WEBVTT - Episode 52: Iconic PING Clubs (Feat. Jonathan Wall) 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:02.360 The guys from Ping. They've kind of shown me how 0:00:02.480 --> 0:00:05.080 much the equipment matters. I just love that I can 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:06.600 hit any shot I kind of want. 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:08.520 We're gonna be able to tell some fun stories about 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:10.639 what goes on here to help golfers play better golf. 0:00:11.440 --> 0:00:14.520 Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Ping Proven Grounds podcast. 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:17.200 I'm Shane Bak and joined as always by Marty Jerts, 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:19.680 and we got a special guest today, Marty Jonathan Wall, 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:23.360 longtime pal of mine, I know, a longtime friend of Ping's, 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:25.880 of course from golf dot com. He's been all over 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:28.440 the internet over the years and also host the Fully 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:31.520 Equipped podcast. And you're listening to this podcast. I'm assuming 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:34.760 you get into that as well. But Marty, I know 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:37.040 you're playing some hot golf as of late, Jay Wall 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:40.479 playing any golf. Is this a world you're you're existing 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:43.080 in or is it just parenting and talking about equipment. 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:46.400 It's definitely the latter. Right now. The golf on the 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:49.879 golf course is non existent. Lots of testing, but it's 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:51.519 kind to the point where I can't even get to 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:54.400 the range some days. So have the launch monitor, have 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:57.200 the net? Yeah, it's it's It is definitely not the 0:00:57.320 --> 0:00:59.320 days of playing golf on a golf course. Right now 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:01.240 with the kiddos chasing me around. 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:04.200 Well, I've decided, you know, we're going to talk today 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:07.920 about ping equipment, kind of historically talk about ping equipment. 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:09.959 We're talking about our favorite ping clubs. We talk about 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:12.360 some historic golf shots that are hit. Marty's going to 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:14.320 give us some insights into some of the ones that 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:16.840 we're gonna mention over the years and decades of ping 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:19.360 equipment that kind of has popped, if you will. And 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:20.960 I was thinking about this. You know, there was a 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:23.640 main floating around a few months ago, and it was 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:26.800 it was basically men loved sitting around and talking to 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:30.080 other men about old athletes. And I was thinking about 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:32.240 this in kind of the golf world, and I think 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:35.400 the golf equivalent to this is sitting around and talking 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:38.000 about old golf clubs, you know, throwing out a name 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:40.720 of an old club to somebody that's a similar age, Jaywall, 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:43.280 you and I are are similar age players, grew up 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:45.240 in kind of the same era. I know, I'm going 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:48.600 to talk about some pin clubs that you attached yourself 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:51.200 to as well. You've been covering the equipment side of 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:53.800 things for the last what ten twelve years? Is there 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:57.040 a ping club, Jonathan, that stands out to you, both 0:01:57.120 --> 0:01:59.640 maybe as a junior and also with somebody that's been 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:02.640 in this face kind of paying attention to the specks 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:05.120 of the clubs and talking to Marty about this as well. 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:08.120 Are their clubs in the ping you know, atmosphere and 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:10.320 ecosystem that stand out to you over the last couple 0:02:10.360 --> 0:02:10.919 of decades. 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:14.480 Yeah, for sure. I think for me selfishly, I go 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:19.040 back to the ping I, to the brilliant Coppers. You know, 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:21.760 those are the irons. They were righty and Bacon. You 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:24.720 and I are lefties, so you always always want what 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:27.679 you can't have, And that was that first set where 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:29.840 I'm like, God, these things look great. All my buddies 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:31.840 are talking about them, they talk about how great they feel. 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:34.760 And then they came out with the ping I side 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:37.720 and those are in Lefty and I was in heaven. 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:37.960 Man. 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.239 I would take them out there with my blottas. Still 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:44.520 have that the ping jay Z cushion shafts. I mean, 0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:46.760 you couldn't even feel the golf ball coming off the 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:49.760 face because it was so buttery soft with that ballata. 