A Publication of Tom Wishon Golf Technology   •   July/August 2008

July/August 2008 TW Standard E-Tech Report

 

Items of note before we get down to business...

In the July/August issue of the TW Standard eTECHreport:

NOTE: the complete July/August TW Standard eTECHreport pdf version is available by clicking here - 3MB (requires Adobe Acrobat 5 or newer )

 

TWGT Clubmaker's Forum Information and Update

Having heard horror stories from companies who have undergone a major computer hardware or software change, every one at TWGT was thrilled when the major upgrade to our servers was completed with virtually no more than a hiccup. [continues below]

Current Energy Conditions Affect Shipping Increases

Thanks to what has happened to the price of oil this year, there are very few costs related to consumer items that are immune from the effect. One of these is the cost of keeping the package delivery planes and trucks moving all around the world. [continues below]

TWGT Continuing Work to Promote Custom Clubmakers

As part of TWGT’s ongoing commitment to promote consumer awareness of clubfitting, for the past three years, Tom Wishon has contributed an ongoing column in PGA Tour Partners magazine. [continues below]

TWGT Clubfitter/UK Golf Professional Nevil Bland is All Over the Open Championship

British PGA professional Nevil Bland has been a busy guy. Head golf professional at the venerable and historic Brocton Hall Golf Club in England, Bland is also an experienced custom clubmaker who promotes TWGT custom fit designs in his work. But that’s only part of Nevil’s responsibilities that have kept him very busy this summer. [continues below]

The Most Important Principles of Clubfitting

As Clubmakers become more advanced in their knowledge of clubfitting, it is typical to become caught up in some of the “minutiae” and forget that there are a finite number of key fitting parameters which combine to account for the vast majority of game improvement available to most golfers through proper fitting. [continues below]

PCS Closes Its Doors

This announcement from the PCS Board on July 1 brings an unfortunate end to the 20 year history of the PCS as the independent voice of professional custom clubmaking in the golf equipment industry. [continues below]

The Demise of the PCS – What's Next for Clubmakers?

Because of a series of unfortunate events, Elmore Just’s vision of an independent and passionate voice for custom clubmakers and their craft is gone. [continues below]

The AGCP Extends a Welcome to All TWGT Clubmakers

The AGCP is a peer group business organization dedicated to a one for all, all for one approach to making all members as good in the total skills of our craft as are our best members. Our purpose is clear cut - to share its members' collective knowledge to help all members be as good at the technical AND the business of custom clubmaking as possible. [continues below]

 

 

TWGT Clubmaker's Forum Information and Update

 

Having heard horror stories from companies who have undergone a major computer hardware or software change, every one at TWGT was thrilled when the major upgrade to our servers was completed with virtually no more than a hiccup.

The one “little burp” we had was an overaggressive Firewall that decided it was not going to let certain people be able to post on the TWGT Clubmaker Forum. Not playing any favorites, this little glitch even shut the doors of the Forum on Tom! Now that’s a “gutsy” glitch, when it decides to snub its nose at one of the bosses!

Not to worry though. Thanks to the superior intellect of our stellar I.T. maven Randy Smith, the Forum glitch was eliminated and all barriers to posting were erased. At least we’re pretty sure they are. If you were one of the people like Tom who found problems in posting and you dropped away from the TWGT Clubmaker Forum, we welcome you back to participate in the best golf equipment information exchange on the planet!

If you have any problems posting on our Forum, please copy any post that was rejected and send that to us at contact@wishongolf.com so we can check, fix and get things cleared up to re-establish your Forum access.

By the way, if you’ve haven’t spent much time on the TWGT Clubmaker Forum and you have an interest in learning a little to a lot more about any aspect of clubmaking or fitting, we welcome you to take a few minutes to check it out. Some of the brightest and most experienced clubmaking minds are regulars on the Forum. The depth and quality of the information shared on TWGT Clubmaker Forum is unequaled in the entire golf equipment industry. And it’s all free.

