The purpose of this blog to discuss the business side of the golf industry, including golf architecture, golf club management and marketing, golf tourism, golf and health, golf equipment trends.
I thought when GPS range finder mobile applications and other digital mapping solutions are gaining momentum in the golf industry, a prestigious golf club like Royal Dornoch Golf Club would select Club Car's Visage solution. If they would take Visage then they would be able to provide a more sophisticated customer experience and increase revenues.
Namely, the Visage system enables users to contact with the club house (=>sell more tee time), pro shop and restaurant. In addition to these useful solutions, it provides precise yardages and available hole flyover as well.
Despite of all these benefits Royal Dornoch Golf Club purchased 7 Club Car Precedent i2.
It looks like there is a retro feeling in the golf industry. Wilson Staff 88002 putter returned after 52 years in 2014 and most recently Callaway Golf's Great Big Bertha.
Now Cobra Golf is introducing the new KING LTD driver. It is the next generation of product under the KING COBRA name. The KING LTD is a brand new flagship offering. Cobra Golf reassures that the KING LTD isn’t a replacement for anything in the current Cobra lineup.
Cobra Golf together with The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and Nanoracks LLC conducted in the International Space Station a material science research. What Cobra Golf implemented from the findings in the new KING LTD driver are:
SpacePort window that is incorporated into the sole of the driver. This interesting feature is locked in place by the use of Spiralock thread technology. A great advantage of this technology is the ability to withstand high vibrations and loads during impact without over tightening or loosening.
The SpacePort system consists of a 16-gram Aerospace grade Aluminium dual-purpose weightand translucent port system. This enables us to see the internal driver technology: 811 Titanium E9 Face, Low CG Hosel, and Textreme Carbon Fiber Crown (this is the 1st time when Cobra Golf is using this material, before that he used carbon fiber crowns; it is 20% stronger than the carbon fiber crown; see picture below).
Thanks to the The Port there was is no need for Hot Melt Glue + saved 4 grams.
The Port also allows final swing-weight tuning, with 0-12g Tungsten weight, at time of build to precisely fit the golfer.
We can find 28 grams of discretionary weight (Callaway Golf in the Great Big Bertha driver is using a 10g sliding weight on the perimeter of the clubhead to add stability.) strategically positioned in and around the Port perimeter positioning the Center of Gravity low and to the back of the clubhead (=higher ball speed and higher launch angles + lower spin). There is nothing novel in this positioning. By the way, this is the lowest Center of Gravity on the driver market today.
We can find 4 internal technologies in the new KING LTD driver:
crown is ultra-light TeXtreme Carbon composite (20% lighter than a standard carbon fiber crown; also used in the aerospace industry);
A thin, lightweight 811 titanium face with next generation E9 zoning removes 10 grams from the face structure.
The hosel structure has been lowered which also contributes to lowering the CG of the club head.
The body is constructed of lightweight 811 titanium with an optimized variable thickness sole incorporating a back weight port and 12 gram tungsten weight.
The KING LTD driver is available in:
5 lofts – 9°, 9.5°, 10.5°, 11.5°, and 12°and three draw settings – 9.5°D, 10.5°D and 11.5°D.
The KING LTD PRO is also available in:
5 lofts – 7.0°, 7.5°, 8.5°, 9.5°, and 10° and three fade settings: 7.5°F, 8.5°F, 9.5°F.
Both options are equipped with an Aldila Rogue Black 60g graphite shaft and Lamkin UTX/KING LTD grip. A variety of custom shafts are also available.
Availability for KING LTD and KING LTD PRO begins in the US in early November at a suggested retail price of $449.
Cleveland Golf has just launched its 2 new game-improvement wedges, the Smart Sole 2.0 C wedge and the Smart Sole 2.0 S wedge. The Smart Sole 2.0 C wedge meant to eliminate the chunked wedge. The Smart Sole 2.0 C is encouraging crisper, more consistent greenside chips with easier control of launch and distance (see picture below).
The Smart Sole 2.0 wedges are only offered in a premium Black Satin finish, which reduces glare and creates contrast between the ball and wedge for better alignment. The Smart Sole 2.0 wedges feature an improved Feel Plaque which dampens vibration while helping to relocate more of the weight around the perimeter of the club for increased forgiveness and greater consistency on all shots.
