WEBVTT - Episode 83: Soft Goods Design & Development 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:02.360 The guys from Ping. They've kind of showed me how 0:00:02.440 --> 0:00:03.840 much the equipment matters. 0:00:04.120 --> 0:00:05.960 I just love that I can hit any shot I 0:00:06.040 --> 0:00:06.560 kind of want. 0:00:06.680 --> 0:00:08.479 We're gonna be able to tell some fun stories about 0:00:08.480 --> 0:00:10.639 what goes on here to help golfers play better golf. 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:13.360 What is up, everybody? Welcome back to the Ping proven 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:16.680 Grounds Podcast. Shane Bacon alongside Marty Jersey and Marty A 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:18.800 lot of the time we talk about golf clubs. We 0:00:18.840 --> 0:00:20.759 talk about golf club design not going to be the 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:21.280 case today. 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:25.040 Yeah, we got Alex comp here. Alex is one of 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:28.240 my one of the most creative co workers I have 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:30.560 here at PING. I always look up to the amount 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:35.680 of creativity of product development coming from Alex's group. He's 0:00:35.720 --> 0:00:40.919 the Soft Goods design and development director. And Alex just 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:43.680 give us the little review. What does soft goods do? 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:45.720 What do you guys develop in the soft goods world? 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:47.519 Look? What is soft goods? To begin with? 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:50.120 Well, the way I well, thank you for your introduction, 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:54.200 the way I the way I understand it to be. 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:58.640 It's pretty much everything that's not a golf club. So 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:03.080 you know, we're making apparel, T shirts, headwear, golf bags, 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:07.320 headwear are major businesses there head covers. 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:09.080 So yeah. 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:11.839 So if it's not a golf club and somebody needs 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:14.760 something like even tour or something like that, Christian or something, 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:16.880 those guys our team makes it. 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:17.640 Yeah. 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:19.759 I mean I think about you know, I mean, Marty 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:22.840 were similar age, you know, coming up as a as 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:26.080 a young golfer, junie golfer, you kind of weren't a 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:28.120 great player unless you had a Ping golf bag. And 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:30.959 I think about golf clubs within Ping. I mean, of 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:33.039 course Ping dabbled in the golf ball business back in 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:35.760 the day, but the golf bags have always been so 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:37.840 integral in the business. And I always think about the 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:40.640 Ping golf bag. It's the best bag out there, and 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:42.800 it's always been the best bag out there. Can you 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:45.319 talk us through the history of the Ping bag and 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:48.120 the importance it's had, not just in golf, but really 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:50.520 in terms of the way we think about golf bag. 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:54.120 Yeah, I'll do my best. I've only been here ten years, 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:57.520 so a lot happened before I got here. Where's Rob 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:02.040 Griffin when you need them? So, I think I would 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:04.000 say nineteen eighty nine is when you see those first 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:04.600 patents with. 0:02:04.600 --> 0:02:05.800 John A's name on them. 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:09.440 And that is the original drawings for what became the 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:12.360 L eight. I think nineteen ninety and Marty you probably 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:14.520 know too, or you might know as well. I think 0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:17.160 nineteen ninety is around when that bag started coming out, 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:21.799 and I'm pretty sure John A basically designed that bag 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:24.359 along with the help of Greg Schmidt. The conference room 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:26.520 in our area right now is named after Greg Schmidt. 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:27.399 Pretty cool. 0:02:27.440 --> 0:02:30.560 But I think those two really brought that concept to light. 0:02:32.040 --> 0:02:34.160 You know, it had the you know, had the deployable 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.120 legs so you could put pressure on it and the 0:02:36.200 --> 0:02:38.840 legs came out. And I think I'm pretty sure there 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:42.840 was a stand bag out there, probably in Britain someplace 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:45.600 that had the you know, the mesquite sticks, you know 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:47.840 that you crossed over and you could stand the bag up. 0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:51.160 But I think the L eight was really the first 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:58.120 modern lightweight stand bag. It's it's a pretty amazing bag 0:02:58.160 --> 0:02:59.520 when you when you go back and look at it 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:00.560 and you look at the history. 0:03:01.520 --> 0:03:02.919 The L stands for light. 