I’m happy to share that I’ve started a golf equipment company and we are working on our first product. If all goes well, it will be available this winter on our website. If all really goes well, this becomes my full time job in the future. It’s a second, unpaid, job to start. So a really expensive hobby made exponentially more expensive! The company will only sell direct to consumer goods online for now.
I started the company because: 1. I’m prone to stupid decisions; 2. I want to address interesting markets too narrow for major manufacturers to chase; and, 3. I want to deliver those unique products at a fair price. I’m genuinely excited and have a way to start small without risking everything financially.
Depending on the interest around here, I can share how things go and the lessons I’m learning along the way.
As for ABS: I would say folks here may have a mild interest in our first product. If the company survives to release our second product, then that is something that could really interest some ABS players. That would be next fall or winter at the earliest if product 1 isn’t a complete failure.
It’s been busy. I’ve been lucky to have someone with decades in the industry help me with the design. He’s been invaluable.
Blueprints are done, specs are decided, CAD files are almost ready, we have the foundry selected and lined up. Most of the legal, licensing, and financing is done.
Still need to get the website built and the shop completed before the first batch of clubheads arrives. I’ve been building clubs in the garage forever, but this is a different level, of course.
I 3D printed the 5 iron this week in plastic just to validate the shape. It was fun to see that come to life. It has 1mm of offset and I think looks great for out first offering. The wedges have 0mm offset.
If we survive past this set, my next iron set will be a very compact blade with zero offset in the long irons progressing into some onset in the shorter clubs.
What I’m most excited about is I can hit a wide range of specs, easily adjusting head weights by 24 grams without tape or powder in the shaft. And ± 6 degrees of lie angle adjustments will be offered on the website.
Given that the right fit is more important than almost anything else, I’ll be able to accommodate many customizations that can be hard to find:
3/8 inch length progression instead of 1/2 inch
Progressive swing weights
±6 degree lie angle adjustments, as I mentioned
And I can do it with direct to consumer pricing and without nauseating promises about how my space tech will allow you to hit the ball 30 yards farther and perfectly straight.
The question is, will people buy the clubs? Haha, and that’s what we’ll find out hopefully in a few months.
It looks like an actual club from player’s pov instead of a garden tool- nice!
What, if anything, will fill the cavity. Will it remain hollow with a solid badge over it, no badge and a layering bed for more lead tape if needed, etc.?
How will you handle those that play from the opposite side of the world. I know when I operated in components I went way overboard with left-handed heads, way over stocked.
Keep me posted on the small compact blade. One reason why I love my Miura Limited Edition blades. They have a very small profile with minimum amount of offset if any.
It will look as shown there except a logo will be stamped near the toe. Simple satin finish. There are interchangeable weights in the back.
Right handed version only for now. The tooling and minimum order quantities imposed by the factories mean I have to gauge demand before investing in the left handed stuff. Leftys only make up ~10% of golfers, unfortunately. If it does really well, I’d love to get left inventory later on.
I will primarily use the weights to fine tune swing weights in the shop. I wasn’t planning on selling extras to customers but if there’s demand from the tinkerers I can sell extra weights so people can self-adjust.
Hard to know how many want to pay extra for more weights and then experiment.
These ones will be cast using 304SS to make them noticeably softer than typical castings that often use 17-4 or 431 stainless.
I have a few cast 304 wedge heads and they bend very easily. They are technically harder than 1020 or 1025 carbon steel, but they feel not so different, in my opinion. The idea is to get a soft feel while still using more affordable manufacturing processes.
We’ll see after these ones if we move to something else for future models.
I think the 8 iron came out even nicer than the 5. Can’t put my finger on exactly why. This looks like a club I’ll enjoy hitting. Working on the wedges next.