0:02:50.280 --> 0:02:52.160 But those are those irons that I think backed as 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:55.560 a kid like out on the golf course in Texas, 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:59.919 one hundred and ten degree heat, just pounding balls. Those 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:01.720 are the irons. And it's funny because I was going 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:03.560 back and doing a little bit of research on these irons, 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:07.359 and Tiger actually talked about in twenty eighteen at the 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:12.600 Players Championship stealing his dad's brillium copper one iron and 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:14.519 he said that was the iron that he used to 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:17.280 perfect the stinger. So it's kind of cool that, like 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:20.600 Tiger was using brilliant copper, I had an attachment to 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:23.200 those irons. I'm pretty sure you did too, oh for sure, 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:25.679 But for sure those were the irons for me that 0:03:25.760 --> 0:03:28.040 were like the apex, Like if I could get those, 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:30.560 I'm going to be a better player in man? Were 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:31.120 they awesome? 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:34.400 Marty? You know, you and I have talked a lot 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:37.120 about the clubs that you've designed, which I think obviously 0:03:37.200 --> 0:03:39.400 hold a special place in your heart. Are there pin 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:42.200 clubs that maybe you weren't involved in on the work side, 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:46.320 that are stuck in the brain of Marty Jertsen that 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:48.920 you love that you kind of like think back on, 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:51.840 much like Jaywall touched on with the brilliums, Like, are 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:54.640 there pin clubs that you'd think back on, like this 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:56.880 was it? This was the one that I wanted as 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:58.480 a kid. This was the one that I loved as 0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:00.480 a kid. This was the one when it got my bag, 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:01.760 I was jazzed. 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:02.520 Up to hit Man. 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:05.520 I think I'm kind of with j Wall because growing up, 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:09.160 I grew up in the small mining town and you know, 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:12.440 being in Arizona a pretty close tie to ping, and 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:15.720 all the good players at the course played itubes brilliant 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:18.520 copper eye twos, So those I think my first very 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:22.800 strong memory was brilliant copper eye twos. But Shane, I 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:25.839 think going back, I think digging deep into my childhood 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:29.119 and my first pink club was the B sixty putter. 0:04:29.760 --> 0:04:32.880 And you guys remember I remember Jim Colbert winning all 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:35.680 those Champion Tours event and he's going like this, He's 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:38.960 got his ping hecket had on. He's making all these 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:42.960 putts with the B sixty and you know the shape 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:44.800 of that is like a heart, you know, and it's 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:47.760 kind of still has that visual association that I love 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:50.719 that putter. That was my first ping club in my bag, 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:54.320 And for whatever reason, I always think Jim Colbert that 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:56.400 Putter sinking putts. 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:59.880 OEM's Ping sponsors players, and you hope that something like 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.040 that resonates Marty. We're gonna get into some of the 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:05.000 historical golf shots hit with Ping clubs over the years. 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:07.760 But Jonathan, I think one of the coolest parts, like 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:12.200 I see Dustin Johnson now playing on Live and he's 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:14.880 wearing non Adidas golf shoes and it kind of throws 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:17.960 me for a loop right when it really works, when 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:20.320 it really plays, when you have players like Bubba Watson 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:24.080 or Louis Justeysen or Lorena Achoa that kind of attached 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:28.279 themselves to the brand. You think of those players along 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:30.840 with the clubs they use. Do you have somebody like 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:34.120 the Colbert side for Marty that makes sense to you 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:36.120 in that world for Ping? You know, like maybe it's 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:39.480 a Bubba Watson with the pink driver that just popped 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:43.479 for years that almost felt more than a partnership, almost 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:46.320 more than a relationship, almost like Lebron or MJ with Nike. 0:05:47.080 --> 0:05:49.520 It's weird because I think a lot of people would 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:53.840 probably say, like Bubba, he's attached to Ping. But for me, 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:57.840 I think about like on Hell Cabrera like him just 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:01.080 like just smoking heaters, going down the fairways at the 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:05.800 US Open, Like that's a guy or or Miguel I 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:08.800 mean him on the driving range doing his warm routine. 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:12.160 Like just like some of these characters, I feel like 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:15.360 that they kind of resonate with you. You see him 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:17.440 and it's like, that's a Ping guy. Like I've seen 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:19.360 him play Ping stuff, I've seen him win with it. 