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:05.519 I'm pretty sure the eight stands for an eight inch 0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:09.360 diameter top. So I think back then we categorize our 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:11.520 bags by the size of the top, and I think 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:14.160 that's how that it was just real sort of you know, 0:03:14.280 --> 0:03:15.440 just economical. 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:17.040 The way they named it and. 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:20.720 Thought about it, and the and the genius of that 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:24.160 bag is really how simple it is, and it's really 0:03:24.200 --> 0:03:28.560 informed to this day everything that we do because and 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:30.680 we can get into it later, but what it really 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:35.440 is is it's a trade off of functionality and durability 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:38.280 at the end of the day, having all those parts 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:41.960 internal when they're not external. You know, there's no kickstands. 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:44.720 We don't do that thing. We don't put you know, 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:47.320 we don't put creases in our bases and those sorts 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:49.640 of things, and there's there's a trade off there. But 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:53.840 that L eight is, Yeah, it's in our area today 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:55.640 and we keep looking at it and. 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:58.240 That's where the bottom and then also the bottom of 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:01.240 the bag stayed flat to the ground, right Yeah. 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:02.480 So I mean I look at that as sort of 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:05.480 a signature silhouette of our bags and we think about 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:08.200 that a lot, you know, and especially in the way 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:11.520 that those legs deploy out the distance they have, you know, 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:13.520 there's a certain distance that we're looking for that for 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:16.360 maximum stability and actually to have that base come all 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:16.880 the way down. 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:18.800 But yeah, that's that's a big deal. 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:21.160 Alice. You think about testing, and Marty and I talk 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:24.120 so much about testing with golf clubs. You think about 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:26.400 Ping Man and just how much we put into the 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.880 testing there the first big tour I remember I did 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:31.800 here at ping. I mean there's a there's a there's 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:34.640 a machine that tests the durability of the golf bag. Yeah, 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:37.320 basically slams the golf bag up and down to see 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:39.760 how many rounds if you will, or I guess how 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.120 many times you pick it up and down that a 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:43.120 golf bag can live. 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:46.120 Yeah, exactly, I have twenty thousand times. Yeah, So I 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:48.440 mean that's yeah, I mean that's a big deal. I 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:51.080 mean we're able to leverage analysis and testing here. You know, 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:54.560 obviously the bulk of that goes to the clubs, but 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:56.400 we get, you know, we get to bend their ear 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:58.120 for a little bit of time every year when we 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:00.320 have things we want to take care of and test 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:01.560 out and take a look at. 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:04.200 So, yeah, we are doing that. 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:06.560 What other type of tests are done, like, for example, 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:08.480 like on the materials and things of that nature. 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:11.360 Yeah, so we're looking at you know that test you're 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:14.320 talking about, We're looking at durability. How many you know 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:16.440 that leg spring and how it goes and how long 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:20.200 that handle's going to hold up. Abrasion resistance is a 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:23.919 big one, figuring out, you know, how long. 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:24.840 That fabri is gonna last. 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:26.920 And we have certain parameters that we know we need 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:28.640 to be within for it to be a ping bag 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:32.280 and offer the lifespan that we wanted to, So that's 0:05:32.320 --> 0:05:34.640 a big one. And then functionality, So there's you know, 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:36.760 and that's that's one that's kind of a moving target. 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.880 When you're trying to do something new and different or innovative, 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:41.920 or when you want your bag to be lighter or 0:05:42.080 --> 0:05:45.039 more robust with materials, you're kind of trading off some 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:46.039 things every now and. 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:48.279 Then when you're thinking about innovation with a golf bag, 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:51.200 where are you looking these days? Is it all about weight? 