equipment: hot trend
Hot Trend ......................78
This Just In ....................78
Ask The Experts .............. 80
Focus on Fairway Woods
and Hybrids ................... 82
Clubfitting ..................... 84
New Equipment .............. 86
d
By Scott Kramer, Contributing
Equipment Editor
TaylorMade-
adidas Golf’s
Acquisition of
Ashworth
Under the direction of John
Kawaja (pictured above),
TaylorMade-adidas Golf is
attempting to transform
Ashworth back into the brand
that the athletic golfer wants to
wear on and off the course
Ever since TaylorMade-adidas Golf acquired apparel manufacturer Ashworth back in December, I’ve been asked several questions about the deal
from various people in the golf industry. Recently, I decided to take the
questions right to the source for answers, and sat down with the man in charge
of both adidas Golf and Ashworth – John Kawaja, executive vice president of
TaylorMade-adidas Golf. We met in his Carlsbad, Calif., office. Here’s what
Kawaja had to say:
PGA Magazine: How did the acquisition of Ashworth come about?
Kawaja: We’ve always admired the Ashworth brand. For us, it’s always been one
of the true authentic golf apparel companies. It has a cool story behind it, and
it has a strong connection to the golf industry. There are a lot of lifestyle brands
this Just In
Callaway Golf has inked
Stuart Appleby to a
multi-year contract.
Appleby will endorse all
Callaway equipment and balls,
carry its bag and feature its logo
on his headwear. The company
also acquired uPlay, a Carlsbad,
Calif.-based developer of
consumer electronic devices,
including the uPro distance
measuring device.... Cleveland
Golf/Srixon introduced the Z-STAR and Z-STAR X golf balls,
which are both backed by a
money back guarantee. For
players seeking the improved
distance, spin and feel preferred
by tour professionals, the balls
have ultra-thin urethane covers,
larger core and softer cover.
Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk are
among the PGA Tour players
using the balls. The Z-STAR is
for low-to-mid handicappers,
while the Z-STAR X is a
distance-oriented, tour-performance ball. Both feature
new Energetic Gradient Growth
core technology, which promotes
increased ball speed, high
launch and low spin. The all-
new dimple design has 324
large seamless dimples that
help reduce wind resistance for
more distance, with a new
coating to improve spin from the
rough. The company also re-
signed Singh to multi-year
contracts with both brands.
Interestingly, the Cleveland Golf
logo that appeared previously on
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