Al:
Good points for sure
but most all of the readers of GD believe that the custom clubs used by the
guys on tour all come from the OEMS and know very little if anything about
real clubmakers like you and everyone else here. And the worst part of
it is that because they are aware of the tour players using custom shafts, or
this or that, the regular golfers tend to believe that custom clubs are only
for better golfers. So the education process really needs to
almost start all over again. But you have a good idea about putting your
picture in front of 1.5 million readers because that would really go a long
way . . . uh, a long way. . . uh, ah heck, it would go a long way toward
making you the pre-eminent fitter for the ladies, you handsome dog
you!!
TOM
-----Original
Message-----
From: Al Taylor
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 12:47
PM
To:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: ShopTalk: Top Clubmakers /
GD / Dr. Loft
Hey there TOM W,
Listing top club
makers / fitters would be superb. I could list all my club champ
customers etc. Maybe my pic too??
Seriously, you know maybe
crawling before walking might be a good approach. What about some
articles on the hardware these pro golfers use? Maybe some comments on
their various lofts and lies and grinds. A mention or two on their
putter and driver lengths. What do these comments all have in
common? Custom Clubs. How do they get them? Club
makers. Who helps make the custom choices? Club fitters. You
could sneak in the side door by mentioning the customized stuff and voila
(that is French for gadzooks), you then have to mention these masters of
trickery, at some point.
Al
At 02:32 PM 10/15/2003,
you wrote:
Harry and
Bernie:
You guys are both
aware that any magazine, regardless of its subject area is somewhat to sort of
to very much handcuffed by its advertisers. In the magazine business
there is an old adage that is often tossed around that goes, does
advertising breed editorial, or does editorial breed advertising.
And the only industry in which I have seen magazines basically stick their
noses up to their advertisers are some of the computer magazines, when I have
seen reviews of computers or peripherals or software that make negative
comments once in a while.
I can tell you that
over the years in my career going back to the 80s I have written as a guest or
regular contributor for Golf World, Golfweek, Golf Shop Operations, GOLF, Golf
Digest, Golf Illustrated and others. In every case except for Golf
Digest, I have been either kicked out or told to tone it down, when something
I wrote about the truth of golf equipment incurred the wrath of an
advertiser. The funniest one I remember was when I wrote an article on
forgings for Golf World long before the Golf Digest people bought the
magazine. Something in the article upset the then president of Ben Hogan
company and I was asked to fly down to Ft Worth where Hogan used to be HQd, to
explain my piece to the president and their officers. The meeting
started with the president literally throwing the issue at me that had my
article in it, using what I considered to be a very childish manner of letting
me know what he thought about my writing. Well, I got up to walk out
because I dont ever need to have to deal with people like that, but then he
cooled down. Net result is that there are a lot of people in the
industry who believe that their ad dollars bring with it a right to tell a
magazine what to write, and whether the magazine listens or not is simply a
matter of how much they need the ad dollars.
In Golf Digests case,
I have worked with them for now nine years, much in the capacity of what you,
Bernie, mentioned about your fathers role. Their equipment editors will
call me for ideas, or run statements made by this or that golf equipment
company by me to see what is fact or fiction, or ask me to write articles once
in a while when their editors do not feel they want to or are qualified to
do. Each of the three equipment editors I have served under in the past
9 yrs with GD have been superb guys who desperately want to write the facts
about equipment. But they too have some handcuffs on in terms of putting
pictures or comments of clubs in there that are a balance between those made
by their bigger advertisers and some from companies who dont advertise as
much. I think from what I have seen, they do that in a decent
balance. And they usually go to the OEMs for quotesbecause they believe
that the readers would listen to a name from a big company but then they have
used my quotes a lot over the years too, so that does not say that they only
go to OEM people for a comment. Then too, the big equipment companies
are calling these guys almost daily to keep up the pressure for more mentions
of their equipment. That part often really tires them out because it is
so fraught with politics and pressure.
