News
Seasons End
Posted by scratch on 13-1-2010 8:44 pm - 0 comments
Hello again, Scratch golfers!
The Nationwide Tour has played the final three events of the regular season since the last blog and I’ve gone coast to coast and coast to coast in those three weeks. (That would be California to Florida and Florida to Cleveland.) It is little wonder that I’m so enamored with my couch at this very moment!
The home stretch started with the newest event on the Nationwide Tour schedule, the Soboba Classic in San Jacinto, California. This new event boasted a $1 million purse, almost guaranteeing the winner a place on the PGA Tour for 2010.
I left the house mid-afternoon on Saturday. For some reason flights were way, way cheaper on Saturday than they were on either Sunday or Monday. And indeed the airport was a virtual ghost-town when I got there. Maybe that had something to do with it. The flights ended up being tolerable and without baggage, not too hard to handle, either. I got in late on Saturday night, was the last customer at the rental car counter and found my way to my exceptionally nice Days Inn in San Diego.
Not needing to be on-site until Monday, I spent my time at the San Diego Zoo on Sunday during the day and wandered down to Dog Beach in the Ocean Beach area in the early evening. I’ve never been one to just sit around. This country has lots to offer if you look for it and I’m all for looking for it. The zoo was, of course, great and Dog Beach is a wonderful place full of joyous dogs free to run around an play. Just the kind of place I’m going to enjoy.
Early Monday, I headed two hours inland to the course. The event itself was a very course-centric one. With this being a new event, the majority of the players’ time was being spent on the course rather than on the range. Really, players were only spending time at the range if they had issues that needed to be addressed or simply to warm up. I only ended up building a couple of clubs that week and spent the rest of the time double-checking specs on the clubs that had been built, doing inventory and making sure that the players that are already playing our stuff were happy and had all they needed. Pretty much, they did. Some weeks are busy, some weeks aren’t. California was not a busy week.
The week after California was spent in Chattanooga, which is now home to the Scratch Tour and Custom Department. This was a big, long, busy week. Along with the normal at-course duties of working an event, we also did a total of 10 full fittings with players. Some of the fittings were with guys we already have playing our clubs, some were with players we look forward to working with in 2010, including three players who will have PGA Tour cards next season.
It is always encouraging when we put players through fittings. To get the whole picture of what exactly it is that we do and what we do so well, you really have to go through the entire fitting process. Telling a player that what he has MAY fit him and that we likely have something BETTER will sometimes make a player interested to see what we have. And sometimes it generates no reaction at all. But players have a chance to come in for a win-win proposition. If they find that they already have what works for them, then there is no need for them to change unless they want to play a comparable product that we offer. That is completely their choice. But if they go through a fitting and find that what they have is okay, but we offer something that allows them to hit another shot or another group of shots, they can then get that club so that they can become an even better player. Ultimately, we’re here to help players. We want guys to play their best. We think we offer more of the equipment to help them than any other company (because we do), but if our products aren’t going to really make a player that much better, then that’s fine. We’ll identify that fact and the player can go on about his/her business knowing they have just what they need.
All the fittings went well and it was really good to work with these players. A couple of guys were a bit off on what they really needed to be playing, but most were close. A couple actually had basically exactly what they needed, though we’re going to get a shot at them as they have to go to new wedges for the 2010 conforming groove rule anyway. It was a good week and while I can only speak for myself, I’m pretty sure both Paul and I slept very well and very hard each night.
The final regular season event of the 2009 Nationwide Tour was held last week in Miami. It is a pressure-packed crunch time of a week for a lot of players. Not so much for reps, I have to admit. I had a couple of guys to build and work on stuff for, but nothing real pressing. As it was the last event of the season, I didn’t have to build up stock for the next week, so I just got organized and ready to pull everything off the trailer to bring back to the shop. With the temperatures in the low to mid 90s, most guys were staying in the shade or in the clubhouse. There really wasn’t much going on at all. It wasn’t a week guys wanted to be standing on the range beating balls, either. Too hot, too humid. I spent my time as usual working the range and talking to all the guys I know so well out there. I know it will be a bit weird not having a new venue to go to each week, but it doesn’t mean I won’t be on the road.
