2011: The Year of High-Tech Golf

I get really excited at this time of year when we get to see all the new offerings from each vendor. Most years I am amazed at what they think up to improve our golf game. While usually most of their new stuff falls short (and most will again this year), I have to say that some of this year’s equipment is the most technologically advanced I have ever seen.

Drivers that have come out in recent years have been not-so-amazing. But this year, there are drivers with loft AND lie you can change with a few clicks of a wrench. In the past, the only way to change that for woods was to get out the old file and trim down the face a little at a time. And that little bit of time meant an hour of filing and then checking it and filing and checking it again. So when I saw these new drivers I was shocked. I stood there grinning from ear to ear saying to myself…so this is where we are going. I mean who thinks up this stuff? Maybe somebody who got tired of filing and checking and filing and checking.

Another advancement for this year is the new Titleist 910 driver with its 16 different settings. And it does actually change the ball flight. Drivers in the last few years have had slight changes that you could make and they all worked as well, but wow. This is a real game changer.

What will they think of next? I can’t wait to find out.

If you are interested in seeing some of the new equipment take a look on our webpage www.vegasgolfpros.com

Golf A 4 letter word. 

Lance Cangey

Vegas Golf Inc.

VegasGolfPros.com 

Get ready, set, hold on.

Last year’s products are on their way out, so right now next year’s products are being talked about, photographed, and seen in the lucky tour players’ golf bags. Golf manufacturers are talking up their newest equipment to change the game and how to play it with their latest club, ball or shaft. The TV ads are rolling out, making every golfer salivate at the new products that will make him a better player. Even I get a little excited still at the thought of a shiny new fancy driver that will add ten yards.

While this may be an exciting time of year for the customer, it is one of the hardest for a store owner like me. So I’m going to take this opportunity to give you the behind-the-scenes details that show you the nitty gritty details of the golf retail world.

So first, a story: A few years back a golf bag company (which will remain nameless) was coming out with a new golf bag that had a revolutionary carry system that was going to change how you carried your golf bag across your back. The ads were out, the salivating started. I had six pre-book orders in our website’s system from people who were willing to wait for the bag. Well, the arrival date came and went. Another week passed, and still no word from the manufacturer. Finally I was told that the bags were held up in customs. And after two months of more phone calls I was told the bags were never coming and I had to call my customers yet again and let them in on the bad news.

You see, right now is when the new stuff comes in while they’re trying to get rid of the old, so they’re all in a flurry of activity as the stuff comes and goes and they get unorganized and behind. And I mean unorganized. And behind. I call the manufacturers repeatedly to ask them about merchandise their websites say that they have in stock, only to be told “not for another two months,” or they laugh and tell me their site will be updated soon. I hang up the phone and curse! What am I supposed to tell my customers?

What I do is offer my customers discounts or special offers to make up for the manufacturers’ shortcomings. I have to keep my customers happy, as the go-between between them and the big golf companies. No matter what, I strive to provide the best possible service to my customers and provide the customer service the big companies lack.

So the next time you call me and there is a wait for a specific club or bag, please have a heart! We will get the equipment for you or will make you happy somehow, even if I have to make a hundred calls to those companies and make them hurry up. It’s just what we little guys do.

If you are interested in seeing some of the new equipment take a look on our webpage www.vegasgolfpros.com

Golf..A 4 letter word. 

Lance Cangey

Vegas Golf Inc.

VegasGolfPros.com 

To Seed or Not Seed:

It’s September and the temperature is dropping and the leaves are changing and Fall is in the air. NOT! This is Las Vegas baby and we don’t get that stuff here. What we do get this time of year though is over-seeding at all the golf courses. Just when you’d think the kids were back in school and more tee times would be freed up, instead, now we have to endure 2-4 more weeks (depending on the course) of limited places to play and prices that are going up.