Check it out at http://www.wishongolf.com/forum.php

 

 

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Current Energy Conditions Affect Shipping Increases

Thanks to what has happened to the price of oil this year, there are very few costs related to consumer items that are immune from the effect. One of these is the cost of keeping the package delivery planes and trucks moving all around the world. And yes, as is the case with all the shipping companies who deliver your products, we are already seeing an increase in shipping rates from the companies we use to delivery your TWGT products by means of and increase in their fuel surcharge.

As many of you are probably already aware, as gas prices fluctuate, so goes each courier’s fuel surcharge rate. So we’ll keep our fingers crossed in the hopes that gas prices will eventually begin to drop. In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to keep your shipping costs as reasonable as we possibly can.

What is it they say about things that are constant in life? Death and Taxes. One more to add to that are cost increases from every shipping company in the USA thanks to the continual increase in energy costs.

 

 

 

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TWGT Continuing Work to Promote Custom Clubmakers

As part of TWGT’s ongoing commitment to promote consumer awareness of clubfitting, for the past three years, Tom Wishon has contributed an ongoing column in PGA Tour Partners magazine. In the column titled "Gear Guru," Tom writes in an easy to understand manner to educate readers of the magazine about the importance of all aspects of custom clubfitting.

In the July/August issue, Tom’s column addresses the specific topic of "Why You Need a Custom Clubmaker." The article identifies the benefits of working with a good clubmaker and directs the readers to clubmaker locator web sites through which golfers can find a clubmaker in their area.

PGA Tour Partners Magazine is the official publication of the PGA Tour Partners Club, a subscription only service marketed by the PGA Tour to promote a stronger following of the PGA Tour and its playing professionals. With a membership of more than 500,000 golfers in the Partners Club, the PGA Tour Partners Magazine stands as the 4th largest golf publication in the US.

TWGT is very pleased that PGA Tour Partners not only chose Tom Wishon to educate their readers, but that we have the opportunity to bring the truth of the value of custom fitting to over 500,000 golfers. The next time you think about which clubmaking supply company to do business with, keep in mind that TWGT is the only company actively working to promote golfer awareness of custom clubmaking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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TWGT Clubfitter/UK Golf Professional Nevil Bland is
All Over the Open Championship

British PGA professional Nevil Bland has been a busy guy. Head golf professional at the venerable and historic Brocton Hall Golf Club in England, Bland is also an experienced custom clubmaker who promotes TWGT custom fit designs in his work. But that’s only part of Nevil’s responsibilities that have kept him very busy this summer.

In regional qualifying for the 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, Bland carded a solid 68, playing with a near all TWGT line up in his bag. Nevil's 3 under par round won the qualifier, a full three shots clear of his closest competitor within the field of 112 players in the Open Championship regional qualifying round played at Lindrick Golf Club in Yorkshire, England.

Unfortunately Nevil did not survive the 36-hole final qualifier at Southport & Ainsdale GC to make it into the actual Open Championship field, but his involvement in this year’s Open was not finished. Nevil was tapped by the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland to write a daily blog of his observations of the 137th playing of the oldest major championship in golf for the British association’s web site, www.pga.info <http://www.pga.info/>.

A quick scan of Bland’s photo image on the UK PGA’s home page as well as on his Open Championship Blog page, (http://pga.info/PGAFeatures/40873723.htm) shows Nevil looking good wearing a TWGT cap! All of us at TWGT offer a big thanks to Nevil Bland for his promotion of TWGT, his solid play with his TWGT bag, and his use of TWGT designs in his custom clubfitting work!

 

 

 

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The Most Important Principles of Clubfitting

As Clubmakers become more advanced in their knowledge of clubfitting, it is typical to become caught up in some of the “minutiae” and forget that there are a finite number of key fitting parameters which combine to account for the vast majority of game improvement available to most golfers through proper fitting. As a result, it is very important to step back once in a while and re-focus on these key fitting parameters to ensure the greatest amount of shotmaking improvement for the greatest number of golfers you fit.
Take the time to focus on these key fitting points that follow which will have the most effect on game improvement from the standpoint of both the fitting parameter itself, and the type of golfer being fit.


