Connect with us

News

GolfWRX Interview Bridgestone Golf Clubs

Published

on

GolfWRX is proud to present an interview with Dan Murphy, Bridgestone Golf’s Marketing Manager and Danny Le Bridgestone Golf’s Club Marketing Manager.

To listen to the audio click here.

00:00 GolfWRX: We are here today with Danny Le and Dan Murphy from Bridgestone Golf. Guys, how are you doing today?

00:10 – Both: Great, how are you doing?

00:12 – GolfWRX: Excellent. We want to thank you for taking the time to talk to us and before we get started we are wondering if you could give us a little bit of background about your history in golf and with Bridgestone, as well.

00:19 – Danny Le: Definitely, I have been in the business since 2000. I worked on the retail side of the business from 2000 to 2006. I did various odd jobs there, repair work, club building. I was also the buyer and manager of the shop so a lot of experience on the retail side of the business where I interacted with a lot of consumers. So I had a lot of different needs from the consumer side that I understand. That has been a great help with my job currently. I came to Bridgestone golf in September 2006 in customer service, dealing with different accounts talking to those guys about what they are looking for, what we need to do improve our product in the United States. I recently just joined the marketing team with the help of Dan Murphy. It’s been a phenomenal experience and looking forward to building the brand up in the United States.

01:17 – Dan Murphy: I’ve been here for three and a half years. Bridgestone came here in August of 2004. The main mission for me has been to launch the Bridgestone brand. We were Precept previously, and January would mark our 3-year anniversary at Bridgestone. So it’s been a fun, fun ride and a good run. Previous to that I was with Maxfli and Dunlop-Slazenger group in Greenville, South Carolina. The business has been a lot of fun and looking forward to keeping the momentum going.

01:57 – GolfWRX: Excellent, I know you guys are building a lot of momentum and building a strong reputation among better players, especially. I was hoping you could tell us a little bit about the advantages backed by one of the biggest companies in the world provides you guys.

02:11 – Dan: I think it is a huge advantage and I think is one of the main things that sets us apart from our competitors. We are part of one of the biggest companies globally; certainly I think the biggest company that competes in the golf business. Bridgestone tire and rubber is bigger than Goodyear, bigger than Michelin, it’s a 30 billion dollar sales company, so it’s very, very large. We think it gives us advantages on three fronts. First, financially it gives us very strong depth and a strong position financially. We’ve all seen golf brands come and go in this market. We have the staying power financially to really continue a strong investment strategy and really get our name out among better players. So financially, I think is one area. The other one is engineering wise. The engineering strength of Bridgestone Tire and Rubber possesses 800 engineers focusing on rubber and polymer technology. A lot of that knowledge is transferable particularly to the golf ball side of the business. It allows us to produce a golf ball that’s the best in the business from our point of view. Then promotionally we think it’s quite a strong characteristic to be part of that company promotionally. We’ve got a lot of things going on. We’re the only equipment company that has a title sponsorship on the PGA Tour with the Bridgestone Invitational WGC up in Akron at Firestone Country Club. We’ve also gotten some tremendous things. We’re just a week or so after the Super Bowl that we’re talking about this. I think everybody saw – 144 million people anyway – saw the half time show sponsored by Bridgestone as well as commercials during that time. Although that is Bridgestone Tire and Rubber, there is a trickle down effect for us in the Golf Division as we try to establish our name as a high-tech, high-quality brand name in the golf sector. So it’s a huge difference to us, and one I think we’re very proud of.

04:20 – Danny Le: Definitely. One thing I’d like to add to that is when you think of Japanese product and Bridgestone product you think of quality. That’s what we’ve done with our clubs and our balls. We’ve preached quality and that’s what you see when you get to the marketplace.

04:35 – Dan Murphy: The culture of the company is very strong R&D based. I think what happens with the way tires develop and the amount of technology, thinking, and research that goes on there is also applied to how we develop golf products, be it clubs or balls. That whole culture of R&D, intellectual property, and such is a huge, huge asset to us and we’ll leverage it very much in the future.

