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Bridgestone Golf’s new CEO, Dan Murphy, on the future of the company, ball fitting, and Tiger Woods

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6 years ago

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Dan Murphy, Bridgestone Golf’s new CEO and President, told us the opportunity to “work on the next chapter of this great brand is a great honor.”

And from our brief phone call on day one of Mr. Murphy sitting in the CEO chair, it sounds like he really means it. As a veteran of the company, he was a part of Bridgestone’s growth in the late 2000s, early 2010s, and he’s keen to focus on what worked well during that time: namely the company’s emphasis on ball fitting.

Murphy is hardly stuck in the past, however, as you’ll see from our conversation.

BA: Now, you were with Bridgestone from 2005 through 2014. Can you talk a bit about how the company is positioned as you return and what’s ahead?

DM: The great thing about our company, is we have the fundamentals in place. We have the tools. We make the best product in the world: Bridgestone’s attention to manufacturing excellence, quality, and consistency is unwavering…I think you can go all the way back to the 90s and the Precept product to see that. We’re great manufacturers.

Second is people…we have great people here…and then, the third factor is that we’re part of Bridgestone Tire and Rubber. They want to see us succeed…we have the saying power…both from a R&D resource perspective–we have something like 900 polymer science engineers on staff, who can help us design golf balls as well as tires–but we also have the financial resources to really sustain and make a difference in this business.

As we go forward, you’ll probably see some of the things that made us successful in the first place, perhaps become a little bit more relevant again…such as ball fitting, such as targeting better players…better players make a lot of sense for us because they appreciate the science, and they appreciate the engineering and the product quality. And just from a business perspective, better players are thought leaders. They are the ones that recreational players look to. We still prescribe to the Pyramid of Influence in that respect.

BA: With respect to your position in the ball market, the emphasis on golf ball fitting is both a point of differentiation and competitive advantage. I’m interested in how that’s sometimes been at the fore of marketing and sometimes hasn’t. Can you speak to that?

DM: The market leader does what they do and they do it very well. They have a Tour presence that’s hard to argue with; they have an advertising presence that’s hard to argue with, but there is an opportunity for a brand like us from a customization/fitting perspective to tell the story that we don’t all play extra stiff shafts…we don’t all wear size medium shirts or size 12 shoes. There’s specialization in every area of our lives. Why not address your golf ball the same way? We have different swings, different swing speeds, different needs…choosing your ball based on that rather than, perhaps, an overly simplified process of “play what the pros play.”

BA: Regarding the Tour staff, then, can you talk about your presence on Tour. You have Snedeker and Kuchar, and certainly Bryson playing the ball, and that would seem to fit hand-in-glove…and obviously Tiger.

DM: The Tour is very, very important to the positioning of our brand. Obviously, like other brands, it’s the testing ground to prove ourselves and fine-tune our product…the Tour is both an R&D tool as well as a promotional tool.

But we have to begin our conversation about the Tour with Tiger. We’re so pleased and so proud to have him. And for me to come back to this job with an asset like Tiger as part of the team is amazing. I mean, does anybody move the needle better than Tiger does?…But I believe we have a great Tour team in addition to Tiger.

I do see us mixing him [Tiger] up with the Tour team…His interactions with Bryson or a Freddie or a Matt could create a lot of consumer interest…I think you’ll see more of that. I think you’ll see us use those Tour players, including Tiger, to tell a customization and ball fitting story.

BA: Right. Obviously, Tiger’s incredibly analytical and data-driven in his own right…similar to Bryson’s orientation, and then he has such an affinity with Couples and Kuchar…and he’s been playing a lot of practice rounds with Bryson, so there must be an affinity there as well. So the opportunity there to mix it up from a marketing and messaging standpoint has got to be exciting.

DM: Especially for the enthusiasts that you have as your audience. I think lifting the veil and maybe seeing a little bit of what happens behind the scenes, say, in the locker room between a Freddie and a Tiger, that’s kind of interesting, and I think you’ll see that play out.

BA: Can you talk a bit about the ball and your share of the market? You’d risen in to the No. 2 spot, but to my knowledge you’d slipped.

DM: Well, our goal 100 percent is to get back into the No. 2 spot. We want to get back into that position of chasing down Titleist. We look forward to doing that. We think the Tour team combined with ball fitting combined with delivering better products than anyone else…if we do that in a creative, engaging way, we think we can do it.

There’s a subtlety and a nuance to talking to the golfer. I spent a little bit of time away from golf, and I have an appreciate for golf…it’s a unique niche industry. It’s not the same as a lot of other industries. It requires a certain insider’s voice and insider’s knowledge to talk to golers in a way that makes and that moves them to action.

