Par 5 – 5 Questions for Colin McDougall, Thunderball

Aug 12, 2007 @ 07:22 pm by Nigel Da Costa


 

While on a trip to Las Vegas last month, I had the opportunity to sit down with Thunderball CEO Colin McDougall.  Thunderball is a cool new gold concept and I am looking forward to checking out this October in Vegas.  Check out the interview below and make sure to watch the promo reel on the Thunderball web site.  This is going to be cool.  For more information, you can contact Colin at: colin@thunderball.net

GL: Colin, tell us exactly what Thunderball is.

CM: THUNDERBALL IS THE BRAND NAME FOR MY COMPANY WHICH IS FOCUSED ON THE MARKETING AND PROMOTION OF PROFESSIONAL POWER DRIVING. THUNDERBALL WILL FEATURE EXCITING LIVE EVENTS BASED IN LAS VEGAS WHERE 16 OF THE WORLD’S BEST HITTERS WILL COMPETE IN A SINGLE ELIMINATION, LAST MAN STANDING FORMAT. THE LIVE EVENTS WILL BE CAPTURED FOR BROADCAST ON TELEVISION ALONG WITH GREAT SEGMENTS ON THE PLAYERS THEMSELVES GL: Where did the idea come from?CM: 4 YEARS AGO, I WAS WATCHING A GOLF BROADCAST, AND THE BOREDOM OF IT JUST GOT TO ME. AFTER THINKING ABOUT WHY THE BROADCAST WOULD BE SO BORING, I CONCLUDED THAT DUE TO THE BROAD APPEAL OF THE SPORT DEMOGRAPHICALLY THAT GOLF CONTENT WAS COMPLETELY UNTARGETED.TO ME THAT MEANT THERE MUST BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A MUCH MORE COMPELLING PIECE OF GOLF CONTENT FOR A MORE DEFINED AGE GROUP. SELFISHLY, I PICKED MY OWN AGE GROUP!

GL: Where and when can we expect to see it?

CM: LIVE EVENTS ARE PLANNED FOR THE FALL (DETAILED ANNOUNCEMENTS ARE COMING) WITH THE BROADCASTS AIMED FOR DECEMBER ON A MAJOR CABLE NETWORK.

GL: Obviously this isn¹t competing with the PGA, what is your target demo and how do you plan on keeping this fresh and exciting past year 1?

CM: WE ARE DEFINITELY A DIFFERENT, NON-COMPETING PROGRAM TO THE PGA TOUR. MY FIRM BELIEF IS THAT POWER-DRIVING WILL BE VIEWED AS ITS OWN SPORT SOON IN THE SAME WAY THAT SNOWBOARDING DEVELOPED INTO ITS OWN. AS FOR KEEPING IT FRESH, THERE WILL BE SOME NEW WRINKLES INTRODUCED ALONG THE WAY SO I’LL KEEP THE SUSPENSE FOR NOW!

GL: As the former President of Accuform golf, you created the Whistler Driver, very similar to the new Nike Sumo. How do you feel about a similar design being used by Nike?

CM: I’M SURPRISED IT TOOK THIS LONG REALLY….WE KNEW IN ‘94 THAT THE SHAPE WAS BENEFICIAL IN TERMS OF ACCURACY TO A DEGREE THAT WAS UNHEARD OF AT THE TIME – UNFORTUNATELY THE PUBLIC WASN’T READY FOR SUCH A CHANGE FROM A SMALLER COMPANY LIKE ACCUFORM. IN MANY WAYS, ACCUFORM WAS AHEAD OF ITS TIME – THE WHISTLER WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE WAYS….  

 



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!!

 



Par 5 – 5 Questions with Danny Fritz about the Telus Skins Game

May 16, 2007 @ 12:19 pm by Nigel Da Costa

1. Last year was a great format, this year you have 5 players representing 5 different countries. Do you feel the traditional Skins format without a ‘hook’ just isn’t working anymore?

We do believe that traditional golf events still work, but at IMG we like to think outside the box. We want to take the traditional event and make it a production. Each of our events starts by creating a theme. We then build out from this theme and try to create an atmosphere and emotion with the event. By doing this we feel that we have more buy-in from spectators, sponsors and hosts. We really feel that the traditional golf event is a great base to create something new and exciting from.

2. Last year the game was out west and now you are in Ontario. How do you decide on location?

IMG is always looking for new courses to host the event. Each year we receive several requests from golf courses all across Canada. When we sit down to start working through the list of possible hosts, we consider a lot more than just the course. There are many criteria that a potential home course must meet. It must be able to handle the flow of 5000 spectators daily and have parking for spectators as well as staff, volunteers, sponsors and media. The local area must have the appropriate accommodations to cater to the crowds. The city and tourism board must be willing to work with us as partners for this event. We take a look at all of those criteria and create a short list. From that short list we make our decision. We work closely with our title sponsor TELUS in choosing the exact location each year. We are always looking for new places and areas that have not seen a PGA level tournament or event.