05:02 – GolfWRX: Now can you tell us a little bit about how Bridgestone sees itself in the United States market?

05:12 – Dan Murphy: Certainly our first step in creating – ultimately what we want to do is have a full line golf company with all products. As a market leader in Japan, we’d like to transfer that degree of presence into the U.S. market. But we know we have to do it as a step process. We know the first thing for us to do is establish our golf ball. In the three years we’ve been around we’ve made some pretty good steps doing that. We’ve got a full line of golf balls all the way up to tour professional level and some more recreational players. We feel good about that. The second step is to begin to establish our club business; but to do so in a way that gives us an identity in clubs and is a focused approach. Our focus on clubs is on the forged irons. I think Danny is going to talk in detail about the J36 line, which we’re very, very excited about. So we have a stepped approach to becoming a full line golf company. Also, as we enter the market, we know that we’ve got to offer something different, new, and completely better. One of the things we do with the balls and clubs is talk about getting the right product for the right player. Our thought is that there are a lot of big time companies we’re competing against that have perhaps an older mentality. Sort of an one-size-fits-all industrial revolution kind of mentality – produce a whole bunch of the same product and try to sell it to a lot of different players. Our approach is different in clubs. Ball wise, we’ve been doing a lot of ball fitting where we’re trying to educate consumers and get them into the right ball for their game. We’ve been competing against the market leader who’s got a one-size-fits-all mentality. That’s not our approach. Ours is a right product for the right player mentality. Same thing goes for clubs. We’re going to talk about our combo set. The combo set allows the player to design the set they want, not necessarily a set that was designed in some laboratory designed to fit a broad range of players. What we want to do is drill down on that and get a set of irons that fit a particular player.

07:39 – Danny Le: Exactly, it’s all about education. Like Dan mentioned, education about balls and education about clubs. As soon as we engage a customer we get to talk about the product that’s where I think we get them. Once we talk about the different ball refinement and the different clubs they’re playing, it establishes something unique and different from our competitors.

07:59 – Dan Murphy: Yeah. So if you want to summarize it, we’re the anti-one-size-fits-all brand.

08:08 – GolfWRX: Now can you tell us a little bit about your relationship with your sister brand TourStage in Japan and yourself in the U.S.? How as it changed in the three years since you got started?

08:19 – Dan Murphy: The TourStage brand is positioned at the very top of the Japanese market. The Japanese market is characterized by a very demanding consumer base. Consumers in Japan tend to be more research oriented and informed than U.S. consumers. In that way they’re more demanding in terms of quality and specification. The TourStage brand in Japan, what we can learn from that and apply to the U.S. is very valuable as we try to establish ourselves as a premium brand in the U.S. market. The attention to detail, the attention to quality, the attention to technology and innovation is a huge plus for us.

09:02 – Danny Le: On the subject of Bridgestone tires and their influence on balls, it’s kind of the same thing with clubs and the TourStage brand. We use a lot of their technology and R&D they come up with over there and we apply it to the U.S. market. For example, if you get an iron product from TourStage, they typically have a little more offset and are a little more square. When you bring it to the United States, the U.S. market is a little different; we definitely have a little less offset and a little more rounded club. So we definitely take that into consideration when we build a product for the U.S. market. We use a lot of what TourStage does and apply it to Bridgestone products.

09:43 – GolfWRX: Now you guys made some big news with the signing of Charles Howell. Your tour staff has really been growing in the past few years. What does adding someone like Charles Howell do for your company?

10:00 – Dan Murphy: I think he’s a great player and in addition to that a great guy. We’re very proud to have him join a very impressive tour staff already. I think he’ll add to the validation of our brand by going out there on Tour and playing well. We fully hope and expect that he will win with our products. He was drawn to our company because he saw us as a technological leader. If you know Charles, he’s very into the details and the background – the why, what, and how of his equipment. He’s always learning and always thinking. I think it’s a good match between our technological leadership and his technological approach to his game. So it’s a good fit. Obviously his ability is great, and he’s wearing our brand on his hat, he’s carrying the bag, playing the clubs, and ball as well. So it’s a good fit and good addition to an already strong team.