BA: Right. The marketing and the messaging is delicate…and there’s a high degree of skepticism out there…but then you see certain things gather momentum and they become phenomenons. It’s an odd, maybe sometimes incongruent space, and it’s hard to think of other parallel industries. I’m always interested by the consumer in the golf space.

DM: Yeah. Well, there’s no doubt it’s a business of momentum, and you have to find ways to build momentum and create a brand…obviously the Tour is a great way to do that. But then…sometimes the Tour is, well, the Tour. It’s difficult to predict and control…but I do think within the control of a marketer is shaping the message in a way that really compels folks…to engage the brand, to find enough interest in the brand…to spend time researching the brand. Ball fitting or us is a great engagement tool we think we can utilize again to create that momentum.

Do you know where ball fitting came from, actually?…I’m a marketer from way back. In the 80s, Coke and Pepsi were going at each other and there was the Pepsi challenge. And I looked at that, where they offered people the opportunity to taste Pepsi versus Coke…so back in ‘08 or ‘09…we compared Titleist products to Bridgestone products based on performance…so, the cola wars were about taste. The golf ball wars were about performance. But then, the advantages consumers saw in being fit for a ball gave us the opportunity to talk about that in advertising.

BA: Interesting origin of that effort! Any final words here on day one of job? I’m sure it’s an overwhelming position to be in…

DM: I’m trying to consume massive amounts of information to get up to speed. It’s the old analogy of drinking water from the fire hose…but we have a lot of data, and we have a great team here. They understand our industry and they understand the company…I’m excited about it. Some things I’ve said already probably show which way we’re going to go…It’s not the same industry it was three years ago [when Murphy left Bridgestone], but we’ll move forward tailoring our approach to needs…of the market. But I’m super excited and very, very confident, and ready to rock and roll.

BA: Well, you certainly have some great resources and interesting ingredients, so we look forward to seeing the dish, if you, will that you cook up. I can only imagine the size and scope of the undertaking, so I wish you the best of luck with that, sir.

DM: We’d love to keep in touch as we go. We have tremendous respect for your organization and what you guys do. You play an important part in the industry, so this opportunity for me has been a great honor.

BA: We appreciate kind words!

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1 Comment

  1. timmy

    Jun 26, 2018 at 1:06 am

    Golf balls are ‘expendables’ and that’s why it’s such a good product… duffers consistently come over the top and slice the ball into oblivion. Pull out another ball and try your luck again… along with Tiger, Bryson, Freddie, etc. ….. each of who get their cut of the sale.

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Five Things We Learned: Friday at the PGA Championship

Published

35 mins ago

on

May 18, 2024

By

Early on Friday morning, a vendor working for the PGA Championship was struck and killed by a tournament shuttle bus. Nearly at the same time, as he arrived for his second round of tournament play, Scottie Scheffler attempted to detour around the scene, and was arrested, booked, then released. Somehow, Scheffler returned to Valhalla and played his second round of the tournament. Despite the jokes and memes of some in the golf industry, the tournament took a back seat to life and humanity on Friday morning. Our prayers are with the family and friends of the vendor, as well as with all involved.

Day two of Valhalla’s fourth PGA Championship did not see a repeat of the record-setting 62 posted by first-day leader, Xander Schauffele. The low card of 65 was returned by five golfers, when play was suspended by darkness. Five golfers still on the course, were on the positive side of the expected cut line of one-under par, while 12 more either had work to do, or knew that their week had come to an end.

The best 70 golfers and ties would advance to the weekend. 64 golfers figured at minus-two on Friday evening, with another 15 at one-under par. The most likely scenario saw those at even par, headed home. The formula was simple: finish under par and stick around. Play resumed at 7:15 on Saturday, to sort through the last six threesomes. Before the night turned over, we learned five important things to set us up for a weekend of excitement and excellence. It’s a pleasure to share them with you.

1. The 65s

On Thursday, three golfers etched 65 into the final box on their card of play. On Friday, nearly twice that number finished at six-under par for the round. Collin Morikawa moved from top-five into a spot in the final pairing. The 2020 PGA Champion at Harding Park teed off at the tenth hole, and turned in minus-two. He then ran off five consecutive birdies from the fourth tee to the eighth green, before finding trouble at the ninth, his last hole of the day. Bogey at nine dropped him from -12 to -11.

The same score moved Bryson DeChambeau from 11th spot to T4. Joining the pair with 65s on day two were Matt Wallace and Hideki Matsuyama (each with 70-65 for T11) and Lee Hodges (71-65 for T16.) Morikawa, Matsuyama, and DeChambeau have major championship wins in their names, while Wallace has been on the when to break through list his entire career. Hodges epitomizes the term journeyman, bu the PGA Championship is the one major of them all when lesser-known challegers find a way to break through.