Next week will begin another new adventure. I’ll be spending every other week in Chattanooga building clubs. Club building is something I have wanted to learn to do for a long time. Until this year, I had always trusted myself to do re-gripping. That’s it. I added loft and lie adjustment this year on the trailer and I can do some re-shafting already (had to, we got some bad epoxy and one of my heads flew off this summer). But I haven’t done anything like this on a consistent basis, so I’m looking forward to learning all the processes necessary to build for a club company and it is a skill that I’ll be able to use going forward. Plus, it’ll give me a chance to get out of what will no doubt be some miserable Cleveland weather this winter!
The next event I’ll be working will be the finals of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in West Palm Beach, Florida in December. I mentioned that Miami was pressure-packed. Q-School is the ultimate in pressure. I’m glad I’ll be on this side of the ball when it comes to Q-School. I wish all those guys the best and I’m glad I’m not with them!
Until next time, play well, stay warm and work on that short game!
Midwest-West Blog
Posted by scratch on 13-1-2010 8:44 pm - 0 comments
Hello again, Scratch golfers! The last month has come and gone in an absolute flash. Since the last blog entry, the Nationwide Tour has completed the “Midwest Swing” with the final event of the series taking place in Scranton, PA and has begun the “Western Swing” of the tour, with events in Mexico (no, not very western), Salt Lake City (now we’re talking) and Boise. Yours truly has been on site every week except for Mexico. No reps traveled to Mexico, so players simply had to dance with the ones they brought for once!
Since the introduction of the 8620 wedges, we’ve seen a big jump in our numbers here at Scratch Golf. Turns out guys on tour love a clean, simple, effective cast wedge. We set a new standard for clubs in play in Scranton. With 27 wedges in play and a set of irons to boot, we had 35 total clubs in the field, which is a new single-event record for us. With fourteen players in the field gaming Scratch wedges, that, too, was a new single-event record. The week of Scranton was an exceptional one for us, and one that would definitely help us with our growing numbers as the tour progresses!
The week after Scranton was Mexico. Like I mentioned, I didn’t head south of the border. In fact, not even a full complement of players headed to Mexico. Anyone and everyone who was eligible to get into the field got in. Apparently, those who didn’t go missed out on an extremely well-executed event at a quality golf course. They also missed out on the stomach issues that a fair number of players ended up with down there. Everyone knows you don’t drink the water. Now everyone knows why, with quite a few finding out the hard way!
However, just because I didn’t head south of the border, doesn’t mean I didn’t head south. We’re working on growing a really strong following on the mini-tours. With the wider appeal and the greater accessibility of our 8620 wedges, it is important to keep in touch with players on developmental tours like the Hooters Tour. So, I packed a bag, grabbed some clubs and headed to Dothan, Alabama. I stopped off in Chattanooga to see the new shop (the new, new shop) and to see the other Scratch guys. I also stopped on the way back to start my education on club building, something I’m going to be doing a lot of this winter. The trip was a good one, though quick. I was able to see some of the guys who are currently playing Scratch products and some other guys that either should be or will be shortly. And I’ll be trying to show my face out there more in the winter and in 2010.
The first event of the “Western Swing” was Salt Lake City. This was the first time I had flown into SLC and it is actually a really great place to fly into. I always forget from one year to the next how much I like being out there. With the mountains as a back-drop, the scenery is wonderful. It is a pretty easy city to get around in, which is always nice, and it has lots to offer. I could probably live out there, though I am more partial to the water (even if it is only Lake Erie) than to the mountains. Anyway, I’d never shy away from traveling there.
It was a busy start to the week for me. Having not been out for a week, I had clubs to deliver and new heads to shaft up and grip. I really like the putting together of clubs, so I’m planning to do a lot more of it during the winter. On the road I like making sure that all the specs are just as the players want them to be. Sometimes doing the length thing is a bit of a challenge. Not everyone or every company has the same “standard” specs, so I might build a club to our standard, only to have to have it cut down because it doesn’t match up exactly to the player’s current model. But that’s okay, it keeps me busy! We picked up a couple more players in Salt Lake City. We’re even getting a bit more exposure heading into the PGA Tour’s Fall Finish with some of the PGA Tour players who have come down to play the Nationwide Tour while they wait for the FedEx Cup playoffs to wind down. It is nice getting a chance to work with some of the “Big Tour” players that I know as well.