I can tell you that
off the record, the equipment editors do respect the better clubmakers, but
for them to really write about this side of the industry, they need some
groundswell of interest so that they can justify the interest from their
readers to the big cheese editors. That was why I suggested to GD that
since they know people do buy custom clubs, just like they know people take
lessons, why not do a list of top custom clubmakers like they do a list of top
swing teachers. It made sense to the equipment editor so he and I are
slowly starting to lobby the big cheeses there to consider it. No doubt
such a list would have to include pros or clubmakers who fit with OEM carts
too, but anything that would publicize custom clubmaking would help. And
that is the approach that I am trying to take on this or always try to help,
so you see in the end, I politic them too for my preferred side of the
industry!! Only not with as much ego as the OEMs are known to use when
they do it. But I do have to qualify that and say that some of the
OEM equipment guys are decent people who dont always think that they need to
be first in line all the time. To dream of a golf industry where
everyone is a truly nice person is probably a little too unrealistic, but I
can say that the majority of the equipment editors for the various magazines
like Mike Stachura at GD, Mike Johnson at Golf World, Jim Achenbach at Golf
Week, Laurie Dovey at Golf Illustrated these are some of the best and most
well rounded and open minded for sure.
TOM
W
-----Original
Message-----
From: Harry F.
Schiestel [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2003 10:06
PM
To:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: ShopTalk: Top Clubmakers / GD /
Dr. Loft
Hi
Tom
My son
and I cancelled our 3 year subscription to GD, due to the conflicting
instructional coverage, and some teachers are mere
hacks.
I do intend to
purchase the Nov. 2003 issue, just to read your published article, unless its
posted in full on the internet.
Regarding the
Top Clubmaker List, great idea if you could ever get a major magazine
to support your concept.
"Now
my next project with GD is to convince them they need to publish a booklet and
side article on top clubmakers just like they do for top teachers of the golf
swing every year."
What criteria and
process would you recommend, to select clubmakers worthy of such honourable
distinction?
I get the feeling
that 1 of the 2 awards processes now is based almost solely on how many
dollars you spend with the parent company.
How would Golf
Digest / yourself make such a clubmaker list creditable, for our industry at
large? I do very much like this
idea.
My
swingspeed is 90 mph, and I'm playing a 14 degree 400 cc driver, Aldila One
65-R Mid Launch, 47 inches long, 307 grams total
weight.
With a low total
weight, the extra 2 to 3 inches in length was very easy to swing. I'm
hitting more fairways than I did at 44 or 45
inches.
After playing golf
now for 7 years, I had personal long best drives on 4 of the the first 6 holes
I used the driver. After 2 months the honeymoon is still on. On
hole one, I would roll into the gully once a year. Now I carry the gully
almost every time I play. I've worked on my balance a lot in the last 2
years as well. Between the driver upgrade, and better swing mechanics,
I've gained on average about 45 yards in 2 years. Then I built new
fairway woods (new heads, reused same shafts) and gained another 20 yards with
the same loft. On a par 5, that equates to approx. 60 to 70 yards.
I'm starting to get the opportunity to putt for a birdie. Through
clubmaking, the game is NOW getting a little easier to play!
WOW!
Thanks
Bernie for the over length driver suggestions. With anticipation Tom, I
can hardly wait to get my hands on your recent GD
article.
Thanks
Harry S
www.Golf54.com
-----Original
Message-----
From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Tom
Wishon
Sent: October 14, 2003 3:59
PM
To:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject:
RE: ShopTalk: Golf Digest Higher loft articles
SNIP /
SNIP
Now my next project
with GD is to convince them they need to publish a booklet and side article on
top clubmakers just like they do for top teachers of the golf
swing every
year. The initial response on this idea from Mike is positive, but now
it has to go to the higher ups, which is always tough in the face of
remembering where their ad dollars come from. But Ill keep plugging
because this side of the industry deserves a lot more respect and things like
that could help a lot.
Thanks,
TOM
W
-----Original
Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2003
10:11 AM
To:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject:
ShopTalk: Golf Digest Higher loft articles
I read
these articles with great interest since this advice will be followed by many
customers. Interesting that in the charts an 11* driver with 115 MPH clubhead
speed showed a carry of 259 yards. Of all my customers that have been fitted I
have only found 3 who could acheive this kind of clubhead speed and they all
claim at least 280 yard carry! Most have clubhead speeds in the 75-85
MPH range and claim carry distances of 190-200 yards! I guess everyone
is lying!
Most interesting part of this
subject article is the contribution by Tom Wishon which discusses the angle of
attach. This part was unfortunately the LAST page of the entire article and
had the most truth in it. This information will be (IMHO) the most overlooked
because no 90 MPH clubhead speed player would fess up to needing a higher loft
to acheive greater distance And a player with this clubhead speed "certainly"
gets way more than 208 to 212 yards carry!
My
conclusion is to fit "macho" players with "wuss" drivers...........now I need
to find 11-12* loft drivers with just the number "1" on the soles! This head
combination with shafts that do not have designations of L,A,R,S,XS will be
future of successful selling!
Your opions
please?