2. The Corebridge team of PGA Professionals

Last year’s Cinderella story, Michael Block, did not repeat his Oak Hill success. Block missed the cut by a fair amount. Of the other 19, however, two were poised to conclude play and reach the weekend’s play. Braden Shattuck had finished at one-under par, while Jeremy Wells (-2) and Ben Polland (-1) were inside the glory line, each with two holes to play.

With three holes to play on the front nine, Kyle Mendoza sits at even par. His task is simple: play the final triumvirate in one-under par or better. If Mendoza can pull off that feat, and if the aforementioned triumvirate can hold steady, the club professional segment of the tournament will have four representatives in play over the weekend.

3. Scottie Scheffler

In his post-round interview, Scheffler admitted that his second round, following the surreal nature of the early morning’s events, was made possible by the support he received from patrons and fellow competitors. The new father expressed his great sadness for the loss of life, and also praised some of the first responders that had accompanied him in the journey from course to jail cell. Yes, jail cell. Scheffler spoke of beginning his warm-up routine with jail-house stretches.

Once he returned to Valhalla, Scheffler found a way to a two-under, opening nine holes. He began birdie-bogey-birdie on holes ten through twelve, then eased into a stretch of pars, before making birdie at the par-five 18th. His second nine holes featured three birdies and six pars, allowing him to improve by one shot from day one. Scheffler found himself in a fourth-place tie with Thomas Detry, and third-round tee time in the third-last pairing. Scheffler’s poise illustrated grace under pressure, which is the only way that he could have reached this status through 36 holes.

4. Sahith!

It’s a little bit funny that the fellow who followed 65 with 67, is nowhere to be found on the video highlight reels. He’s not alone in that respect, as Thomas Detry (T4) was also ignored by the cameras. Theegala has won on tour, and has the game to win again. The Californian turned in four-under par on Friday, then made an excruciating bogey at the par-five tenth. He redeemed himself two holes later, with birdie at the twelfth hole.

Theegala is an unproven commodity in major events. He has one top-ten finish: the 2023 Masters saw him finish 9th. He did tie for 40th in 2023, in this event, at Oak Hill. Is he likely to be around on Sunday? Yes. Will he be inside the top ten? If he is, he has a shot on Sunday. If Saturday is not a 67 or better, Theegala will not figure in the outcome of the 2024 championship.

5. X Man!!

After the fireworks of day one, Xander Schauffele preserved his lead at the 2024 PGA Championship. He holds a one-shot advantage and will tee off in the final pairing on Saturday, with Collin Morikawa. Eleven holes into round two, Schauffele made his first bogey of the week. The stumble stalled his momentum, as he had played the first ten holes in minus-four. Will the run of seven pars at the end signal a negative turn in the tide of play for Schauffele? We’ll find out on day three. One thing is for sure: minus twelve will not win this tournament. Schauffele will likely need to reach twenty under par over the next two days, to win his first major title.

 

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Scottie Scheffler arrested, charged, and released after traffic incident at Valhalla

Published

1 day ago

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May 17, 2024

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As first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police on the way to Valhalla Golf Club this morning due to a traffic misunderstanding.

“Breaking News: World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club. The police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla. The police officer then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car.

“When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. He is now being detained in the back of a police car.”

Darlington also posted a video of the dramatic moment which you can view below:

There was an unrelated accident at around 5am, which is what may have caused some of the misunderstanding of which traffic was moving.

Speaking on ESPN, Darlington broke down exactly what he witnessed in full detail:

“Entering Valhalla Golf Club this morning, we witness a car pull around us that was Scottie Scheffler. Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police officers, placed in the back of a police vehicle in handcuffs after he tried to pull around what he believed to be security, ended up being police officers.

“They told him to stop, when he didn’t stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle, and Scheffler then travelled another 10 yards before stopping the car.”

“The police officer then grabbed at his arm, attempting to pull him out of the car, before Scheffler eventually opened the door, at which point the police officer pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. Scheffler was then walked over to the police car, placed in the back in handcuffs.

“Very stunned about what was happening, he looked towards me as he was in those handcuffs and said ‘please help me’. He very clearly didn’t know what was happening in the situation.”

“It moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively. He was detained in that police vehicle for approximately 20 minutes. The police officers at that point did not understand that Scottie Scheffler was a golfer in the tournament, nor of course that he is the number one player in the world.”

Due to the accident, play has been delayed this morning. Scheffler’s current tee time for the second round of the PGA Championship is 10:08 a.m.

Scheffler’s mugshot following the incident:

*Update*

Scheffler has been charged with 2nd Degree assault of a police officer, criminal mischief 3rd degree, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.