3. How do you find players for the Skins game? Is it invitation?

Once we decide on the theme for the event, we build it out from there. This year for the world theme we wanted to have as many players in the top 20 as we could. We started by focusing on the different countries to be represented, mainly the UK, Australia, South Africa the United States and Canada. From there we went after the best players from each of those countries. I think we were very successful in getting some of the best golfers in the world to come to Canada and be a part of the TELUS Skins Game.

4. Is this really Monty’s first time ever playing in Canada?

Based on the knowledge we have and working with the Montgomerie camp, this is Monty’s first time ever playing in Canada. IMG does represent Monty so we have a pretty good idea of his schedule and what events he has played in.

5. Any ideas as to what new format you might try next year?

We are working closely with TELUS as we speak to develop a theme for 2008. We hope to announce the format shortly after the 2007 event so stay tuned for an announcement in the months following this year’s TELUS Skins Game.



Par 5 – 5 Questions with Jason Savidge

Mar 14, 2007 @ 12:57 pm by Nigel Da Costa

Bart Simpson once called an Australian boy to ask him if his toilet flushed clockwise or counter-clockwise. It made me curious…I wondered if putts in Australia lip out clockwise or counter-clockwise? So to get the answer (or not) I decided to contact Jason Savidge from Iseekgolf.com for the next installment of our Par 5 Series.

GL: Jason, how did Iseekgolf.com start?
JS: We started the site in response to a lack of online golf course directories here in Australia at the time. We personally were looking to play golf in different regions and could never find information about which courses were in in each area so we thought we would do it ourselves…it has grown from there to cover all areas of golf now.

GL: Was the growth immediate or did it take some time for people to catch on?
JS: It took a year or two to grow as we really grew with the internet usage in Australia. In 2000, people were still on dialup and the major telcos had the price of broadband so high that it took another few years for things to really happen and for internet usage to become the norm.

GL: What is the most popular area of the web site?
JS:The most popular areas of the site are the forums, the course directory and our user equipment reviews.


Par 5 – 5 Questions with Danny Fritz

Jan 24, 2007 @ 10:38 am by Nigel Da Costa

Par 5 – 5 Questions with Danny Fritz – Director of Golf Properties, IMG Canada 

GL – You were the former COO of the CJGA where you had the unique opportunity to shape the future of Canadian golf.  Over the last few years we have seen some great young Canadian talent emerge and have some great success on the international scene.  What role does the CJGA play in that? 
 
DF – The Canadian Junior Golf Association has been in existence for almost 15 years and its goal is to give Canadian junior golfers an opportunity to develop their competitive skills. It does that through six different stages of a young golfer’s development, starting as early as the age of five, right up to competition at an international level.  CJGA alumni include some of Canada’s best young pro prospects including Derek Gillespie, James Lepp and Chris Baryla. 
 
GL – You joined IMG in March 2006, what attracted to you IMG?
 
DF – IMG is the best in the world at what they do and the company’s presence in golf is unmatched.  I had worked quite closely with IMG over the years in my role with CJGA, and I was excited about the chance to expand my experience in the industry specifically in TV and media, two areas that IMG specializes in.  It is an ideal scenario because I am still quite closely involved in the CJGA because of the work they do with IMG. 
 
GL – This past year IMG made the decision to drop many ‘team’ athletes and represent more individual athletes, with golfers amongst the most prominent.  What can we expect to see from IMG Golf?  The representation of more golfers, more events, possibly television programming?
 
DF – It’s interesting to note that IMG was in fact founded on golf so it really is the foundation of the company’s success.  From representing the majority of the world’s top professional golfers, to owning or producing golf events, to even being very involved in golf course design, golf is an important part of every facet of IMG’s businesses.  A big part of the reason to move away from some of the team sports was a strategy to focus on our company’s biggest strengths, and that includes individual sports like golf and tennis.  With that being said, IMG is aggressively growing those core strengths so I think it’s fair to say that you will see IMG expand its interests in golf in the future.
 
GL – The Telus Skins game has been a very popular event the last few years.  What can we expect from the event this year and are there other events we should keep an eye out for?
 
DF -This year marks the 15th Anniversary for the TELUS Skins Game, an event that is considered by the players to be the best Skins Game in the world.  Every year IMG Canada works to keep the event fresh with a creative theme, location and player talent.  Last year’s event in Banff, Alberta was easily the most successful in the event’s history, so it will be difficult to top, but that’s half the fun of this event; trying to always make this year’s event more entertaining than the last.   We are also working on two or three different golf events that we hope to announce in the coming months so it makes for a very busy schedule all year round.   
 
