2006 - At The Quarter Pole

Hello everyone! The last day of April means that 2006 is a quarter over… or that there are 3 quarters left in 2006… half full, half empty… you decide. Regardless… I thought it might be fun to post some of my thoughts on the golf season so far…

- The Nike SQ and Cleveland HiBore are proving that looks aren’t everything. People seem to really like these despite their unique looks.

- Bridgestone’s advertising is paying off in my part of the world. We’re getting a lot of requests for their B330 balls. The B330’s are really good and my customers seem to really like them.

- Best big brand name bang for the buck right now… probably the TaylorMade R5 Dual driver or the Cleveland Launcher Ti460.

- 2006 is the year of the shaft. We’ve had more shaft questions than ever before. There are so many good shaft options out there right now and the big trick is to find one that works for your game. Be sure you demo, demo, demo!

- I thought colored golf balls were dead… but they’re not. The “crystal” fad has almost every golf ball company on the planet creating their own version. We’re also getting a lot of requests for pink golf bags and accessories.

- It’s a really good year for golf shoes too. The big trend seems to be towards the comfortable yet casual styles… the Callaway Chev is doing very well here. The other trend seems to be with the very “technical” shoe filled with new technologies and enhanced stability. The Adidas Tour 360 is one of the best ones here.

- Phil’s Masters win has got more and more people talking about the Callaway Fusion FT-3 driver. The whole 2 driver thing was perfect advertising for the club… it’s gotta be good if Phil plays 2 of them!

- We’re having some stock issues with some of the major manufacturers (I’m not going to name names). If some of these backorders keep dragging on… we might see some of the smaller companies picking up the slack. Many customers (especially in colder climates) won’t wait a month for a club when they can get a similar club from a smaller company right now. Memo to the smaller guys… keep the prices good and the shelves stocked!

A few notes that I’ve made over the past few months. It’s turning out to be a pretty decent year so far and people are really excited about current equipment and clubs that are on the way!