Equipment
Q&A: IonLoop co-founders Bob and Melissa Gotfredson
If you’ve ever wondered about the rubber bracelets world No. 1 Rory McIlroy wears on his right wrist, you can stop now. Bob Gotfredson, founder of IonLoop told me:
[quote_box_center]Rory McIlroy wears the Ion Thins. He wears a David Yurman bracelet, and he puts our Thins on either side of it. We don’t have any kind of agreement with Rory, he just likes our product.[/quote_box_center]
It’s a ringing endorsement for the five-year old brand, which Gotfredson—a co-founder of Trion-Z—started with his wife Melissa five years ago out of a desire for a U.S.-based and focused ion technology company.
I spoke with the pair about the company, its products, and what we can expect in the future.
How it started
Bob Gotfredson: We started this company because we’re entrepreneurs, and we wanted a U.S.-owned company.
IonLoop vs. the competitors
BG: The biggest difference is a design philosophy. The Trion-Z product is designed and developed in Osaka for the U.S. market as well as Japan. Our products are designed and developed here in Texas for the U.S. market. The technology is similar, but it just comes down to: It’s got to be fashionable … as well as functional. I think we bring a different fashion viewpoint.
We’ve developed bracelets for Adidas globally, and also TaylorMade and Adams. We do a lot of corporate business, and we have a very active web presence.
Best-selling items
BG: Original IonLoop bracelet: Silicon band with two magnets. It was the original bracelet we started with and it remains very popular. I think our most popular bracelet is the braided black. It’s a silicone bracelet that looks like a braided bracelet, but it has the durability that you can wear it in the water.
Newest items
BG: We have Ion Thins, which are just small, thin negative ion bands with no magnets that you can mix and match. Those come in 14 colors. You can pick out your four favorite colors to match your team or country. They’re very comfortable to wear. People wear them with other bracelets as well.
The biggest step we made outside of the bracelet area was the Ion Time watches, which just have been really well received.
Melissa Gotfredson: They’re silicon with infused tourmaline in the backplate, and we are patent pending on that technology. We’re excited about that. We’re the only ones who have a watch that offers that technology. It’s a unisex watch. It’s very lightweight. And I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface with it.
BG: And it’s fashionable. Comes in five colors. We’ve been advertising on Morning Drive and have had great response on the watch.
This past week we introduced leather bracelets, which have negative ions and a magnet clasp. The negative ions … are infused in the band. It’s an eight-strand leather design. Most leather bracelets in the market place are four-strand. And they’re thicker and kind of bulky. This is a fine gauge bracelet that looks like it might cost $200. We retail them for $45. Again, a fashion element using our technology.
Negative ion technology
BG: Negative ions are found in nature as well as positive ions. Positive ions are the bad ions, so it’s counter-intuitive. Positive ions come from the sun in the form of UV rays and they fatigue your body.
A number of years ago in Japan, golfers found that if they wore negative ion bracelets …they would have more energy and focus as they turned the back nine after being out in the sun all day. So they became popular in that marketplace and transitioned over to the rest of the world.
What’s also interesting is that negative ions counteract the effects of positive ions that come out of your computer screen. If you’re in front of a computer screen, you’re getting bombarded … sitting in front of that thing all day just fatigues the hell out of you.
Hewlett-Packard, in England, is doing a great deal of research into trying to find a way to block the positive ions from these computer screens. They haven’t come up with it yet, and until they do, everybody at a computer should have something on that produces negative ions. Cell phones, computers, anything electronic is giving off positive ions.
Why not?
BG: Really, when you think about it, for $20 or $45 on the leather bracelet, they look good anyway. Hundreds of millions of people wear bracelets. The bracelet business in the U.S. is estimated to be $400 million a year.
So, there are a lot of bracelets out there…the ones that have technology, why not try them? It’s a small investment and it might be helpful. They really don’t wear out either. The magnets don’t wear out. We’re coming on six years here and the original bracelets are still running at about 90 percent output.
