Issue No. 112 On the cover: MIA Sports Technology, leading distributor of technology products, has grown rapidly since being founded in 2007, and the company now arguably tops the leaderboard in terms of the brands in its portfolio and the innovation it applies in bring- ing these to the market as integrated solutions. Sales growth has been matched by the expansion of a global customer base, spanning Europe, the Middle East and Australasia.
Contents FIRST WORDS
2012 has produced a summer of British sport that will never be matched. Winning the football World Cup would not come close.
A British winner in the Tour de France
for the fi rst time in Bradley Wiggins, the glory and gold rush and national pride of the Olympics and Paralympics, and now even a British champion of a tennis Grand Slam in Andy Murray – our fi rst for 76 years.
It’s been epic, to the extent that Rory McIlroy’s supreme performance in the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island raised just the occasional eyebrow outside golfi ng circles. This summer has been fantastic for British sport as a whole, but not for golf in particular. Summer bicycle and swimming goggle sales soared, and now autumn tennis racquet sales will follow.
But fear not, for the Ryder Cup awaits. Jose’s Hombres against the Love Machine. World number one Rory against world number two Tiger. Woods versus Mickelson (always a good side show). In the last weekend of September in the UK, the Ryder Cup will only have to compete against a bit of Premier League football and the odd rugby fi xture. It is the perfect opportunity for golf to get back onto the front pages, and to draw people back in to the pro shops, and just when folks begin scrawling those letters for Father Christmas too.
REGULARS
4 News Srixon ball upgrades – new forgings from Mizuno – GoKart rolls into the trade
6 Front of shop Ian James illustrates the eff ectiveness of relative pricing in the pro shop
8 View from the industry. . . from SDI’s Ian Wright
12 Custom-fi t Golfsmith’s Neil Cooke looks past the marketing hype when custom-fi tting drivers
FEATURES
16 Showcase: Drivers A snapshot of the club’s driving the autumn golf trade
22 Field report Duncan Lennard speaks to Ping’s John Clark
p.16
PGA TOUR players understand the premier quality and unrivaled performance of Nippon Shaft.
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Based on prototypes developed with input from the world’s top players, the N.S. Pro MODUS3 Tour 120 is designed to provide today’s golfer with:
ROBIN BARWICK, EDITOR SGBGOLF is published by Datateam Business Media Ltd.
Datateam Business Media, London Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8LY T: 01622 757 646
Editor: Robin Barwick |
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Publisher: Paul Ryder |
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Contributors: Adam Hathaway, Duncan Lennard, Paul Trow Design: Darren Kirk |
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24 Head to head …with new PowaKaddy co-owner John de Graſt -Johnson
The views expressed within this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the editor or publisher, and while every care has been taken in producing this issue, no responsibility is accepted for such views or for any inaccuracies contained herein. Datateam Business Media Ltd 2012. All
rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, fax, email, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Datateam Business Media Ltd.
For further information please contact Nippon Shaft:
sales@nipponeurope.com www.nipponeurope.com
The Hottest New
Steel Shaft on TOUR
SGBGOLF 3
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