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:22.080 I think the winning part, obviously is what attaches him. 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:24.040 Like there are so many guys out there that have 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:26.360 had a lot of success with Ping clubs, and they've 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:30.080 had long term success that you realize it's like, yeah, 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:32.599 this guy's a lifer, and I think that's more than anything. 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:36.080 What I associate with Ping staffers is a lot of 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:38.680 the guys that attach themselves to Ping aren't just there 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:41.840 for like a brief minute. They're usually there for five, 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:45.040 ten years, ten plus. I mean look above, But he's 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:48.640 a lifetime Ping guy, signed a lifetime deal. So that's 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:50.960 what I see with Ping is is that it's not 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:52.560 just a guy who's like, Eh, you know, it's a 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:54.800 hot club, I'm gonna try it. It's usually guys that 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:56.400 play this stuff for a while they've been playing it 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:58.799 for a while, and that's just what they druss. 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:02.080 You know. Marty Jonathan brings up a great point on that, 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:05.080 because that has been one of the most revealing parts 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:07.240 of doing this podcast and getting a chance to interview 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:10.280 so many of the players under the Ping brand and 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:13.480 getting we get these note sheets sent for missying the 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:15.560 team that are always incredible, and their deep dive note 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:16.880 sheets that kind to help us out as we get 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:19.600 ready for an interview. And it's crazy, almost every one 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.720 of those sheets, Marty says, has played Ping since they're thirteen, 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:24.760 you know, a part of the junior program since they 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:26.560 were fifteen. I mean, we talk a lot about the 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:29.360 Ping family, but the professionals that are part of Ping, 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:32.000 to Jay Wall's point, they don't just pop in for 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:33.480 a year or two. It feels like they're there for 0:07:33.520 --> 0:07:34.040 a long time. 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:34.640 Yeah. 0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:38.280 Absolutely, it's pretty fun. It's how much we support the 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:41.000 junior program and then how much trust we can build 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:43.920 with our players as they go to turn professional. Especially 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:46.640 in today's age, there's a lot of money being thrown 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:49.320 around and a lot of competition out there, and just 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:51.800 to know that, hey, we've serviced the players and the 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:55.160 family and the brand takes such a holistic approach to 0:07:55.320 --> 0:07:58.400 helping players out in gaining that trust. I was gonna 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:01.560 mention my association I have in my head Shane is 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:05.760 with kind of the classic pink players, Calcubeccia, because you know, 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:08.600 he won he won that waste management. He's using the 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:12.640 Laker shaft, you know, and the TI aside driver at 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:16.840 the time, and just blazing TPC Scottsdale in the rain 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:19.880 that one year. That's, you know, a pretty strong association 0:08:19.960 --> 0:08:20.400 in my head. 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:22.880 So you mentioned that driver, Marty, and we're going to 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:24.480 get to this, and you already kind of mentioned the 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:25.920 first pink club you had in your bag. I'm an 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:28.160 asked Jay Wall next, the first pink club you put 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:30.560 in his golf bag? Mine was that driver that you 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:34.280 just mentioned, the TSI I had it. I had two heads, 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:36.480 by the way, and I had the three wood in 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:38.040 the bag and I played most of my high school 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:40.360 and junior golf with that. The interesting thing, and I 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:42.880 think Marty, we've touched on this before, but it was 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:45.839 such an interesting slot to put the driver through that 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:48.040 you had to take it back to someone that really 0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:50.600 knew how to take shafts out. Yes, if you wanted 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:52.800 to replace the shaft. This was long before you got 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:54.480 the tool out. Clicked it out and pulled the chef 0:08:54.520 --> 0:08:57.719 out in six seconds. And I remember I took it 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:01.040 to a guy in Shreveport, Louisiana, said, Oh, I can 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:02.880 do it, no big deal. I got a shop in 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:04.880 the back. I can pull a shaft out if you 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:06.440 wanted it. And I wanted to put the pro force 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:08.839 the Lakers shaft in the driver, much like Kal did 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:12.240 in Phoenix, Lo and Behold. I got it back and 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:14.439 it was a big bubble on the back of like 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:17.800 the whatever you'd call the slot that the shaft went into. 