On Tour
BG: We do not have endorsement deals with any players on the PGA Tour because they like to wear our bracelets anyway. The TaylorMade bracelets are in the tour trailer every week.
Zach Johnson, we were involved with him and his charity, so he wears our bracelets from time to time. Ryan Palmer wears them every week. Butch Harmon, we sent him some of our leather bracelets and he loved them. Lexi Thompson loves the bracelets.
We do them for the U.S. Open every year and they go in the players’ bags and the wives’ gift bags. We do them at the PGA Championship as well.
What’s next
BG: From a bracelet standpoint, we’re going to continue to innovate and come up with new and unique products similar to the leather bracelet. We’re going to have some more watch offerings coming out in 2015.
We’re always developing new products. There’s three or four new bracelets that are in the works. We’re constantly looking to innovate.
You can check out IonLoop’s website here.
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Equipment
Jason Day on his recent switch into Srixon ZX5 and ZX7 MK II irons
Over the past year, equipment free agent Jason Day has played a number of different iron sets looking for his right match.
In May 2023, he was using a TaylorMade P770 4-iron to go along with a set of P7MC irons (5-PW).
In August 2023, he had switched to a set of TaylorMade P7TW irons (5-PW) to go with his P770 4-iron.
Then, in February 2024, he was into a full set of P760 irons (4-PW).
Now, Day has switched it all the way up, and he’s currently using a new set of Srixon ZX5 MK II long irons (3 and 4), and Srixon ZX7 MK II mid-to-short irons (5-PW).
On Tuesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Day told GolfWRX.com that he made the switch before the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, because he was looking to reduce spin.
“For me, they spin a little bit less,” Day said. “They’re very good out of fairway bunkers, too. I haven’t played too much in the rough yet, so I still need to get an understanding of how the come out of the rough, but for me, it was all about spin control.”
“I had tested the previous model to these [Srixon ZX7’s], but I only had one club. And I was getting some inconsistent spinny with my previous irons, so I just decided to at least give them another shot. My biggest thing was to take spin off, because I was spinning it like crazy.”
The Srixon ZX7 MK II irons are known for producing low spin numbers, and pairing them with Day’s typical ultra-stiff True Temper X7 shafts make them certified spin killers.
If it’s spin he wanted to reduce, then Day may have found his match with the new Srixon irons.
See what else Day has in the bag at the 2024 RBC Heritage here
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Whats in the Bag
Jason Day WITB 2024 (April)
- Jason Day what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: TPT Driver 15 Lo
3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 80 X
7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 80 X
Irons: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (3, 4), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X Seven
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-10S, 60-04T), Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack (56-10 MID, 52-10 MID)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X Seven
Putter: TaylorMade Itsy Bitsy Spider Limited
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Bridgestone Tour B X (with Mindset)
Check out more in-hand photos of Jason Day’s WITB here.
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Whats in the Bag
Ludvig Åberg WITB 2024 (April)
- Ludvig Åberg what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 9 X
Irons: Titleist 718 TMB (2), Titleist T200 (2), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour Hybrid 105 X (2), KBS Tour 130 X
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-08F, 54-10S, 60-08M, 60-04T), WedgeWorks Proto (60-10V)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey White Hot Versa #1
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Check out more in-hand photos of Ludvig Aberg’s clubs in the forums.
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Aexis
Nov 6, 2016 at 5:35 pm
Found this IONTIME.COM
George
Mar 6, 2015 at 12:49 pm
Magnet therapy has been around for many decades. The people leaving negative comments need to do some research instead of giving uninformed bias opinions. Even the FDA has acknowledged the benefits of magnet therapy. Two recent devices approved by the FDA that use magnetic therapy for health.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3004658/fda-approves-magnetic-helmet-treating-depression
http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/news/20131215/fda-approves-new-magnet-device-to-treat-migraines
TS
Feb 1, 2015 at 10:38 am
Lydia Ko just became the youngest woman ever on LPGA to be #1 in the world…no articles on that, but hey we’ve got this.
Bob
Jan 31, 2015 at 2:52 pm
GolfWRX, sponsored by SnakeOil Co.
