Par 5 - 5 Questions with Katsuhiro Miura - Miura Golf

Jul 30, 2007 @ 10:31 am by Nigel Da Costa
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Katsuhiro Miura of Muira Golf.  I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did conducting it.
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1.Your clubs have been used to win tournaments all over the world yet they are not very well known.  Was this intentional or were you more focused on creating the best product you could rather than going after as much press as possible?
My belief, and that of Miura Giken and Miura Golf Inc is to make clubs that perform first and sell second. If we produce the best irons possible, then the good golfer will find us. As for publicity, well, that is a byproduct of the success of our irons.  

2. The effort and detail which goes into making your forged clubs are legendary.  Can you tell us more about this process and why it is so important?
Please see answers to this question on our website. Click on this link http://miuragolf.com/products.asp and move the cursor to the right side of the room, specifically, the Dies. The manufacturing process is explained along with its importance.

3. Your business is run by you and your sons and on any given day, you can be found sitting at a grinding wheel working on club heads.  Do your sons share your passion for club making?
 
Yes, and this is something I am most proud of. Both Yoshitaka and Shinei have evolved into excellent designers and craftsmen. That said, they are still young men (mid 30’s) and will continue to get better and better. A father can be most proud when his sons choose to enter the same vocation but more proud when their passion for that vocation exceeds your own. Both boys spend long hours in the manufacturing facility but also promoting the brand throughout Japan and the world through special appearances. As much as I would like to take credit for this, I believe a great deal of credit should go to their mother.
4. Unlike your competitors, you don’t have a single big name pro golfer under contract.  Is this something which will change or has this been a conscious decision?
(The following is taken from FAQ on our website)
In fact many tour players are, and have been, playing Miura made clubs under the brands of other companies and to a more limited extent at this time, under the Miura brand. Miura Golf’s policy is that we don’t pay professionals to play our clubs. Those that play Miura branded clubs play them because they want to play the best and that is more important to them than the money they would receive from an equipment company. Since we don’t pay professionals to play our clubs, we don’t believe we have the right to use their names to promote our products. We recommend that you review public information sources in this regard. 

5. What is next for Miura Golf?

We will continue to produce the best possible golf clubs which will allow golfers of all abilities to enjoy the game of golf. We will remain true to our philosophy with respect to producing the best possible irons. We will not introduce a new model just for the sake of making change but rather when technology dictates a change for the better.
We will be introducing a line of Woods and Utility clubs to North America in the near future as well as a line of putters. We will only produce products which live up to the high standards Miura Irons have established.


British Open Thoughts

Jul 25, 2007 @ 01:10 pm by Nigel Da Costa

I got an email from friend and Golflogic blogger Michael Shandrick about the British Open…I can’t write this stuff but I wanted to share it with you…damn this guy can write.

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The tournament was wonderful drama. Mighty Othello was muted, leaving the stage early to a tense playoff between a Spanish Hamlet and an average guy with no more attribute than he triumphed in the afterglow of a rare Scottish sunset.

Moreover, have we forgotten already the amazing Argentine (whose name we hardly know)  derived from the ancient races of the southern hemisphere to come within a cat’s whisker of winning the prize.  He portends the future with his bag of miracles.

Alas, the once mighty fell by the wayside queue and the nonsense they spoke was carried away quickly in the seaside winds.

The golf gods endure,  plucking legend and assigning the less worthy a long trip home.

Michael Shandrick
www.golflogic.ca



Red Tailed Chicks the Victims of Golf Course Tourney

Jul 23, 2007 @ 09:24 pm by Michael Shandrick

Rider Thompson, an avid bird watcher, often rides his bike along a road next to the Rhode Island Country Club near Barrington, Rhode Island. On May 22, he observed a nest near the top of a scraggly white pine adjacent to the course’s 15th tee and saw that it was home to a family of Red Tail hawks. He watched them through his binoculars and took photographs of the three maturing chicks and their doting parents. When he drove by later that evening Thompson was stunned to find the tree had been cut down. He also learned that two of the chicks had been killed.
 

Thompson demanded an explanation from RICC management, but they dismissed him curtly, saying no one knew of any bird activity in that tree when they ordered it cut down. Thompson questioned why it was necessary - with an active nest of hawks in it — to cut the tree down. “I asked them: wouldn’t it make more sense to wait until the hawks were mature enough and left the nest?”
 

The answer was all too obvious, says Thompson. There was pressure to make the grounds look flawless for the upcoming CVS/Pharmacy Caremark Charity Golf Classic held last June 17-19. The event, run by Peter Jacobsen Productions, had prompted a multi-million dollar renovation to the clubhouse and the course, so an ailing tree in the vicinity, to the promoters, was just an eyesore that had to go.
more…



Par 5 - 5 Questions for Quagmire Golf

Jul 16, 2007 @ 07:44 pm by Nigel Da Costa

 

Quagmire Golf is golf’s hottest new clothing line 

GL: How did you get started in the clothing business?

Geoff used to make Beach pants when he went to school in Australia. Other than that we are just two young guys who know what they feel comfortable wearing on the golf course and out on the town, so we made it a reality.

GL: How is Quagmire different?

