Behind The Scenes Look At Nike R&D “The Oven”!

On my recent trip to Fort Worth, TX I had the opportunity to get a rare behind the scenes tour of Nike Golf’s Research & Development facility, “The Oven”. ”TheOven” is where Nike Golf designs, prototypes, tests, and builds the golf clubs and balls that their PGA Tour players (Tiger Woods, Paul Casey, Stewart Cink, etc) use, but also make the final versions that are sent out to be mass produced and sold to consumers.

Let’s Go…Inside “The Oven”

This is Nike Golf’s second R&D expansion in just three years. Part of the renovation for the “Oven” involved adding an additional 17,600 square footage for offices and new large auditorium for meetings and presentations, but also an entirely new 129,000 square foot short game area made of synthetic turf, that looks and plays like real grass in the front of the complex. The short game area includes three synthetic greens, one natural grass green, bunkers and practice holes. The practice holes and hitting areas are designed for the purpose of providing various distances for short irons so that iron and ball testing is both extensive and constructive for Nike engineers and Nike athletes. The short game area also is enhanced by a water feature that runs through the middle of the short game course.

The main entry way features a wall of fame and time line of all the highlights of Nike Golf, and even a wall that displays every version of their golf clubs Nike Golf has produced from past to the present. A mixture of their latest equipment or technology breakthroughs are on display along with memorabilia over the years, like Tiger Woods tiger headcover and signed mock turtleneck that he first started wearing in 2003.

Before we went on the tour, we sat through a short presentation on the history of Nike Golf R&D and how they came up with the name. Interesting to note, because the name came from baking up good things, therefore the name “The Oven”. After the presentation, Nike Golf’s Director of Product Creation Tom Stites, Nike Golf athletes Stewart Cink, Paul Casey, and Justin Leonard took questions from the audience.

The Tour Of The Testing Lab

The tour begins with the testing lab, where Nike engineers test for a clubs sweetspot, USGA groove tests, center of gravity, and moment of inertia. The amount of testing time that goes into the developing your golf clubs is astounding. You come away with a big appreciation for the commitment and dedication by Nike Golf in producing the best product available.

Next stop on the tour is the CAD room where a design gets made into model that can be touched. Currently Nike Golf is working on clubs for 2013 release.

From their we go to the sound testing lab, where they tune the sound of the golf club. I never knew that this was part of developing a golf club, I always thought the sound was result of the material used to make the club.

Next is the CNC Shop, where the CAD designs are built into prototypes, either out of resin or metal. It’s in this room that all the initial prototypes are created, so they can be assembled into a golf club.

Nike’s :The Oven” CAD and CNC Room

Impact Testing Machine…To Test For Durability

The Center Of Gravity Machine…Shows Clubs Exact CG Location

This Is Where Tiger’s Clubs Are Produced

The assembly room, is where individual components are put together and assembled into a golf club. This is where they assemble the final clubs that Tiger Woods or any of the Tour players use. What was really unique about the assembly process, is how they determine the proper lie of the golf club. Traditional club making involves using either a Mitchell or lie board to determine the lie angle, but Nike Golf uses it’s more accurate method, with their patented device called the “Green Machine”. The “Green Machine”, which was developed by Nike Golf’s engineers, allows a club builder to build the club to the exact lie angle every time, no matter who’s building the club. The advantage of building clubs this way, is there is no variance in lie angle and club length from builder to builder.

Resin & Metal Prototypes in The CNC Shop

Putter Prototype Heads

Nike’s Commitment To Producing Top-Notch Clubs

The machine shop is where they polish and finish the golf clubs that the CNC shop produces before being sent to assembly.

At the end of the tour I came away with a several things: one is the commitment and passion of the Nike Golf R&D employees. Every person is so committed to building the best product on the market and it shows. Second, this isn’t a company out to make a fast buck by leveraging the Nike brand name. I still stand behind my belief, that Nike Golf is one of the most underrated golf equipment manufacturers, that has been producing high quality product over the last few years, and it shows.

