Make sure you wear comfortable shoes.
It was one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever got. It came from a colleague, a veteran of countless PGA Merchandise Shows, to me, who was going to his first. The showcase, billed as The Major of Golf Business and even The First Major by the powers that be, is held each January in Orlando. For three days people from everywhere descend upon that city’s massive convention center to, well, check out the game we love, in all its many forms. It’s quite something. A little imposing, a lot overwhelming. But I figured I had to finally make my debut sometime. For way too long I simply couldn’t get away because of my job commitments. Now that I had an opportunity to partake like so many folks I knew, who was I to resist? All I needed was a reason. And the time. So off I went in search of who knows what. I just knew I was going to see some things I could almost never imagine and hopefully gain some new, meaningful experiences.
I wasn’t disappointed, even if it was a bit much to absorb and digest all in one sitting. But the comfortable shoes did come in handy. Especially by the final day, when exhaustion had pretty much taken over. In a good way, of course. It’s something that all of us should do at least once. And now I can say my bucket list has one more check mark on it.
Where to begin? Well, how about chronologically. Because I knew the right folks I was actually invited to a Monday event at Lake Nona hosted by Tour Edge, the company that gives you some really good equipment, including its exotic brand fairway woods that many of us have enjoyed. First they did presentations on several products, before taking us outside to the driving range to try them out before we played. I take this as a time to learn. And listen. Not to mention ask questions. Maybe even some of the right ones. Anyway, some of the offerings I was already familiar with, such as Golf 8.5, a program run by Kay McMahon’s eduKaytion golf. I first met her several years ago, and I think she has novel ideas on how to teach the game, especially to youngsters, by making it simpler. What a concept. But as with anything else that’s trying to break new ground, it’s bound to meet resistence from the establishment. So be it. I think she knows what she’s talking about. Then Tour Edge introduced some of its new stuff, which we later got to try out at the demo lab. And I have to say that one of their offerings, a driver iron, turned out to be one of the best things I tried. I hit the 8 about six times, and each one went straight and true. Now I’ve always been pretty good on the practice shots, but I really think they could work for me on the course. I’m already in the process of getting my hands on a set. I was told they are not new, that they have been out but are just improved, which made me wonder where they’d been all my life. If that’s the only thing I got out of the trip it would go down as successful. We also found out about a company that lasers greens to figure out where the uphill putts are (seriously, I can’t make this up). Not that I’m always going to find the right spots with my approaches, but it can’t hurt, right? Exotics gave us a new driver to try out, which I plan to do as soon as possible. And on and on. There were people extolling the virtues of prescription sunglasses for golfers that they could make for you to one of my favorites, a system of training devices by SuperSpeed designed to, you guessed it, get you back some of your swing speed. Like who couldn’t use that. I’m not usually big on training aids, for whatever reasons, but this one was easy to buy into. It wasn’t hard to use, you can do it almost anywhere and the concept made sense. I can’t wait to try it out. And again, I usually don’t say that about stuff that’s supposed to help me out. I guess it just takes the right product to motivate me.
So that was my introduction. What awaited me Tuesday dwarfed that. And almost anything else I’d ever seen. We headed over to Orange County National Golf Center, which as the sign says boasts the biggest driving range almost anywhere. I’ll take their word on it. What you had is a circle that might take you a half hour to walk around. If you weren’t stopping every 10 yards or so to check out another vendor. In other words, you could spend the day and then some. You definitely had to pace yourself. Again, there was something for everyone. But I had to also keep reminding myself it was still just a preview of what was yet to come. The tough part is trying to see what interests you and what doesn’t. Sometimes it’s not that hard of a call. But sometimes you’ll find yourself spending 10 minutes at a booth that maybe you would be have been better off bypassing. Just because there’s something for all tastes doesn’t mean that you’ll necessarily be interested in every one. That’s why they make vanilla and rum raisin. I did get to see Jan Stephenson, who still looks great at 66 and should be in the World Golf Hall of Fame, do a clinic for the Golf Channel with some new wedges from Cleveland Golf that she was trying. I later got to try them too. And meet her, for like the 10th time. Trust me it never gets old. But Cleveland, which has always made a great wedge, has now come out with models for the golfer like me. It’s more forgiving. You might sacrifice a little feel, but Jan said every one she hit went up and straight. That’s something golfers like me can use. They’ve also come up with a driver designed for people with slower swing speeds. Again, my kind of equipment.
All the major brands were there, from Wilson to Callaway to Cobra to Ping to you name it. And they all had something new to show. And then there were the not so major companies. I actually brought a pair of therapeutic socks from Incrediwear. The man told me to wear them that night and they would help soothe my aching feet. So I took a shot. And somewhat to my surprise, because I’m more of a half-empty kind of guy, it worked. When I woke up the next morning my feet actually felt better. Which made me feel good that I had found something that didn’t let me down. Sometimes it’s those small victories. Maybe I should just have more faith.
Sometimes, though, it’s about getting re-acquainted with something that you already know about. And there’s nothing wrong with that. In my case it would be High Heat, which has been producing superior equipment for some time now. They started with the driver, which did nothing but work. Then it was on to fairway woods, and more of the same. They most recently came out with hybrids, which my one friend was like stealing if you used them. I’ve never been good with the hybrids, but I can swear by the driver and 3 wood, both of which are in my bag. So what do they do to improve upon that? Well, they redesigned their clubs to give you a more forgiving sweet spot. And they also made them look better, with a sleeker appearance that looks great when you put it on the ground behind your ball. If you haven’t tried them they are more than worth checking out, I think once you hit them you’ll see what a difference they can make. I could list all the testimonials they’ve received over the years from people in the industry, but this publication isn’t big enough. And as nice as it to know there’s new stuff out there waiting to be uncovered, it’s comforting to know that some of your favorites are just getting better and better each and every day. Anyone who knows me understands that I need to take my change in moderation, even if that’s what I was here for.
Wednesday morning I headed over to the main event, what I had really come for. Me and about two zillion other curiosity seekers, or so it seemed. What I quickly found out is it’s better to have a game plan, which of course I did not. My friend did, and when I followed him around everything seemed to make at least a little more sense. But since I was a first-timer and I just wanted to kind of find my way, I walked. And walked. And walked. The whole setup has to be seven or eight football fields. Maybe more. The Philadelphia Golf Show it isn’t. And it’s divided into sections. Clubs here, shoes there. And so on. But of course I still got lost. Several times. What else did you expect? I must admit that by the following afternoon I was getting around much better, in some cases even giving other people directions. Imagine that. I tried to take my time and see most everything, which turned out to be more or less a rookie mistake. You can’t see everything. It’s impossible. So you have to pick your spots. I also picked up on the fact that this is more for the club pros trying to do business with the manufacturers. Which is how it should be. Of course it’s also a great place for writers to get material for stories, but it’s business first. Because this is where golf courses and individuals who work there set themselves up for the season ahead. What are we going to stock in our shop? They’re making decisions that could impact their whole bottom line. Me, I was more into the sheer fascination of it all. Which means I could mostly peruse and occasionally shake my head. Some things made sense, others didn’t even come close.
I mean, the apparel section itself was way over the top. For obvious reasons. People sell apparel. And tons of it. There’s no shortage. You had the brands you know, and some you didn’t. And some just trying to break in, which is hardly an easy proposition. I saw some things here that I don’t think can succeed. And you wonder why people would invest in some cases their life savings to come up with something that is going to change a golfer’s existence. But in many ways it’s about dreaming. One guy had come up with a cartoon character dog that he had put onto a headcover, with children’s books to go with it. Plus shirts and hats. And he seemed to be doing pretty well. Might have had something to do with his reasonable prices. The kids couldn’t get enough. Ditto their parents.
There were more travel stops than even I could compartmentalize. And I’m into travel. There were people hawking suntan lotions and all kinds of products to help your body be a better machine. Again, a lot to take in. But I tried. For the better part of two days, with breaks in between. I’m sure I missed plenty too. That’s just the way it works. But I saw more than enough to know it was worth the trip. I met people. I ran into people that I hadn’t seen in years. And astonishlngly, they even remembered me. Who knew I had it in me. For my money, every golf person should do what I did at least once. Like your 15 minutes. Next time I vow to be more prepared. And maybe bring some slippers, just in case.
I just hope that the people I spent time with and had conversations with appreciated me being there as much as I appreciated them going out of their way to enlighten me. Because that’s what it’s all about. I don’t know what I thought I’d get out of it, but when it was finally time to head home I just felt I was somehow a little better for having taken the plunge. I suppose it was just my time. I figure even if only one or two good things came from it on an individual level, the investment had paid off. Which makes me wonder why it took so long. But there’s always next year. If nothing else I can get more of those socks.