11:12 – Danny Le: It gives us instant credibility for our clubs. You’ve got a guy coming from Callaway who’s been playing these irons for a long time. He comes over to us and switches over to the J36 irons and it’s a seamless transition for him. That gives us a lot of credibility in our clubs side.

11:33 – GolfWRX: Can you give us a little info about what clubs Charles is playing right now?

11:38 – Danny Le: Right now he’s playing a combo set we have from the J36 series. When he first joined our staff we built him a set of stock combos – J36 Pocket Cavity 3-5 iron, J36 Cavity Back 6-8 iron, and J36 Blade 9-PW. That was his initial test run with them at the Merril Lynch Shark Shootout late last year. Right now he’s actually playing a set of J36 Cavity Back 3-6 iron, and 7-PW J36 Blade with Dynamic Gold X-100. Also he’s putting the WC designs 54 degree wedge into play as well.

12:16 – GolfWRX: Very cool, I know it’s interesting to see him adopt the stuff so quickly. It didn’t take him long to start playing the clubs at all.

12:26 – Danny Le: Not at all. He’s really easy with irons. He liked the look and shape of the irons. The one comment he had was they felt incredibly soft. He could still work the ball, still maintain the little bit of forgiveness he wanted with our Cavity Back and Blade. It was nice that we were able to transition him so quickly from his Callaway iron into the Bridgestone irons. It literally took us – we were in the process of signing him, he came to our facility Monday and we built him several sets to try out and he immediately fell in love with the irons. Now he’s pretty much set with the irons for this year. We’re actually in the process of getting him some Pocket Cavities with a little bit less offset to try out because one of the things he wanted was to be able to turn over the ball with his three and four irons.

13:20 – GolfWRX: What sort of influence does your tour staff have on the design and production of your clubs?

13:28 – Danny Le: They have a tremendous influence. We have a motto here – “Tour inspired Tour tested.” Anything we come up with we first go out to the tour staff guys we have – Fred Couples, Stuart Appleby, Charles Howell now, Matt Kuchar, Snedeker, McKenzie, and a couple other guys out there. We’ll bring some product out there for example driver heads, fairway woods, hybrids, iron sets. We’ll let them hit it and get feedback from them as far as the shape of the club: if it’s too round, too square, how it feels, what kind of performance they’re looking for from the clubs. We take that feedback from the tour guys and bring it back to our R&D guys and say, “Hey this is what they’re looking for, let’s make this happen for them.” They produce another prototype for them and the prototype gets out there for them. We go from ten variations to two or three variation the tour guys will test out. Once they test it out and they’re finally set on something, we’ll bring it back to the R&D guys and say, “This is the final run of what we’re looking for.” Then they’ll build it. We work on the cosmetics the whole time while they’re testing the product to make sure it fits their eye and the market we’re in – the United States market.

14:51 – GolfWRX: That’s really neat. I know a lot of companies different routes they take from tour to retail. So it’s nice to see you guys stay so true to the clubs your tour staff uses.

15:02 – Danny Le: Exactly. We’re designed with better players in mind. What better players are there than the tour staff guys? We design for those guys first and then the final product you see on the marketplace is essentially the same thing that those guys are playing. Sure there are some prototypes out there that don’t become available to the public just because we don’t feel it’s going to meet the market here in the United States. So that’s why we’re able to go that route.

15:33 – GolfWRX: I know Bridgestone takes a lot of pride in the construction of your irons. Many club fitters comment you are one of the best OEM’s in terms of producing clubs on spec in terms of loft and lie. What separates your clubs from some of the other forged irons on the market?