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:20.440 The guy did not do a great job of throwing 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:23.160 that in there. But that was my first introduction to 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:26.079 ping clubs. That was my first driver in the bag. 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:28.240 The head cover was iconic, kind of looks like the 0:09:28.320 --> 0:09:30.240 color of the hat I'm wearing right now. And that 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:33.400 thing just played and it was one of my favorite 0:09:33.440 --> 0:09:35.480 drivers ever had. I played it for a long long time. 0:09:36.120 --> 0:09:37.720 Jay Wall. That was kind of one of those drivers 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.880 that in high school in that era, like basically from 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:44.600 what maybe two thousand or ninety nine to one, if 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:46.760 you didn't have that driver in the bag. You were 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:48.920 kind of looked upon as another kind of like not 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:51.920 having a hook for bag, right, like everybody in AJGA 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:54.840 tournament had the ISSI driver had a hook for bag, 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:58.320 like that was part of being a great player at 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:00.480 the time. Do you remember the first kind of ping 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:02.360 bat you had in your bag as a kid? I 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:04.960 was gonna say that the whiff of nostalgia right now 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:08.800 on this podcast is very, very strong. Is just going 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:09.960 out of our goateea right now. 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:13.719 Geez, you mentioned pro for shaft and I'm like, God, 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:15.520 I remember that shaft. I could not hit it, but 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:17.240 I could not hit it for the life of me, though, 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:19.800 but I still had to like jam it in the bag. 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:21.480 I'm like, everybody has this thing. I got it at 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:26.360 three would yeah, you know? For for me, I go 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:28.640 back to I had a really old answer. I don't 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:31.680 remember where I got it, but it had the sound 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:35.880 slot yeah in the soul and it mean just again, 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:39.640 just that distinct ping sound with the ball coming off. 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.400 And It's funny because I've tried so many putters over 0:10:42.440 --> 0:10:46.560 the years, I still have this one, but I still 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:48.439 use I mean, now I've got a little bit of 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:51.640 a different I've got a pod answer to with some 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:54.719 tongusten weights and the bumpers. It's a sweet it's a 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:57.959 sweet butter. But if if I were going to go 0:10:58.040 --> 0:10:59.720 to something else, it would probably be the old one, 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:03.280 just because again, it has that nostalgia attached to it, 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:05.640 and it's such a classic putter. I mean, we're going 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:08.280 to get into it, I'm sure, but look what's the 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:12.920 most copied club out there. It's It's the Answer. It's 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:15.160 the Answer style putter. I mean people know it by 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:19.079 different names now, but that's an answer and it's always 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:21.839 going to be that way. So yeah, for me, old Answer, 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:24.480 it's still beat. I should pibly pull it out to 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:26.679 show you the gashes in the face. It looks a 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.360 little bit like the Tiger wand I think it's I've 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:31.200 beaten on it a couple of times over the years. 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:34.439 But yeah, just an awesome, awesome putter and such a 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:35.160 cool sound to it. 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:36.760 Jay, Well, we're gonna have to have you post that 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:38.520 when this podcast drops. We'll have you post it on 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:40.600 your Instagram story or something so that people can get 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:42.360 a good look at the putter or the answer you're 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:45.960 talking about, Marty. A little like sports trades, a lot 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:48.280 of clubs come out, they all are part of the 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:50.559 history of a of a company. Maybe not all of 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:53.280 them are bangers. Ye, Like we've seen with certain trades 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:56.000 in sports over the years. We tasked you with kind 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:59.319 of going through some of the iconic pain innovations over 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:01.719 the years, like the ones that really hit. So I 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:03.480 want you to kind of run through some of those, 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:06.480 and Jaywall and I might jump in at times when 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:08.800 we have our kind of personal moments with the clubs 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:10.760 you mentioned, but I kind of wanted you to run 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:14.599 through some of the real marks and kind of the 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:17.640 Ping's company in terms of club innovation over the last 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:19.000 you know, thirty forty decades. 