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.360 Is it about durability? Is about longevity? What is kind 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:56.920 of the focus as you guys are continuing to try 0:05:56.960 --> 0:05:57.520 to innovate this. 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:00.000 Space, those are sort of obvious ones, right, I mean, 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:02.240 and everybody's doing that. You know, you're starting to see 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:05.840 lightweight sections in these golf shops and that kind of 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:08.200 ebbs and flows, right, You're seeing a lot of these 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:13.000 fourteen waight tops now be categorized as hybrids. You're seeing 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:16.320 what we used to call Sunday bags now they have legs. 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:20.000 I think our team thinks of it more as like 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:22.880 a balancing of requirements. There's a lot of different golfers 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:25.960 out there who play a lot of different ways high handicaps, 0:06:25.960 --> 0:06:30.640 low handicaps, walkers, cart guys, you know. So we're trying 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:34.560 to figure out what is the best feature set for 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:36.720 each of those players that we have that we think 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:40.480 we have in our demographic. And that's the real challenge. 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:41.960 I mean, I can tell you we're looking at things 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:45.800 like water resistance zippers, We're looking at lighter weight fabrics 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:50.000 with the same abrasion resistance qualities. But at the end 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:52.640 of the day, I think we're trying to figure out 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:55.440 how to make the bag more functional, more useful, and 0:06:55.480 --> 0:06:58.160 more enjoyable for a golfers. You know, if you think 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:02.440 about golf, it's pretty mature sport, pretty mature industry. 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:03.200 You know. 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:06.360 The customer base isn't that big. You get a lot 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:09.520 of repeat business, you know. So that's kind of what 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:11.760 we're thinking. It's a balancing of requirements. 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:14.840 Marty the moon Lander, which I've been using most of 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:17.120 this season because I walk a lot in the Northeast 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:19.200 and Alex, I got to give you some credit here. 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:23.280 The drink pocket or the water bottle pocket has been 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:26.360 just a game changer for me because I've always been 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:29.040 a lightweight carry bag guy. I love the fact that 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:31.040 the bag weighs, you know, minimal, but you have the 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:34.080 double straps and you can do that. But the water 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:36.240 bottle pocket has not always been there in the golf bag, 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:38.480 especially in the carry bag. You have to stuff it 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:40.360 in a pocket or you to find a place for it. 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:44.080 That thing has been incredible. I've sold tens of these 0:07:44.120 --> 0:07:45.800 things to my buddies because I'm like, you got a 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:47.040 place to put your water bottle. 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:49.960 So the number one complained about that bag though, is 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:51.400 that it has no ball pocket. 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:54.600 So you've taken so that was the replacement. Nowhere to 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:56.400 put the golf balls, but you can put your Yeah, and. 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:58.119 We're thinking, okay, this is going to be a lighter 0:07:58.120 --> 0:08:00.520 weight bags. We know it's gonna off a little bit 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:03.680 more durability than let's say, are crazy light. But you 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:06.720 need to make some sacrifices. You need to you need 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:08.080 to change thought. 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:09.880 We thought we put the balls in here, or what 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:12.120 are these people talking about. 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:15.520 That's what our team thought. But you know, if you 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:18.800 think about, you know, how traditional golf is. People been 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:20.520 playing with a bag that has a ball pocket for 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:23.680 a really long time. Yeah, you know, so, I mean 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:24.760 I see both sides of it. 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:27.480 Yeah, funny, Shane. I kind of look at bags similar 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:29.800 to like our irons. We're back, you know, a long 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.760 time ago. We just had the I too, you know. Uh, 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:36.040 And now we have seven seven different models, all diverse. 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:39.800 We could we can customize them more to the specific player, Alex. 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:43.240 How many different like kind of categories of bags do 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:44.240 we do we offer now? 