Then it was off to Boise. Boise is always a great place to be. In years past I have donated quite a bit of money to the pro shop at Hillcrest due to the fact that, coming off the “Midwest Series”, it has always been so hot, you just wouldn’t expect to show up and have it to dip down into the 40s at night. So, I have Hillcrest sweaters, sweatshirts and long-sleeve golf shirts. This year, I was smart and packed for it. And, of course, aside from a vest on Tuesday morning, I never needed a bit of what I packed. Figures.
I showed up on Monday and got the bag organized, inventory taken and hung out waiting for players to show up. Not many did, really. The range in Boise is not, well, its not good. It has regular balls for irons and limited flight balls for hybrids, fairway woods and drivers. And it is straight downhill. Next year, I’m showing up on Tuesday. There just isn’t really any way for guys to get “work” done on that range. Not good for drivers and not good for wedges. Good week to work on the putter, though, so maybe that can be next year’s focus.
Tuesday I was allowed the day to play the Crane Creek pro-ams. I don’t play much anymore, but I love having the chance to do a few pro-ams along the way. Crane Creek has always been one of my favorites and I was fortunate to be able to do both the morning and afternoon waves. I had two great groups and enjoyed myself immensely. The morning group needed a bit of assistance, so I threw in four birdies and an eagle. The afternoon group had it well in hand, so my pair of birdies went largely unnoticed. But what a fun day for me, and hopefully for all my playing partners, too. They are, after all, what the whole day is about.
Wednesday came and went without an major issues coming up. I stayed until 4:30 in the afternoon, which is way longer than most reps stick around. Most guys have flights to catch, so they have to get moving after lunch. I didn’t fly out until Thursday, so I kept it going late. And I did pick up another player late in the day, too. That makes the extra effort all worthwhile!
This week I’m off the road. I’m a bit road-weary after making long treks the last couple months straight. So, I’m at home, handling things like fittings, setting up an account or two and writing tour reports and blogs. Its a chance to recharge the batteries before the home stretch, which begins next week in California at the new Soboba Classic, which boasts a $1 million purse. Not huge by PGA Tour standards, having a $1 million purse, but definitely a major for the Nationwide Tour. From California it is back eastward to Chattanooga, the home of the Scratch Tour Department, then Miami, Florida, for the final regular season event, then the Tour Championship down in Charleston, SC. The year has gone really, really fast!
Until next time Scratch golfers, enjoy the fall and keep working on that short game!
Cheers!
Midwest Tour Blog part 1
Posted by scratch on 13-1-2010 8:44 pm - 0 comments
Hello Scratch golfers. Welcome to part 1 of the Midwest edition of the Tour Blog. Its an exciting time of year on the Nationwide Tour. The heat is ratcheting up, the ball is flying a long way, zoisia fairways provide perfect lies, the greens are bent and smooth, and scores are coming down!
After taking a little bit of time off to play a couple tournaments of my own, I headed just down the road a couple of hours from home to Columbus, Ohio. The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational is in it’s third season, played over the very challenging Scarlet Course at Ohio State. Scarlet used to be one of my favorite courses in Ohio. We played there all the time when I was at Kent State, and the Allister MacKenzie course was, and I repeat was, a real joy to play. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for keeping up with the times and lengthening older courses, just as long as the original character of the course is kept in tact. Jack Nicklaus came in and just wrecked, smashed, demolished and trashed the Scarlet course. I’m sorry, folks, it’s a supreme disappointment. And, I have not heard any really positive comments about it, especially not from former OSU players. I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. What were they thinking?
Okay, so rant over, there seemed to be little action going on in the world of wedges the week of Columbus. There was some action on the course, though, with the annual Rep Tournament being contested on the much shorter (and unaltered) Gray Course. A fine time was had by all (I think) and some good scores were posted. My team came out on top, thanks to a very timely drawing of True Temper/Grafalloy rep Craig Nichols out of a hat in the blind draw! Our matching 65s put us on top by a mere seven shots. As you can imagine, the whining since has been endless. Just this week a protest was posted on the Tour Trailer when my scores from the Ohio Open were discovered. I was a pro last year folks, what do you expect? While it isn’t exactly like riding a bike, if you continue to work at it, some of the ability stays with you! I didn’t even shoot the lowest round! I just happened to pull a great great team out of a hat!