Quagmire is not your boring old mans/ladies golf line. It is younger and fun, wearable both on and off the course and it is branded as a lifestyle line and not just a golf line. It is not your traditional athletic brand but something people feel comfortable wearing both on and off the course. It also is made with cleaner fits and more fashionable colours and styles.

GL: Different Celebs have been seen wearing your product, who are they and how did that happen?

Jon Mayer, Rick Fox, Stephen Dorff, Rachel Hunter, Joe Thornton, Raffi Torres, Kevin Weeks, Ray Emery, Jarret Stoll, Jason Spezza, The Philosopher Kings, and many more.

We choose to give product to not only golfers but people who love to play the game and are not necessarily good at it. Last year we went to Barbados for the Kevin Weekes Charity Classic where a lot of athletes attended as well.

GL: What is selling best and where can we get them?

The plaid shorts are selling really great this season but truthfully the whole product line is moving quickly. We are filling a niche of a younger, cooler golf crowd.

Quagmire is available across Canada but can be found at Nevada Bobs, Sporting Life, Over the Rainbow and many of your local golf shops!

GL: Since being in the golf business, are you finding time to play? How Is the game this year?

The only time we get out is with customers. We spend most of our time on the course in the Quagmire anyway!!

 



HSBC Golf

Jul 09, 2007 @ 07:34 pm by Nigel Da Costa

On July 19-22 the HSBC Women’s Match Play tournament will be held.  HSBC has launched a great web site with games, tips and a blogs.   A blog written by Julieta Granada will be running before and after the tournament.  Great to see a company like HSBC getting behind golf in such a big way.



Another word on water…

Jul 09, 2007 @ 12:26 pm by Yoga For Golfers

I think in the end it all comes down to knowing yourself, and listening to the quiet whispers of your body; I know that if I drink any less than 3 litres of water (minimum, per day) on top of all other food & liquids, I just don’t feel right. 

Here’s an interesting article in Yoga Journal on the myths & facts of how much water we should actually be drinking (including the real effects of caffeinated drinks and the value of water in food, like spaghetti, which is 60% water)- it’s especially timely considering the exceptional heat & dryness many of us are currently enjoying.

Liquid Assets

Water is good for body and soul, but you don’t need to drink as much as you might think. Here’s the truth about what’s enough, plus five other myths about water.



Phil takes one…

Jul 09, 2007 @ 10:26 am by Nigel Da Costa

phil mickelson tiger woods ping pong

He didn’t play well and missed the cut so I finally have a reason to post this picture…I laugh everytime I see it.



First Nations Band Claims Second Golf Course in Vancouver

Jul 06, 2007 @ 02:51 pm by Michael Shandrick

The UBC Golf Club will remain a golf course for the next 26 years. After that, the ownership of the 78-year-old course will turn over to its new owners, the Musqueam First Nations band. The Musqueam and their descendants have witnessed 250 years of white man’s occupation of their real estate, and now the band facing overcrowding with some 240 people on an affordable housing list, along with a need for administrative and other facilities. The band is making it clear that they have other priorities when they take over the property in 2033. Similarly, the band will take control of the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in 2032. The announcement left a sour taste in the mouths of many golfers coming as it did after months of secret negotiations between the band and Gordon Campbell’s BC Liberals.

Given that land claims were inevitable did it ever occur to anyone to offer free golf lessons to the Musqueam boys and girls years ago? A crop of upcoming Musqueam junior golfers may have led to a far different conclusion. Calls to Chief Ernest Campbell for his comment went un-returned.



Yoga For Golfers is Bullfrog Powered

Jul 06, 2007 @ 08:34 am by Yoga For Golfers

I’m proud of this one… On the eve of the Live Earth events I’ve made the switch with ease, to ensure ALL my home & business electricity dollars support 100% sustainable energy sources.  Not only will this benefit the environment, but I believe this is the future of stronger world economics - smart individuals and corporations that are willing to pay a little more green for a LOT more quality of life - and, I sleep better at night.  Also, a few simple habit changes (like switching off lights when you’re not in the room) will offset the increase in electricity fees.

The switch is easy - http://www.bullfrogpower.com/

Live Earth will air on CTV tonight & Green Toronto Street Festival at Yonge/Dundas will coincide with the concerts.

I was happy to see the number of Golf Courses in Arizona taking green measures in maintenance of the courses… Now, to support Ontario courses to do the same we’d certainly have to incorporate higher green fees for environmentally sustainable course management. 



No Bull in the Bull Pen

Jul 05, 2007 @ 11:07 am by Michael Shandrick

Fully paid women members at the Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver will receive the same services as men. Well, except for allowing the ladies into the Bull Pen lounge. A toast or two may have been raised by the club’s bulls in the lounge when they learned at the end of June that the Supreme Court of Canada will not hear a discrimination case brought by 36 women members of the club. Marine Drive President Brian Butters was pleased with the ruling that ended a three-year court battle, and is looking forward to healing the rift that has been aired in public since 2004. “What this issue is about is proper governance of a private club and whether if a club can determine for itself how a facility is used.”

By all accounts from the comments to my “Ladies Forbidden” article in January, it seems a lot of other men in private golf clubs across the provinces were breathing a sigh of relief as well.



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