Golfweek

Is the USGA guilty of a “lack of transparency” in its dealing with equipment makers?

Phil Mickelson sure thinks so.

During his press conference on Feb. 3, Mickelson criticized the USGA and charged Dick Rugge, the association’s senior technical director, of acting as prosecutor, judge and jury.

“It was an attempt to show power,” Mickelson said. “The arbitrary judgment of one man can take a conforming club and rule it non-conforming based on his emotion. This type of lack of transparency has got to change. It’s killing the sport.”

Mickelson’s primary beef is over the USGA’s decision to declare nonconforming the grooves on a set of Callaway prototype irons he intended to use at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. Mickelson told Golfweek in August that the grooves conformed to the new rule, but they were banned because they violated the spirit of the rule by imparting spin comparable to the old square grooves.

The USGA issued a notice to equipment makers in late July reserving the right to judge equipment based upon the physical specifications as well as the intent of the rule.

It doesn’t take a triple-jump of the imagination to picture the USGA resorting ...

Sitting in the rain at Riviera, I thought it might be nice to spread some good news about the golf industry, for a change.

Jeff Shain, formerly of The Miami Herald, has hooked on at the Orlando Sentinel as – believe it or not – the newspaper’s golf writer.

Now this is real news, a welcome change from what we had become all too accustomed to hearing with newspaper after newspaper dropping golf writers and a considerable amount of golf coverage.

This week alone, outside of the local newspapers, only Larry Dorman of The New York Times is covering the Northern Trust Open.

In the old days, newspapers from places such as Boston, Orlando, Washington, San Francisco and Dallas used to make the trip on an annual basis.

With the fact that the Florida papers have not seen a PGA Tour stop in a long time, having Shain joining the Sentinel - despite the fact that his duties will include more than golf exclusively - can only be a plus for golf coverage.

It might be a stretch to say Ted Fletcher has a “Fowler cam” at PGA Tour events to keep tabs on his marquee endorser rookie Rickie Fowler. But it’s not much of one.

Fletcher, president of Puma Golf North America, keeps close tabs on Fowler, whom Puma is counting on to spark sales on this side of the Atlantic.

“For this thing to really, really kind of explode and be what it really should be, can be and will be, it has to be more American-based,” Fletcher told Golfweek recently, when asked about Puma’s decision to part ways with Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy. Much of the decision came down to marketing.

Puma announced the creation of Puma Golf North America at the end of last year. Fowler is the first PGA Tour player to wear Puma headwear, a key piece for the brand’s marketing plan.

“He’s the perfect fit for us,” Fletcher said.

Puma plans to grow in the U.S. by focusing on green-grass accounts. The brand won’t be found in department stores or lower-level retail.

“We believe in the philosophy that shortage creates demand,” Fletcher said.

Track and field superstar Usain Bolt and ...

What do Phil Mickelson and the Super Bowl have in common?

The Callaway Golf pitchman is scheduled to appear during the Super Bowl XLIV pre-game show Feb. 7 as part of the company’s advertising buy.

It’s the first time a standalone golf company has sponsored a portion of the Super Bowl telecast.

Callaway will promote its new Diablo Edge line during the 5-5:30 p.m segment. The sponsorship includes a Callaway-themed opening to introduce the company’s presence, as well as product and branding exposure on the CBS set throughout the half hour.

Callaway also will debut an ad campaign that will feature the company’s focus on technological innovation and its 2010 products.

Terms were not disclosed.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Steve Boccieri, creator of the Heavy Putter, has a dream: to bring a driver to market and sell a full line of equipment to golfers.

Five years ago, Boccieri debuted the Heavy Putter at the PGA Merchandise Show with intentions to create “the great weight debate.”

In fits and starts, his putters have gained acceptance in the marketplace, albeit still a small piece of the piece. As of October, Boccieri’s putter marketshare at on- and off-course retailers climbed to 1.9 percent, up from 0.8 percent a year ago, according to the October Golf Datatech.

Some start-up equipment makers have made the mistake to grow too fast. Boccieri’s smart enough to know that he couldn’t dive straight into the deep end that is the driver category.

“To enter that market as an individual with one product is a sure loser,” he said.

But he also believes the time is ripe to grow.

“It’s time to go vertical,” he declared. “You can’t add too quickly or you will go bust. You have to get enough footing to be able to go back to the till. Now I have my cult following of customers ...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sponsor defection from the world of golf has made headlines of late, but declaring it a trend is premature.