“The Nike brand is globally synonymous with innovation, performance and the pursuit of athletic excellence,” said Cindy Davis, President of Nike Golf. “The expansion of “The Oven” is an indication of Nike Golf’s commitment to our athletes, as well as to solidifying our role as an undisputed leader in the research, design and development of clubs and balls.”

My visit to “The Oven” further reinforced my belief and look forward to seeing what Nike Golf comes up with next.

Common Ground

Ping grants waiver, ends Eye 2 controversy

The decision by a handful of players, including Phil Mickelson, to use Ping Eye 2 wedges in competition set off a firestorm on tour.

Last month during the height of the Ping Eye 2 furor (which included Phil Mickelson being accused of "cheating" by Scott McCarron for using a pre-1990 Eye 2 wedge with aggressive grooves at the Farmers Insurance Open), Ping chairman and CEO John A. Solheim said he was "willing to discuss a workable solution to this matter that would benefit the game and respect the role innovation has played over the long history of golf."

A little more than a month later, that workable solution has been reached.

A notice from the USGA on March 8 announcing a forum on equipment rulemaking this fall was quickly followed by a joint announcement from Ping and the PGA Tour stating that, "Ping will waive its rights that prevent the PGA Tour from prohibiting the use of pre-April 1990 Ping Eye 2 irons and wedges that do not meet the 2010 Condition of Competition from being played at PGA Tour professional competitions.

"The waiver goes into effect March 29 and applies to the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. As a result of a request from the USGA, Ping will also apply the waiver to the U.S. Open in June. The PGA Tour will then adopt a Condition of the Competition that does not provide an exception for the pre-April 1990 Ping Eye 2 irons."

"John Solheim and Ping had a terrific opportunity to do something very positive and significant for the game of golf and we very much appreciate his willingness to take this action," said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem.

When Solheim spoke last month of a workable solution, he was adamant about keeping Eye 2's conforming for amateurs -- something that was achieved with this resolution.

"We all believe it is in the best interests of golf," Solheim said in the statement. "It levels the playing field on the PGA Tour and resolves a very unfortunate situation that we predicted would happen when the USGA first proposed the new groove rule more than two years ago. It keeps in place all of our other rights established in the 1993 PGA Tour settlement and the 1990 USGA settlement, including ensuring amateurs will continue to be able to play their pre-April 1990 Eye 2's at all amateur events played under the USGA Rules of Golf." Solheim added that several solutions were considered since meeting with USGA executives on February 10 in Dallas.

Although the resolution of the sticky Ping Eye 2 situation is the immediate benefit to the game (and Solheim should be commended for making it happen in a timely manner), in the long-term, the forum may hold more significance. The USGA has long held that its notice-and-comment protocol gave manufacturers and others stakeholders in the game the opportunity to be heard. Many equipment-makers, however, Solheim included, felt it insufficient.

In announcing the forum, which will be held at the USGA Golf House in Far Hills, N.J. at a date to be determined, the USGA said, "Now that the first rollback of golf equipment in more than 75 years has been initiated, we believe that this is an appropriate time to evaluate the process utilized for formulating equipment rules."

According to the notice, the main purpose of the forum is to allow all stakeholders in the game (including manufacturers, players, media, golf organizations and other parties) the opportunity to make their views on equipment rulemaking known to the USGA, and to each other -- something Solheim alluded to in a statement after that meeting with USGA representatives, including new president Jim Hyler, last month.

"I'm encouraged by their willingness to openly discuss some of the challenges the golf industry faces relating to equipment issues," Solheim said. "We left the meeting with an understanding we would continue to seek a solution that benefits golfers and acknowledges the importance innovation plays in the game."

However, Dick Rugge, the USGA's senior technical director, dismissed the notion that there was a correlation between the Ping dispute and the announcement, calling the forum a "standalone event."

"We wouldn't do something like this if we weren't ready to hear these ideas," said Rugge. "Maybe there is a better way to do things, and if we can, we will. & If people have ideas on our process, we want to hear those ideas. Even if it's Joe Golfer who has some thoughts -- this is the time to hear it."

Still, it is difficult to look at some of the proposed topics for discussion at the forum without feeling the USGA's conversation with Solheim shaped some of the agenda. Among the topics are:

• The process by which new equipment rules and rule changes are proposed.

