By ED TRAVIS

One of the best reasons for returning to January’s PGA Show as I have for more than 30 years is the opportunity to learn the business stories behind some of the 1000+ exhibitors on the floor of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. 

Each story is unique and fascinating and rarely heard by the public.

The golf business could never be described as easy and certainly it is not for the faint-of-heart but those who survive and prosper have a love and a passion for the game and want to help us average players play closer to our potential, have more fun and enjoy our time on the course. 

Arnold Palmer put it best in my view saying golf is “deceptively simple and endlessly complicated” and though The King was referring to playing this humbling game, his comment equally applies to trying to bring a product to market and getting it accepted. 

Here are a few stories about companies you may or may not know and all are interesting and worthwhile.

ASHWORTH GOLF COMPANY

Any list of superstars in the golf apparel business would have to have right at the top John Ashworth the founder of Ashworth Golf who recently returned to his old company as Creative Director.

Ashworth, after a stint caddying for PGA Tour player Mark Wiebe in 1984, thought the clothes professionals were wearing weren’t especially good looking or aiding in the performance pros need to win. Of course, what was true for professionals was even more true for recreational golfers and in 1987 he began his own clothing brand, immodestly named after himself.

The look and style were described as California-cool with the addition of performance-oriented design and the best materials. Tour pros immediately liked what Ashworth was making and among others Fred Couples, Ernie Els and John Cook wore the apparel capping it off with Couples win in the1992 Masters.

For a number of reasons Ashworth left the company in 1997 to pursue among other interests as owner and manager of a public golf course called Goat Hill Park located in Oceanside, Calif. He and his nephew Geoff Cunningham also founded a men’s lifestyle clothing company named Linksoul with headquarters near Goat Hill.

The decision to return to Ashworth Golf which now is financed by the Newtimes Group of Hong Kong was not as unusual as it first may sound plus part of the old company staff is with him now including longtime managers Kate Cunningham (Senior Vice President Sales & Business Development), and Eddie Fadel (President) joining former Bobby Jones CEO Andy Bell.

Said Ashworth, “I always had a feeling that at some point, when the timing was right, I’d be back, and now here we go. We’ll continue to innovate, push the boundaries and create great clothing for the golf community. I’m looking forward to sharing my experience and passion with a new generation of golfers.”

In an interview with Lisa Goulian Twiste appearing in PGA Magazine Ashworth pointed out, “We are a golf company, not a “lifestyle” company. Golf is our life; it’s what we do.”

BETTINARDI GOLF

Bob Bettinardi made a splash in the putter business with milled heads for the brand name putter companies but decided in 1998 he wanted something for himself and started Bettinardi Golf. His secret was to use a jeweler-grade machine cutter, so the putter face was not only flatter but also exactly perpendicular. This exacting process, which Bettinardi called Honeycomb milling, produced a face without the slightly concave surface of other makers.

The next year Jesper Parnevik won the Greater Greensboro Open using one of the first Bettinardi putters, a BB10, and had a remarkable 99 putts for the week. As the reputation of Bettinardi putters grew more putters and clubs were introduced including a wedge milled from one piece of stainless steel.

After brief partnerships with Ben Hogan Golf and Mizuno, Bettinardi recreated Bettinardi Golf in 2009 and announced two of their most popular lines, the Studio Stock and Signature Series while reviving the original BB series.

During a conversation with the second generation in the company Bob’s son Sam Bettinardi, who has been with his father now for more than 10 years, he told me they are not a putter company. They are an “engineering company that concentrates on making putters with clean, classy, timeless esthetically pleasing lines.”

Bettinardi putters, irons and wedges are premium priced, but Sam related an interesting statistic that of 500 putter fittings at their 7,000 square foot state-of-the-art Oak Brook, Ill. facility not one player was disappointed and returned his putter. Remarkable.

Today’s Bettinardi putters make use of the latest in shafts and designs employing stainless steel and aluminum in the heads, counterbalanced shafts with designs from modern blades to mallets and offering nonglare finishes plus many different hosel configurations.

Sam summed it up well, “Our family name is on everything so it will be the best we can make it.”

SUN MOUNTAIN SPORTS

Missoula, Mont. may not seem like the location for the headquarters of an industry-leading golf company but since its inception by Rick Reimers in 1981 Sun Mountain Sports has never been afraid to do things differently and the move to Montana took place in 1984.

Reimers believed in innovation and among his ideas was the lightweight nylon carry bag and in 1986 a revolutionary carry bag called the Eclipse that had an integral stand, so it never had to be laid on the ground. And speaking of carry bags Sun Mountain made the first water-proof bag making foul-weather play if not enjoyable at least dryer for your clubs.

