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Bethpage U.S.
Open 2009
June, 18 2009 -
Robert Wilson President/Club Designer
To say that
I look forward to the major tournaments is an understatement. True, I
enjoy playing the game more than watching, but there is something about
the majors that draw me into my recliner and keep me off the course. Of
particular interest this year is Bethpage, the course on which this
year's tournament will be contested.
Bethpage
Black is open to the public. You and I can play any one of the Bethpage
courses for between $35 and $55. So on a normal business day, chances
are good that a GigaGolf customer will be playing on the Black course
with one or more of the over 1 million clubs we have made since 1999.
But this I know for certain, not one of our clubs will be on the Black
course this week-end.
So
if
GigaGolf custom clubs are so great, why won't pros be using them this
week-end? The answer may seem obvious to some but people ask it all the
time. Answer: tournament professionals are paid a considerable amount
of money to tee up the Madison avenue branded product lines. Many big
name tour players sign multiyear contracts and are paid "tee-up" money
to promote some brands. Tee-up money is paid on a per tournament or per
round basis. A player might get as much as $10,000 to play a driver for
a day, and considerably more if he uses it to finish well.
I addition,
brands that have touring professionals representing their products have
tractor trailer sized "tour vans" that are on site to build and adjust
the pro's clubs. The van will adjust a shaft, change a head or bend a
lie to make sure the pro is happy and playing his best with his
equipment. Essentially, this is the same thing we do for all of our
customers from our Tampa facility. Sorry, there are no plans to bring a
GigaGolf tour van to a neighborhood near you. But if you need an
adjustment or repair, in most cases, we will turn your clubs around in
less than 2 days. Try that with your nationally advertised tour player
endorsed clubs. You will be waiting for weeks.
Yes, the
names on the heads will be different, but the technology will be pretty
much the same. Much is made of the R&D that the large brands
put into their clubs. But the new USGA rules have really leveled the
playing field making it much more difficult for high dollar branded
products to corner the market on innovation.
The shafts
will be exactly the same, because GigaGolf uses only the best
components on the market to manufacture our custom product line. Every
week, True Temper sends us an email detailing which Grafalloy and True
Temper shafts were used to win that week's pro tournament. In most
cases these are the same shafts that are available through our build
you clubs online with eFit application.
For me,
nothing is close to the excitement of the major tournaments, and you
can bet that the honey-do list will get a little longer this week-end.
I will be watching and routing for a close match and a great finish to
add to my collection of major memories. And even though I will not see
our GigaGolf logo embroidered onto the cap of any of the pros playing
in this year's Open, I am happy to know that our clubs will be back on
Bethpage when the show is over.
Fairways
and
Greens,
>From all of us at GigaGolf
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