Remember…Bobby Jones was a Professional

Masters week is an appropriate time to remember tournament founder Bobby Jones, who dominated his era as no one has ever done and there are a bushel of numbers to illustrate the point. Numbers such as Jones’ winning the four majors in 1930, the Grand Slam of the U.S. Open, British Open, U.S. Amateur and British Amateur.

His record shows from when he won his first U.S. Open title in 1923 through his 1930 U.S. Amateur win he played in 20 major championships and won 13 times.

Let that sink in for a moment…playing as an amateur against professionals of the caliber of Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen he won 65 percent of the time.

And then he quit. He had climbed his personal Everest and the only direction he could go from there was down.

Besides he was tired, worn out from the strain of playing at such a high level as well as from the travel which in the 1920s was arduous, many days and nights on trains or steamships.

There also was another important factor in his decision, Jones needed money. He was not independently wealthy and while an amateur he couldn’t play for pay. He had to generate an income from his fledgling law practice and other ventures to support his wife and children.

Therefore, a month and a half after winning the U.S. Amateur for the last time he sent a letter to the USGA announcing his retirement from championship golf and renouncing his amateur status.

As a professional Jones most certainly could have commanded huge fees for exhibitions just as Walter Hagen was doing or he could have played for prize money on what passed for a professional tour in the Depression years of the 1930s. But reflecting the times any money he won would have paled in comparison to the potential exhibition income.

So he did neither. Jones sent the letter because he knew the USGA rules strictly defined what constituted being an amateur and he was planning to make money from ventures related to golf so he would have been in violation. This in spite an earlier ruling by the USGA that money Jones received for a column appearing in several hundred newspapers did not somehow violate his amateur status. Inconsistent to be sure but probably more a reflection of the prevalent opinion a journalist was above the common drudgery of earning money from the game in contrast with lowly professionals.

And Jones was not about to sell his endorsement of some product just for the sake of making money. In fact his best known project wasn’t an endorsement deal at all but an immensely popular series of one-reel instructional films shown in movie theaters entitled “How I Play Golf.” Even today these films are worth watching, filled with information about the golf swing though Jones disliked what he called the “corny” story lines transparently centered on him giving lessons to movie stars.

His most profitable venture was getting into the club business and he became intimately involved with the design of the club line bearing his name manufactured by A.G. Spaulding Company. Interestingly the fact Jones autograph-model clubs had steel shafts was a major factor in sealing the demise of hickory shafts…”If Bobby says steel is OK, it must be.”

So the bottom line is according to the Rules of Golf Bobby Jones, the greatest amateur golfer of all time, was not allowed to be an amateur any longer.

Images courtesy of the USGA.

Standard bearers for the 1930 U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club.

Arch rivals and great friends Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones.

Bobby Jones in 1936 after his competitive career was over.

Drawing of Jones in 1929 before the Grand Slam

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

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SLDR 430 – Building On A Good Thing

To complement its best-selling SLDR drive, TaylorMade Golf has come out with a smaller clubhead version aimed specifically for use by better players. At 430 cc the new SLDR is more compact than the original 460 cc model but uses the same technology to produce distance and control player controlled adjustments.

“We put low forward CG in a smaller head to make a driver that tour pros love,” said Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade’s Senior Director of Product Creation for Metalwoods. “SLDR 430 makes it easier to shape shots without sacrificing distance.”

Like the 460, the 430 weight placement moves the center of gravity towards the sole and forward toward theclubface giving a better ball launch with lower spin low. It also makes of the 20-gram sliding weight TMaG introduced on the 460 last August for fade or draw bias. For loft adjustment the 430 has TaylorMade’s “Loft-sleeve Technology,” a 12 position hosel with plus or minus 1.5 degrees of change.  

Pricing, Options and Availability

Available in three lofts – 9.5°, 10.5° and 12°, SLDR 430 is equipped with a Fujikura Speeder 67 graphite shaft andTaylorMade high-traction grip. The Tour Preferred version, SLDR 430 TP, combines the same clubhead with the tour-caliber Fujikura Speeder Tour Spec 7.3 graphite shaft. A variety of custom shafts are also available. SLDR 430 and SLDR 430 TP begins December 20 at a suggested retail price of $399.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

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Happy Thanksgiving !!!!

Big Box In Golf In A Big Way

By ED TRAVIS  A report from Longitudes Group on the “Sporting Goods Channel” Golf Market was recently released and reveals some interesting data. For those questioning what a Sporting Goods Channel is, it is what everyday people call “big box” stores selling sports equipment from badminton to wake boarding. According to Longitudes sporting goods stores account for 17% of golf industry sales. In addition the 10 largest sporting goods chains in the U.S. have more than 2,100 retail locations, over twice the number of traditional off-course golf retailers. Coraopolis, Penn. based Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) sells to 9.8 million golfers or about 40% of all U.S. players. They also own Golf Galaxy outlets and as of last June had 523 stores. Sports Authority with 450 stores serves 43% of the U.S. total golf retail market value with its individual stores covering over $2.2 billion worth of the total golf retail market. Dick's is making up ground though narrowing a $500M gap in golf sales in 2011 to just over $200M this year. The opening of 72 new Dick’s stores in parts of the country with more playable days for golf is a prime factor. Sports Chalet has the highest number of golfers per store at 28,136 presumably due to its strength in densely-populated urban Southwest locations. Academy has the 2nd largest growth in golfers served since 2011 with a 34% increase in stores for a current total of 168 stores. It now has the ability to serve 1.6M golfers within a 15 minute trade area. The product categories with the most dollar value in sales sold in the Sporting Goods channel are golf apparel with $240M in sales followed by woods (drivers, fairways) at $193M. In one way this recitation of research data shows little that is new and merely highlights a continuation of the switch away from green grass and small off course retailers. However in terms of golf course operations it shows the further eroding of an important revenue stream, one that every golf course depends on, in some cases to merely keep the doors open and the bulldozers off the fairways.   ED TRAVIS | Golf News & Opinion Golf Illustrated