Rodger Maltbee
Jan 30, 2015 at 7:42 pm
I think urine has negative ions in it. Peeing on yourself is more effective at battling positive ions than this product.
SM
Jan 30, 2015 at 2:59 am
Copy, copy copy. All these monkeys can do is copy the amazing stuff that comes out of Japan, as usual.
Marc
Jan 30, 2015 at 12:33 am
GolfWRX should be ashamed for their part in promoting trash like this. You just spent some goodwill earned from your readers. Seriously,Mifsud you continue down this path, you’re going to damage your credibility and reputation. Wake up and make good decisions, people.
Rodders
Jan 29, 2015 at 2:25 pm
So a mum and dad company headed by Bob and Melissa can discover how to counteract these positive ions but Hewellet-Packard can’t. Right, that makes sense.
Why don’t hp stick half a dozen of these bracelets to the screens then?
The only positive thing these bracelets destroy is your bank balance!
Shame golfwrx.
Zac
Jan 29, 2015 at 1:01 pm
GolfWRX has really hit a new low now, shilling for companies that engage in blatant misleading claims. I’m actually shocked the scam artists purveying this junk aren’t afraid of suffering the same legal fate as PowerBalance, who had to write an apology letter in Austrailia that read:
In our advertising we stated that Power Balance wristbands improved your strength, balance and flexibility.
We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims and therefore we engaged in misleading conduct in breach of s52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974.
If you feel you have been misled by our promotions, we wish to unreservedly apologise and offer a full refund.
If people actually “swear by these items” claiming some kind of “benefit”, they need to be openly mocked so as to prevent the proliferation of this age-old scam.
ParHunter
Jan 29, 2015 at 12:41 pm
If this isn’t a paid for article then I don’t know. The article should have a big ‘Advertisement’ sign at the top. What’s the next article, Voodoo dolls for golf?
ER
Jan 29, 2015 at 12:39 pm
What a terrible interview. Go ahead and don’t ask real questions. This company, like all other predecessors, is selling snake oil. Shame on GolfWRX for giving a sham company publicity.
Alex
Jan 29, 2015 at 12:32 pm
These companies get sued into bankruptcy whenever they get big enough to attract attention in the first place. (see, e.g., Power Balance, Q-whatever, http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/balance_bracelet_settlement.html)
As stated previously, there’s no evidence that this stuff has any benefit beyond a potential placebo effect. Your site’s representations to the contrary (“IonLoop products allow you to enjoy all the natural benefits of magnets and negative ions: quicker sports recovery, better sleep, stress management, natural energy, better concentration and focus, less stiffness and soreness…more!”), even coupled with poorly worded disclaimers about the “user experience” open you up to liability for deceptive advertising charges.
Scientist Golfer
Jan 29, 2015 at 11:57 am
Please listen to frendy. Many people swear by these bracelets but there is no, I repeat NO (NADA, ZILCH, ZIP), scientific evidence suggesting that these things actually do anything. If they “work” for you it’s entirely due to the placebo effect.
If you are going to wear these things, do it because they look cool, not because of their effect.
frendy
Jan 29, 2015 at 2:39 pm
Yes and no. Sure, there is no evidence to back up the claims of these wonder bracelets, but let’s not discount the placebo effect. What people think about the potential benefits/medicinal properties of accessories like these can have a marked effect on how they physically feel, and therefore *potentially* how they might play golf.
So I say if you feel like these things are helping you feel better, by all means wear them. However, don’t make the claim that they are anything else than mind-body woo woo.
ca1879
Feb 2, 2015 at 2:50 pm
Ben – you’ve really dragged your credibility through the dirt with this one. Hope you’re proud of shilling for such a transparent pile of nonsense.
Jafar
Jan 29, 2015 at 11:15 am
There are ions out to get you.
frendy
Jan 29, 2015 at 10:47 am
Placebo effect very strong here. If that works for ya, great, but let’s not pretend that these bracelets and watches do anything more than look nice.