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INSIDE SCOOP: Here’s how the LIV Golf tour will handle on-site equipment needs for players at each U.S. event
During practice round days at nearly every PGA Tour event, equipment reps, expert fitters, and club builders from various OEMs are on-site to help competitors with their golf equipment needs. The reps conduct club fittings, provide equipment for players to test, and they help build and repair golf clubs for players to use.
To house all of the product inventory, tools and repair equipment for each manufacturer, large “tour trucks” travel in fleets to each event. These trucks are like traveling pro shops and club repair facilities that provide the space and tools (such as loft and lie machines, grinding wheels, etc.) that club fitters and builders need to make any equipment changes necessary.
The newly emerging LIV Golf tour, however, doesn’t have the same structure. With only 48 golfers competing in each event, fleets of tour trucks aren’t traveling to each event to help competitors with their equipment wants and needs.
There will be one tour truck, though.
Ben Giunta, golf industry veteran and founder of The Tour Van, has confirmed that he will be traveling to each LIV tour event, alongside his partner Jason Werner, to help LIV players get what they need equipment-wise
Giunta is currently a club fitter based in Portland, Oregon, and has spent his professional career fitting and repairing golf equipment. He started at TaylorMade Golf working with customers, then transitioned to Nike Golf, where he worked for years on the company’s PGA Tour Truck. While at Nike, he helped fit, repair and build golf clubs for the game’s top athletes at PGA Tour events.
Following Nike’s exit from the hard goods business in 2016, Giunta acquired the Nike Tour Truck and started his own club repair and fitting business, called The Tour Van. Currently, The Tour Van is located at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, which is the upcoming venue for LIV’s next golf event (The Tour Van is located at The Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Arizona, during winter months).
Since the company’s inception, The Tour Van has also expanded to Nashville, where Werner – a club fitter and company partner – fits and repairs golf clubs out of a former TaylorMade Tour Truck that once serviced the Web.com/Korn Ferry Tour. The second Tour Van is currently located at Hermitage Golf Club in Nashville.
As GolfWRX has confirmed, Giunta and Werner will be on-site at Pumpkin Ridge ahead of the upcoming LIV event on June 30, working out of the The Tour Van’s original truck. There, the duo will be working with manufacturers to supply product, and helping LIV competitors with their equipment needs (club builds, club repairs, re-grips, wedge grinding, etc.).
Following the Portland event, Giunta and Werner will also be traveling to Bedminster, Boston, and Chicago as contractors for the remaining LIV events in 2022. Giunta says there are plans for a “larger trailer” in the events following Pumpkin Ridge.
“I am going to be responsible for managing the equipment trailer on the LIV tour, and making sure that we have all of the resources in place to service the athletes that will be playing on the tour from week-to-week,” Giunta told GolfWRX. “Whether it’s lofts and lies and regrips, or doing some testing, whatever the player needs as an unbiased position just to help them out. It doesn’t really matter who they represent, as far as a manufacturer standpoint. I’ll help them with whatever they need, and work with their sponsors to make sure we can facilitate their goals with their equipment…
“Right now, in the summer, one of my trailers is setup at Pumpkin Ridge, so it’s conveniently located. We’re going to be using this trailer here on property to service the athletes for the Portland event. Then we’ve got a plan moving forward with a larger trailer that will cover the rest of the domestic events here in the U.S. Jason and I will be working those also.”
While they’re not on the LIV tour servicing equipment needs for the players, Giunta and Werner will continue fitting, repairing and building clubs for customers of The Tour Van.
“If you call us up and you know your specs, we can build up your clubs the same way we can for a Brooks Koepka or an Abe Ancer, or Dustin Johnson, or anybody that’s playing out here, or any of the guys I worked with in the past…at the end of the day, I’m just here to help golfers play better golf. If one of the members comes to see me, that’s what I want to do: help them play better golf. If one of these [LIV] guys comes to see me, I’m here to help them play better golf, too.”
To learn more about The Tour Van and set up a time to work with Giunta or Werner, check out the company’s website.
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News
Four books for a springtime review
One thing that never changes over time: snowy evenings give purpose to reading (is it the other way around?) It has been a snowy 2024 in western New York, and I’ve had ample time to tuck into an easy chair with a blanket, coffee, and a book. You’re in luck, because despite the title of this piece, I’ll share five books and their worth with you.
There is great breadth of subject matter from one to five. Golf is as complicated as life, which means that the cover of the book isn’t worth judging. The contents begin the tale, but there is so much more to each topic presented within. If you’re like me, your library grows each year. Despite the value of the virtual, the paper-printed word connects us to the past of golf and humanity. Here’s hoping that you’ll add one or more of these titles to your collection.
Hughes Norton interviewed with Mark McCormack for 20 minutes (30 if you count the missed exit at Logan International) while driving the founder of IMG from Harvard to the airport. The lesson of taking advantage of each moment, of every dollar, because you might not get another opportunity, is the most valuable one that life offers. I say to you, be certain to read this book, because another opportunity to bend the ear of Hughes Norton may not come our way.