On the front edge of another game-changing idea namely walking your round, but instead of carrying a bag over your shoulder putting it on a three-wheel pushcart unlike the cumbersome overweight monsters rented by pro shops. Reimer’s were slimmer, easier to push and best of all foldable, so it fit into a car trunk.

Also early on, Sun Mountain got into the outer wear apparel business with waterproof jackets of stretch fabric, insulated jackets, and wind shirts.

Their cutting-edge thinking also extended to lessening the hassle of traveling with your clubs coming out with the four-wheel Club Glider that handles not only your bag and clubs but shoes, jacket and golf balls. After pulling one through what seems like millions of miles in airports and rent-a-car parking lots it’s hard to imagine flying anywhere without it.

Just over two years ago Sun Mountain Sports was purchased from Reimers by Solace Capital Partners and last year golf industry veteran Grant Knudson became President and Chief Brand Officer saying, “Sun Mountain pioneered golf’s iconic stand bags, and I have always had an affinity for innovation and brands that do things first – and Sun Mountain has a lot of firsts. The company’s history of innovation is long-standing, and we have an opportunity to grow our brand and existing product categories, while expanding into new categories.”

And maybe the more things change the more they stay the same. Sun Mountain has just introduced a new Eclipse stand bag, the E-Series with a two-piece hinged bottom making it quicker to extend the legs when put on the ground but also more cart-friendly on either push carts or riding carts.

TOUR EDGE GOLF

Almost 40 years ago a young golf professional in suburban Chicago who also repaired clubs in his garage decided designing and manufacturing golf clubs was what he wanted to do so David Glod started Tour Edge Golf.

The first designs were for average recreational golfers who, then as now, can use all the help from their equipment they can get. The most popular line was named Bazooka and made with lots of forgiveness to help compensate for those imperfect impacts we all have. Tour Edge was a success competing with other club makers who were often corporately owned and many times their size.

Leaping ahead to 2005 Glod and his team figured out how to fuse a stainless-steel body with a titanium face producing their best fairway wood and a new brand which they called Exotics. The technique of combo brazing produced a wood that was 20 yards longer than anything else on the market and sold at the unheard price of $400. 

Golfers found the Exotics CBs (for combo brazing) were worth the money and the reputation of Glod and Tour Edge skyrocketed.

As Glod explained it, “The next thing you know we had the #1 player in the world and the Fed Ex season Champ choosing to play Exotics 3-woods and there were big-time guys. Masters, US Opens. Open Championships. Ryder Cups. You name it, Exotics was in the mix. And again, all by choice of the player. They discovered it for themselves, and we supported them as much as we could without having some kind of deal in place.”

“We had found lightening in a bottle.” 

It just kept getting better and not only with the premium category Exotics line but also their latest game-improvement clubs called Hot Launch.

Tour Edge is still privately owned with most of the shares held by the Glod family. They operate in 40 countries and have 100 people in North America with world headquarters in Batavia, Ill.

VESSEL GOLF

A golf bag is a golf bag—right?

Maybe, but in the case of Vessel Golf their bags are at a different level, which is evident even to those of us who don’t have a background in bag design and construction.

Ronnie Shaw, Vessel’s CEO, is passionate about his company’s bags and described to me all the factors that go into their products to make them worth a premium price.

Vessel began making bags for Nike when Nike was still in the golf equipment business but when that ended, they brought an ultra-premium bag to market under their own name and it was soon seen on several professional tours. Their bags are made from the highest quality materials with obsessive care to the details from design to personalization.

Shaw said he knows making a product that is 80% of the best that can be done is relatively straightforward however,. “Pushing it to 100% is very difficult and is the magic that produces true value.”

He illustrated this with bag features pioneered by Vessel such as carbon fiber stand legs, magnetic closures for pockets and waterproof zippers, which if you have been caught in the rain is a big plus. Vessel holds patents on a self-adjusting double strap used for stand bags which also have a patented low-profile base that rotates so it is always flat on the ground. Combined with the wide spreading legs it makes for great stability regardless of the terrain.

Shaw also talked about the future saying they have a five-year roadmap of new product introductions they were following. Presently stand bags make up approximately 45% of their volume, cart bags 30% and tour bags 5%. Incidentally touring pros think so much of Vessel bags they pay for them, a strong commentary on Vessel bag’s quality. 

I asked about the pricing, especially of their popular stand bags which are at the very top of the bag price spectrum and Shaw quickly responded there were no plans for a down-market bag at any price.

Vessel also has a quality line of accessories from head covers to travel bags, and backpacks plus racquet sports bags.