• Timing and communication of proposed equipment rule changes.

• Consideration of the impacts of potential rule changes and the evaluation, after an appropriate time period, of the results of implemented rule changes.

• The decision-making process, including communication of the reasons for enacting new equipment rules or changing existing equipment rules.

• The appropriate balance between technology and skill in player performance.

"I've been consistent in voicing my concerns over the last several years about the challenges of the current rulemaking process and the needs to improve it to the benefit of golfers," said Solheim. "I am hopeful this will be a significant first step in realizing this goal. We're looking forward to the forum and will be an active participant when it convenes sometime this fall. Our goal is to help ensure innovation remains an important part of golf's tradition."

Augusta hasn't always been picture perfect

Anyone who started competing in the Masters during the early 1970s might think the Augusta National Golf Club was always in immaculate condition. Masters champions like Jack Nicklaus, Bob Goalby and Gary Player know better.

``When I look at these beautiful fairways and greens ... (Arnold) Palmer, Nicklaus and myself never had the opportunity to play under such conditions when we were winning,'' Player said.

Says Nicklaus, ``They used to put a lot of money into it (the course) but never got much out of it. It was just like everybody else did. But as technology improved for golf clubs, technology has improved unbelievably for maintenance equipment.''

Player said at one time the Augusta National fairways were some of the worst the pros played each year.

``That may be an exaggeration, but Augusta's fairways weren't very good,'' Nicklaus said. ``You didn't know what they would be from year to year. The common Bermuda grass they had would be very skinny when they scraped it down. In 1965, I shot a (then-tournament record) 17-under-par 271. In 1966 I won a playoff after shooting 288. That's 17 shots higher. And the difference was the fairways.''

Goalby said the worst fairway in those days was on the seventh hole, a short par-4.

``You couldn't even get on the green from the bottom of No. 7,'' Goalby said. ``They had a one-row watering system 40 years ago. If the wind blew, they didn't get any bermuda growth at all. Believe me, you were on bare mud all the time.''

Two other trouble spots were the back nine par-5s, Nos. 13th and 15th.

``On those holes, it wasn't whether you could reach the green (in two shots) or not,'' Goalby said. ``It was whether you had a good enough lie to go for it. I'd hear people say, `Why don't you go for it?' And we'd say, `You should have seen my lie.' Now they've got super lies out there.''

Because of the dodgy lies back then, Goalby says fewer eagles were made on Nos. 13 and 15 than there are today. The reason? Fewer golfers tried to get home in two shots.

``The tees were up farther than they are now, so we'd drive it as far as they do now, but the difference was in the condition of the fairway,'' Goalby said.''

Nicklaus says portions of the 13th fairway are still skinny some years.

``Overall, the fairways are basically the same every year,'' Nicklaus said. ``They are good now.''

Golfers like Nick Price, who didn't start playing in the Masters until 1984, have seen photographs and films of the Augusta National when it wasn't the Cathedral in the Pines that it is today.

``I saw some old footage on The Golf Channel the other night,'' Price said. ``They had grass this thick on the greens. Arnold Palmer hit a putt that, I swear, if he hit that putt today he would have putted it clean off the green, into the water.''

Compared to other courses on the PGA Tour in the pre-1970s, Augusta National was still among the best conditioned, even if the fairways were inconsistent from year to year.

``The whole winter tour was played on public courses,'' Goalby recalls. ``This was always the first private course you got to. Before we got here, we'd play on rocks sometimes. Down in San Antonio, we teed off on rubber mats at Breckenridge Park for 10 years. They had little tees and was one of the busiest courses in the country, so they played off the mats.

``Back then, we didn't know a golf course could be like this one is now. It's like an automobile. Fifty years ago, they didn't have any idea what an automobile would look like today. We had no idea a golf course could be conditioned like this one. The conditioning got better each year but it didn't get to looking like the carpet that it is now until the early 1970s.''

