Tiger Woods, a four-time PGA Champion and winner of 13 major Championships, made his first appearance at the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla., Monday as the featured guest of Nike Golf’s media launch of the SQ SUMO2 5900 driver and 360 Clubfitting System.
With the Nike swoosh symbol painted into the eastern hillside of the 35-acre PGA Learning Center practice range, Woods first entertained the audience with special insight into his thoughts on equipment and performance, and later during a half-hour spent hitting balls on the range with the new driver.
Woods stepped out on to the PGA Learning Center range, and with no warm-up, was hitting balls that drew rounds of “ooohs” and “aaahs” from the media gallery, many of whom are veteran Woods followers and quite familiar with his practice routine.
Woods made his appearance while in the midst of his longest “unforced” vacation from competition. Over the past one-and-a-half months since capturing the Tour Championship, Woods has continued to bond with his newborn baby daughter, Sam Alexis. Being a father for the first time, Woods said “is the coolest ride ever.”
Nike Golf, moving with industry baby steps of its own prior to Woods’ arrival on the golf scene, is now considered a world-class player in the golf marketplace, as it has elevated its innovations and not delayed “tweaks” that Woods has requested while he serves as company spokesperson.
In 1996, Woods strode proudly into professional golf and said, “Hello world!” That declaration also signaled Nike Golf’s voyage into keeping in stride with the future No. 1 player in the world. Today, the Nike swoosh symbol and Woods are synonymous as bread and butter, or as evidenced by this past season, more Sunday back nine marches to victory.
“When I first came to Nike, we weren’t really Nike Golf at the time,” said Woods. “We weren’t a leader in the industry. We weren’t pushing the envelope, and we weren’t as focused as we could be. And that has all changed. Thanks to Bob Wood (Nike Golf president) and a lot of others, it got turned around, and here we are.”
There is no middle ground for Woods when it comes to being involved in reviewing equipment.
“If it’s not going to help my game, it’s not going into the bag,” Woods said. “I’ve learned so much, possibly infinitely more than they have learned from me. Now, I can make the tweaks from a numbers perspective.”
Woods, who has tested all of the new Nike equipment, said this translates to the average consumer just as well. “You are getting a product that can simply make you hit it longer and straighter. That’s the greatest compliment that you can possibly have.”
During the media conference, PGA of America Vice President Jim Remy, a Nike Golf staff member, addressed his affiliation with Nike over the past two years.
“Nike is the smallest large company I’ve seen,” said Remy, the vice president and general manager of golf operations at Okemo Valley Golf Club in Ludlow, Vt. “By that, I mean that it has never failed to help the PGA Professional, no matter what the issue, and has [also] made changes with the PGA Professional and consumer in mind. As a PGA Professional, if you can find a company that encourages people to play better golf, they will play more golf.”
Also in attendance at the media conference were PGA of America President Brian Whitcomb, Chief Executive Officer Joe Steranka and Board Member Frank Gumpert.
Woods said that he was pleased to see Nike move forward in the clubfitting market through its 360 Clubfitting System that incorporates measuring and fitting consumers to all clubs in the bag.
“It’s all about getting the equipment to fit you,” said Woods. “You don’t have to fit the equipment. That’s how I learned to play golf. My dad was adamant about finding equipment that fit. I didn’t have to make swing adjustments because the club was too light or too heavy. It allowed my fundamentals to get better.”
While the average player would not change clubs more than several times in one’s lifetime, Woods revealed that he changes wedges more frequently due to him “wearing out the grooves.” He also changes a full set of irons every nine to 10 months.
Nike Golf Product Line Manager Gidge Moody, of Eugene, Ore., preceded Woods on stage and introduced Nike’s SUMO2 500 technology. Moody presented a video that highlighted just how much twisting a clubhead undergoes following impact with a golf ball.
The MOI, or “Moment of Inertia,” is what golf technology followers have focused upon in recent years to build better equipment. Just how well a clubhead resists to twisting may translate into a new comfort zone for players. The growth in popularity of MOI is related to the growth in popularity of ever-larger clubheads, both for drivers and putters. High-MOI, for example, is an important component in clubs that are described as “forgiving” or designed for “game improvement.”
“Tiger’s demonstration today was perfect,” said Moody. “He really lets it go, and sometimes we don’t know what we’re going to see.”
Moody said that Woods ranks among the best communicators in assisting a manufacturer in providing the best in golf equipment research and development. Moody said that Nike Golf Sports Manager Kel Devlin, of Fort Worth, Texas, son of veteran Tour professional Bruce Devlin, and Nike Tour Manager Rick Nichols, of Fort Myers, Fla., son of PGA Champion Bobby Nichols, have teamed up to work with Woods in order to determine his best possible equipment.
“Tiger is very specific about what he’s looking for in how the club interacts with the ground and what the club looks like at address — how the club feels,” said Moody. “Our team in Fort Worth has heard that in bunches.
“He’s wonderful for input, and not just because he’s a good ball striker. He understands the Nike business model, and how to participate with the Nike business model. Our players on staff are excited about the innovations.”
Nike Golf will unveil its formal public launch of the new SUMO technology on Feb. 2, 2008.
“I feel like a 15-handicapper today,” said Woods, with a wry smile, before sending his next shot out of sight with the new SUMO driver. “I will take a look at the new theories in golf and judge whether or not they work for me. The moment of truth is whether or not it works on Sunday on the back nine. If it’s not the best, then I won’t use it. I don’t care to be ‘Ranger Rick’ and just look good on the range.”
Source: pga.com