*Update*

According to ESPN+, Scottie Scheffler has been released and is now on his way to the golf course.

*Update*

Scottie Scheffler arrives at Valhalla ahead of his 10:08 a.m second round tee time.

*Update*

The PGA of America released this statement regarding the fatal accident, which diverted traffic at Valhalla this morning.

“This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club. This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.” 

Per the PGA Tour, Scheffler released the following statement.

We will update this developing story as more information on the situation is revealed.

More from the 19th Hole

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Five Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

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2 days ago

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May 16, 2024

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It was a year ago that we the north, found ourselves with toes and fingers crossed. The Oak Hill PGA Championship of 2023 finished on schedule, despite the iffiness of weather in upstate New York. It’s 75 degrees today across the Niagara Frontier, which makes it two out of three (2022 was the same way) for sultry, unseasonal weather.

Louisville is, let’s be honest, a much better bet for a May PGA Championship, and Valhalla is an exciting venue for the year’s second major championship on the men’s circuit. Brooks Koepka came in as the defending champion, and Rory McIlroy arrived as the last golfer to win a major at the Nicklaus-designed course. That was a decade ago, and lord, have things changed in the world and golf.

Day one at Valhalla offered walk-in eagles, buckets of birdies, and potential for a record-low, winner’s score. We’ll get right to the meat of the matter, with five things that we learned. After all, if you can make par from the muck, anything’s possible in the land of the horses.

1. X marks this spot

Xander Schauffele went head-to-head last Sunday with Rory McIlroy, at least on the practice green. By the end of the round, Rors had won for a fourth time at Charlotte, while the X Man sat scratching his head, wondering what went wrong. Fortunately for us, Xander didn’t sulk.

The San Diego State alumnus absolutely torched Jack’s track with 62. Four birdies on the front nine, were followed by five more on the inward side. Schauffele never looked as if bogey was a consideration, and he might have gone even lower. Despite winning the Covid-delayed Gold medal at the Japan Olympics (I consider it a major, btdubs) Schauffele continues to chase an initial men’s major, and the validation that it brings. If 62 doesn’t get you over the hump, who knows what will.

2. Scottie starts strong? Aye.

Last month, Mr. Scheffler won a second green jacket at Augusta National. Last year in Rochester, Mr. Scheffler tied for second in this event. Mr. Scheffler began play today with a walk-in eagle, a one-hop affair that never looked as if it might go anywhere but to its home. Scheffler had a few rough holes, but that’s to be expected from a new dad. Each time he made bogey, he bounced back with birdie, so he has that short memory that winners crave. Surprisingly, Scheffler failed to manage one last birdie at the reachable 18th. Perhaps that miss will motivate him in round two.

3. LIV Check-In

It’s good to check in on the departed from time to time, to ensure that the fellows formerly known as PGA Tour members are doing well. It’s safe to say that some of them can still play. Defending champion Brooks Koepka posted 67 on the day, He had an eagle and three birdies on the day, with only a stumble at the 17th. He’s tied for 7th. Bryson DeChambeau made an eagle of his own, but also had a bogey, at the 12th hole. He cohabits eleventh position with Cameron Smith, who ALSO had a bogey on his card. They are one shot behind Koepka, and a fistful more behind the leader.

4. Sahith and Tony at Schauffele’s heels

Both Finau and Theegala represent a special sort of athletic golfer. Their power and their charisma blend to draw golf fans to their groups. Let’s be honest, too, and say that they don’t look like the traditional professional golfer. As much as Tiger Woods did in the 1990s, they have the power to bring greater diversity to the sport.

In terms of their play today, well, only Xander was better. Finau had a clean card, with six birdies and twelve pars. Theegala had seven birdies, ten pars, and one bogey. Each combined power and finesse to insert themselves squarely in contention, ahead of round two. How will they, and Xander as well, manage the afternoon putting surface on Friday? That’s the great unknown!

5. All those other guys are here!

Rory, Tom Kim, Collin, and Viktor are all at minus-three or lower. Valhalla may not be a traditional golf course, but it is the type of course that the world’s best play well. McIlroy currently sits at minus-five, tied with Robert MacIntyre, Kim, and three others in fourth position.  Maverick McNealy finished fast to reach the same figure, as did Tom Hoge. Morikawa closed with birdie to join the sextet at five below. Both Scheffler and Morikawa finished their rounds late on Thursday, meaning they should see smoother greens on Friday morning. If someone is a betting soul, wiser wagers could not be placed on better names than those two, two-time, major champions. Rory will tee off in Friday’s afternoon wave but, hey, he’s Rory, and he won going away last week at Quail Hollow, a course not unlike Valhalla.

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