show. The company had no presence on the large indoor driving range, and they had no presence on the equipment side of the showfloor. What they did have was a large section at the end of the apparel side loaded with Adidas and Ashworth apparel, and a sea of TaylorMade equipment, with a clear emphasis placed on the snow white R11 series. If you’re wondering why they wouldn’t set up a tent on the indoor range, well, that’s because they had their own range inside their sprawling booth. Actually, I wasn’t nearly as much a TaylorMade booth as it was the TaylorMade wing of the 2011 PGA Show.
We’ve all seen the ads, and I don’t think I’m taking a leap here when I suggest that TaylorMade is attempting to position itself as a brand above all others. From the private range, to the somewhat snarky cards TaylorMade reportedly had sent to all of the Titleist staff in town for the show, it’s clear that TM certainly believes, and most definitely wants you to believe that they’re better than everybody else.
There’s an exceedingly fine line between positioning yourself as different and better or simply coming off as distastefully arrogant. With 3 days of reflection, I’m included to say that TaylorMade walked it, and will begrudgingly suggest they walked it masterfully. If you wanted to see TaylorMade’s stuff you had to go out of your way to do it. With sore legs, I almost literally went crawling to them.
The layout was part well-stocked proshop, part museum, with just a hint of trendy cafe tossed in for good measure. Yes, I suppose it was all slightly pretentious and slightly obnoxious, but if the goal was to distance themselves from the competition (both figuratively and geographically), they were nothing short of absolutely successful.
Counting The Days Until The 2012 Show!
For me the 2011 PGA Show was an absolute labor of love. GolfSpy X and I worked a string of 16 hour days working the floor, and uploading pictures. I’m pretty sure we stopped to eat every now and again, but I certainly can’t swear to it. I’m dead tired, still way behind on sleep, but I’m already counting the days until the 2012 show.Tuesday, February 1, 2011
A Great Walk Through At The PGA Super Show By My Golf Spy
A Golf Junky’s insight to late January in Orlando…
While GolfSpy X has been making an annual pilgrimage to the PGA Merchandise Show for a number of years, the 2011 edition was the first of what I hope will be many trips to the biggest showcase of all things golf in the world. Before I boarded my 3 hour flight, I spoke with several PGA Pros and Pro Shop Managers who make the trip annually. Each of my acquaintances did his individual best to prepare me for that magnitude of what I would be walking into. From the demo day to the merchandise floor I thought I was prepared for what would turn out to be 3 days of foot-throbbing, leg-aching, no-sleeping golf immersion. Looking back, I suppose that I was as prepared as I possibly could have been out of the gate, but as with most everything, the devil of things is in the details, and with the show, particularly indoors on the floor, no matter how prepared you think you are, covering the show is a mammoth undertaking. MyGolfSpy had a plan, I had a plan, we all had plans. The showfloor, however; can beat the best of them. Big booths, little booths, and occasionally Natalie Gulbis make sticking to the script a difficult task. In hindsight, all I can say for sure is that I talked to some really great people, took a lot of photos, and put in 3 of the most enjoyable, but most difficult days of work of my life.Thanks and Accolades
Before I get dimples deep into the show itself, I’d like to say a big thank you to GolfSpy X for inviting me down, introducing me to people, and generally showing me the ropes. Another thank you needs to be said to my wife for allowing me to leave her at home with a 4 month old so I could indulge yet another of my golf fantasies.I also want to publicly applaud the hard work that the guys from other golf blogs and websites put in this week. There are occasionally philosophical difference between us, but I’ve got nothing but respect for the effort these guys give in order to provide complete show coverage. I’m offering the most genuine of congratulations to Tony at Hooked On Golf Blog, Rob at Sandbox8, Josh and the team at The Hackers Paradise, and the guys at GolfWRX (even if they won’t allow the mention of MyGolfSpy in their forums). Having experienced it first hand, I can say without hesitation that the work these guys put in is nothing short of exceptional, and they should all be applauded for their unwavering dedication to providing outstanding coverage of the show for those not fortunate enough to attend.
Demo Day
There simply is no greater opportunity to see just about every piece of equipment that will be in stores for the first half of the 2011 season. Everything about demo day, from the size of the circular driving range at Orange County Country Club, to the number of exhibitors is on a scale like I’ve never seen before. It’s hard to picture, but imagine if you will 50+ vendors spread out over the circumference of a circular driving range large enough to accommodate everyone without the slightest risk of driving a ball into anyone else (shanks, perhaps, are a different story). Massive doesn’t begin to cover it.
We saw very little in the way of clubs we haven’t seen before, but there were some highlights worth sharing:
- The slate finish on Callaway’s new X Series Jaws CC Wedges is as nice as I’ve ever seen on a wedge. I’m not sure how it will hold up to wear and tear, but out of the box, it looks awesome.
- We got our first look at the new Heavy lineup from Boccieri golf. While I think most would agree that they’re not much to look at, the guys who hit them (including our own Manvas), have nothing but positive things to say about the performance.
