Sun, Jul 05 2009
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Published September 07, 2008 12:52 am - Golf: This is no longer just your father’s game I was flipping through a 1986 golf magazine the other day when I came across an article about what clubs the touring pros of the time were playing and the importance placed by equipment manufacturers on assurances their signed stars actually were using their wares.
Every player’s bag was checked on the first tee at every tournament to ensure that the club makers and golf ball manufacturers were getting what they paid for. The Darrell Survey was something like golf’s equivalent of a referee who could call “foul” if a star who was supposed to be playing X brand of clubs or Y brand of balls showed up with Z golf balls and clubs. In those days, manufacturers generally allowed players to keep their favorite drivers, wedges and putters in their bags even if those clubs were of different brands. I’m not certain they still do that, given the hype behind sales for the “longest driver” and “quick-stop wedges.” One big-name star that I observed at the PGA Championship in Edmond, Okla., had a manufacturer’s name splashed across his bag, but upon close inspection not one of his clubs were of that brand. All had been heavily disguised with lead tape. On another occasion, I saw a top player tee off during a practice round with one brand of golf ball and switch to another on the second tee. By tournament time, he had decided to play the brand of that second ball. What was most significant in the 1986 magazine survey had nothing to do with brands, but of technology. Consider this: Not one of the 10 PGA players on the list used graphite shafts and 67 percent still wielded wooden-headed drivers. Ten percent of those on the LPGA Tour had graphite shafts. One percent of the PGA seniors used them. It was this latter fact that surprised me most. The senior players, those 50 and over, generally are far ahead of everyone else when it comes to trying and using high-tech clubs. But in those days they apparently were still wed to their old blades and wooden-headed clubs. Here’s an interesting note: Of the 20 top money-winners on the 1986 PGA, LPGA and Senior PGA tours only seven were playing with metal drivers and four were using investment cast irons. Also, 98 percent of the PGA pros, 86 percent of the LPGA players and 81 percent of the seniors were using three-piece golf balls. In comparison, interviews with 3,000 golfers at public and private courses strongly suggested that what the pros were playing in those days wouldn’t necessarily be found in the golf bags of the average Jane and Joe Amateur at a municipal course or country club. Already in the early days of the technology revolution, amateurs were moving toward what they perceived to be friendlier clubs and golf balls. Nearly 25 percent were opting for metal woods and 57 percent liked the distance of two-piece golf balls. Indeed, close to 15 percent had broken with tradition and were playing optic color golf balls. According to the statistics, amateurs were beginning to look for playability and forgiveness in their equipment and not following the trends of what their favorite pros were playing. That represented a seismic shift in the consumer trend. That Jack Nicklaus could shoot great scores with his forged 1967 MacGregor VIP irons or that many of the top players were using MacGregor persimmon woods from the 1950s no longer meant as much to amateurs of that day. They wanted forgiveness and distance. 
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