15:49 – Danny Le: I appreciate that. It’s a matter of having a Japanese product, believing in our product, and having what’s best for our consumer. Basically everyone knows about Endo manufacturing and they are who we use for our forging. We’ve been using them for a long time now. There’s two points of difference we ask them to do for us which is a little different from our competitors. The first is how we press our irons. We press at 1600 tons of pressure. What that does is create a very precise forging. Also, at the same time we press them, we warm forge our irons. This creates a very smooth surface for less grinding, basically high precision. With the material it creates a more dense metal grain structure that creates a softer and more solid feel when struck. So those two points of difference we have due to our relationship with Endo makes the product we believe superior to any other product out there. Also, in the marketplace, the United States is a tough market to break into because of the different vendors. In Japan we produce the number one irons over there. We actually own the number two share in overall club market. So, we have a lot of backing from Japan and we bring that to the U.S. market where we offer a premium product at a price that’s not outrageous. Our new J36 irons will be out on the street with a price of $799 for a set of 3-PW; whereas our typical competitor will be at $849, $899, $999 and so forth.

17:42 – GolfWRX: Now before we go any further, a lot of people had some interesting things to say about the blue graphics on the new clubs. It’s a little bit of a departure for you guys. I was wondering if you could give us a little bit of your perspective on why that was included?

18:00 – Danny Le: That’s one of the things we had difficulty with, with the J33 series. It was a phenomenal product we put out there with the J33 Blade, J33 Combo Set, and J33 Cavity. The problem with that was we make a great product, but no one was buying it. The main thing we had to deal with was curb appeal. We looked at the J36 irons and asked ourselves, what can we do different that will come through at the retail shops? One of the main things we addressed was curb appeal – something that catches the eye of the consumer. As you know and are well aware of, I read GolfWRX too and see the different opinions about it. There are a lot more positive than negative about it. The quality of the image wasn’t portrayed properly on certain websites. But from what I’ve read, there are more positives than negatives about it. The main reason is curb appeal. When you walk into a shop and see all the forged irons stuck together, something sticks out and it’s that blue wave that sticks out at you.

19:17 -GolfWRX: Definitely, I think it’s a lot subtler in person than a lot of people expect.

19:20 – Danny Le: Yes, I love it now. It looks great, it blends in well among the three sets and it definitely pops out on the shelf. When we had it at the PGA Show, that’s one thing a lot of people commented on, “Wow, you can see these irons from far away.” That’s what we wanted – something that gives it a little more curb appeal and makes people say, “There’s a product, let me go see this.” Once they put the product down at address, that’s where we get the consumer. It’s a beautiful product, it feels great, and it was just a matter of getting it in their hands. That was the reason for the blue wave.

19:58 – GolfWRX: Now you guys are employing an interesting new strategy to get these clubs to market. Can you tell us a little about the custom order method of getting these clubs to consumers?

20:12 – Danny Le: Basically what we’re doing is March 15 we’re launching the stock J36 Combo. It’s going to be a stock set J36 Pocket Cavity 3-5 iron, J36 Cavity Back 6-8 iron, and J36 Blade 9-PW. That will be available March 15. April 15 we will launch the J36 Blade, Cavity Back, and Pocket Cavity. At that time, once April 15 hits, you can order any combination you want. We’re calling it the Ultimate Combo Set. The reason we’re doing this is so we give the consumer the choice to mix and match whatever they want to. I hit a low ball, I’ve played in Texas pretty much my whole life. It’s really windy so I really needed to hit a low ball. Coming to Georgia now, these courses are a little greener, a little softer. There are different needs out here. What’s great about these irons is the J36 Pocket Cavity has the highest MOI out of all the three clubs. So 3, 4, and 5 irons have the problem of getting those up in the air. So now you can mix and match those in the air, the 3, 4, or 5 iron or whatever combination you want. Then you can transition over to the Cavity Back where it gives you a little more ability to work the ball and yet still has the forgiveness of a cavity back. I play that 6-PW now. We give the consumer the choice to mix and match whatever they want. This is exciting because it gets people to talk about our product, “This is what I would do.” We talked to several different retailers who had one guy wanting this and another guy wanting that. So now we give that choice to the consumers. It’s your game; it’s your choice. You probably, in Houston have different needs out there so definitely we can address those needs. Especially because the sets blend so well together, when you set it up at address, the Pocket Cavity is a little bit thicker, but not too bad where you can transition to a Cavity, and from Cavity to Blade it’s an easy transition. All the graphics match one another. We have the “Premium Forged” on the trailing edge, and the “B” mark that we’re heavily promoting this year, then the J36 and blue wave, and Bridgestone Golf on the hosel. So from the Blade, Cavity Back, to the Pocket Cavity they just blend in well together from the top point of view and also at address.