LENGTH


Driver


Fairway Woods


Hybrids and Irons

 

Wedges

 

Putter


LOFT


Driver


Fairway Woods


Hybrids and Irons


Wedges


Putter

 

LIE ANGLE


Driver


Fairway Woods


Hybrids, Irons and Wedges


Putter


FACE ANGLE


Driver and Fairway Woods


SHAFT WEIGHT


SHAFT FLEX and BEND PROFILE


SWINGWEIGHT and MOI MATCHING


GRIP

 

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PCS Closes Its Doors

July 1, 2008
Whereas, the PROFESSIONAL CLUBMAKERS SOCIETY has unsecured debts in excess of $200,000, and,
Whereas, the Board of directors has been unable to generate sufficient commitment from the current membership to finance continued operations and reduce current debt, therefore
Be it Resolved, that on this date the Board of Directors voted unanimously to terminate all society operations effective immediately, and seek to dissolve the PROFESSIONAL CLUBMAKERS SOCIETY at the earliest practicable time through a process of bankruptcy or other process as may be legally proper and expedient.

 

This announcement from the PCS Board on July 1 brings an unfortunate end to the 20 year history of the PCS as the independent voice of professional custom clubmaking in the golf equipment industry.

While the PCS Board mounted a last ditch effort to accumulate enough financial support from the membership to keep the organization solvent, the campaign was not able to reach its goal to meet the first stage obligations of its creditors.
The PCS was founded in 1988 by the late Elmore Just, president of Louisville Golf Company. Expressing a vision for the future of independent custom clubmaking, Elmore and 20 clubmakers convened in Louisville in the summer of 1988 to form the organization. During its history, the PCS established a number of milestones for custom clubmaking, including the first clubmaker accreditation programs, an annual clubmaker convention/trade show, a clubmaker referral program for consumers, and the beginning of work on establishing industry standards for clubmaking.

 

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The Demise of the PCS – What's Next for Clubmakers?

 

Because of a series of unfortunate events, Elmore Just’s vision of an independent and passionate voice for custom clubmakers and their craft is gone.

Within days of the announcement that the PCS would have to close their doors, I could not help but notice a flurry of online discussions among clubmakers about what’s next, and a number of solicitations from existing organizations encouraging PCS members to join their groups. Having had a lot of experience in this area within the course of my career, I do have strong opinions about this subject. I really hope that you will take a few minutes to read and then really THINK about what I have to say.

The value of a good clubmaking organization lies in two main areas: increasing consumer awareness of our craft and fostering an exchange of information among its members to continually elevate their skills, knowledge and clubmaking business acumen.
If the organization is properly focused and administrated toward achieving the goals that are of value to clubmakers and to the clubmaking/clubfitting industry as a whole, there is a lot of good that can result for everyone connected with this great craft.
Not only must a clubmaking organization be properly focused and run, it has to be adequately funded. To achieve that, it has to have the support of a LOT of clubmakers and hopefully, support from a good number of the companies who are in the business of supplying clubmakers with products and services as well.

If the clubmakers interested in joining an organization are all split up among two, three, or more organizations, it becomes pretty much impossible for any one organization to achieve their goals. Lack of goal achievement then breeds discontent among the members and corporate sponsors, and nothing good for clubmakers or our industry will result.

So here’s the deal, put forth as clearly and as frankly as I can say it.

If custom clubmaking and professional clubfitting is to thrive, we need to have more consumer awareness and respect for what we all do. Sure, it would be nice if all the clubmaking supply companies could embark on paid marketing programs to do this, but that is NOT going to happen. The clubmaking supply companies don’t even come close to making enough profit from their sales to clubmakers to be able to mount an effective, paid marketing campaign.