Some smart management companies stagger the over-seeding process on their courses, but some companies do it all at once on all of them. I know it has to be done, but that doesn’t make it any easier. The golf business right now is always slower at this time of the year and that seems to make it grind to a stop. Here at Vegas Golf we really won’t get busy until the 1^st week in November, when the Christmas bug seems to start biting. In the meantime, we will try to keep busy by hitting golf balls in the net, practicing putting, shining up that new shipment of Cobra S2 Forged Irons, or having a lazy morning cup of coffee with a customer. Please don’t get me wrong - golfers are still tuning up their clubs and tweaking this or that, but it is a far cry from the normal frantic pace we keep.

So until November, feel free to come by and get what you need anytime. We will be here waiting for you. And after the 1^st week in November, please take a number and we will be right with you, I promise.

Golf A 4 letter word. 

Lance Cangey

Vegas Golf Inc.

VegasGolfPros.com 

Hydration and a New Color Golf Ball

Well now that summer is in full swing, I have noticed two things to be very apparent. The first thing is that here in Las Vegas the temperature is skyrocketing and hovering around 108. So needless to say we need to stay as hydrated as we can when out on the golf course. This sometimes means drinking water even when you’re not thirsty.

The second and most surprising thing is that the new Srixon Z-Star yellow colored golf ball has become very popular. It began with Tim Clark’s PGA Golf Tour win of The Players Championship in May, when he played with the new yellow golf ball and spurred a lot of interest. Previously, the yellow colored golf balls were always synonymous with cheap golf balls and bad golfers, but suddenly these golf balls are the “Tour” player’s golf ball.

 We got the new golf balls at the end of May with customers already asking for them. As soon as they hit the shelves people were buying sleeves to try them out. They were also complaining about the color…it was too bright and why would they have such a golf ball for real players? That surprised me - I thought, why buy it and then complain that the yellow color isn’t for you?

Anyway it seems that golfers are getting over the fear of the new color scheme and actually liking the fact that they can now pick out their golf ball down the fairway without any problem. There also isn’t a problem telling which golf ball is yours from anyone else’s. It is a good golf ball for the money no matter the color. So if you haven’t tried them buy a sleeve and see what you think.

If you are interested in finding a dozen new Srixon Z-Star yellow golf balls you can find them on our webpage www.vegasgolfpros.com

Golf A 4 letter word. 

Lance Cangey

Vegas Golf Inc.

VegasGolfPros.com 

To Groove or not to Groove

Golf is not a new sport by any means, but the new criteria that the USGS is handing down for wedge groove spacing and angel is. I must admit when I heard that the Ping Eye 2 wedges were going to be exempt from the ruling because of the law suit they won against the USGA years ago about their grooves I was a little miffed. I would understand if Ping had won their law suit last week or last year even, or if the USGA was only outlawing certain wedges. But the new ruling on grooves was across the board and included all makes, models and manufacturers.

So with that said, Ping should not be exempt for the simple reason that all wedges will have to be changed, even though their wedges were deemed legal by winning the suit.  I am not Ping hater, I just want the rules to be even across the board with all the manufacturers. I also did not like how all of a sudden the price of used Ping wedges was sky rocketing on auction websites. I thought “here we go again” with these weird, outrageous prices, until someone figures out they cannot back up a golf ball even with square grooves and the wedges are really worth that much. I have been in the golf business for over 25 years and have been a part of that upswing in pricing before and usually someone gets hurt. The customers either pay way too much for a product that isn’t worth it or the vendor gets it bit because they bought a large quantity hoping to cash in on the wave.

I do believe the new groove rules are unnecessary. The only golfers that this will affect are the Professionals and a few really good players. I cannot remember the last time I spun a golf ball back, at least on purpose. I pick the ball and it is really hard for me to make that shot, because you usually need to hit down on the ball to make it spin back.  I do like the look of the new conforming wedges though and it does add to interest and hype to the sport a little and we can always use that…

If you are interested in finding a new conforming wedge you can find them on our webpage www.vegasgolfpros.com

Golf..A 4 letter word. 

Lance Cangey

Vegas Golf Inc.

VegasGolfPros.com