Hughes Norton was with Tiger Woods for waaayyy fewer years than you might guess, but they were the critical ones. Be warned: not all of the revelations in this tome are for the faint of heart. Some, in fact, will break your heart. Golf was a sleepy hamlet in the 1990s, until the 16-lane interstate called Eldrick “Tiger” Woods came into town. Everything changed, which meant that everything would change again and again, into eternity. Once the ball starts rolling, it’s impossible to stop.
My favorite aspect of this book is its candor. Hughes Norton is well into his time on Planet Earth. He has no reason to hold back, and he doesn’t. My least favorite aspect is that George Peper got the call to co-author the book (and I didn’t.) Seriously, there is no LFA for me, so this is the best that I could do.
Decision: Buy It!
The Golf Courses of Seth Raynor
Michael Wolf, James Sitar, and Jon Cavalier, in abject partnership, collaborated to produce a handsome volume on the work of gone-too-soon, engineer-turned-golf course architect. Seth Raynor was pulled into the game by Charles Blair MacDonald, the crusty godfather of American golf. Raynor played little golf across the 51 years of his life. His reason? He did not wish to corrupt his designs with the demands and failings of his own game.
Jon Cavalier began his photography career as a contributor to the Golf Club Atlas discussion group. I met him there in a virtual way (we still have yet to shake hands) and have exchanged numerous emails over the years. Despite the demands of his day job, Cavalier has blossomed into the most traveled and prolific course photographer alive today. His photography, both hand-held and drone, makes the pages pop. Michael Wolf invited me and two friends to play his home course, despite having never met any of us in person. His words, melded to those of James Sitar, are the glue that connect Cavalier’s photos.
My favorite aspect of the books is the access it gives to the private-club world of Raynor. Fewer than five of his courses are resort or public access, and knowing people on the inside is not available to all. My suggestion? Write a letter/email and see if a club will let you play. Can’t hurt to try! My one complaint about the book is its horizontal nature. Golf is wide, but I like a little vertical in my photos. It’s not much of a complaint, given the glorious contents within the covers.
Decision: Buy It!!
Big Green Book from The Golfer’s Journal
Beginning with its (over)size, and continuing through the entire contents, there is no descriptor that defines the genre of the Big Green Book. It is photography, essay, layout, poetry, graphics, and stream of consciousness. It harnesses the creative power of a lengthy masthead of today’s finest golf contributors. Quotes from Harvey Penick, verse from Billy Collins, and prose from John Updike partner with images pure and altered, to immerse you in the diverse golf spaces that define this planet.
One of my favorite aspects is the spaces between the words and photos. Have your friends and others write a few notes to you in those blank areas, to personalize your volume even more. One aspect that needs improvement: the lack of female voices. I suspect that will be remedied in future volumes.
Decision: Buy It!!!
Troublemaker and The Unplayable Lie
Books that allege discrimination and mistreatment check two boxes: potentially-salacious reads and debate over whose perspective is accurate. In the end, the presentation of salacious revelation rarely meets the expectation, and the debate over fault is seldom resolved. Lisa Cornwell spent years as a competitive junior and college golfer, before joining The Golf Channel as a reporter and program host.
Despite the dream assignments, there were clouds that covered the sun. Cornwell documents episodes of favoritism and descrimination against her, prior to her departure from The Golf Channel in 2021. Her work echoes the production of the late Marcia Chambers, who wrote for Golf Digest in the 1980s and 1990s. Chambers took issue with many of the potential and real legal issues surrounding golf and its policies of access/no access. Her research culminated in The Unplayable Lie, the first work of its kind to address issues confronted by all genders and ethnicities, and immediately predated the professional debut of Tiger Woods in 1997.
My favorite aspects of the two works, are the courage and conviction that it took to write them, and believe in them. My least favorite aspects are the consistent bias that many groups continue to face. Without awareness, there is no action. Without action, there is no change.
Decision: Buy Them!!!!
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.
As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.
General Albums
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Thorbjorn Olesen – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ben Silverman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jesse Droemer – SoTX PGA Section POY – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- David Lipsky – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Martin Trainer – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Zac Blair – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jacob Bridgeman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Trace Crowe – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Daniel Berger – WITB(very mini) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Chesson Hadley – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Callum McNeill – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Rhein Gibson – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Patrick Fishburn – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Raul Pereda – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Pullout Albums
- Tom Hoge’s custom Cameron – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Piretti putters – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ping putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Kevin Dougherty’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Bettinardi putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Tony Finau’s new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Bob
Jun 23, 2022 at 11:26 pm
The harlots sure are running for Saudi blood paper printed from nothing.
King
Jun 24, 2022 at 7:25 pm
Preach it Bonesaw Bob.
LIVing the Dream
Jun 23, 2022 at 2:24 pm
How soon before these tour van guys get ridiculed for servicing the LIV guys?