Right now, the only thing working to raise consumer awareness of clubmaking and clubmakers are the books TWGT has done over the past three years – the two Search books, the 12 Myths booklet and the recent Right Sticks book. They do work, they have changed golfer’s minds about the value of custom fitting, but their reach has been more limited than what we certainly would like.
Custom clubmaking needs a well supported organization doing all sorts of low cost/ cost effective, “guerilla marketing” activities to bolster what the Search books have started, things like constantly lobbying the equipment writers of every golf publication from national to regional as well as the golf writers for newspapers. Everyone who writes about golf and golf equipment for every golf media outlet must be made aware of our craft and what it can do for golfers.

Awareness campaigns do not have to cost big money these days. They require tons of ideas and a lot of hours to accomplish. To be effective and ongoing, they require the clubmaking organization to have more than a few hundred members who offer their support not only in the form of dues revenue, but in volunteer hours too. Raising golfer awareness of the benefits of custom fitting and building through the most cost effective, guerilla marketing techniques is what I see as the number one goal for any clubmaking group or association today.

I strongly feel that it is impossible for any organization to step up and get the most accomplished if the clubmakers choose to split up between multiple organizations. The fewer the number of members in each organization, the higher the dues must be to cover organization expenses and program costs. Only through unifying the support of the clubmakers for the common benefit will any kind of real impact be made on elevating the awareness and image of quality custom clubmaking and clubfitting.

There is no doubt this kind of clubmaker organization has to be INDEPENDENT of ownership or direct association with a company that sells products to clubmakers. If a clubmaker organization is company owned or sponsored, it simply will not have the same open and independent credibility within the golf media nor among the golfing public.

Company owned organizations exist to promote the company and its products to clubmakers, not to promote the image and awareness of custom clubmaking and clubfitting to consumers. If you have plenty of money and can afford to join several organizations, then fine, join one of the company organizations if you wish to avail yourself of the company’s discounts, accreditation programs, or seminar conferences.

But if you can only afford to join one clubmaker organization, please pick an independent organization that is committed to doing everything it can to perpetuate our craft and raise consumer awareness of clubmaking and fitting. Right now, such an independent organization is the Association of Golf Clubfitting Professionals (AGCP). The AGCP exists, it is independent, it has programs and services that are valuable for clubmakers and it has among its members many of the most experienced, knowledgeable and commercially successful clubmakers on the planet. The AGCP is committed to raising the image and awareness of our craft as well as teaching clubmakers the most effective business principles of promoting and increasing the sales of a clubfitting operation.
Last point – I know that many of you are not full time or serious part time clubmakers with an interest in increasing the number of clubs you fit, build and sell. For clubmakers who participate in the craft for enjoyment and learning more about how different clubs perform, you might think all this talk about clubmaker organizations has nothing to do with you.

On the contrary, the future of custom clubmaking needs the support of ALL clubmakers.

I ask ALL clubmakers to seriously think about making a commitment to support this great craft and your fellow clubmakers by joining an independent organization like the AGCP. You may not care about services like accreditation programs, seminars, conferences or techniques for increasing your clubmaking business. That’s fine. But no matter how many clubs you may build, you are a clubmaker. And that means you are a part of a community that needs your help.

That’s why I am asking ALL clubmakers, regardless of your level of involvement in clubmaking, to feel a sense of pride, a sense of community and a sense of responsibility to join together to help this great craft of custom clubmaking become more known and more respected by golfers. Please join and support an independent clubmaking organization, the AGCP.


Thanks for your time and commitment to this great craft,

Tom Wishon

 

 

 

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The AGCP Extends a Welcome to All TWGT Clubmakers

 

The AGCP is a peer group business organization dedicated to a one for all, all for one approach to making all members as good in the total skills of our craft as are our best members. Our purpose is clear cut - to share its members' collective knowledge to help all members be as good at the technical AND the business of custom clubmaking as possible. We do this through and ongoing exchange of ideas on our members only Email list and through our AGCP Annual Roundtable Educational Conference in Columbus, Georgia. Our presenters are some of the World's Greatest fitters, builders and businessmen in the industry. Clubmaker/Business people like Jerry Hoefling, Keith Chatham, Dana Upshaw, Bill Kelly, Tom Spargo, Bob Ubelhor, and many others with such vast experience have made presentations at our Roundtables. They share with all clubmakers the ideas, the techniques and the know how that make them the best in our craft.

