Probably no one was as excited to see Trevor Immelman's long, curling 32-foot putt to win the Cialis Western Open fall into the cup on the 18th green as Rock Ishii.
Ishii, Nike Golf's director of golf ball development, works with several of Nike's players to find the ideal ball for them, and the South African's first PGA Tour win justified that approach.
The victory marked Nike's seventh with the One Platinum on the PGA Tour. As for Immelman, he averaged 299.5 yards using the combo of the SasQuatch Driver and One Platinum ball.
"It's evidence of how we have done our development," said Ishii, reflecting on how his team analyzes each Nike pro's game to find the right fit. "(Immelman) was having a tough time last fall. He was playing the One Black, but he switched to the SasQuatch (driver) last fall and didn't know why it wasn't going further. Launch monitor tests showed the ball flight was too low. He switched to One Platinum ... and he won."
Ishii might be best known for his work developing golf balls for Tiger Woods. But each Nike athlete gets a ball custom fit to their game.
Here's how it works: Through the year, Ishii's team at Nike gets launch conditions and data from the players, which gives them some ideas for how to start the process. The first trials start in April, usually without the athlete involved. With preparation for the majors underway, few players want to do much tinkering.
"The only time to work with the athletes is after the PGA Championship is done through December," Ishii said. "In that four months we probably do two rounds of testing, then finalize."
One exception, Ishii notes, is the week of the Bank of America Colonial: "It's not too close to the U.S. Open."
A player might test up to 23 versions of a golf ball model. Perhaps five would have slight dimple changes, another five would have cover material or minor construction differences, and so on. A second trial would typically involve 10 to 12 prototypes. Then, Ishii works with each player to narrow it down.
"Meanwhile, October to November is the timeframe to start mass production," he said. "Ok, we still have four or five versions. But that's what makes us unique and shows the flexibility we have.
"While we're finalizing mass production we still give the player a chance to change. They can use a prototype to start the new season -- we will work with the player to move to mass productions specs. If we can't, then that's a good one for mass production next year.
"The fitting makes them a better player. We did it with Tiger, and now we've spread that out with the other Nike players."
And, Nike carries the results of its testing with the pros down to the consumer level. Options like the Nike One Black and One Platinum come directly from what has been developed for professionals. Even golf balls marketed to amateur players bear the marks of this pro testing. Take the Ignite, a 3-piece, solid-core performance ball that debuted this year.
"My philosophy on this ball was to take the consumer (a ball that performs for a player) with lower head speed -- players who can't compress the golf ball as much as the PGA guys," Ishii said. "It's got better feel around the green. It's not only distance -- the scoring comes from around the green."
The Ignite ball has a compression of 88 and a softer Surlyn cover that gives it a feel that players need to accomplish lower scores, Ishii says.
"Tiger Woods reminded me of this several times," Ishii said. "If he's on the 17th, greenside, in deep rough -- that's everything for him. I want to take his idea, that idea, to the consumer level with the Ignite golf ball."
In the future, Ishii sees the customization process becoming more individual for golf balls. He talks of how golf shafts have become tailored to very specific types of golfers, and how launch monitors are used more and more to analyze what each golfer needs.
"If I can make a golf ball for each player, charge a little more than now, but the consumer has their own golf ball, that's the ultimate goal," he said. "I don't think it's impossible."
So while you may never have the one-on-one attention from Ishii that Woods or Immelman receive, it is very possible you may benefit from his labor by one day soon playing a golf ball that works perfectly for your game.
