WGST's "The Sully Show" for 1/29/16 - PGA Merchandise Show

Rick is down in Orlando at the 63rd PGA Merchandise Show, held Jan. 26-29. This is where the golf season kicks into high gear, with all the new product announcements and the debut of everything golf for 2016.

Tuesday is always Outdoor Demo Day, but the show at the Orange County Convention Center is going on thru today. Rick is seeing all the new products and hot trends.

Here is some of what Rick has taken in at the PGA Show:

1.  It's the 100th Anniversary of the PGA of America.

- Not the PGA Tour, but the PGA of America
Founded in 1916, The PGA of America is the largest working sports organization in the world, comprised of more than 28000 dedicated men and women who are ambassadors of the sport of golf. Certified golf instructors and promoters of the game of golf to everyone, everywhere.
 

2.  Ship Sticks
www.shipsticks.com

Golfers can travel with their clubs all they want, and it never really gets easier. I’ve schlepped my golf clubs around airports all over the world, and it’s still a pain rolling the bag from the economy parking lot, or loading and unloading them on rental-car shuttles, squeezing them onto an escalator. At most airports, you have to drop off and pick up the bag at a separate location from your regular baggage.

At the most basic level, checking a golf bag is often a little cheaper than shipping them. (Ship Sticks offers a base rate of $39 for bags under 42 pounds.) Southwest Airlines still costs nothing as long as it’s one of your first two checked bags. On other airlines, it’s $20-$100 to check bags.

But looking beyond the black-and-white math of the airlines’ $0-$100 vs. Ship Sticks’ $39 and up, there are still a lot examples where shipping your luggage makes more sense. PGA members as well as PGA Tour pros have made a habit out of using the service.
Great idea for getting your golf clubs to where you are playing and you don't have to lug them or do the work.
    Easy-to-use web site
    Ship golf bags anywhere
    Ship using a travel bag, hard case or a box
    Personal customer service and claims assistance

See the real cost of checking your bag >
Guaranteed + Insured

    On-time Guarantee
    $200 consequential insurance for delayed shipments
    $1,000 of baseline insurance included
    Insure up to $3,500
    Partnered with UPS & FedEx
 

3. Boa and FootJoy Partnership

Boa Technology and the Boa Closure System powers product across a wide range of categories including snow sports, cycling, running, outdoor/trail, motor sports, water sports, even equestrian.  And that’s just the sport categories!  You can also find Boa on utility and prosthetics.

They have now partnered with FootJoy, a brand that has been making great golf shoes for a long time.
 FootJoy, the #1 shoe in golf, has a long history of developing comfortable, performance golf shoes featuring the latest materials and technology. The Boa Closure System enables FootJoy to deliver an even higher level of comfort and stability through a truly custom fitting golf shoe no matter your size or fit preference.
http://www.footjoy.com/fjlegacy/boa/
 


4. GOLFZON Simulators come to the U.S.

GOLFZON, with headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, made its debut at the 2015 PGA Show soon after finalizing a position as an Official Marketing Partner and the Official Golf Simulator of the LPGA and the installation of a simulator in the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla. GOLFZON is also the golf training system for the Korean National Team and has simulators situated globally, presenting golf in a way never seen before.

"We are excited to publicize the excellent technology and quality of GOLFZON at the world's largest golf exposition and look forward to the response from attendees and media at this important event," said Tommy Lim, the Vice President of the EU and American Business division at GOLFZON. "Participation in the show will serve as momentum in further aggressively targeting the North American and global golf markets."

Since its establishment in May 2000, GOLFZON has been trying to overcome the entry barrier to golf and expand the number of golfers under the corporate philosophy, "making golf enjoyable for everyone," believing that golf should be no longer exclusive for the upper class only.

Some numbers to consider about GOLFZON's impact:

• 43: Number of countries where GOLFZON has a presence.
• 2000: The year GOLFZON was founded in Seoul, South Korea.
• 5,500: Sites around the world for GOLFZON.
• 25,000: Number of simulators in operation around the world.
• 130,000: South Koreans playing on GOLFZON simulators daily.
• 200,000: People around the world playing on GOLFZON simulators daily.
• 1.7 million: Online GOLFZON members.

 
5.  BioMech Putting App and Sensor

- An app that can improve our putting stroke, it's worth a try.

BioMech Sports is using technology to improve your putting. First there was the AccuLock ACE putter, as it was a putter designed with biomechanics, physiology and physics in mind. The thought here is a  legal putter that allows better vision and takes the unpredictable muscles in the arms, wrists and hands out of play is something golfers of all levels can benefit from and trust.
BioMech continues its wave of innovation with the introduction of the BioMech Golf App and real-time Putting Analysis Sensor, the first such products to not only identify mistakes in the putting stroke but to actually help fix them.
Among the putting elements that the BioMech Golf App & Sensor identify throughout the stroke are:
    Position of the putter throughout the putting stroke
    Path direction back and through
    Putter face orientation and loft at address and impact
    Detailed analysis of timing, acceleration and force changes at any point throughout the stroke