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:46.480 Well, I think we have three, but I mean that 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:49.840 that results in about fourteen different bags, and we're always 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:52.520 kind of trying new things. Moonlanders new for us. We'll 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:55.360 see how it does. It's been doing pretty well for us. 0:08:56.800 --> 0:08:58.240 So but then we've you know, we've got the d 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:01.320 LX that's in that higher range along with the Staff bag. 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:04.120 But you know, the real work course of what we 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:07.040 do and the real focus is in that Hoofer line. 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:07.959 With the Hoof for light. 0:09:08.960 --> 0:09:13.079 It does a really good job of balancing feature set 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:16.319 and price really for what you get and the functionality 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:19.200 of it. So Yeah, there's about fourteen bags in there, 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:22.040 and there's it's you know, the guy who loves to walk, 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:26.040 he's low handicap, I'm guessing, and and the guy who's 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:28.240 got his cart bag in his cart sitting in a 0:09:28.320 --> 0:09:31.760 casita in Lakina, PGA West for the better part of 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:32.600 the whole year. 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:37.000 Not even the car. I want all my stuff in it. 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:39.720 I want to know where everything is. Obviously, I mean 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:41.800 over your right shoulder is something that's new for ping. 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:45.120 The reserve bag. It is a space that I feel 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:48.400 like a lot of i'll call him country club golfers 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:52.840 have moved into. It's that like beautiful standbag, that beautiful 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.000 walking bag, and it's cool to see Peeing kind of 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:57.120 dive into that space. What was the reasoning for that. 0:09:57.520 --> 0:10:00.160 Well, obviously it was a trend in the marketplace, but 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:02.600 and it took a long time for us to get 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.160 it to market. I think we were trying to build 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:08.160 on the success with the DLX, that higher end bag. 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:10.679 For us, it just keeps going and it keeps getting 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:14.120 more expensive based on the materials, and so we're trying 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:16.240 to figure out, okay, if we did do this in 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:21.199 a in a standbag, you know, situation, what would it be. Ultimately, 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:25.320 we decided to tailor it to a higher end sort 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:27.400 of green grass club that sort of thing. 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:28.120 You know. 0:10:28.200 --> 0:10:31.040 We made a couple of controversial decisions. One is having 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:32.640 the shorter apparel pocket. 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:34.040 Of the reason we. 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:37.080 Did that as we felt probably these customers are going 0:10:37.160 --> 0:10:39.120 to have a caddy and that caddy's gonna be carrying 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:41.480 two bags and he's better off not having the entire 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:47.640 apparel pocket on his wat. But you know, and it's 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:50.160 it's it's hard to get that bag light because of 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:54.160 the durability of that material. But that was the idea, 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:56.120 and we did put the ball pocket on it, and 0:10:56.280 --> 0:10:58.000 if you look at the inside of that, it also 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:00.920 has the cooler material, so it's gonna keep it's going 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:02.760 to keep your water bottle little bit cooler than just 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:03.880 a standard ball pocket. 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:06.120 But that's kind of what we were thinking. 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:08.840 I mean, so it looks looks beautiful, Alex. I'm excited 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:10.080 to get give it a go myself. 0:11:10.160 --> 0:11:11.880 I mean so that you know, the two bags that 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:15.679 you guys are bringing up, the Moonlander and the Reserve, 0:11:15.720 --> 0:11:18.400 I mean, they're tight bags, they're small. You know, they're 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:21.880 meant to be people who are not worried about, you know, 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:24.960 having a space for everything, and you know, their clubs 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:26.800 getting tangled up and those sorts of things. 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:28.839 It's a huge challenge for our team, Marty. 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:32.640 The golf bag, to me has always been a telltale 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:34.880 sign of the type of golfer you are. Yeah, it 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:38.640 really is. And you talk about like management of the 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:42.200 golf bag. And even on my golf trips I go on. 