 
GL – Most people reading this would love to have your job.  Do you get to play much golf now that you are sitting in the Ivory Tower?
 
DF – I don’t necessarily get to play as much golf, but I am literally always around the game which is obviously very rewarding.  You probably won’t find many people who will say they’re just as happy being at work as they would be on the golf course, but I’m lucky enough to say that I’m one of them!
 
GL – Thanks Danny!



Par 5 – 5 Questions with Chris Hilleary – Aerotech Golf

Jan 19, 2007 @ 09:54 pm by Nigel Da Costa
 

Chris Hilleary is currently the President/Principal of Aerotech Golf .LLC. Mr. Hilleary joined Aerotech Sports in January 1997 where he began in sales and was promoted to the Director of the Golf Division in 1998. Mr. Hilleary has a Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing Engineering Technology and holds the title of Inventor on both the Powercoil and the SteelFiber shaft patents. After working for Aerotech Sports for nearly 10 years, Mr. Hilleary purchased the golf division from the parent company and now enjoys the challenges of running his own business. 
    

 

GL: What brought about the idea for the company?  
CH: Aerotech Golf originated as a division of a larger composite development and manufacturing company called Aerotech Sports. Aerotech Sports incorporated in 1991 and was the first company to produce an NHL approved composite hockey stick. Aerotech expanded into the golf shaft market in 1994. Capitalizing on our extensive knowledge of composite structures we began producing some of the most technologically advanced shafts on the market.
GL:  Aerotech shafts are a hybrid between steel and graphite, can you talk to us about what makes this combination so special?  
CH: What makes our SteelFiber shafts so unique and perform at such a high level is how we combine the two materials (Steel and Graphite) and the quality and consistency we hold during manufacturing. Our shafts are designed with a complete surface layer of steel fiber over a graphite core which enables us to achieve the performance benefits of both materials. We’ve also developed a proprietary manufacturing process that allows us to produce on of the most uniform and consistent shafts ever created. These two factors are what make this shaft so special.
GL: Other shaft makers have tried this hybrid but hands down, Aerotech seems to be the cream of the crop.  Why is that? 
CH:  Aerotech realized early on that composite iron shafts were not being accepted by stronger players because of some definite perrformance shortcomings of a 100% graphite iron shaft. We identified these performance issues and set out to solve each one using our knowledge of composite structures and the manufacturing process. The SteelFiber shaft actually represents an evolution of designs that started in the late 1990s and evolved into what it is now. We spent several years engineering the integration of steel and graphite so they work together to achieve a performance that is greater than the sum of its parts.
GL: Have the professionals picked up on the Aerotechy product yet?  How is the Aerotech shaft perceived by professionals and club manufacturers?CH: We have had some very high profile players using our shafts out on the professional tours. They are all using the shaft on the merits of its performance as we don’t pay anyone to play our products. The major area of growth for Aerotech Golf, in the last couple of years, is the custom Clubfitting centers. These clubfitters are very knowledgeable and work directly one-on-one with their customers. They see first hand the performance benefits these shafts have to offer. In addition, they generally examine every shaft that comes through their door and after getting the chance to see the quality and consistency of our products, they’re hooked.     

  
GL. What can we expect to see from Aerotech in 2007? 
CH: During the 2006 season we saw an exponential growth in the heavier weight iron shafts. This is an indication that the stronger players are starting to embrace the technology which is what we set out for in the beginning. Therefore, in 2007 we have expanded the SteelFiber line to include a 110 gram constant weight taper tip iron shaft as well as a 125 gram taper tip wedge specific shaft. Now virtually any player can benefit from the SteelFiber technology.
GL: Thanks Chris

 

 

 

 

 



Par 5 – 5 Questions with Katherine Roberts

Dec 17, 2006 @ 09:40 pm by Nigel Da Costa

 Katherine Roberts is founder and president of Katherine Roberts Yoga for Golfers, a 10-year-old publishing and fitness consulting company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. As a fitness expert and a regular contributor for The Golf Channel, she has appeared on The Big Break, Golf Channel Makeover Challenge, Your Game Night, How Low Can you Go and Game ON! In addition Katherine has lent her expertise as the health and fitness expert for the PGA Merchandising Show Recap and is currently shooting two new shows, set to air during 2007.

GL: What brought on the concept of marrying Yoga and Golf? Was it a passion for both or did you see a good business opportunity?