22:42 – GolfWRX: Now I know trailing edge relief is common throughout all the clubs. How exactly will this help golfers?

22:50 – Danny Le: It’s real simple. Basically it just gives you better performance from a variety of lies. So when you’re out of rough it basically has less resistance out of there. Plain and simple, it’s better performance from a variety of lies and less resistance out of the rough to sum it up.

23:05 – GolfWRX: Now the J33 line was really successful with better players. What exactly did you want to improve up on with the J36 line?

23:15 – Danny Le: Well we wanted to create an iron that appealed to a wider range of better players out there. The J33 series did a great job with the 0-10 handicap. So we wanted to expand on that from 0-15. J33 blade was definitely a tough club to hit. Very small sweet spot for the pure ball striker who’s looking to shape their shots, J33 blade was a phenomenal product. Same thing with the J33 Cavity Back: great product, we just wanted to improve aspects of the looks of the club and also how all three sets blend together. We created an identity with the ultimate Combo Set and we feel this is going to meet the needs of a wider range of players out there.

24:06 – GolfWRX: Now probably more than any other club in the line, the J36 Blade has received significant design changes from the J36 model. Why exactly were these changes made and what can golfers expect to see in the new model?

24:23 – Danny Le: The main thing you can expect to see, the J33 Blade had a very long hosel. What that did was raise the CG higher and closer to the heel. What we did with the new J36 Blade was shorten the hosel dramatically where now we can move the weight to the center of the clubface. What that does is create a little bit more forgiving club, and a little bit more solid club in that the ability to work the ball is now enhanced a little bit more with the J36 Blade. Also, the top line and sole is very thin just like the J33’s. That was the main difference right there. The whole purpose was to make it blend in well with other sets. Going from transitioning from the Cavity to the Pocket Cavity to the Blade. We didn’t want someone transitioning where the sweet spot was too small. We worked all three sets together so that’s the reason for the changes there.

25:29 – GolfWRX: What about the other updates to the J36 Cavity Back?

25:38 – Danny Le: The main update is we enhanced the muscle thickness in the back of the club. What that creates is a little more meat behind the ball. Now you get a better sense of feel and ability to feel the club behind the ball. That was really the main difference in that particular club.

25:58 – GolfWRX: Now the Pocket Cavity is probably the most exciting introduction in the line. Can you tell us a little bit about this product?

26:10 – Danny Le: Yeah, we’re excited about this product. This is where we feel it’s going to be a great success in the marketplace. Basically it’s a two piece forging. What we’ve done is forge out the face first and the back piece is welded together. What that does is create a pocket – that’s why we call it the Pocket Cavity. What this pocket does is we were able to move discretionary weight around giving it a higher MOI, giving it the feel of a premium-forged club. I definitely wouldn’t call it a game improvement club. I would call it a game enhancement club. For the guy who’s maybe a 5-15 handicap who would want to play the full set of Pocket Cavities or maybe a mixed set, he has the ability now to play a club that has the feel of a premium forged club.

26:55 – GolfWRX: Definitely, I know it feels incredibly good. You can’t tell there’s any kind of pocket behind the ball. It really feels like a more solid, traditional forged club.

