In the wake of the news of Miura Golf signing Abraham Ancer as a brand ambassador and one of few paid staff members on any tour, our Director of Original Content, Johnny Wunder, caught up with Miura COO, Bill Holowaty, for the inside scoop.

Here is the convo.

JW: Bill, congratulations on signing Abraham, seems like a great fit for Miura and a good way to kick off 2019. What lead to formalizing this relationship with him, and was this something that had been in the works for a while?

BH: Miura Golf has never paid for play on professional tours, however, we have always made our products available to the best players. Abraham was introduced to Miura by Genaro Davila (our dealer in San Antonio) a several years ago and although he moved away from our irons for a short time, he made the decision to trust his game to Miura and for the last 2+ years, he has been playing Miura irons.

Late in 2018, we were working to expand our distribution reach around the world, and that included Mexico. From there, things moved quickly as we identified Genaro Davila and his business partner Gerardo Benavides (DSP Golf Mexico) as the right partners, and they reached out to Abraham to join their team. As the press release stated, this in really a new and special relationship we have created with Abraham.

JW: Is he required to play a certain amount of Miura clubs?

BH: Abraham has no parameters on the number of clubs he plays. But, he’s said on multiple occasions that he just wants to play the best forged irons. Miura! And we obviously have the best interests of Abraham at heart.

JW: In regards to his irons, he got fitted for the Miura MB-5005. What is it about that particular head that resonated with him? He seems to be a traditional feel player, so I’m assuming it’s not just the iron profile that caught his eye. Turf interaction? Flight windows he looks for?

BH: Yes. All those things. Abraham had previously played the CB-57s, but when testing new product, the MB-5005 ticked all the boxes. We had yet to introduce our newest model, the MC 501. Therefore, it’s understandable, given his recent success, that he would stick with the 5005s for now. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see the MC 501 in play at some point.

Ancer’s MB-5001 8-iron

JW: Will he be adding any utility clubs or wedges to the bag in the near future?

BH: The relationship we have with AA is fantastic. Although no plans to add utilities or wedges, he has been open to combining other Miura models in to his set.

JW: Does the Justin Rose Honma signing help you guys in building a bigger tour presence? Point is since they are both known as popular high-end Japanese companies, does the signing of a World No. 1 assist you guys in creating new conversations with tour players that would have been potentially difficult before? Thats form a craftsmanship/quality standpoint and leaving money out of it.

BH: Great question. Brand awareness has always been a challenge for Miura. The gear heads (a term I use affectionately) know Miura. But there are still many pros who do not. Again, this particular relationship is very unique, given Abraham’s involvement with distribution in Mexico. As far as the future is concerned, will continue to make the best forged irons available to golfers on all tours.

JW: Can we expect more signings like this in the future?

BH: Although we have no future signings in the works, the fact that we continue to receive inquiries from professionals on all the major tours suggests that you’ll be seeing more pros trusting their game to Miura in the near future.

JW: Does Abraham plan on sticking to his current set for now, or is he testing other products in the line?

BH: For now, he will be playing the 5005s, but it’s less about the model number and more about the Miura forging process. The consistency in feel and performance is what AA trusts. He has been enthusiastic about our entire line up and shown a willingness to test all our new offerings, including the CB-301, the IC-601 and our Tour Wedges. The Miura family has welcomed all his comments and looks forward to his input into future designs.

JW: Thanks, Bill! As always, great talking to you my friend.