- In what would become a recurring theme for the show, all you need to know is that the party is at Cobra Puma. Lexi Thompson mingling with attendees, a DJ, a keg, and hors d’oeuvres. Don’t get me wrong, the clubs and apparel look great, but for those just looking for a good time, again I say it, THE PARTY IS AT COBRA PUMA!
- While Demo Day is a great chance to literally see everything, it’s not always the best for taking pictures. The sun causes it’s own problems, but as you’ve seen from our photos, the clubs themselves take an absolutely beating, and don’t look nearly as good as they do on the store shelves.
- The new Nunchuck shaft. Demo Day was our first introduction to it. We almost didn’t believe them when they told us Jhonny Vegas won with it in his driver. Heck, we even checked with our friends at Nike who confirmed that the shaft does in fact have a PGA Tour victory to its name. As it turns out, the shaft is generating a lot of buzz as we overheard it being discussed in several of the booths we visited on Thursday and Friday.
- No surprises, TaylorMade is awash in a sea of white. We’ll leave the R11 performance evaluations for a later date, but the white clubs are an absolute pleasure to photograph. There’s absolutely zero glare coming off the head, which obviously matters at address. I can’t say I love it yet, but I’m coming around to the white.
- Lots of traffic at Wilson, Mizuno, and Adams. Good news for an under-appreciated product lines.
- The guys at TigerShark really, really believe in their new PowerPod II driver.
- Grips and shafts – Winn, GolfPride, Lamkin – TrueTemper, KBS, Nippon, Aldila, and more. It’s not all about the finished product, the component guys are working hard too.
- The wind. Constant, powerful, and generally unpleasant.
- If PING makes a pretty club, I haven’t seen it yet.
- The little guys who were MIA. We’ve been huge supporters of the small companies for quite a while now, but as the expression goes, games are won by those who show up. It was great to see the guys from Hireko, Martin from TourStriker, Nunchuck shafts, and the Boccieri team, but conspicuous by their absence at Demo Day were companies such as Scratch (they did have a booth indoors), Eidolon, and Solus. We get that these guys don’t have TaylorMade money, but the PGA Show is the single best opportunity to get your name out there. You’ll never win if you don’t play. Guys with shallower pockets are taking their shots – you should be to.
- Absolutely 0 presence from Miura. Bummer.
- We love the Bridgestone balls. Hell, we’d struggle to offer a better recommendation for the average golfer, but there’s not much going on with their clubs these days, and that’s too bad.
The Apparel Situation is Crazy
You thought there was a ton of competition on the equipment side of things, you should check out the way the apparel side of the business operates. Whether it’s paranoia, insanity, or a reaction to reality, one of the very first things I learned is that just about everyone is afraid someone else is going to steal their designs. The level of fear generates an unhealthy suspicion of anyone with a camera. Two companies (StraightDown and Life is Good) actually prohibited me from shooting in their booths (although both were more than happy to let me look around). Life is Good actually requested that I delete the files. StraightDown was very polite about things, and didn’t specifically request I delete anything I had previously taken. It’s kind of a shame because, in its market segment, the StraightDown stuff was the nicest I saw. I wish I could have shown you more of it.
As far as my personal favorites are concerned:
- Nike, TMAG, and Cobra Puma all have impressive lineups. For the traditionalist, TMAG is probably your best built to build an entire wardrobe with, especially if you go right from work to the golf course. If you prefer a younger, slightly less conservative approach, Cobra Puma collection is very cool. I’d be happy to wear any of it, or all of it.
- In the non-equipment manufacturer space I’m torn between J Lindberg & Sligo. Though very different, I like both collections, and was thrilled that no one staffing either booth seemed too concerned about my camera. I’d give the edge on belts to Lindberg. Concerns that my butt might not fit into J. Lindberg’s skinny pants aside, everything else is a push.
- If you’ve got the money, and a job that demands it, Peter Millar’s stuff is top notch. It’s sophisticated, but not stuffy.
- Truelinks absolutely killed it the shoe department. Their booth was absolutely trashed (people trying on shoes) both days I was there , but judging by the traffic (and having tried their product myself), it’s pretty clear that they’ve got a winner on their hands…or feet.
- Golfknicker.com’s stuff is awesome. I’d feel strange as the only guy on my course wearing knickers, but if I could get a couple of buddies to buy in, I’d be all over their stuff.
- Callaway had it’s own fashion runway thing going on. While crowds gathered in droves to watch (largely for the free stuff their models tossed to the crowd), the clothes themselves don’t offer much in the way of flash. Despite the catwalk antics, the collection itself feels all business; suitable for the office, but not much fun.
- Pukka headwear apparently gets robbed blind every year. From what I gather, it’s the unofficial free hat store of the PGA Show.
- I won’t mention any names, but before the show a designer reached out to MyGolfSpy to see if we’d be interested in wearing their lineup at the show. We didn’t end up doing it, but it made it all the more comical when I tried to check out their 2011 collection and was told showings were by appointment only. I need an appointment to snap a few photos of some shirts? For me, it was a bit of unappreciated pretense from a company that otherwise bills itself as progressive, but hey…nice Ping Pong table.
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