Rory McIlroy unveiled Tuesday he has signed a multiyear, “long-term” deal with TaylorMade to play with its bag, full set of clubs and ball. Yep, all 14 clubs in his bag plastered with the company’s logo will be produced by TaylorMade.
The Guardian is reporting that McIlroy contract is worth $100 million for 10 years. Ga-ching!
When I met up with Robert Rock on Tuesday morning at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, he was finishing up a chat with a gentleman who had handed him a stack of papers, which turned out to be the new “Green Book.” Instead of a normal-sized yardage book that we’re accustomed to seeing the pros carry and tuck in their back pockets, Rock was holding some loose A4-sized papers (the UK’s standard letter size, like our version of 8×11) with map-like diagrams of greens.
I probably gave him a weird and confused look, like WTF is going on here? Or I made a snarky remark. Or both. But before I even had the chance to ask, he started to explain. I stopped him — “WAIT!”, and quickly unlocked my iPhone (which is naturally glued to my hand during a practice round day) and started rolling the video. “OK, go ahead.” Watch above… you golf geeks are going to love these, but there’s one obvious concern that you will likely identify, as well.
The no. 1 player in the world will be donning the famed SWOOSH logo as Jason Day has reportedly signed a shoe, hat and apparel deal with Nike, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell. While Nike recently exited from the club manufacturing business, the company vowed to continue a strong presence on the PGA Tour with its clothing and footwear, so a deal with Day would make sense.
Last Tuesday I met up with Arccos Golf CEO and co-founder Sal Syed to play a round at the Course at Yale and test his product. I’ll admit that prior to using Arccos, “the first ever, fully automatic, real-time GPS golf stat tracking system,” I was a bit wary, but I was also anxiously excited, which sounds extremely geeky — I’ll explain in a bit. Bottom line: I’m now obsessed with Arccos.
TaylorMade’s latest driver
Images of TaylorMade’s new R15 driver (the Japanese version, which is slightly different than the American edition) were leaked on the interwebs on Thursday.
We have confirmed that TaylorMade is launching an R15 driver – offered in black and white. Like previous R series TaylorMade drivers, this one appears to be fully adjustable, evidenced by the two sliding weights and loft sleeve technology.
I’m attending an event introducing the product tonight, so stay tuned for more details…
Prototype of the device
If you follow me on any of my social media outlets, Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook (and if you don’t, you should shameless self-promotion), then you know I attended the USGA’s Pace of Play Symposium today, where I’ve gleaned a bunch of interesting information — some of which I’ve shared with you in snippets already.
We all hate slow play and have our ideas and opinions on its causes and solutions to try to eradicate it. However, one of the main things that stood out at the Symposium was the prototype device the USGA introduced, the Flagstick Monitoring Tool (pictured above), which is intended to help address slow play at the recreational level at some point in the near future.
Nike announced on Friday that Daric Ashford will become the president of Nike Golf, replacing Cindy Davis, who announced her retirement last month. Ashford was the GM of Brand Jordan for North America and is a 21-year NIKE veteran.
Josh Hurst is a Master club fitter.
The TaylorMade Tuned Performance Studio is the place to go for a FREE club fitting in SoCal. It’s hard to believe this service is being offered pro bono at the beautifully designed Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, but it is, and it’s time for you to take advantage of it.
You have the chance to feel the nerves of what putting a 3-footer for a million dollars is like. Well, kind of.
On Thursday, Callaway unveiled “The Big Bertha Payday,” a promotion which starts today in the US and Canada, and will run through June 15th. Golfers that demo a Big Bertha Alpha Driver, a Big Bertha Driver or a Big Bertha Fairway Wood at a participating location will receive a code they can use to enter for a chance to win the same dollar amount that Phil Mickelson wins at Pinehurst.
Ready for the Masters? Let the countdown begin with GAME GOLF’s live Twitter Q&A on Tuesday at 5pm EST (for an hour). The event will be co-hosted by PGA Tour players and participants of the Masters, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood and Jim Furyk, along with the company’s CEO John McGuire and several journalists, including yours truly.
Live Chat
