GolfWRX your all inclusive online internet golf headquarters is proud to present an interview with Andy Jones, FootJoy’s Vice President of Marketing and Apparel.

GolfWRX: Can you describe your current position and how many years you have been
with FootJoy?

Andy Jones: Yes....I am currently Vice President--Marketing and Apparel for FootJoy. I am responsible for worldwide brand marketing initiatives and also look after our Performance Outerwear business. I have been with FootJoy for 6 years and have a total of 17 years in the golf business. FootJoy is an entrepreneurial organization with outstanding people in all areas of the business including product development, sales, manufacturing, operations and marketing.

GolfWRX: With all the options in the competitive golf shoe market, why should consumers choose a FootJoy shoe?

Andy Jones: We have a great deal of respect for our competitors and follow what they do very closely while realizing we will never have 100% of the market. We currently have just over 51% of the U.S. golf shoe market with our closest competitor at 17%. The one point-of-difference is that FootJoy only serves one game----golf. The game of golf is our sole passion and entire focus. Our objective is to develop products that enhance the golfing experience for all players. We make products that players wear with the key focus of comfort which helps increase the players confidence resulting in optimum performance.

GolfWRX: In our previous chats with your sister brand Titleist, many references were made to the "Pyramid of Influence." Does FootJoy have a similar business model?

Andy Jones: Yes we do. It has been an important FootJoy brand strategy for many years to have a close connection with the vast majority of the elite players at all levels of the game. We have been the #1 shoe on the PGA Tour for 62 straight years and year-to date in 2007, 64% of the PGA Tour players have worn FootJoy shoes with the closest competitor at 15%. FootJoy is the #1 shoe on every Tour worldwide, at virtually every top amateur event, and at the boys and girls AJGA tournaments. In addition, a vast majority of Club Professionals trust their games with FootJoy shoes---they are an extremely important part of the pyramid with their close connection with the avid/core player.

GolfWRX: As there seems to be a fair amount of overlap between the Classics Dry Premier and Classics Tour shoe models, what advantages does one have over the other?

Andy Jones: Both of these categories are hand crafted in the USA using the finest calfskin leather uppers. The Premier model, using the combination leather and TPU outsole, provides the ultimate foundation to maintain balance and stability for those players with very high swing speeds. The Tour model is a bit lighter in overall weight and very flexible which provides an extremely comfortable, soft platform for the individual player. About 60% of the PGA Tour players wearing Classics wear the Tour model and 40% wear Premier.....the consumer demand for these categories mirrors these percentages as there is a market for both products.

GolfWRX: What prompted the utilization of the Boa Technology in the ReelFit shoes? What advantages do the ReelFits have over traditional laced shoes?

Andy Jones: Our product development team had followed the Boa Technology success in other shoe categories including, hiking, cycling and snowboarding. We worked with the Boa engineers for about 3 years on how to best incorporate the technology into a golf shoe for maximum benefit to the player. The true advantage is the fit of this shoe and how the shoe conforms to the foot for optimum comfort. We have received an enormous amount of feedback from players at all levels on how this shoe is the best fitting shoe the player has ever worn. With this success we just expanded the category with 2 additional men's styles and we will introduce a women's model later in the year. Approximate 15 PGA Tour players have worn the shoe in competition including Davis Love III and Jerry Kelly who wore the shoe for all 4 rounds of the recent Verizon Heritage and had the 54 hole lead.

GolfWRX: Where do you see the future of the MyJoys custom program going? Many were pleased to see the Contours included. Will there be any additional shoes offered?

Andy Jones: The MyJoys custom shoe program has been extremely successful as more and more consumers demand customized products. We have a special area in our Asia factory set-up specifically for this program and when a consumer receives their custom shoes in about 2 weeks from the order date, they are truly amazed at the speed of this custom process. We will have some exciting announcements early this summer on the expansion of this program including some license logo opportunities. Hard to believe we are expanding on a program that already has 72,000 custom options!

GolfWRX: How is your women's shoe business?

Andy Jones: We currently have 51% of the women's golf shoe market in the U.S. with the closest competitor at 14%. The competition, in all honesty, over the last few years has made us much better in terms of product as the women's business is much more fashion driven than the men's. We have completely changed our women's product development/line selection process
over the last 4 years while focusing in on the fashion aspect of this category. We have been the #1 shoe on the LPGA Tour for as long as the shoe count has been taken on this tour.

GolfWRX: Let's move to gloves, why do you have so many glove models? Is there really a need to offer all these choices?

Andy Jones: As the leader in the golf glove category with over 4X the market share of our nearest competitor, we feel it is very important to cover all aspects of the glove business including performance, core, specialty, women's and juniors. With 12 glove models, FootJoy offers the player many options for all different kinds of playing conditions. From the popular StaSof leather glove to the WeatherSof which is the most used glove in the world, to the specialty RainGrip and WinterSof models, we try to cover the needs of every player and every weather condition. Having control over the manufacturing of gloves with a vertical set-up, this truly allows us to develop a wide range of glove offerings.

GolfWRX: Tell us about your other businesses including outerwear and socks? Also, why was a decision made to narrow the accessories line and more specifically get out of the belt business?

Andy Jones: Our outerwear business has grown over 10 fold since 1999 with the focus of the category being on developing products that are extremely comfortable to wear while playing in challenging weather conditions. We want the player to be able to focus on their game and not worry about the outerwear they have on. Whether the playing conditions are wet, cold, windy or very warm we have products in the line that are specifically made to wear in these conditions. The best compliment we get from the many Tour players wearing FootJoy outerwear is that they don't notice it during the swing. It is extremely important in this category that the product be very quiet and breathable while offering the desired protection.

As for golf socks, we are pleased with the success of our recently introduced ProDry Extreme category which offers the player moisture control technology for maximum comfort during the round. Our complete focus in this category is to specialize on sock products specifically designed to be worn while playing golf. We don't just make socks.....we make golf socks.

The belt category was not a core business for us and was somewhat a distraction therefore we decided to focus our efforts on the 4 other core categories of shoes, gloves, socks and outerwear.

GolfWRX: What does the future hold for FootJoy?

Andy Jones: We feel the future is very bright for the FootJoy brand if we remain true to our roots of being an entrepreneurial organization, having the best products in the categories we compete in supported by the pyramid of influence, and.....focus solely on the game of golf. We are very humbled by the continuing support by millions of golf consumers and our
trade customers.

GolfWRX: We can't let you leave without finding out what is in your bag and on your feet?

Andy Jones: I have a Titleist driver and the Titleist 755 irons along with a Cobra fairway and utility. The ball I use is the new Titleist Pro V1. There is also a FootJoy Performance rainsuit in the bag. As for the FootJoy gloves and shoes we use, it varies with almost every round as we constantly test new products in development.

A special thanks to GolfWRX for this opportunity to discuss the FootJoybrand. We really enjoy reading your site and feel it is good for the game.