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GOLF RESOURCE GUIDE:
Par for the Course
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 (ILLUSTRATION: John Cheresh) More than 1,000 exhibitors attended this year, including big names such as Titleist and Nike. But there also were dozens of people hoping to make a name for themselves. Kermit Olson of Rancho Santa Margarita brought his Azimuth Golf System featuring The Putting Lane to the show. Olson, whose background includes martial arts and golf instruction, came close to qualifying for the Champions Tour a few years ago. “Martial arts is about power, posture and discipline,” he said. “In golf, especially putting, it’s similar in that if you’re not lined up correctly your shot will be an exercise in futility.” The word “azimuth,” loosely defined, means alignment, and Olson’s system of visual training aids (azimuthgolf.com) is designed to help in that regard. Mark Bouvier of Long Beach brought his Shotbreaker (shotbreakers.com), a 4-foot electronic window frame with lights and a speaker system. Hit a ball through the frame and a light show goes off along with the amplified sound of breaking glass and cheering crowd noise. Although Bouvier is targeting courses, he said “the Air Force is ordering 5,000 units to create limited distance driving ranges at bases around the world.” Some companies at the show were back with enhancements to their already successful product lines. In 2002, Bill Stewart helped develop and distribute nutrition bars out of a facility in Upland. The 1st Tee Golf Bar gets you ready for your round and the 10th Tee Golf Bar sustains your energy for the back nine (golfenergybar.com). With the bars in more than 2,500 golf shops, Stewart’s SCNS Sports Foods has expanded its line to include the Marathon of Miracles bar. The name comes from a cancer wellness and outreach organization in Malibu, and proceeds from the bars support the cause (marathonofmiracles.org). “We’ve enjoyed so much success in golf, I just felt this was a chance to create a product with the emphasis on health and give something back while doing it,” Stewart said. These products shared space with bizarre offerings as well, such as a guy selling boxed golf balls called Tail of the Tiger, the Mistress Collection (tailofthetiger.com). Each ball was imprinted with the image of one of the top-ranked golfer’s 12 alleged paramours. At $42, the set was a bit too pricey, and I didn’t think the cost would have been approved as a business expense. Eric Tracy is also known as The Mulligan Man. Contact him at eric@themulliganman.com. |
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