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:20.200 Yeah, exactly. 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:22.240 Yeah, I think Shane, the one we kind of touched 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:25.000 on already was the Tia side and the Tia side tech. 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:27.440 And the reason why I bring those up is they 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:29.839 were they were way ahead of their time, you know. 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:32.000 And I think Ping is, actually we've actually done this 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:35.400 quite a few times looking back at our history. Is 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:38.360 we'll launch something to the market and it's you know, 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:40.880 arguably it's a little too early, like it it's a 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:45.120 little too innovative, and then these things come back maybe 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:48.280 a decade later. So like with the with the tia 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:50.800 as I, it was having adjustable hazzles, right. It was 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:52.960 the fact that hey, we need to have one head 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:56.040 and we want to have different you know, from a 0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:58.559 custom fitting standpoint, we want to be able to manipulate 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:01.760 the lying goal and the loft and get somebody dialed in. Now, Yes, 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:05.599 that embodiment, that solution of using the plastic causal was 0:13:05.679 --> 0:13:07.920 hard to do, hard to repair and things of that nature, 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:12.319 but it was very innovative, you know. And it also 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:16.760 created a super lightweight hozzle which is super important to 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:18.880 lower the center gravity and do some things like that. 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:22.079 So I think that whole Tiasi tia Side. 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:26.280 Tech metalwood family was super innovative, even down to the 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:29.160 Fairway wood in the player's used that fairy I. 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:30.880 Know you had in the bag. I certainly had in 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:31.240 the bag. 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:34.600 I think of Miguel Jimenez had the three five seventy 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:37.280 nine in the bag for probably over a decade. You know, 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:40.559 had laser beams with the tias Side Tech fairrywood. That 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:42.800 one was really cool because they have the hozzle system 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:47.839 and then it had it was titanium body with a 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:51.400 zirconium soul plate with a tungsten weight screwed into it. 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:56.280 So it's like the amount of tech multi material and 0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:59.800 these were cast at a foundry up in Prescott, Arizona. Right, 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:03.920 we manufactured them here in the US domestically. We did 0:14:03.960 --> 0:14:08.280 all the manufacturing engineering R and D here, So again, 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:10.760 that one really sticks out in my mind in terms 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:16.600 of that transition to titanium to multi material, to adjustable hozzles, 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:19.880 to lowering the center of gravity. All this magic was 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:23.440 kind of put in there into that family, Jay Wall. 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:25.280 It's interesting to hear Marty say a little bit of 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:27.640 ahead of his time, because something I have noticed with 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:30.480 golf clubs as I've been in and around golf over 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:34.160 the last couple of decades is when something new pops 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:38.120 and it's unique and it's different than everything else you've seen, 0:14:38.480 --> 0:14:41.120 it's almost like a lembing group of people. It's like, okay, 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:43.680 now we've got to copy that, right, Like movable weights, 0:14:43.680 --> 0:14:45.640 I mean that was a company pop with movea weights. 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:47.880 I mean, square drivers were a thing and then everybody 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.200 had a square driver or a triangle driver. But it's 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:52.560 so interesting to hear Marty say it's almost ahead of 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:56.000 its time, and what the TSI was able to do 0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:59.120 for golfers because now you think about adjustability and that's 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:01.520 in every basically every club you can you can purchase. 