27:06 – Danny Le: Exactly, that’s another area we address – how is that going to look when a player addresses that club? We worried about it popping out to the player’s eye. Better players don’t want to see the back of the club. So we addressed that issue to where we put it on the club now when you set up you don’t see the back of the club at all.

27:25 – GolfWRX: Now what kind of custom options can golfers order in terms of shafts and grips?

27:34 – Danny Le: We’ve expanded our options tremendously this year, especially on the grips side. The stock grip will be the Tour Velvet with the Bridgestone logo. We’ll offer some new grips, the new Decade Multi-Compound in yellow and black and blue and black. We’ll offer the Tour Velvet Ribbed, of course the Tour Velvet Full Cord with the Bridgestone logo on there, Tour Velvet midsized, and a couple new grips from Lamkin, the Crossline and Crossline Cord. With Winn we continue to use the Winn midsized and oversized. We’ve added the standard size and also a new grip from Winn called the PCI Hybrid. It’s a phenomenal grip, which you will see commercials with Butch Harmon and John Daly doing the PCI Hybrid – different players, different needs. So it kind of fits into our motto – your game your choice.

28:28 – GolfWRX: Now the J36 Hybrid seems to share a lot of design features in common with the Gravity Chamber model. What changes were made to it?

28:40 – Danny Le: We took the best of the J33 Hybrid and the GC Hybrid and combined that into the J36 Hybrid. You can attest to how it looks and how it feels. Basically with the GC Hybrid we had a two-tone color, which a lot of players were hesitant to use. We addressed that issue making it a jet-black hybrid just like the J33. Also, the profile of the J33 was too wide so we narrowed the profile to the GC profile where it’s a little bit deeper and not as wide. Therefore we created a club head you can hit high and straight and land soft. Also we’ve added the VS Proto as a stock shaft which gives it a very neutral feeling. The weighting is neutral in the J36 hybrid also, which gives the player the ability to work the ball in any direction he wants to.

29:50 – GolfWRX: Now I know there’s a channel in the bottom cut out of the sole of the club, what does that accomplish?

29:57 – Danny Le: Basically it moves discretionary weight around – being able to move the weight more to the perimeter of the club, higher MOI. That’s the point of the channel cut in there.

30:12 – GolfWRX: Now is the lie angle of the hybrid adjustable? Also you mentioned the VS Proto is the standard shaft, are there going to be other options available?

30:22 – Danny Le: To answer your first question, the Hybrid is not adjustable. We’re looking into this product as being adjustable in the future, but right now it is not adjustable. To the second question about the shaft options, of course the VS Proto is going to be stock. We’ve also added a UST V2 Hybrid as a custom option. As of right now we’re going to increase the number of custom options available in the near future. We’re just testing out a lot of shafts out there to make sure they work in that head. Those are two shafts that work really well in that head. Like I said, look for more stuff in the near future.

31:00 – GolfWRX: Now I know the West Coast Design Wedges were a big hit. What changes were made to the new Liquid Copper ones?

31:10 – Danny Le: We’ve had great success with the West Coast Design Wedges. Two things we did to this particular wedge was of course the finish. We call it a “Liquid Copper” finish. It frames the ball a little bit better and will come off over time and will rust giving the club better feel. The second thing we did was add a milled face. What this milled face does is actually increases spin around the green so now that 30 or 40 yard shot around the green or in the rough catches the milled face which imparts a more spin. So it will spin a little more than the old West Coast Wedges around the green. The neat thing is that when you mill a face, it actually decreases full shot spin. For the guy who has a sand wedge or a gap wedge and is hitting a full shot from 80 or 100 yards, it actually imparts less spin with a milled face. So we’re really excited about this product. A lot of positive reviews from various websites, especially your website. So we’re excited about this product taking off in 2008 for us.

32:18 – GolfWRX: That’s really interesting. I know a lot of people are concerned with controlling spin on full shots but still maintaining it around the green when they’re short-sided so . . .