Such casualties often are inevitable during a recession, but their occurrence shouldn’t be interpreted as golf’s loss of value or appeal. The fact remains the sport delivers a desired demographic and can provide sponsors tremendous broadcast exposure and access to grass-roots initiatives.

That point was underscored when the PGA of America announced Jan. 28 at the PGA Merchandise Show the signing of the Royal Bank of Canada as its third “official patron” – the association’s highest level of partnership. (Mercedes Benz and American Express also are PGA official patrons.)

In addition to gaining status as the official bank of the PGA of America, RBC will be associated with properties ranging from the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup to Play Golf America Days, a popular grow-the-game initiative held at golf facilities nationwide. RBC officials found the branding opportunities compelling, and they seized on the chance to partner with the PGA’s 28,000 members to grow its business neighborhood-by-neighborhood.

“In short, we view the recession as a leadership moment to step up,” said Jim Little of RBC ...

If President Barack Obama is offering a stimulus package, the golf industry wants a piece of it. At the very least, it doesn’t want to be left out of consideration for federal relief.

With that goal in mind, a handful of key golf organizations have banded together and hired an essential catalyst for success in D.C. – A lobbyist.

Enter the Podesta Group, a bipartisan government relations firm that principal David L. Marin says does everything from “policy making to political maneuvering.”

The need for Capitol clout became apparent shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. To the shock of many industry leaders, golf courses were excluded from federal aid packages designed to rebuild businesses. Since then key golf officials have visited D.C. annually to tout golf’s contributions to the economy, charity and the environment. But they concluded they need professional help.

That’s why the PGA of America, the National Golf Course Owners Association, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and Club Managers Association of America pooled $100,000 and solicited another $100,000 in donations to retain Podesta.

First and foremost, Podesta will try to counter a troubling perception among some Congressional members ...

First, there was no Chrysler, let alone any title sponsor, at the Bob Hope Classic. This week we say good-bye to what formerly was known as the Buick Invitational. (But the event has resurfaced as the Farmers Insurance Open.)

But could it be possible that automakers – written off as possible sponsor candidates – are ready to team again with golf? There are at least two car manufacturers pursuing a deal to sponsor a PGA Tour event, Golfweek has learned.

The PGA Tour’s chief marketing officer, Tom Wade, declined to comment.

But two sources say Hyundai Motors considered sponsoring the San Diego tournament, but was unable to hammer out a deal in time. Hyundai also has considered becoming the official car of the PGA Tour, a marketing opportunity vacated by Buick last year. (It’s a move that would help Hyundai keep pace with its Korean competitor, Kia, which is the official car of the NBA.)

It’s also not farfetched for Ford Motors to renew ties with the Tour. The company avoided federal bailout last year and appears to be turning the corner. Plus, Alan Mullaly, Ford’s president and CEO, is an avid golfer. During better times, the automaker ...

What goes around, as they say, comes around. And around and around and around, it seems.

I was reminded of that fact yesterday when I received a press release from Powerbilt touting its new line of Air Foil irons. The heads of these irons are “nitrogen charged” – literally, pumped full of pressurized nitrogen. Powerbilt insists the technology will do wonders for your game.

This got me to reminiscing, as I’m wont to do. Powerbilt first introduced the Air Titanium driver at the 1996 PGA Show that was held during late summer in Las Vegas. At the time, I was covering the equipment industry for a New York trade magazine that, shortly thereafter, went out of business. (I’m relatively certain that fact was unrelated to my presence on the masthead.)

Anyway, Powerbilt had invited the golf media to one of the courses in town – Las Vegas CC, as I recall – to test the new club. The event attracted a big turnout of golf writers, some who were curious, others who were just hoping to score a free driver. It’s important to remember that this was the dawn of the Titanium Era. Manufacturers were flooding the market with product ...

With all the talk about the U.S. Golf Association’s new groove rule, one would think PGA Tour players would be lining up to make sure their grooves conformed. Think again.

Dispatched to Hawaii by the USGA to help the Tour abide by the new grooves rule, Jim Hubbell had plenty of time to watch the waves crash into Waikiki Beach.

He performed club tests for just a handful of players.

“I jokingly refer to him as the Maytag repairman because he didn’t have much to do,” said Dick Rugge, the USGA’s senior technical director.

Rugge offered two explanations for the lack of activity. First of all, the USGA began testing at professional events in late August – The Barclays was the first – so many players already have checked their clubs. Secondly, equipment manufacturers all have the portable testing device and have examined the clubs of their staff players.