The Smart Sole 2.0 S wedge is designed for "bunker fighters". The Smart Sole 2.0 S wedge features a forgiving sole with optimal loft and shape to promote more solid contact and easier launch out of bunkers.
The new Smart Sole 2.0 wedges will be priced as:
MAP price of $109.99 (steel shaft) and $119.99 (graphite shaft).
The Smart Sole 2.0 wedges will be available for pre-booking on Friday, September 4, 2015, and will launch in North America on Friday, September 18, 2015.
In April I covered Cleveland Golf's new TFi line of putters, the Smart Square putter. Now here come the new models of the TFi line of putters.
The new TFi 2135 putter and the TFi Smart Square putter are the latest edition of the TFI line of putters. Just like in the first edition of Smart Square, at the new models Cleveland Golf continues to focus on helping golfers to avoid misalignment and off-center hits.
So the innovation in Cleveland Golf's TFi 2135 putters and the TFi Smart Suqare putters is the new alignment technology called 2135. Cleveland Golf actually raised the alignment line of the new TFi 2135 putters to the exact radius of a golf ball, or 21.35 millimeters
The alignment feature placed at the most optimal position for precision alignment, which is at dead center of the golf ball.
The TFi Smart Square technology is based on a different concept. The essence of this technology is the Dual Axis Alignment. Basically Cleveland Golf put 2 squares on the top of the putter (see picture below) that can help us align our putter correctly.
The TFi Smart Square putters feature the TFi face, which consists of a milled copper infused face cap over a copolymer insert for better feel and consistency.
Whatever putter you will choose, you will still have to have a straight eye...
Pricing information:
TFi 2135 blade putters: MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) of $129.99, and a MAP of $169.99 for the counter-balanced model.
TFi Smart Square mallet putters will carry a MAP of $159.99 and a MAP of $199.99 for the counter-balanced model.
Availability:
Official launch in North America will be on September 18, 2015.
The new TFi 2135 and TFi Smart Square putters will be available for pre-booking on Friday, September 4, 2015,
Honma Golf found an interesting venue to present and sell its golf clubs. From now on, we will be able to test or even buy Honma Golf's golf clubs at iPlayGolfUK. Mathieu Humel, a Honma Golf expert from Paris trained the local PGA professionals about what makes Honma Golf unique (e.g. hand-crafted).
It is an interesting opportunity to compare Honma Golf with other premium brands like Callaway Golf, Titleist or TaylorMade. However, Honma Golf should look for more exclusive places (e.g. private golf clubs) to provide a more suitable context to its golf clubs even though iPlayGolfUK is a good place.
Honma golf clubs in the ultimate 5 Star specification can cost over £75,000, with individual clubs costing almost £6,000 apiece. Sets of Honma irons start at £1,130, Honma woods start at £400 apiece, and individual iron clubs including putters and wedges start at just £195.
By winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on last Sunday, Shane Lowry has achieved a two-fold victory: became a full PGA Tour member + world golf ranking of No. 19. Actually this is Shane's first PGA Tour victory since 2009 when he became a special temporary PGA Tour member.
By winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational ShaneLowryearned $1.57 million.
He played with:
4th generation Z STAR XV golf ball,
a SrixonZTX fairway wood (18°), Srixon Z 545 irons (#4 - #5),
On the 1st of July, I have already reported about American Golf 9 Hole Championship. In that time I wrote that Justin Rose, a TaylorMade brand ambassador will be the main prize (the winner can play with him). Then suddenly American Golf canceled (?) the tournament or Justin Rose/TaylorMade changed his mind.
Now I hear that half of the qualifiers are complete . There were 10 qualifying events take place over 10 regions. Today the organizer does not mention, with whom can play the winner from the TaylorMade brand team. It is good to hear that the England Golf endorsed the American Golf 9 Hole Championship.
Here is what will the winner get from American Golf and TaylorMade:
The two winning pairs and runners up from each region will win fantastic prizes from TaylorMade, while the winning pairs also make their way to the Grand Final at The Belfry in October. Once there each team will be competing for the once in a lifetime prize of a trip to the Bahamas for 2 people plus a round with a TaylorMade Tour player.
I hope this will attract more people to golf and reactivate "armchair golfers".