It doesn't matter to us if you call yourself a hobbyist, a part timer, a home based business, a retail business, or a store front business. If you are passionate about fitting, building and making profit from your clubmaking efforts, the AGCP will allow you to become better at what you do. We are a businessmen's organization with a purpose and a shared commitment to a professional approach to custom clubmaking. If you want to learn and become a good clubmaker businessman, you should join AGCP. We not only discuss all the technical sides of the craft, we discuss business principles such as operating ratios, profit margins, selling techniques, marketing techniques and advertising techniques. We are about the business of clubfitting and clubmaking whether your commitment is full time or part time.

There are no dumb questions in our discussions as long as they relate to our purpose and you need the answer to the question to help you. We all started knowing very little to nothing and we all got to where we are by asking questions and seeking answers. In the AGCP we are fortunate to have some of the very best in the world to give us answers to our questions.

If you want to learn and you want to share what you know and teach others and the above seems like a place you want to be: click on this link and join the AGCP.

We are proud to have you.

 

 

Selling the Fit • 2008 AGCP Roundtable Event

 

November 5, 6, 7, 8 in Columbus GA

Register Now for Roundtable and Save $100! http://agcpgolf.com/Store/html/roundtable.html

Prices in the Cart will go up $100 after August 15th. The Deadline has been extended until
August 15th for all TWGT Customers

3 Certification Classes
True Length Technology Certification, OptimalFlight Software Certification and
Wedge Fitting Certification

Register for Certification Classes: http://agcpgolf.com/Store/html/certification_classes.html

3 Days of Presentations by some of the World's Best

Hurry up and register for the 3rd annual AGCP Roundtable. Why Hurry?

For complete details, hotel info, coms and photos:
http://www.agcpgolf.com/html/agcp_roundtable_education_expo.html

 


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TWGT General Advertising and Sales Policy

For all advertisements and promotions of TWGT designs and products (TV, radio, print, internet) a "Call/Contact for Pricing" policy is in effect.

TWGT designs and products are not to be sold or advertised on auction sites (eg. Ebay, Yahoo).

All and any use of Tom Wishon Golf Technology logos, trademarks and/or images shall be used in a manner consistent as outlined in the style guide Marketing CD.

If you have any questions please contact us at 800-470-0072 or 970-375-0411.

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Comments from the Department of Marketing/Web...

If you haven't noticed, we've added a few things to our www.wishongolf.com and www.twgolftech.com web sites. Tom's been doing a few interviews in his effort to promote custom clubmaking and The Search for the Perfect Golf Club. A 25-minute mp3 audio file of Tom's interview with the SF Bay Area's Golf Talk Radio Show is now available for download. Just take a look at the wishongolf.com home page in the upper right hand corner to find this and a link to a written exchange with BigDogEat.com's Donny Coyle.

There's also a new section on the publicity that TWGT has garnered for its design work. While we receive most of the popular rags (Golf Digest, GolfWorld, Golf Tips, Golf For Women), we don't get them all. If you know of any TWGT sightings that we missed, please drop us an email. If at all possible, a scan of the page(s) of concern would be greatly appreciated.


*SPECIALS -- Please call for details: 1-800-470-0072
All advertised specials are only offered for a limited time; prices are subject to change without notice and do not include shipping or taxes (where applicable). Offers are subject to availability, and cannot be combined with any other offer.


TW is the trademark of Tom Wishon Golf Technology, LLC. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

All eTECHreport (ISSN 1551-1103) articles written by Tom Wishon unless otherwise noted. Please refrain from unauthorized reproduction of text, photos, and/or graphics.