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:44.480 I go on a golf trip of alex every year 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:47.679 in January to southern Arizona and it's sixteen buddies and 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:50.640 we go and the place offers to keep your bag, 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:53.800 you know, in the cart shed overnight as we're there. Yeah, 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:55.960 and all the good players take their bags back to 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:58.640 the room and all the high handicap guys leave them 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:00.800 there because you want to go through the bag. You 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:02.839 want to refresh balls, you want to take stuff out 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:05.400 that's unnecessary. And I almost think that bleeds into the 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:08.000 way we think about the bag philosophies. Is you know, 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:11.160 the player that's carrying a specific bag is thinking about 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:13.480 certain things that maybe other players aren't with other types 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:14.000 of bags. 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:17.480 It's just when you get into gear, it gets geeky. 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:21.080 Well, you know, like so you know, like a lot 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:23.200 of our team they you know, one of the things 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:25.600 people do here in Arizona is mountain bike, right, and 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:28.920 these you know a lot of our industrial designers beside golfing, 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:32.120 they mountain biking and they're super into gear. They're super 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:34.679 into tack, you know, and they come up with names 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.719 for people who are into certain aspects of those sort 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:40.439 of things, you know, and it's we think. 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:41.800 About that stuff a lot. But you're right. 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:46.319 I mean, you know, most entry level golfers, I think 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:48.360 if you don't have someone kind of guiding you long 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:51.120 and you know, are picking up that fourteen way top. 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:54.360 But most when you get farther down the line, I 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:56.840 think most people agree, it's kind of more trouble than 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:57.280 it's worth. 0:12:57.600 --> 0:12:59.760 You know, Alex tell us a little bit about the 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:02.680 mark even outside the US market, like you know, things, 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:05.760 things and priorities that might be different in Japan, for example, 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:06.480 or Europe. 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:10.240 Japan's all about bling. You know, they got quality bags. 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:12.439 We we look at those. 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:14.600 Bags, we prove them. We don't design all of the 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:17.760 bags for Japan. They have their own process over there, 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:20.600 but they love to use a logo. I mean they 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:24.720 you know, it's badges and mister ping and ping and 0:13:24.760 --> 0:13:28.200 those sorts of things. And this is subtle compared to 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:31.800 what they do. But they're super creative and they have 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:34.520 some really great ideas as far as functionality. But you 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:36.679 do see those things that are geared towards like the 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:39.520 subway and going to the driving range, and you know, 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:41.840 you'll see a cart bag with wheels built into the 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:45.319 base of it and all pull up luggage handle and 0:13:45.360 --> 0:13:47.280 those sorts of things, and you know, you look at them, 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:50.120 they're created and like our team loves to go through 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:52.880 them and feel them and give suggestions and edits and 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:57.320 those sorts of things. But there's just the American golfer 0:13:57.360 --> 0:13:59.400 I think is just a little bit more traditional in that. 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:02.600 Alex we talked so much about soft goods. We've focused 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:05.920 so much on bags. You mentioned hats earlier. Yeah, in 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:08.640 terms of let's say R and D with hats. Does 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:12.120 that exists, do you guys think? Also search development in 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:12.920 the hat world. 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:16.600 Not not as much. It does exist. There's a lot 0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:17.400 of suppliers. 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:20.640 If you're a larger company like that, they come to 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:22.760 you and say, hey, we've got some great ideas. 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:25.680 You know, we should we should be thinking about. But 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:27.920 hats are another one that's difficult. 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:28.280 You know. 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:31.960 It's sort of one of those things where you're gonna 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:33.920 buy it because you went to a you went to 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:37.120 someplace and you want to rep you want something to say, 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:40.360 you know, whatever you want to say, but it's it's 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:43.040 hard to do, you know. So we're really looking for 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:45.680 breathable fabrics. We're looking for things that will take that 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:48.800 sweat and push it towards the endervisor we're looking for 0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:54.120 stretchability venting those sorts of things. But then you know, 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:56.760 there is this sort of other aspect of paying which 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:59.520 is sort of has a really cool history, you know, 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:02.440 and it's got this heritage. So we're gonna throw mister 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:04.200 ping on a hat and it's going to be more 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:06.000 like a lifestyle hat than it is going to be 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:08.160 like a performance based hat. 