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Checking in with Mitchell Golf after acquisition by Caster Concepts

Published

7 years ago

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Last July, we reported Mitchell Golf Equipment Company, industry leader in loft and lie machines and other golf club bending equipment, was seeking a buyer. Founder and CEO Ed Mitchell was hoping for absorption into a larger company to reduce overhead and capitalize on the efficiencies of being nested inside a larger manufacturer.

As of December 1, Caster Concepts, a manufacturer of heavy duty industrial casters, purchased all assets of Mitchell Golf, and the the company has relocated to Caster’s facility in Albion, Michigan.

Ed Mitchell explained at the time the announcement, “Certainly partnering with a caster company was not my first thought, [but] when I met Bill Dobbins President, Brian Burt Controller and Andrew Dobbins General Manager, and fully understood the expertise that was within their company, it was clear there was a great fit for my company.”

Now a couple of months into the new arrangement, we caught up with Mr. Mitchell by phone to see how things are going.

I asked how they got linked up with Caster Concepts in the first place.

“We were looking for someone that could provide the machining and metal fabrication in house that we didn’t have…to find that already in the golf industry was very difficult.”

“I happened on a firm just 20 miles west of Jackson, which is my hometown. The son of the owner of the firm [Andrew Dobbins] had spent about eight or 10 years as a PGA Professional and he was familiar with our machines. So they had a connection to the industry, and with their in-house manufacturing, it seemed like a great fit.”

Mitchell indicated Castor Concepts offers a full buffet of resources.

“This company does business all over the world. They have a very sound grounding in manufacturing. They have a laser cutter. They have polyurethane capabilities. The have powder coating. They have in-house painting. They have in-house welding as well as all types of machining…all the tools that are needed to produce the precision parts that go into our machines. We’re able to take ideas from skratchpad all the way to production.”  

Mitchell also told us a few of the ways the the arrangement will help the company are

  • Get delivery times back to within days.
  • Add new design features the current line, as well as continue to improve on our machines.
  • Reinstate the company’s training schools, as well as offer an internet-based training program.
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4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Steve

    Mar 17, 2017 at 4:35 pm

    No mention here about Ed Mitchell sneaking out if Dayton Ohio on the weekend still owing vendors thousands of dollars.

    Reply Report comment

  2. Scooter6

    Feb 17, 2017 at 10:34 am

    I have had the pleasure to meet Mr. Mitchell, his son Tom, and Dodger the cat. What a fine family! Really great people and I hope this is the future they hoped for.

    Reply Report comment

  3. Chuck

    Feb 16, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    This is great news, and a nice and a timely report. Ed Mitchell has lots of roots in that area (Albion-Jackson). Ed Mitchell WAS the old Mitchell Golf, and he has so incredibly much historic knowledge. Back before there were any tour vans to speak of, Mitchell Golf had a little van at the Masters. He’s got amazing stories, and I hope that someone can help publicize them at this point in Ed’s life. Somebody should do a long-form interview with him.

    Bubba: since SuperStroke Grips, Carl’s Golfland, Miles of Golf, the Eaton (Golfpride) Corporation… oh, and three of the largest manufacturing companies in the world (General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Fiat-Chrysler Automotive) and the world’s leading autonomous vehicle research center all make their homes in Michigan, I think our productive class is doing fine, thank you very little.

    Reply Report comment

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Whats in the Bag

Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)

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10 hours ago

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Apr 23, 2024

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  • Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.

Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX

3-wood: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX

Utility: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX

Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (3), Callaway X Forged (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 130

Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S, 56-10S, 60-06C)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X

Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Eight T DB

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Check out more in-hand photos of Hojgaard in the forums.

 

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Whats in the Bag

Rory McIlroy WITB 2024 (April)

Published

11 hours ago

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Apr 23, 2024

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  • Rory McIlroy what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. 

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X

Irons: TaylorMade Proto (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9)
Shaft: Project X 7.0 (4-9)

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-K @59)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X3
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour

Ball: 2024 TaylorMade TP5x

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Spotted: Nate Lashley’s Ping PLD “Wolverine” putter

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11 hours ago

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Apr 23, 2024

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Ping PLD putters have been a very common site on profesional tours. Pros seem to gravitate toward the PLD line’s custom options and precision milling. We have seen the PLD line expanded over the years, but we haven’t seen too many, if any, large mallets.

This week we spotted a PLD putter in Nate Lashley’s bag that has a similar look to the old Ping Wolverine head shape. This putter is a large mallet with the famous “claws” on the outside and oval center that housed the alignment aid.

Nick’s putter has the PLD logo on the back but also looks like it might have an insert installed on the face. It is hard to tell but at the address picture, it looks like the face is a lighter material than the rest of the putters. The putter is center-shafted and should be face-balanced with a high MOI for stability and forgiveness on mishits. The sole is completely milled and has no markings of name or technologies that might be present in the head. A single white site line is on the top of the putter for alignment.

Nick’s putter is finished off with a chrome steel shaft and a Super Stroke Zenergy Flatso 2.0 grip in black and white.

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