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SuperStroke exits putter business, focuses on grips

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SuperStroke Grips

At the 2012 PGA Merchandise Show, SuperStroke introduced a full line of putter designs by Bruce Sizemore to compliment the company’s growing selection of putter grips.

SuperStroke added Sizemore in 2010, hoping that his putter and wedge designs could morph the brand from a putter grip company to a full-fledged short game specialty company. But that was before sales of SuperStroke grips grew from 5,000 in 2009 to a projection of 1 million in 2012.

“Right now, our biggest problem is that we can’t make grips fast enough,” said Dean Dingman, president of SuperStroke, which is based in Wixom, Mich.

For that reason, SuperStroke has decided to focus exclusively on the sale of putter grips. The decision means that SuperStroke will part ways with the putter business, as well as Sizemore, effective at the end of the year.

TigerShark, a company led by Dingman and his brother Darrin since 2000, acquired SuperStroke in 2009. Dingman said that the TigerShark product line, which included a full line of golf clubs as well as putters, would also cease production.

“Being a small company, all of our resources, all of our time, all of our energy needs to be put on grips,” Dingman said.

Dingman praised Sizemore’s attention to detail and the process he underwent when designing the company’s lineup of putters in 2012. He called him a putting expert, complimenting not only his knowledge of putters and putting mechanics, but also his rapport with golfers – everyone from high handicappers to tour players. But Dingman and Sizemore had different vision for the putter brand, and 2012 sales missed expectations by 40 percent.

Dingman said the sales goal that was set for SuperStroke putters wasn’t “super ambitious,” but he admitted that the success of SuperStroke putter grips stripped the putter brand of the energy and resources it needed to succeed.

“To build a successful putter brand, you need to have everything that goes with it – a tour presence, marketing, distributors,” Dingman said. “We just didn’t have the manpower.”

Sizemore emphasized that he felt no animosity in the split. He said he was happy with his putters from a design standpoint, saying they were “close to perfect.”

“That’s the cool part,” Sizemore said. “At every end is a beginning. I’ll come up with some good stuff. It will just take some time.”

Sizemore said plans to continue to design putters in his studio located in his hometown of Farmington Hills, Mich. He admitted that SuperStroke’s decision to exit the putter market caught him off guard, but he saw the complications that arose for SuperStroke by partnering with him.

In all likelihood, SuperStroke’s exit from the putter business will make its grips more appealing to OEMs that are interested in installing SuperStroke grips on their own putters.

Click here for more discussion in the Putter Forum. 

Click here to read more about Bruce Sizemore, or Click here to read about the new Super Stroke Grips. 

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4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. JEFF

    Jun 22, 2014 at 2:05 pm

    I used to use a tiger shark grip on my Cameron Newport 2. They didn’t have a big dumb slippery logo on them like they do now. Best putting for me for 2 straight years then I changed….never been the same. I want an original. Who makes them? anyone know?

  2. Donal

    Mar 27, 2013 at 2:57 am

    SuperStroke are in danger of too many products have you tried to buy one witch one do you buy you soon find the one you buy is the one the dealer has in stock and hope it suits you remember you’ll only buy one should mine the same as yours ?

  3. MyBluC4

    Nov 29, 2012 at 7:24 pm

    Bruce Sizemore made some incredible putters under his own name and some very special ones representing the interests of SuperStroke.
    I hope he continues to evolve his very special design talents going forward. I wish this guy nothing but the best in the future.

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head

From the seller: (@lasallen): “For sale is a BRNR mini 11.5 deg head only in brand new condition.  $325 shipped.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head 

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.

From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.

Specs/ Additional Details

-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)

-Original Anser Design

-PING PP58 Grip

-Putter is built to standard specs.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Inside Collin Morikawa’s recent golf ball, driver, 3-wood, and “Proto” iron changes

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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.

The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.

On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.

Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.

At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.

“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.

Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.

“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.

“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.” 

In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.

On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.

According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.

“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.” 

See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here. 

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