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:10.320 So the lifestyle hats have been great. When I go 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:12.400 on the truck every time I go to a tour event, yeah, 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:14.280 sneak it in there and see what like sneaky good 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:14.920 lifestyle hats. 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:17.760 Oh yeah, And Christian's been good and Ken's they've been 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:20.200 good about stocking those, so that's it's been pretty cool. 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:22.160 I'm a hat guy. You know, I mean I love 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:22.680 a good hat. 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:25.520 Yeah, what about the shirts? I mean, Shane's got on 0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:27.240 a pretty sweet little city right there. 0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:30.000 Yeah, So this is more you know, I know, and 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:33.080 that you know, we this is kind of where we're 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:33.760 focusing now. 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:34.080 You know. 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:36.360 We had Carson Apparel come out for a year and 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:37.960 a half or so, we got a little bit of 0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:40.360 a leash that to work on a new project. Super 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:43.280 fun project to work on. We did pretty well with it, 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:44.840 but kind of when we got to the end of 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:46.720 it and we said, okay, what do we what are we. 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:47.920 Really going to benefit from here? 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:51.520 Yeah, we thought a little bit more about branded merchandise 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:53.640 that was maybe just a little bit more affordable. So 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:55.760 you know, if you're already a fan of Ping, you 0:15:55.840 --> 0:15:58.320 already owned that G four forty driver, you know, and 0:15:58.360 --> 0:15:59.920 you want to partake in the brand just a little 0:15:59.920 --> 0:16:02.600 bit more, you could maybe afford to buy that hoodie. 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:05.480 So we're kind of looking more in that world right 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:08.440 now for appareallel branded kind of merchandise. It just kind 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:11.560 of supports the overall brand messaging. 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:15.520 The T shirt world. I mean, my my closet these days, 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:18.880 we were joking about it earlier today, my closet. In 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:20.520 terms of pink T shirts, you. 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:21.400 Hang your T shirts? 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:23.600 No, no, no, I fold them? Why hangs them? I 0:16:23.680 --> 0:16:25.240 fold them? But I've got a lot more she does. 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:29.920 I'd say now it's probably eighty percent pink T shirts 0:16:29.800 --> 0:16:32.240 that long sleeves of hoodies. But it's the material. It's 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:34.600 the material is so soft and so good. Speaking of 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:36.920 my my Buddy's trip every year, now, I do the 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:39.040 T shirt thing. It's one of the gifts to my buddies. 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:40.560 They don't have anything about our golf trip. They're just 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:42.520 pink shirts because all the guys like them so much, 0:16:42.520 --> 0:16:43.560 because they're so comfortable. 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:47.040 Well, the human race has gotten really good at T shirts, 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:50.280 and you know, has the population has gotten more casual. 0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:54.960 You know, we've gotten really good at it. Yeah, yeah, 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:56.680 so yeah, I think that that makes me feel good. 0:16:56.880 --> 0:16:58.920 I'll let the creative team know. You know, they'll they'll 0:16:58.960 --> 0:16:59.440 be stoked of it. 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:01.920 In my email for sure. 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:05.880 Alex talk a little bit about like customization back. It's 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:08.880 always been a big part of our DNA yeah. 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:10.080 Thing, so you know, you go on. 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:12.320 You guys have been in our group on the bottom 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:14.600 floor there. I don't know, it's probably up to sixteen 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:17.879 embroidered machines. Now we're even doing sort of that eco 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:20.719 screen printing. Now we've got the Hoofer zip, which has 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:23.679 been actually really popular where you can actually take your bag, 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:28.240 decide what color accessory pocket, what color apparel pocket you want, 0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:30.879 and will color ball pocket. So it's been really great 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:35.040