KR: I grew up in a golfing family and I was blessed with the game early in life. Twelve years ago I was playing golf with a woman who was a 5 handicap.  Obviously I wanted to know what she was doing for her game.  She was a yoga instructor and soon became my primary teacher for the next eight years. I soon left my corporate sales job and became a full time yoga instructor.  Living in Scottsdale and Vancouver offers me the opportunity to work with many golfers.  My yoga students continued to receive the same benefits of yoga in their golf game as I had experienced.  (My handicap dropped from a 24 to 16)At this point I realized there was an untapped business opportunity to bring the benefits of yoga to a demographic of individuals who would not normally go to a yoga studio – golfers.Based on our market research, we released our first DVD over seven years ago and two months ago we released our 9th and 10th DVD.  The Yoga For Golfers book was released in 2005 (McGraw-Hill) and the second book is currently in the works. more…



Par 5 – 5 Questions with Bob Weeks of SCOREGolf (Part 2)

Dec 14, 2006 @ 12:06 pm by Nigel Da Costa

Similar to my interview earlier this week with Robert Thompson, I wanted to speak with Bob about his blog and his thoughts on golf blogging in general.  Also, I have been receiving a few email from readers regarding their own thoughts on golf blogging.  If others have thoughts and opinions, please send them to me and I can publish them in a future post.

GL: Was blogging your idea or something you were “encouraged” to do by the powers that be?

BW: I didn’t even know what a blog was before the folks that run the scoregolf.com website here in the office asked me to start one. I don’t consider myself to be technically slow or anything, I just couldn’t see the difference between a blog and a column but I know now. I’ve actually become an avid blog reader on other subjects that interest me and I have some favourites that I read regularly.

GL: When you first starting blogging, what were your initial expectations?

BW: I was really unsure how the blog would be received. I started it when I was at the massive PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando and my first couple of submissions were way too long, almost column length. The guys back at SCOREGolf.com were cringing! I had to sort of find my rhythm with it. I knew that SCOREGolf.com had a pretty loyal readership so I sort of guessed that if I hit on the right topics and was consistent in posting then it would have some success, but I never expected it to go to where it is now. I actually don’t even know the numbers in terms of readers — the guys in the Web department do but I never get around to asking, but judging by the feedback I get both in people who contribute comments and from comments I get either via e-mail or in person, I know it’s getting out there. I think my timing was also beneficial. There weren’t many Canadian golf blogs of note when I started and so for the few of us who got in early (Robert Thompson, Ian Andrew, your blog), got some traction that has stuck.

more…



Par 5 – 5 Questions with Robert Thompson (Part 2)

Dec 12, 2006 @ 02:39 pm by Nigel Da Costa

 

In our second interview with Robert Thompson, we have chosen to focus on golf blogging in general.  As most of my readers know, Going for the Green in one of my daily reads and I thought Robert could provide us with great insight into the world of golf blogging from a professional writer’s point of view.

GL: As stunned as I am about my own blogging success, I have worked in the online industry for almost 9 years now and had an idea of how big a blog could one day grow.  When you first starting blogging, what were your initial expectations?

RT: I truly had no expectations when I started in 2004. In fact, I thought blogs were a bit of a joke, but a fellow reporter at the National Post had started one and suddenly garnered some attention. I’d just finished writing regularly for PGATour.com and had five years of stories that I thought might just disappear. So G4G (which was the name of the golf and business column I wrote for the National Post) began as an archive for my online golf writing.

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Par 5 – 5 Questions with Bill Dey, COO Element 21

Nov 22, 2006 @ 12:33 am by Nigel Da Costa

Mr. Dey, serving as Chief Operating Officer, brings a career of brand building and brand turn-around success to e21 Golf.  Bill provides executive level expertise in global sales, marketing, product development, commercialization, supply chain management and licensing.  As President of Insport Inc., Bill propelled several recognized sporting goods companies from start-up to industry leading brands.  Bill was hand picked to turn-around the Tommy Armour Golf Company, returning this once top-tier brand to profitability

GL:  Bill, November 23rd is the big day when the Russian Cosmonaut will hit the Space Shot.  You must be excited to see this event finally here after all the planning and red tape to get this done.  There has been a lot of hype and excitement around this for the better part of the last year.  What are you planning to do after the event to keep the publicity rolling?

BD:
a)  The ball will be in orbit for approximately 3 years, first estimates have it traveling well over a billion miles.  This drive will be making history everyday, and as a result we have applied for “the longest drive” Guinness world record.
b)  We will use the best footage for advertising.
c)  E21 has also purchased the original space suite that was used in space to hit the ball.  The space suite together with the club and “space T” will go on a road show.
d)  There are other events that are in the works that we cannot disclose at this time.
e)  Delivery of our ’07 product line starts February 15th and will be supported by print, media, point of sale merchandising.
f)  Every dealer will have our commitment to a demo program. The golf consumer will see and feel the difference in our golf equipment immediately.

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