One thing that is starting to happen this time of year, though, is the need for players to replace the wedges they started out the year with. Pros will typically go through two or three sets of scoring clubs each season. So I’m getting requests for new sets of wedges with fresh grooves. Along with those requests are coming the inevitable questions about the 2010 grooves and when those will be available. We’re currently offering the V Groove as a Custom Studio option, so players will be able to get some to tinker around with pretty soon. It is going to be a whole new ball game, with so many of these players being just to young to have ever had to hit a club without box grooves! One word…flyers. Well, maybe one other word, too…FORE!
After Columbus, where the weather was actually quite comfortable (it has been a very mild summer in Central and Northern Ohio), it was off to Wichita, where there would be no such luck with the temperatures.
Arriving at the range in Wichita on Monday, the temperature was already into the mid-70s by 8:00 a.m. The humidity was up and the temperature was on the rise, getting ready to peak at 99 degrees. The range was pretty blank. The range would stay pretty blank the whole week. Tuesday the temperature topped out at 101. Wednesday it was back to just double digits at 99 again. Ultimately, in cases like this, players will spend the majority of their time on the golf course, rather than sweating it out on the range. It takes almost no time at all to get warmed up. Just a few swings in temperatures like that will give you what hitting balls for 15 minutes would do on a cooler fall or spring morning. The only guys who were hitting balls were those who had things to work on. The putting green was a more popular spot, with less physical action required to practice the short game. We did pick up a couple of players for the week, which always makes it worthwhile to be putting in the time.
After a rather brief trip home, it was back to the road to head to Springfield, MO. Springfield is normally a real cooker of a week, as well, though this week it has been just really warm rather than sweltering. I arrived early Sunday morning (1:30 Sunday morning) in time to play in one of the myriad of pro-ams that are associated with the Price Cutter Charity Championship. There are 10 pro-ams this week, and Scratch has been exceptionally cool about me playing in a handful of them. I’ve done so many pro-ams through the years, it just feels right to keep doing them. I always make sure to provide a great day for the players and I keep getting invited back. If I’m invited, I’m playing!
The first pro-am was at Branson Creek on Sunday afternoon. Branson Creek is my favorite of the courses down here. Its a great track with some beautiful views and great holes. Monday was supposed to be the second one, however the weather washed out ALL activities for the day. No pro-ams were held and the Monday qualifier had to be pushed back to Tuesday. That little blip in the schedule caused me to be recruited to play as a fill-in on Tuesday, as some of the players who had committed to the Tuesday pro-am were still having to finish up qualifying. I was happy to help out and got another round at Branson Creek for my efforts. Then I played on Wednesday morning as well. So, it was a busy playing week AND a good week for wedges, too, with the new 8620s making their tour debut! I got 18 of the new (and gorgeous) 8620s in to the Tour Trailer this week and already 5 of them have gone out. The shape is simply beautiful and with just a slight bit of rounding on the leading edge, they seem to appeal to a wider audience, especially those who have been playing Vokey wedges. They are going to do very, very well!
Wednesday night led to a rough patch in the week. A dinner out with Justin Honea from Adams (the winner of the individual portion of the Rep Tournament with a fine round of 64!) at a Mexican restaurant led to a mild case of food poisoning. Thursday and Friday would be about getting caught up on paperwork and blogging! I just couldn’t stray too far from home base. It wasn’t the worst food poisoning I’ve had, but no food poisoning is good food poisoning. My first real venture away from the “nest” was to take Scratch player Steven Taylor (hot off a 4th place finish in Wichita) and occasional Scratch player Joey Lamielle out to dinner at Lambert’s Cafe, “Home of the Throwed Roll” on Friday night. Lambert’s is good country cooking, which I don’t eat often, but it certainly is a treat that I indulge in whenever I come down here. The fried pork chops (so good!) were enjoyed by all. As, of course, were the rolls tossed to (at) us from across the dining room. It’s Lambert’s “thing.” They’ve been tossing rolls for a long time!