By seeing the success of Shopify, Product Hunt and Shyp, Amazon did not remain idle. On July 28, Amazon unveiled Launchpad, a platform for hardware and physical goods startups to “launch, market and distribute” new products on Amazon.
The store so far features more than 200 items, from more recognizable new startups to lesser-known products. Now Game Golf is testing the new platform.
The program offers a streamlined onboarding experience, custom product pages, a comprehensive marketing package, and access to Amazon’s global fulfillment network, all geared toward helping startups successfully launch their innovations and share their stories. Unlike in other parts of Amazon, customers can talk with the inventors and entrepreneurs.
Amazon is focusing on offering products from companies that are funded by venture capital firms, startup accelerators, and crowdfunding platforms.
I think it is early to judge Amazon's Launchpad program and what it can bring to companies like Game Golf.
Do you remember the old Callaway Golf Great Big Bertha Driver? I think you will find quite a lot of changes in the new Great Big Bertha Driver! Check out the details below.
Callaway Golf has just announced the new Great Big Bertha Driver and Fairway Woods. They have also announced the new Big Bertha Alpha 816 Double Black Diamond Driver and Big Bertha Alpha 816 Fairway Woods for better players, but in this post I will discuss only the Great Big Bertha product family.
There are couple of technology solutions that we can also find in Big Bertha Alpha 815 Driver (e.g. R*MOTO Face Technology, OptiFit Technology: 8 different configurations to tune loft, lie, and face angle) and Big Bertha V Series (e.g. OptiFit Technology) and Callaway Golf XR product family.
So what is new in Callaway Golf Great Big Bertha driver?
optimized multi-material chassis to generate more clubhead speed through aerodynamics and a wide range of weight classes to suit every swing type (from 295 to 325g).
R*MOTO technology2.0 that provides the structure for a thinner face which leads to high ball speeds on center and off-center hits.
Adjustable Perimeter Weighting on the perimeter of the head for ball flight and dispersion control with exceptional forgiveness. There is a 10g sliding weight on the perimeter of the clubhead to add stability.
19 premium shaft options (e.g. MRC Bassara, Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Black 50,Fujikura Evolution 665 Tour Spec, Mitsubishi Diamana+White) without up-charge costs.
Available Lofts are: 9*, 10.5*, 13.5*. The official price will be $449.99 (cheaper than Big Bertha Alpha 815 driver, Callaway Golf XR driver was $349 last year). Product at Retail Date: 8/28/2015
In case of Callaway Golf Great Big Bertha Fairway Woods, we can find also some technology solutions that appears also in the above mentioned Callaway Golf XR fairway woods. Namely, Forged Hyper Speed Face Cup, OptiFit Technology.
These are the new features of Callaway Golf Great Big Bertha Fairway Woods:
the head is larger than typical Callaway Golf fairway wood;
Warbird Soleplate which makes the club easy to hit from a variety of lies with a mid-launching trajectory.
Special Heavenwood (20.5* loft, 43” shaft) and Divine Nine Options (24*, 42” shaft);
OptiFit Adjustability is not available in 7W and Divine 9;
The official price will be $249.99. This is slightly more expensive than the Callaway Golf XR Fairway Wood. Callaway Golf Great Big Bertha Fairway Woods will be available from August 28.
Irish Golf Expo decided to move this year to a location to hold the event (November 28-29, 2015). The place is in Northern Ireland's newest and largest exhibition venue at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn. Although this is a consumer show (B2C), Irish Golf Expo is thinking about to come up with a golf trade show (B2B) in the future.
The organizers set a really ambitious target of 10 000 visitors, despite of in 2014 they had only 4 000 visitors and cca. 60 exhibitors (e.g. TaylorMade, Bridgestone Golf, TrackMan, Turkish Airlines, Portuguese Tourist Board + local golf clubs, for instance Mount Juliet, Lough Erne Resort).
Irish Golf Expo already has some early bird exhibitors like TaylorMade, Mizuno, Bridgestone Golf. American Golf is signed up to be the Official Club Retailer at the show.
The event's other objective is to facilitate golf participation. This is really crucial, since there has been a decline in the proportion participating in golf, from 4% in 2011 to 3% in 2013 (I assume there was no big changes last year). GUI’s general secretary, Pat Finn said last year, the highest number golf club membership was around 310,000, but now it is around 235,000.
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