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:05.840 Yeah, it's it's funny that he mentioned the the tie 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:11.040 side driver because that for me, I can distinctly remember 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:13.880 being on the range in high school and a buddy 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:16.320 of mine, still a good buddy of mine from high school, 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:19.760 he got the driver and he and we all like 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:22.960 congregated around him as he's pulling the head cover off 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:26.160 and like I swear that you could hear like angels 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:29.720 singing from the heavens, and we're all just like wow, 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:32.440 and it's like, hit it, hit it. We got to 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:35.040 hear the sound, and so it is. It's it was 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:37.080 one of those drivers that He's right, it was ahead 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:40.840 of the time. And it's it's interesting because anytime something 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:44.160 comes out that's different, everybody kind of goes eh, I 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:47.360 don't know. And it is funny when when you start 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:50.960 to see and again your success generally leads to interest 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:53.800 not just from the pros but but from amateur golfers. 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:57.080 And the second that you started to see that, drivers 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.360 start to gain traction. You know, recreational golf first are 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:04.520 clamoring for it that you know, the manufacturers out there, 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:06.600 the non ping manufacturers are going, all right, what's going 0:16:06.640 --> 0:16:09.040 on with this driver? And that's when you you do, 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:12.760 you start to see some of those technologies take hold, 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:15.640 and before you know, everybody's doing it and there and 0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:18.920 everybody's claiming that they were the first. Yeah, pin Ping 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:21.440 was definitely ahead of its time with that driver, but 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:24.640 it was just such a distinct head. We were like, ah, 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:27.640 this thing looks like a spaceship. It's it's huge, like 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:30.000 you felt like you couldn't miss. But it was really 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:32.880 it was the tech inside that that made it so unique. 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:35.680 Marty, what was the difference in the tech side of 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:37.960 that driver, because obviously that came out later. I know 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:39.480 it had a different I think it had a different 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:41.280 paint color as well to the to the top of 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:44.120 the crown. What was the difference in the technology there, 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:46.840 because that was, to me, was one of the first 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:51.280 drivers that there was a secondary market, a secondary club 0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:54.160 coming out that kind of resemble the first one, yet 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:56.400 it obviously had some some different personalities to it. 0:16:56.840 --> 0:16:58.600 Yeah, definitely on the driver. I mean, that was our 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:01.320 first time doing a titanium driver with the tire side. 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:03.760 That was the black one had that kind of a speckle, 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:05.879 looked like kind of a bass boat, you know, on 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:10.280 the top a little bit. And so the first time 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:14.080 for us doing titanium driver it was it's very challenging 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:16.000 and I think Shane I've talked about this. I think 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:19.280 one of the biggest meta innovations in golf is the 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:23.040 ability to cast titanium very thin. And now now in 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:25.600 today's age, we're looking at, you know, adding other materials 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:27.920 and getting real weight savings. But that first tire side 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.800 the walls were really thick. For example, I think the 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:35.399 crown thickness was like eighty thousands of an inch in 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:39.800 which is, you know, four times thicker than we cast 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:42.320 it now, right, you know, so we've been we've been 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:45.000 able to four x the improvement and how thin we've 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:46.879 been able to go with the wall. So when the 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:49.440 TIA side tech came out, this was the silver top 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:52.840 to it. Yeah, yea, yeah, that was thinning out wall thickness, 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:56.720 improving the manufacturing, improving the casting, studying the durability, see 0:17:56.760 --> 0:17:59.320 where we could save some weight, and just like we're 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:02.119 doing with the same physics principles, we are now improve 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:04.520 the center of gravity increase the moment of inertia and 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:05.399 pass that along. 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:08.280 And then it was really fun to be able to 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:10.000 to do what. 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:12.600 I talked about in the Fairway Woods back then, which 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:15.800 was all the multi material and that zirconium welded soul plate. 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:18.320 That's one of the things about titanium. You can't really 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:22.200 it's hard to join high density materials to it, so 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:24.359 that's normally where we screw them together and things of 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:28.000 that nature. But zirconium is actually an owl you can 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:32.480 weld to titanium that's heavier density. So that was super 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:34.520 innovative to bring that to the golf industry. 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:36.640 All right, Marty, what else you got on the long 0:18:36.760 --> 0:18:38.200