Monday will see the Tour move a couple of hours north to Overland Park, KS for the next-to-last event of the Midwest swing. I don’t know what to expect at this venue as this is the first year for the tournament, but I’m imagining good things. The Tour has a reputation for getting better courses when they add new events, and I bet this one will be a good one. I’ll let you know when I get back and file my report.
Until then, best wishes and happy scoring!
Gretzky Blog
Posted by scratch on 13-1-2010 8:43 pm - 0 comments
Hello again, Scratch golfers.
Welcome to the Gretzky edition of the Tour Blog. This week’s journey begins in Ohio, goes across the border and north of Toronto and then returns across the border and heads back up to Northern Michigan. Not exactly tropical locations for this edition of the blog! Who would have thought that I’d have to go to the furthest point north to get the warmest weather?
For anyone who doesn’t know my story, I played professionally for fourteen years. Ten of those years were on the mini-tours and then I had status on the Nationwide Tour from 2005 through 2008. There’s an expression that says “You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.” That sort of applies to golfers, too, I think. While I have no interest in playing tournament golf on a weekly basis anymore, I’m still a competitive kind of guy and really want to keep some of those juices flowing. I’m going to play a very small selection of events this year, mostly in Ohio. I started preparation two weeks ago for the events I have coming up. Of course in Ohio you never quite know what you are going to get, weather-wise. I managed to get three rounds in during the week prior to heading up to Canada. Two of the three days I played I could see my breath. There is something markedly not right about being able to see your breath, during the day, in late June and early July. We’ll just say that the game is developing again…slowly.
I left for Canada on Sunday. I had the great opportunity to stop and join some good friends, Aaron Alpern, who caddied for me much of 2007, Aaron’s father and Kyle Watson, another of the really good tour caddies, for a round of golf at Cherry Hill C.C. in Ridgeway, Ontario on the way up. Cherry Hill is a Walter J. Travis golf course and is an absolute beauty. The bunkering on Travis golf courses is simply amazing. The holes frame-up so wonderfully and it really puts a premium on shot-making. I shot a couple over, having been three under through #12. Like I said…developing.
Getting across the border was a real non-issue. A passport and a couple of quick questions was all it took. I only brought a few clubs in with me due to Canadian regulations. Apparently there were some heavy taxes levied on the companies that brought a bunch of stuff in in past years. Thankfully, I had paid attention to talk on the range in the weeks leading up to Canada and we had no such issues!
I spent two days on the range, freezing in the cold and wind. I got to Georgian Bay at 8:30 Monday morning to 51 degrees and wind. I got to the course at 8:30 Tuesday morning to 53* and rain. Nice. The range was a vast wasteland. I normally talk to a lot of players during my time at the events. The range is usually the hub of activity. This week I saw maybe a total of 25 players on the range. The guys had carts since they were dealing with two golf courses and they were zipping back and forth, completely ignoring the range. Who in their right mind would want to stand out there on the range in those conditions, anyway! But I did manage to get two more clubs in play last week, so while I originally thought that I might be wasting my time up there, it really turned out to be a success. Two clubs go out, two clubs go into play. That’s a good week, folks!
So I have to wonder what is up with the speed limits in Canada. Most of the way back to the States the speed limit was 80. That’s 80 kmh. That translates to about 47 mph. And I had no idea what kind of speeding leeway the Canadian police would allow. So I drove less than 50 mph pretty much the entire way back to the U.S. At least the drive was nice, if not a quick one.
From the border it was up to Harbor Springs, Michigan. We had a little East-Coast Scratch team retreat. Three days of golf, golf, golf and golf. Throw in a little food, very little sleep and a team meeting and you’ve got our three days!
We started the proceedings on Wednesday night at the Boyne Highlands Heather course. I had already put in about 10 hours in the car. Paul, Patrick, Mike, Jeremy, and “Irish” (the other Patrick, the one with the accent) had spent about 14 hours in the car. Ari and Jeff, well, they were already in Michigan at the start of the day, so they had it pretty easy by comparison. We pretty much went from the car straight to the course. I’m a bit older than the rest of the Scratch guys, and I seem to take a little longer to “unfold” after such a long trip. I did hit it right down the middle on the 10th, hit my approach to 5 feet and missed it. That was the good part of the round. We all were just ready to get on the course and get some holes in.
