ORLANDO -- The 50th anniversary of the PGA Merchandise Show started off somewhat subdued, despite an expected 50,000 attendees.
Economic concerns were cited by several vendors as keeping the industry in no- or low-growth mode for much of the year, but individual companies felt confident that their products would weather the storm.
"It will probably be flat to down for the next 12 months. I don't see it rebounding really fast," said OGIO's David Wunderli. "There will continue to be a shakeout and the best quality companies will survive.
"I'm not worried about it at all -- it's an opportunity to gain market share."
MISSING IN ACTION: Two of the largest equipment companies, PING and Titleist, decided to give the 2003 PGA Show a pass. But their spirits are here -- or at least a few of their clubs.
"PING isn't showing but we have four or five of their clubs," said True Temper's Director of Marketing Bill Beatty. "We're sort of the Intel Inside of the golf industry. You can go into our booth and see everybody's product and compare."
Other components makers also featured clubs from missing vendors, giving buyers a chance to catch a glimpse of those companies' products.
HELPING PHIL: Attention Phil Mickelson. Susan Worthen McCombs of the Bedford Empowerment Center may be your key to winning a major this year.
McCombs, a board-certified hypnotherapist, is attending the PGA Show to promote her new Golf Enhancement Seminar on CD. The audio CD helps golfers of all skill levels to subconsciously improve their games, and Mickelson could be a prime candidate for improving his mental game.
"I know I could help him. I'd just like to have one day," McCombs said. "That's my goal -- to win him a major. He goes and makes dumb decisions -- why does he do what he does? He could beat Tiger. I know he could."
Beyond Mickelson, McCombs is enthusiastic about helping other golfers fine-tune their games.
"It took six to eight months to develop this script. What we have is excellent -- it works for everyone that I know of," she said. "If a person, for instance, is having slump -- maybe got a case of the yips -- you can choose to listen to the CD and work on that aspect of your game."
Any worries that people have about hypnosis are easy to de-bunk, McCombs said.
"Its use is totally safe. People's biggest fear is being out of control, but in fact, you're in total control," McCombs said. "I've never had anyone robbing a bank -- you just don't do anything you don't want to do.
"Just before getting to sleep -- that frequency, or state of relaxation, is where we work on golfers. You're almost asleep but not quite. You make a conscious decision to change something at the subconscious level."
The Golf Enhancement CD retails for $29.95 and is available by calling 866-275-0516.
MAKING IT SIMPLE: A common theme at the PGA Show is how to promote golf to those interested but not yet playing the game. New company T- Golf and its founder, Chris McDonald, may have hit on the answer. T-Golf focuses on teaching kids and adult beginners the basics of the game in a fun way.
T-Golf is modeled somewhat on the concept of T-Ball, where children hit baseballs off of high tees. The T-Golf program also includes raised tees, and golfers hit with a short, large-headed club.
"Baseball has softball, skiing has snowboarding ... but golf has no entry level sport," McDonald said. "I wondered if I could create a club that was easier to hit. It's not like I landed someone on the moon."
But a video running continuously at the new company's PGA Show booth shows kids of all ages picking up the T-Golf club and learning how to move shoulders and hips together while hitting the ball consistently.
"We found as people acclimate to it that the results are immediate," McDonald said. "It forces execution of proper fundamentals.... It's a great way for people to wade into the game rather than jump into the deep end of the pool."
McDonald envisions a alternative to golf that beginning golfers can enjoy, even on the course. The three levels of tees are lightweight and can be carried anywhere, including to the driving range.
"The game of golf, in order to grow, needs beginners," McDonald said. "And beginners can be treated pretty poorly by experienced golfers who forget the fundamentals of courtesy. We want to make it more fun for the beginner, and hopefully get the player to graduate to a regular set of equipment."
The T-Golf system sells for $139 for a child's set and $149 for an adult version.
BACK TO THE FUTURE: The media are interested, but Louisville Golf spokesman Josh Fischer says the key to his company's growth is getting clubs in the hands of consumers.
Louisville Golf makes persimmon head woods -- woods that look gorgeous but that many people think can't possibly compete with newer technology. What they don't realize is how much technology is actually incorporated into the wooden clubs.
"We redesigned the Smart2 fairway wood with a 40 gram copper weight to lower the center of gravity," Fischer said as he held up a dissected clubhead. "With a brass soleplate, we can move the weight around. It's easier than with metal because metal is homogenous."
The Smart2 -- just one new club in a line that features two new sets of irons, five new putters and a new line of woods -- has been designed to take the most advantage of technologically advanced shafts as well.
"Distance is primarily a function of the shaft. The Smart2 is designed to go with a new light graphite shaft," Fischer said. "If you put a traditional head on a 45" shaft it looks ridiculous. The lighter and longer shafts in metal woods -- that's where the perception of persimmon not being as long comes from."
Not only are persimmon woods comparable in distance to a metal head club -- Fischer cites Davis Love's use of persimmon to win the driving distance category in 1996 and subsequent decline of yardage with a metal club in 1997 -- but mis-hits are more accurate.
"With most every other golf company aggressively marketing drivers that promise more distance, golfers have lost sight of one thing -- do you really know where your ball is going?" Fischer said. "I'd be willing to bet that a golfer who hits every fairway could beat a golfer who hits one or two big drives a round. Accuracy needs to be affirmed -- it is the surest way for a golfer to improve their play and enjoyment of the game."
