Equipment
A visit to Golf Pride’s new Pinehurst Headquarters
Golf Pride has been making golf grips since 1949 and is now the No. 1 grip brand in golf. Rubber grips were rare back when Thomas L. Fawick figured out that rubber could be superior substitute to leather. Fast forward 73 years and the Golf Pride team, including president Jamie Ledford, are welcoming in a new era in golf grips as well as a new headquarters in North Carolina. The new building is located in the iconic Pinehurst Resort, one of the iconic destinations for golf in the United States. Jamie explained how Pinehurst was such an easy choice since the golf world revolves around the community here.
The new Golf Pride building was designed to fit into the Pinehurst Resort with its style and location. Jamie explained how they went to great lengths, including working with the people at Pinehurst, in order to create a timeless look. If the Golf Pride logo wasn’t on the outside of the building you would think you were pulling up to the clubhouse of a private club. The off-white brick, large windows, and dark brown timbers welcome you in to the front door and reception lobby.
The building looks small and quaint from the front, but what you don’t see is what Ledford is so proud ofL a retail store, expansive office space, and a whole prototype facility behind the facade. I was lucky enough to get the full tour and what you don’t see is very impressive. From the large employee lounge to the 9-hole putting course that is built into the floor, it is modern and exciting to be in.
Bringing golfers into the world of Golf Pride is one of Ledford biggest opportunities and you can see his excitement when he showed off the new Golf Pride Retail Lab. This part of the building is where a regular golfer like you and I can walk in and get a new set of grips installed while you wait. The Retail Lab will have all the Golf Pride grips on display as well as full-time employees to educate you on anything you would like to know about grips. As a person who has installed a lot of grips in his day, the new Retail Lab doesn’t have the lingering smell of grip solvent yet! A large counter with stools surrounds a gripping station where you can take a seat and watch your favorite clubs get paired with your favorite Golf Pride grips.
Ledford was also very excited to show off another room near the front of the building that is dedicated to a new endeavor for Golf Pride, data collection. Golf Pride has brought in a new engineer to specifically start collecting data on grips. Ledford explained that this process is in its infancy and they don’t yet have many details they can share. Collecting this data will of course influence future products and also provide more opportunity to educate golfers on their grip and regripping needs.
Speaking of new products, the new CPX grip is the first grip to be released in the new headquarters. We got a tour of the prototype facility in the rear of the building and Golf Pride has diverse collection of machinery there. They have some cutting edge machines, that I can’t talk about, working on some of the latest ideas and designs. Right next to those are machines that have been producing grips for decades. It is here were they are creating brand new designs in small batches as well as mimic the high capacity manufacturing methods to ensure that each grip will meet their high quality standards.
Golf Pride knows that being the No. 1 grip in golf isn’t something that just happens by accident and keeping that title takes evolution. Ledford and his team are committed to making the best grips for golfers on all levels and their new headquarters is offering them a place to take that to a new level.
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What you need to know: Fujikura introduced the second-generation of its Ventus line with Ventus TR Blue in January. As expected, and as was the case with the original Ventus Blue, Fujikura is now adding Ventus TR Red (mid-high launch), and Ventus TR Black (low launch) to the family.
What’s new
Spread Tow: Improving on the original Ventus Red and Ventus black design, and like Ventus TR Blue, TR Red and TR Black feature “Spread Tow” fabric in the butt-end section to increase torsional stiffness. Spread Tow, essentially, is a checkerboard-like design that weaves fibers together to increase strength and reduce weight. According to Fujikura, the torque is 10 percent stiffer in the section that uses this design.
Additional technology
The Ventus family’s secret sauce is still “VeloCore,” which is a multi-material construction that uses ultra-stiff Pitch 70 Ton carbon fiber to increase stiffness. This enables players to hit the center of the face more often due to a reduction in twisting and droop on the downswing.
Per Fujikura, Enso analytics continue to shown one of the highest stress points of the shaft is the mid/handle section during the transition and downswing. Accordingly, engineers focused on this section of the shaft in the development of Ventus TR with the goal of minimizing twist and ovalization — and maximizing consistency and stability.
In terms of feel, Fujikura says feel is similar to the original Ventus Red and Black but with increased stiffness and lower launch/spin.
- We have a testing opportunity for GolfWRXers: Fujikura VENTUS TR Black and Red Shafts! 4 Testers Needed!
- See what GolfWRXers are saying about the new Ventus TR Red, Black shafts here.
What Fujikura says
Fujikura’s Product Marketing Manager, Spencer Reynolds, explains exactly what Spread Tow is and why it’s effective:
“Essentially, there’s a standard carbon weave and then there’s a Spread Tow carbon weave. What a Spread Tow does is it takes all these individual strands of carbon and irons them flat into a tape, and then weaves those over-under, over-under almost like a checkerboard pattern. So there’s very little space for resin to accumulate, you get super low resin content, and then you also get a lot of strength in varying directions. It can take pull and load in multiple directions. Another benefit is that it’s super lightweight. You’re getting an incredible amount of strength, in an ultra-lightweight package.”
Read much more about Spread Tow and the Ventus TR profile in our Ventus TR Blue launch piece.
Regarding the line extension, Reynolds said:
“Any time we incorporate a new technology into a shaft offering, it’s always in the conversation to expand and integrate that technology into additional profiles. The immediate adoption, success, and performance gains we saw from VENTUS TR Blue led us to enhance the line with additional profiles. Expanding VENTUS TR offerings provides fitters more options in the VENTUS line to fit, and ultimately help a wider range of players improve the performance of their drivers and fairway woods. With six VENTUS profiles available with varying performance characteristics, the VENTUS line is truly firing on all cylinders.”
Pricing and availability
MSRP: $350 through 600-plus authorized Fujikura Charter Dealers and select OEM custom programs
Available at retail: End of August
Flexes: TR Red (R2-X flex, 59 grams – 89 grams), TR Black (S-X flex, 59 grams – 89 grams)
- We have a testing opportunity for GolfWRXers: Fujikura VENTUS TR Black and Red Shafts! 4 Testers Needed!
- See what GolfWRXers are saying about the new Ventus TR Red, Black shafts here.
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- Sungjae Im what’s in the bag accurate as of the 2022 Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSi2 (8 degrees, 0.75 degree flat lie)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7 X
3-wood: Titleist TS3 (15 degrees, 0.75 degree flat lie)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 X
Hybrid: Titleist 818 H2 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X
Irons: Titleist T100 (3-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (48-10F @47, 54-08M @53, 60-04L)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: Scotty Cameron Flowback 5 Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Traxion 1.0PT
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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- Joohyung Kim what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Kim’s decision between 2-iron, 3-iron, hybrid is course dependent. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, A1)
Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Black 6 X
3-wood: Titleist TSR3 (13.5 degrees, A1)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White 70 TX
Irons: Titleist T200 (2-3), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 TX (2), Project X 5.5 (3), Project X 6.0 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (52-12F, 56-10S), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-A)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: Scotty Cameron TourType GSS Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Traxion Tour 2.0
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride MCC, Golf Pride MCC Align (2-PW)
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Sticky
Jun 27, 2022 at 9:05 pm
I like their products a lot, but they really, really need to get the logo out of the way. I hate having to compromise the grip when putting anything, namely a right thumb, on a slippery “G”.
Picky, but ¯\_(?)_/¯