After a quick nine holes and a short time getting situated in our spaces at the resort, we headed out for Mexican food. When you put eight guys around a table, all with big senses of humor, you are bound to get some good stuff. We laughed all the way through dinner, but the biggest roar goes to Irish, who very innocently referred to Sergio Garcia using a term that in the U.S. would be deemed less-than-acceptable. He felt bad about it, but explained that in Ireland, that particular term just doesn’t carry the connotation it does here. It is interesting how certain terms don’t mean the same thing no matter where you might be. I see this a lot, both on and off the course, hanging around with players from all over. The funny bit wasn’t the use of the word. The funny thing was him using it so matter-of-factly in the middle of a Mexican restaurant.
Paul booked our tee times for the week, with a round in the morning and a round in the afternoon scheduled each day. The morning rounds were early. This is a subject that has now been discussed, and as it is mainly aimed at being a vacation, the next time we do this, the morning times will be pushed back to accomodate more sleep!
That being said, we were up and at ‘em every morning, ready or not. All the courses were enjoyable to play (we played 5 different tracks), each offering their own unique challenges and I think we all enjoyed being there. There was a lot of disgruntled golf being played. And it wasn’t just me…
None of us have really played that much golf this year. The business has been our focus, as it should be. Paul is in the middle of making a grip and swing change. I’m trying to re-create some measure of past form. The rest of the crew haven’t played much. Though Ari does seem to actually be playing pretty well. The weekend was good for us all, I think. We all got to be in one spot, something that hasn’t happened much since the move from Oregon. With the shop “being built”, everyone has been operating out of their own spaces pretty much, so it was good for us all to be together. Everyone played with everyone else over the course of the weekend. There weren’t a whole lot of games being played, though. Unfortunately, my reputation preceeds me and I still find it hard to get a game! Ah well, some things just don’t seem to change.
The last day we played 54 holes. You’d think we’d have been done after the first 36 and everyone agreeing that we were NOT going to play on Sunday morning before heading out. But we hadn’t yet played the whole Moor course, and I, for one, really wanted to see the back 9. I’m glad we did it, because we really had a laugh-fest of a round out there. We were all a little slap-happy by that point. It all came to a head on the back nine. With about four holes left, I was finally hitting a stride as those around me were kind of falling apart. Paul hits it just over the edge of a hazard on the 15th and his ball is sitting WAY up in the tall grass. He goes to flop it out and advances it maybe 3 feet. I didn’t bring the camera that round, and I wish I had. The look of disbelief/frustration/rage was priceless. We’ve all been there! Then, 15 seconds later, Jeremy hits his shot from the far right side of the right hand bunker. You could hear the crack as the very center of the ball is squarely impacted by the leading edge his sand wedge. The ball skips once in the bunker, slams into the front lip, shoots about 40 feet in the air, hangs there for what seemed like forever, then lands on the green, rolling out to about 20 feet. Even at Scratch Golf, with all we do and all we offer, we can’t keep a player from completely boning a shot if he makes that bad a swing at it! We all had a mighty fine laugh at Jeremy’s expense.
Ari, Irish and Jeff took off on Saturday evening, getting a jump on the trip back down so they could get in early. Paul, Patrick, Mike, Jeremy and I stayed Saturday night and took off on Sunday morning. I can’t recommend Boyne Highlands enough. It is a great place to be, with an exceptional group of diverse, interesting and challenging golf courses. Many thanks goes out to Paul for making the trip a reality for us!
So that was our week. From Cleveland to Canada to Michigan and from Chattanooga all the way up. We came from far and wide to get together to play some golf. I have to say, and I think I can speak for just about all of us, the real winner on the week was Boyne Highlands. It was decidedly NOT conquered by the guys from Scratch. At least not this week. We gave it what we had and it took it, without the slightest bit of a flinch. But we’ll be back!
The Tour Blog will return in a couple of weeks. The Nationwide Tour is off this week and I’m taking a few days to play in the Ohio Open next week, so I’ll be resuming the blog the week of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational.
Cheers, everyone!