Ten Rounds With The SLDR

By ED TRAVIS Taylor Made Golf’s new driver, the SLDR, has been in use on the PGA Tour and European Tour for over almost three months and in my hands for just over three weeks. On the tours several of the professionals who endorse TaylorMade like the driver and are using it consistently. My test SLDR was 9.5 degree loft with a 58-gram Fujikura Speeder 57 stiff shaft and the stock TaylorMade grip. On the swing weight scale it is a D4. In other words a stock model, one could expect to find in his local golf shop or big box sporting goods store. For comparison, up until the SLDR arrived I had been using with a RocketBallz Stage 2 (9.5 degree, Fuji Rocketfuel 50 shaft, D6) alternating with a Titleist 913 D3 model with a Aldila RIP 60 shaft even though the clubhead of the 913 is somewhat smaller than the 460cc head on the RocketBallz. My procedure for testing any new club but particularly a new driver is to take it to the course—not the range. The reason is simple. On the range conditions don’t vary particularly the wind and the landing zone is always flat which can give a false impression of both carry distance and roll. Besides, distance comparisons on the course are a lot easier than on the range. After all, drivers are about distance first and with accuracy a fairly distant second. First I went to a hole with no out of bounds, water, trees and fairway bunkers that I usually can carry and hit six balls with each driver as a warm up but also to see if there were any noticeable differences between the three. There was. Though I like the RocketBallz Stage 2 I have never been a fan of the sound at impact and that was why, at least in part, I have been switching back and forth with the Titleist. The impact sound of the SLDR was much more to my liking. Solid, is the word that comes to mind, like the sound of the door closing on my father’s ’62 Buick Roadmaster. The ball flight of the SLDR was much flatter that either the RocketBallz or 913 so on the way back to the first tee I adjusted the loft up one-half a degree to 10 degrees. This first round, on every tee I hit three balls; one each with the SLDR, the 913 and the RocketBallz. This gave me a very good distance comparison to go with what I had found in my 18 ball warm up. There was no question increasing the loft of the SLDR helped its carry distance and trajectory with total distance somewhat longer. Compared to the RocketBallz Stage 2 and the Titleist 913 D3 the distance off the SLDR was slightly better, in the range of 5-yards so I made the decision to put it in the bag for the next nine rounds for a longer evaluation. After the 10 round trial I came to two strong conclusions. I continue to like the SLDR’s sound which is definitely confidence inspiring, a really big deal for players of any skill level. The SLDR is very controllable once you have the sliding weight set in the proper position for your swing. It took me a while to get it to just the right position. However, the adjustment was much easier once I increased the loft to 10.5 degrees which of course closes the face slightly and moved the weight one position towards the toe to promote a slight fade. So the question is, is the SLDR an improvement over other TMaG drivers or simply a difference? The short answer is yes. Because of the ease and simplicity of adjustment (the sliding weight and shaft collar), the solid feel and sound (perhaps the SLDR’s best feature) and what I think (non-scientifically to be sure) is better distance; the SLDR is on that short list of really, really good drivers. ED TRAVIS | Golf News & Opinion Golf Illustrated

TaylorMade Ghost Tour Putters

By ED TRAVIS Taylor Made Golf has released to shops the new Ghost Tour Series putters. You will have your choice of seven shapes: three blade-style putters (Daytona 12, Daytona 62 and Sebring 62) and four mallets (Maranello 81, Fontana 72, Monte Carlo 12 and Corza 72). According to Brian Bazzel, TMaG’s director of iron, wedge and putter development, “We spent a full year perfecting every detail on our Ghost Tour putters, making each one a thing of beauty, elegance and excellence. Golfers will be blown away when they set each of these putters down for the first time, and again when they experience the performance.” Each model has black ion plating on the sole and a white crown meant for contrast with green grass. Alignment lines consist of heavy black parallels perpendicular to the face on the trailing edge. The combined visual effect is very strong and creates a confidence at address that the putter is on the desired line. Taylor Made also included their 8020 PureRoll insert (80% Surlyn/20% aluminum) which is a very nice feature usually not found in putters at this price point.  Ghost Tour Series putters carry a $149 price in 33”, 34” and 35” lengths. All are in stores now except for the Corza 72 model which will be Nov.1. ED TRAVIS | Golf News & Opinion Golf Illustrated