Cobra demo day 30/3/10

Cobra are coming to Snainton Golf on Tuesday 30th March to showcase all the new 2010 products. Anybody coming can hit the new drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons from cobra. To book a custom fitting on the day call 01642 300720

Open Golf At Hoylake In 2014

It has been widely anticipated and today is has been made official – Hoylake is to host the 2014 Golf Open Championships. It will be the 12th time the Royal Liverpool Club has played to the Championships and follows the very successful 2006 event (won by Tiger Woods) that drew record crowds of some 230,000.

Paul Cassidy, captain of Royal Liverpool Golf Club, comments:

We are very proud of our club’s rich heritage and the many memorable golfing moments staged at Hoylake since our founding in 1869.

We are extremely thrilled to be invited to host The Open Championship in 2014.

Woods To Return At The Masters

Tiger Woods announced he will end his hiatus at Augusta National

Woods last played competitive golf at the Australian Masters last November.

Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images

March 16, 2010

PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) -- Tiger Woods said Tuesday he will return to golf next month at the Masters, ending a four-month hiatus brought on by a sex scandal that shattered his image as the gold standard in sports.

"The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect," Woods said in a statement. "After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta."

The Masters begins April 8.

The Associated Press first reported his plans to return at Augusta National last Thursday.

Woods has not competed since Nov. 15 when he won the Australian Masters for his 82nd victory worldwide. Twelve days later, he crashed his car into a tree outside his Florida home, setting off shocking revelations that he had been cheating on his wife.

"The major championships have always been a special focus in my career and, as a professional, I think Augusta is where I need to be, even though it's been a while since I last played," Woods said.

"I have undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy and I am continuing my treatment," he said. "Although I'm returning to competition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life."

There had been reports he would play the Tavistock Cup exhibition next week in Orlando, followed by the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where he is the defending champion and a six-time winner.

"When I finally got into a position to think about competitive golf again, it became apparent to me that the Masters would be the earliest I could play," Woods said.

Already the major with the highest TV ratings, this Masters could be the biggest yet.

"Obviously, the ratings will be off the chart," Heath Slocum said. "It will be interesting to watch not only the reaction from him, but from the fans, the media, the players. I would venture to say he might be nervous."

Woods twice has come into a major after a long layoff without playing, with mixed results -- he missed the cut at Winged Foot for the 2006 U.S. Open after his father died, and he won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines while playing on a shattered left knee.

Woods is a four-time Masters champion, although he has not won at Augusta National since 2005, his longest drought there.

In some respects, the Masters makes sense for golf's No. 1 player to return. Media credentials are limited regardless of who's playing or what's in the news, and Augusta National has more control of its tickets than any other golf tournament.

Those with season badges risk losing them if they violate policies, or are caught selling them.

Woods has been the biggest draw at the Masters ever since he became its youngest champion at 21 in 1997, when he broke the tournament scoring record with a 12-shot victory.

That likely won't compare to this year.

Woods' world came crashing down on Nov. 27 when he fled his house in the middle of the night and ran his Cadillac SUV over a fire hydrant and into a tree. About that time, allegations of womanizing began to emerge, and Woods' silence was replaced by rumors of what happened that night and how, as the world's most famous athlete, he could keep so many affairs a secret.

He eventually confessed to infidelity and said Dec. 11 he would take an "indefinite break" from golf. Woods spoke publicly for the first time on Feb. 19 at TPC Sawgrass, where he confessed to cheating on his wife, Elin.

"I have made you question who I am and how I could have done the things I did," Woods said that day.

He was in a Mississippi clinic from Dec. 31 until Feb. 11, then went to an Arizona clinic for a week of family counseling. He returned to practice when he got home to Isleworth, and swing coach Hank Haney joined him last week.

This will be the first time Woods won't play Bay Hill, the only regular PGA Tour event he has never missed as a professional.

Meantime, the governing body of golf outside the United States said it hoped Woods would play at the British Open in July.

"We're pleased to hear that Tiger is to return to golf. ... Golf needs the world No. 1 to be playing," Royal & Ancient spokesman Malcolm Booth said.

Woods has not yet entered to play at the British Open at St. Andrews, but has until May 27 to send in his entry form. Booth says it's "normal that he hasn't" entered yet.