32:30 – Danny Le: Definitely, it’s one of the issues people say, “I spin the ball too much.” Especially with the better players, there are some players that definitely can’t spin the ball. This wedge will spin the ball a lot compared to anything else on the marketplace.

32:44 – GolfWRX: Why are the West Coast Wedges cast rather than forged like the J33 models?

32:50 – Danny Le: Do you want the real answer or the fake answer? (laughing) Just kidding. Basically it comes back to tour input and what those guys want out there as far as their wedges. Wedges have been cast if you look at the top guys out there – Cleveland and Titleist. They’re 8620 mild carbon steel, they’re cast heads. Those guys are used to it out there. We basically produced these heads based on tour feedback. Appleby plays a couple of versions, so does Howell, and a couple of other guys on staff out there. Like the earlier question you had on tour influence – that’s definitely a tour influenced wedge. That’s why we use the cast versus the forged heads.

33:40 – GolfWRX: Now is there any chance we’re going to see Bridgestone go in the putter business in the near future?

33:48 – Danny Le: We’re not ruling anything out, but as of now, we’re an iron company first and producing quality products there with wedges, hybrids, fairway woods, and driver to complement the line. Right now we have no plans with putters, but you never know.

34:07 – GolfWRX: Now I know your J33 Drivers have a big cult following and we were curious to know if we’re going to see any new drivers in the spring?

34:18 – Danny Le: Stay tuned. We’ve had great success with the J33 series and establishing ourselves with a driver that’s very low spin. We do a lot of testing with different products, with tour guys and different player around here. What we’ve found is the J33 is still working well for the better player looking to lower their spin. It’s definitely still a presence here in 2008 and we always have product out on Tour testing. We should eventually come out with a new driver, but this product is so phenomenal that we’re continuing in 2008. You should see something new in 2009 for sure.

35:08 – GolfWRX: Since this is GolfWRX we can’t let you leave without finding out what’s in your bag?

35:14 – Danny Le: Well, I’ve got a bunch of prototypes I can’t talk about . . . (laughing) just kidding. In my bag right now is a J33R 460 Driver, 9.5 degrees loft with a VS Proto in there. The fairway woods, I have a three wood 15 degree, and five wood eighteen degree. Right now I have a J36 Hybrid three iron replacement which is 22 degrees with the stock VS Proto shaft in there. I’m playing a mixed set of irons. I’m playing the Pocket Cavities 4-6 iron and Cavity Back 7-PW. I also mix in blades, 9-PW on certain days when I chip around the greens and West Coast Wedges, 52, and 56 degrees, the new Liquid Copper finish. Putter rotates out every week, but that’s my bag right there. Then I play the B330 golf ball and the E6+ golf ball.

36:17 – GolfWRX: Excellent. Well we really appreciate your time today. We know you guys have been really busy throughout the spring and it means a lot that you’re taking the time to answer all our questions here.

36:30 – Danny Le: Definitely, we appreciate that you guys look at us and look forward to continuing this relationship with GolfWRX.

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. basics

    Apr 1, 2014 at 1:19 am

    Any time I’m investigating Real Estate around Chuburna, I check out Yucatan Dream Properties.

  2. Mike

    Feb 28, 2008 at 6:10 pm

    I agree with you matt..I have a J33R 460 in 10.5 now that was given to me with a diamana whiteboard in it…Love it…

    Probably my favorite setup I have hit…Looking to buy another J33R for a backup soon with the same setup..Maybe just a 9.5…

    If it gets any better than the spin rate on this head, I will be shocked

  3. Matt

    Feb 19, 2008 at 1:44 am

    Can’t wait to see what they come up with, driver-wise, for next year.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News

Five Things We Learned: Friday at the PGA Championship

Published

on

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.

 

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK1

Continue Reading

News

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

Published

on

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

Your Reaction?
  • 26
  • LEGIT5
  • WOW22
  • LOL8
  • IDHT1
  • FLOP1
  • OB2
  • SHANK17

Continue Reading

News

Five Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

Published

on

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.

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending