Tour Edge has grown from garage club maker to major player

Tour Edge has grown from garage club maker to major player










Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange March 28, 2013 5:20 PMThe SportsXchange



For several years after its inception in 1986, Tour Edge did a nice, little business as something of a specialty golf club company.

David Glod, who played college golf at Florida Southern withRocco Mediate and Lee Janzen before becoming a teaching pro, started the company in the garage of his condo in Warrenville, Ill.

"We were a driver and fairway wood company and then we got into the iron business," said Glod, who now operates the company out of a 5,500-square-foot facility in Batavia, Ill. " ... (In the beginning) my garage was the cut room and my bedroom was the finishing and painting room."

How times have changed.

These days you can fill your golf bag, or everybody's in your foursome for that matter, with Tour Edge equipment, which by the way is state-of-the-art and right on the cutting edge.

"I think our product line is as big, or bigger, than any equipment company here," said a Tour Edge rep, waving his arm to include Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade, Ping, Nike and Adams, all the heavyweights who had booths of varying sizes on the floor of the PGA Merchandise Show in January at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

Don't look for your favorite player on the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour or Champions Tour to endorse Tour Edge equipment on the Golf Channel, because the company does not pay golfers to use its equipment.

It speaks volumes that some of them do, anyway.

Brandt Snedeker won the Tour Championship and claimed the FedEx Cup with the help of a Tour Edge Exotics 3-wood.

"It's definitely one difficult club to find the perfect fit for, but I did with this Tour Edge Exotics CB4," said Snedeker, who was the best player in the world early this season, winning the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in addition to finishing second twice and third once.

"This is a relatively new 3-wood, its a Tour Edge Exotics 13-degree 3-wood (and) its kind of a little bit higher launch for me. It's got a Diamana shaft in it so. It kind of helps me get (the ball) up in the air a little."

Others who are using or have played Tour Edge clubs at one time or another include Tom Watson, Luke Donald, Matt Kuchar, Nick Faldo, Zach Johnson, Lucas Glover, Tim Clark, Brian Gay, David Duval, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Gil Morgan, Hee-Won Han, Stacy Prammanasudh, Mika Miyazato, Sean O'Hair, Spencer Levin, Ryan Moore, Bruce Fleisher and Kevin Streelman.

Tour Edge's first big breakthrough came in 1999, with the Lift-Off Iron-Wood, one of the first hybrid clubs, which was selected as ING's "Breakthrough Product of the Year."

"I remember writing in a press release that this was the wave of the future," said Jay Hubbard, who then was Tour Edge's vice-president of marketing. "I guess I was right, because now everybody has hybrids."

Tour Edge has had success in recent years with its Bazooka titanium woods and its Exotics line, which made its debut in 2005 and includes every type of club you can put in your bag--from driver, to fairway woods, to hybrids, to irons, to putters.

This year, Tour Edge introduced its Exotics XCG6 line, which includes a full set or irons, hybrids and fairway woods, plus the company's first adjustable driver. With the twist of a wrench supplied with the club, golfers can adjust the face, angle, loft and lie.

Just like the big boys.

A Lesson Learned: Balance the Key to Points Win

A Lesson Learned: Balance the Key to Points Win











Scott Cory March 31, 2013 11:43 PM


In talking to the players on the range this week at the Shell Houston Open, the one thing they told me they were working on was balance and rhythm. A few mentioned other minor adjustments -- ball position, alignment cues, that sort of thing -- but the overarching theme was maintaining good balance and consistent rhythm in their swings.


There will be plenty of stories written about D.A. Pointsusing his mother's Ping Anser putter to win at Redstone Golf Club, and rightfully so given the clutch putts he holed down the stretch, including the 13-footer at the last for the victory. But D.A. would never have been in that position if he and his instructor, Gary Gilchrist, hadn't worked hard on restoring balance and rhythm to his golf swing by quieting his lower body.

D.A.'s tendency was to let his legs and hips outrace his upper body. Below the waist, he was already in a finish position before the club ever reached the ball. Not only did that cause a power leak but, to compensate, D.A. had to fling the club at the ball with his hands. Being a coordinated athlete, he was able to get away with that move much of the time, but when his game and his confidence went south, the flaw accentuated his misses.

Gilchrist knew that if could quiet D.A.'s leg action, he could re-center his balance, allowing a fuller release of the golf club through impact. So they began working to keep D.A.'s right foot on the ground longer.

In practice, he still hits a lot of balls with his right heel completely planted on the ground throughout the swing. Now that can produce some vicious hooks on the driving range, but it also promotes a more centered, rhythmic swing that generates tremendous power at impact.

There are plenty of drills to help you with balance and rhythm. Hitting shots with your feet together is one. Taking your regular stance but pulling your knees close together so that your weight remains on the inside is another.

You can hit balls barefooted (if your club will allow it), or place the ball well outside your front foot and step into the shot -- a drill Jack Nicklaus used to work on with Jack Grout -- or pull your right foot back in an exaggerated closed stance and hit shots from there.

A PGA Professional can help you with other specific drills. They might look silly -- certainly D.A. didn't look like a PGA Tour winner hitting balls with his right foot stuck to the ground -- but they work.

And as D.A. Points will certainly tell you, improving your balance and rhythm can lead to some very valuable results.

PGA Professional Scott Cory is the general manager at Cypresswood Golf Club in Spring, Texas

Lateral Hazard: D.A. Points uses mother's putter to deliver clutch win at Shell Houston Open

Lateral Hazard: D.A. Points uses mother's putter to deliver clutch win at Shell Houston Open











Brian Murphy April 1, 2013 12:20 AMYahoo Sports






View gallery.

D.A. Points celebrates after shooting a final-round 66 to win the Houston Open. (AP)



So you were watching March Madness, and you were organizing egg hunts, and maybe you were thinking about MLB Opening Day … and you forgot about the Shell Houston Open.

No worries, amigo. I got your back.

I'm happy to sing "The Ballad of D.A. Points," a wholly likable 36-year-old Midwestern gent with one career win (at Pebble Beach, by the way), a LEGO belt buckle and a previous claim to fame as Bill Murray's not-famous playing partner at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Now, after making a 13-footer for par on the 72nd hole in the early evening gloaming of Houston for a one-stroke win over Billy Horschel and Henrik Stenson, Points is a double winner on the PGA Tour, and there is nothing sweeter on the golf course than the sensation of validation.

One career win, and a bushel of missed cuts on your résumé makes someone prone to call you a fluke. Two wins, even with a bushel of missed cuts on your résumé? That makes you a guy who backed it up, who can now walk around in life, and when someone asks to talk about your win on the PGA Tour, makes you a guy who can ask: "Which one?"

Much like Kevin Streelman's first career win at Tampa Bay two weeks ago, Points' win at Houston is a refreshing break from TigerMania and RoryMania gripping golf fans everywhere. There are only so many times we can write and talk about Tiger Woods kicking major butt, and Rory McIlroy lost in the wilderness without forgetting that other human beings actually play golf.

[Also: D.A. Points makes clutch putt to win Houston Open]

And truth told, it was getting sort of easy to forget that Points played golf. After his breakthrough win at Pebble in 2011 with Carl Spackler as his amateur partner, Points' career became as mysterious as the living conditions of Spackler's shed/house in "Caddyshack." In 22 events after the Pebble win, Points' highest finish in 2011 was a tie for 10th at the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. That stretch was made worse by seven missed cuts.

And 2012 wasn't any better. After a strong performance at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow – in which he was the "Who's He Again?" figure in a playoff with McIlroy and winner Rickie Fowler – Points plunged into obscurity. He missed 10 of 16 cuts heading into 2013, and, as if to prove that wasn't a fluke, went and missed seven of his first nine cuts this year.





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D.A. Points now has two career wins on the PGA Tour. (AP)D.A. was scoring no FedEx Cup points, one might say.



If you're counting, that was 17 missed cuts in 25 events entering Houston. That's a 68 percent missed cut rate. That's no bueno, as they might say at a Tex-Mex restaurant in H-Town.

But he hooked up with a new swing coach, Gary Gilchrist, two weeks ago, and something clicked. His first-round 64 set the tone, and his final-round 66 proved he could make the swing under pressure.

[Watch: Sunday highlights]

Plus, he proved he could scramble when it appeared his hopes for victory were sinking like the evening sun in the storm-delayed finish. After inexplicably coming up short of the 17th green from the fairway, Points hit a delicate chip to three feet, a gorgeous bit of nerve. And on 18, he had a mighty 231 yards to the green and was able to avoid a greenside bunker with his approach, hit a so-so chip to 13 feet, then make the putt and – yes! – exult like a man who needed, craved and loved the feeling of validation.

It's hard not to like Points. He told Steve Sands on The Golf Channel that his mechanism for staying calm during the round was to "keep giving my caddy cheesy grins … that usually made us laugh." And he used a PING putter he borrowed from – get this – his mother when he was a junior golfer. He'd gotten away from using Mom's flatstick in the past few years, but dusted it off, asked PING to add some weight to it and had it in his hands when he lined up the 13-footer for victory.

[Also: European Tour golfer hits shot – without any pants]

It's like that old song, where they spell out "M-o-t-h-e-r: 'M' is for the putts I make with your putter ...'"

And the final key to victory was a life lesson for all: Zen.

Points told Sands that his only thought over the putt was, "Whatever happens, happens."

He elaborated that it's been a tough year, and to have a putt to win was so overwhelming that he just surrendered to the moment. He let go of the stress, and rolled the putt in. His shout of joy and exultant fist-pump let you know how much it meant to him.

And, like a good Midwestern boy from Illinois, Points made sure to be gracious.

"Thank you for staying!" he shouted at the few gallery members left after the storm. "Thank you for staying, and Happy Easter!"

Same to you, D.A. And thanks for the show.

SCORECARD OF THE WEEK

69-70-70-65 – 14-under 274, Dustin Johnson, tie for fourth, Shell Houston Open, Redstone Golf Course, Humble, Texas.

Oh, so there's Dustin Johnson. I thought we had lost him to the world of Instagrams with Paulina Gretzky.

And that's not entirely a knock on Dustin Johnson. I'm sure, given the option, some of us would shirk our work duties for Instagrams with Paulina Gretzky.

But it's been darn near three full months since we saw Johnson resonate on a leader board. His win at Kapalua in early January was so long ago, Tiger was still a major question mark, Rory was still No. 1 and Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend was real.

Shortly after that win, the Dustin-Paulina romance hit the press, Dustin and Paulina kept Instagramming photos of themselves madly in love and Johnson missed a couple of cuts, threw in a W/D and didn't hang a top 10 until Houston.





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Dustin Johnson tees off on the 18th hole during the final round of the Houston Open. (AP)That leaves us with two options on Johnson, who for three years now has been the most tantalizing major-less talent on Tour:



1.) He's back playing golf seriously now, making good on his otherworldly talent and driving down Magnolia Lane next week, loaded for bear.

2.) It's a blip on the screen, and the maddeningly inconsistent Johnson will be back Instagramming with Paulina as soon as this week.

[Also: Jason Dufner kicks off "Dufnering" trend]

I vote for Option "1," only because it's time to see Johnson join the Majors Club. Nobody on Tour has a more physically impressive presence, given Johnson's 6-foot-4 frame, club head speed and hands.

And yet, his history at Augusta National is not strong. He missed last year because of an injury, and in three prior runs at a green jacket, has finished tie-38, tie-38, tie-30.

Idle question: Will Paulina Instagram a pimento sandwich from the grounds? Only time will tell.

BROADCAST MOMENT OF THE WEEK

"J.P. was the one with the idea. He said to me: If you just play a few more rounds, I think you'll be ready." – Rory McIlroy, to NBC on Saturday at the Shell Houston Open.

And just like that, the Valero Texas Open went from "Honey, I'm Going to Get Some Gardening In This Weekend" to "Hey, Rory's Playing!" for most golf fans.

That is, if McIlroy can contend, for a change. Oh!

Any regular reader of this column knows I'm a monster Rory McIlroy fan, and even named my second son "Rory" for reasons that may or may not have to do with my ManCrush on his golf swing.

By any measure, however, it's been a disastrous 2013 for Rors. A list of highlights thus far:

• A news conference in Qatar announcing his new Nike deal, complete with fireworks. A check of Wikipedia shows Ben Hogan never held a news conference with fireworks.

• He then missed the cut at Qatar. There were no fireworks when he signed his card.

• He took four weeks off, showed up in Arizona with those infernal Nike clubs for the World Match Play, and promptly lost his first-round match to 64th seed Shane Lowry.

[Also: Mark O'Meara congratulates Tiger Woods with text from Augusta]

• He walked off the course at the Honda Classic in the eighth hole of his second round.

• He earned a back-door top 10 at Doral with a final-round 65, perhaps a bit of fool's gold.

• He lost his No. 1 ranking to Tiger Woods.

• He got a text message from Tiger telling him to take his "finger out of his (rear end) and win," which was either very cool of Tiger to encourage his rival, or a passive-aggressive mind-screw of Rory by Tiger's masterful tactics of crushing his enemies.





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Rory McIlroy was already in San Antonio Sunday night to prepare for the Texas Open. (AP)• He followed up the text with a tie for 45th at Houston, all with those Nike clubs. Again, no fireworks.



But, hey: I still like his name!

And we're here to spread good news. The decision by McIlroy to change his pre-Masters schedule and play in the Texas Open, detailed in the above quote as originating with caddie J.P. Fitzgerald, is the best thing he could have done.

The game is about repetition and confidence, and McIlroy needs both. So it's refreshing and encouraging that he ditched the advice of handlers, agents, hangers-on and listened to his looper. Rory should go to San Antonio and try to find something in the dirt. As he said, "I need to commit to targets. … I need to have a scorecard in my hand."

I still don't think he's a safe bet to make a run at Augusta National, but maybe by the summertime, we can get McIlroy back into our good graces. Play on, Rors, and to heck with that Nike team that was probably planning a pre-Masters Sunday night grip-and-grin event for you. Play golf!

MULLIGAN OF THE WEEK

Look who started his round birdie-birdie-birdie on Sunday to creep within two shots of the lead – good ol' Phil Mickelson.

And then, on the par-5 fourth hole, Lefty had about 15 feet for eagle. If he made it, he'd tie for the lead and add all kinds of sizzle to Sunday.

Except, he just missed it, settled for birdie, one stroke back – and then played even par the rest of the way for a 10-under, tie-16th finish.

And just like that, he whet our appetites for one of America's favorite springtime shows: "Phil At Augusta."

He's already giving us quality Phil-isms, as if to fire us up. He spoke after the round about switching back and forth between a traditional putter grip, and the "claw" putter grip, saying he needs to incorporate the "claw" more to lessen his forward press. These are things, by the way, you'll never hear Tiger say. But Phil loves being the mad scientist.

Don't forget one of the sport's more amazing statistics before next week: Phil has won two green jackets (2006, 2010) since Tiger last won one (2005).

[Also: Is the new Tiger Woods Nike ad upsetting?]

It would have been great to see him blister Redstone on Sunday to get a pre-Masters win to crank up the buzz, and it would have definitely been kick-started by an eagle on No. 4 to get tied for the lead. Alas, he missed.

So, let's go back out to No. 4, remind Lefty to choose the proper grip, get him to roll in that eagle and make for a newsy Sunday and … give that man a mulligan!

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Do any of you remember last year's Texas Open? Couple of week after the Masters? Ben Curtis edging out Matt Every and John Huh for the win?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

But this year, the Texas Open becomes the "Pre-Masters Rory Watch," and that's a good thing. If McIlroy hadn't shifted his schedule, the top-ranked players in the field would be Matt Kuchar (No. 9 in the Official World Golf Rankings), Ian Poulter (No. 12) and Charl Schwartzel (No. 15). So, without slagging those fine gentlemen, let's just say the Valero Texas Open just got a cortisone shot.