Rugge predicts the whole issue of groove testing soon will die down or disappear entirely, much the way testing for a driver’s spring-like effect faded.

In 2004, after the USGA adopted a new rule to measure a driver’s coefficient of restitution, the Tour provided a portable spring-like ...

The PGA Tour secured a title sponsor – at least for this year – for the San Diego Open, one of the cornerstones of the West Coast Swing.

Formerly known as the Buick Invitational, the San Diego event now will be called the Farmers Insurance Open. The tournament had been sponsorless since it lost the backing of Buick, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year.

The event, which begins next week at Torrey Pines Golf Course, never was in danger of being canceled this year. Its host organization, the Century Club of San Diego, and the Tour maintained they had sufficient funds to “bridge” a title sponsor gap until one could be found.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but it does include a long-term option. Keeping the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies in the fold beyond 2010 would be a major boon for the Tour, which has several title sponsorships coming up for renewal after this season.

The deal actually is between the Tour and the Farmers Exchanges, which as a group are the third-largest personal lines insurer in the United States and the largest auto insurer in California.

“Leaders step up and step in when opportunities arise and when ...

Hoping to capitalize on golf’s growing global popularity, Callaway Golf opened its sixth overseas unit.

The Carlsbad, Calif.-based equipment maker has formed a new subsidiary, Callaway Golf India, to manage business in the world’s second-most populous nation. The company also announced Jan. 12 it signed India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, India’s highest-ranked player (50th in the World Golf Rankings), to serve as a brand ambassador.

“We see great potential in the Indian market,” said George Fellows, Callaway Golf president and CEO, in a statement. “We feel the IOC’s recent decision to reinstate golf as an Olympic sport and the growing number of international players, including Jeev Milkha Singh, among the upper echelons of the World Golf Rankings indicate a global golf marketplace poised for growth.”

With a growing middle class and a penchant for consumerism, India is widely considered to be one of the sport’s emerging markets. Callaway already has started to reap rewards in Asia. For the three months ending Sept. 30, the Asia region (excluding Japan) accounted for $21 million – or 11 percent – of net sales, and it was the only one of five regions to show growth over the same period ...

HONOLULU – Luke Donald signed a new deal with Mizuno this week to keep him in the fold for three more years, sources told Golfweek. The terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Donald, an Englishman ranked No. 31 in the Official World Golf Ranking, will play Mizuno clubs and display the company logo on his bag and hat, similar to his previous agreement with the Japanese company.

While Donald re-upped with Mizuno, another Tour star moved on.

Brian Gay a two-time winner last year and No. 48 in the world, was not renewed by the company. Gay, who is still playing Mizuno irons, signed a two-year deal with TaylorMade for the bag and the side of his hat.

Recent news from the Nationwide Tour seem to indicate that the tour is holding strong in tough economic conditions:

• The tour will have 28 events and a total purse of $17,825,099 – down one event and $675,000 from 2009. There is still a “to be announced” slot Aug. 19-22; during the comparable period last year the tour staged the Christmas In October Classic, which was held for the first time.

The tournament had a $625,000 purse, so if it returns, the tour will have the same amount of events as ’09 and only a slight decline in its total purse.

• Two international events had good news to report. The tour’s Panama event announced a new title sponsor, Claro Panama. It operates under America Movil, the largest mobile telephone company in Latin America and the fourth largest in the world in terms of subscribers. It offers text messaging, multimedia messages, mobile connectivity, information and entertainment and data.

Despite the sponsor’s addition, the Panama event’s purse declined by $50,000 compared with a figure reported in a preliminary schedule that was released to players and agents in December.

Another international event, The Moonah Classic in Australia ...

As new LPGA commissioner Mike Whan settles into his job, it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the many tasks that await him. And though there’s bound to be plenty of Monday-morning quarterbacking, it’s interesting to note that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Back in 1991, then LPGA chief Bill Blue was ousted in a player revolt and lawyer Charlie Mechem was hired as his replacement. It’s a story line that should sound quite familiar, considering LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens’ was ousted last year. The following is an excerpt from Jaime Diaz's New York Times story in 1991:

“Blue, who was hired for his expertise in marketing, mixed a slick public presentation with a brusque interpersonal manner that ended up alienating him from sponsors and players and left him open to charges of questionable integrity.”

Couldn’t you just insert Bivens’ name for Blue’s and slap a 2009 dateline on the story?

Diaz continued: “In 1991, the women will be playing for more money than ever with $17.4 million in total purses. But the schedule will again contain a three-week gap in April devoid of an event ...