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The Golf Lab Members-Only Newsletter
July 2005
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in this issue
-- Diamana Shafts
-- Nike Ignite Driver
-- Nakashima 460
-- Nike Fairway Metals -- Utility Clubs with Fujikura Banzai Shaft -- Heavy Putter -- Miura Irons -- Golf Lab Tour Van
This Season's Winners It's always great fun to look back on the season and see which products performed and met the pre- season hype and which did not. It's kind of like a big, slow motion horse race. Here's our call on the winners. You might find that one of them fills a hole in your bag. |
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Diamana Shafts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We were a little slow to pick up on Diamanas
because when a shaft gets more expensive than a
Fujikura Speeder, we assume that the price was set
to make a marketing statement, rather than reflect
quality or performance. A couple of months into the
season, the Diamana is in my driver, Bob's driver and
3 wood and in the bags of most of the Golf Lab
regulars. It is an incredible shaft that absorbs all
vibration. You can play it in a softer than normal flex
and get a solid kick. We have a few demos set up
for you to try. In most of the world, Diamanas are
going for $350 For our Members Only, we'll install
a Diamana, SST PUREd (a $50 option) for $299 from
now through the month of August.
We also made a special purchase on several of the "Tiger Drivers". That's the Nike Ignite with the Diamana 83 gram shaft. The normal retail price is $650 For our Members Only, we'll sell the Tiger Driver for $499 - but we only have six. The Diamana was used by Tiger, Vijay, Retief and Sergio in the British Open. It's a winner.
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Nike Ignite Driver ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2005 will go down as the "Year of the 460"
and
thanks to Tiger, Nike's stature as a golf club company
is enhanced. If you haven't tried the new 460 size,
you have a treat coming. It is much easier to make
solid contact with the big head. The Ignite is the
traditional persimmon pear shape. Despite an
aversion among traditional golfers to accept Nike as a
top drawer equipment supplier, the company is
making relentless progress toward establishing its
brand in the golf equipment industry. For
Members
Only, we will waive our $25 fee for a two day, on-
course Ignite demo. You can only be sure after
you
take a new club to the course. You're better off to
do that before you make your purchase. We
have
the stock Ignite priced at a bargain $299. SST
PUREing and many shaft options are available.
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Nakashima 460 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of our favorite companies is Nakashima, based in
Stockton, CA. The "Nak" was the winner of the year
last year. Owner John Nakashima is meticulous with
product design and quality. They didn't rush their
460 to market, waiting until they got it right. It's out
and it's right. If you like a traditional, understated
look, the Nakashima is a great choice. The very hot
face was recognized by the USGA as being "marginal
but within the tolerance". We have plenty of
demos. For the next month, we're offering a free
Nakashima driver fitting for our Members Only.
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Nike Fairway Metals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We've paid a lot of attention over the last couple of
years to customized fairway metals. Sonartec
started their custom program with us. They're still
the top independent fairway metal company on Tour.
We have recommended the Advanced Golf
Technology Super Novas to many of our customers
with great success. But, we've never had a fairway
wood that we liked better than the new Nike T-
60
series. Not that it should matter too much, but
Tiger
is playing the T-60 - with a 105 gram Diamana
shaft.
The head of the T-60 is somewhat deeper than a
normal 3 wood and the face angle is open. Despite
the deep face, it is easy to hit from tight lies. It's
great off the tee. And, it's long. Your new T-60
won't break the bank. Stock configuration is
$235.
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Utility Clubs with Fujikura Banzai Shaft ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 3 iron is about to go the way of the DoDo Bird.
Many players have replaced their 3 iron with a 21* or
22* utility club. The 25* utility is starting to kick a
lot of 4 irons out of the bag. It won't be long before
many amateurs' bags start with a 5 iron. This is more
than a passing fad; it is a trend that will continue.
Utility clubs are simply easier to hit than long irons.
We've done a good job with the Sonartec MD, the Nike CPR and the Mizuno Fli-Hi and CLK. Be warned, this is a category that is not great off the shelf. Most utilities come with Aldila NV, UST Irod or proprietary lightweight graphite shafts. We're not too crazy about any of those options. The Fujikura Banzai is a great shaft for utility clubs. If you're having trouble with your utility, think about a Banzai reshaft. Specially priced for Members Only this month - $125 SST PUREd and installed.
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Heavy Putter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The most popular booth at the PGA show this January
was the Heavy Putter booth. They wrote so
many
orders they had to scrap their business plan to
produce the Heavy Putter in the US and take
production to China. That took a long time. We
finally got our first shipment last week and
immediately took them to the course. I made five
birdies in the PAGC Tournament at the San Jose Muni
on July 17. That's my record for the year. I'm giving
the Heavy Putter credit. Check one out for a test
drive.
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Miura Irons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We've been saying that when you're ready to buy
your last set of irons, it should be Miura. There
are
very few products that you can buy that are a
consensus choice for the best in the world. Miura
has been the supplier for custom irons to the PGA
Tour for years. Now, the company is aiming to
establish it's brand in the North American market.
Miura irons are expensive, but not outrageous. Set up with the premium shaft of your choice, SST PUREd, the Golf Lab price is $200 per club.
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Golf Lab Tour Van ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We've been working on building out our Tour Van
for
the last three months. It turned out to be a big
project. It's got a custom interior designed and
installed by Kim Pedersen. We're now available to
come to your course. All we need is to pre-book a
minimum of four fittings. Our business model is set up
to compensate the club's professional staff. We think
we will reach a lot more golfers by making Golf Lab
technology and expertise available on-course. If you
would like to see us at your club, give the Golf Lab a
call. (650) 493-1770.
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That's all for now. If you're driving down 101, keep in mind we're only two minutes off the Embarcadero exit. Best regards, Leith Anderson and Bob Huff
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Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:
leith@calgolftech.com
phone:
(650) 493-1770
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