Tee Off in Style

(Post: English)
" It was on the course in April, 2004, that Jennifer Glaspie realized she just hated her golf shorts. "They were heinous," she says. When a friend suggested she start her own line, she responded, "You know, that's not crazy." "

She quit her consulting job at Bain, hired a designer from Chicago's International Academy of Design & Technology, pulled $50,000 from personal savings, whipped up some samples, and several months later took her Aphira line to high-end pro shops.

Glaspie, a graduate of Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, generated $50,000 in sales in 2005. She hopes to hit $1 million next year.

The 33-year-old Bucktown resident spends a mere $50,000 a year on marketing, relying mostly on word of mouth. Still, she says her reorder rate is an astonishing 80%.

At Butterfield Country Club in Oak Brook, bestsellers include the longer Urban Short ($82) and polos with waist belts ($42).

"Ladies have only had the khaki short and the white polo shirts for so long," says Marianne Saso, merchandise manager for the club's pro shop. "They really appreciate this line."

Source: BusinessWeek

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Golf Courses Online Service

(Post: English)
"Last year for the first time, more golf courses closed in the U.S. than opened, suggesting interest in the game has peaked or is waning."

Harry Ipema and David Beckwith have an Internet tool that could help course owners survive a shakeout.

In 1995, the pair formed Fore! Reservations and set up a Web site where golfers could sign up for tee times.

Now they're also pitching a service to owners; they've turned their Burr Ridge company into a customizable database courses can tap into, in order to e-mail customers special offers or simple reminders to come play again.

About 2,000 of the nation's 10,000 courses pay $500 to $1,500 a year to subscribe to Fore! Reservations, which employs 26 people.

Ipema, 53, anticipates 2.5 million tee-time bookings this year, up from 1.7 million in 2007, when revenue hit $3.5 million.

Source: BusinessWeek

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Class A Clubmaker

(Post: Bahasa Melayu)
"Setiap individu mempunyai keupayaan berbeza, jadi peralatan juga berbeza. Mesti tahu kemampuan dan kelemahan diri."

Dunia golf ibarat jiwanya, bukan sebagai pemain tetapi sebagai orang belakang tabir yang menentukan sama ada set golf yang digunakan seseorang pemain itu sesuai atau tidak dengan cara permainan mereka.

Aswan Baki, 40, ada semua jawapan itu dan dia memang dikenali di kalangan pemain golf sebagai pembuat serta pengubahsuai kayu golf (club maker).

Sesuai dengan kelayakannya sebagai 'Class A Clubmaker' yang mendapat latihan di Amerika Syarikat dan diiktiraf Professional Clubmaker Society (PCS), beliau adalah individu paling layak menjadi rujukan kepada pemain golf termasuk pemain profesional.

Bertempat di Lapang Sasar Golf Guthrie, Seksyen U8, Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam, Selangor, Aswan mencurahkan ilmu mengenai peralatan golf dan sedia berkongsi maklumat dalam membantu menyelaraskan set golf pemain.

Beliau kini diiktiraf antara 100 club maker terbaik dunia. Berdasarkan senarai yang dikeluarkan laman web rasmi pengeluar peralatan golf, KZGolf , Aswan adalah wakil tunggal di Malaysia yang mempunyai kelayakan kelas A.

Walaupun bukan seorang pemain hebat, beliau membantu pemain golf tampil hebat, lebih yakin kepada kemampuan diri dengan kemahirannya membaiki, membentuk dan melaras kembali kayu golf bersesuaian dengan pemainnya.

Beliau boleh membantu pemain menentukan ketinggian dan jarak bola yang dipukul serta ketepatannya. Ini termasuk menyeimbangkan berat kayu golf agar sesuai dengan pukulan pemain serta mengawal keanjalan batang kayu golf sama ada keras atau lembut.

"Ramai pemain golf di Malaysia tidak mempunyai ilmu mengenai peralatan yang mereka gunakan. Tidak keterlaluan jika saya katakan, 70 peratus pemain golf di negara ini hanya membeli set peralatan berdasarkan jenama, harga atau lebih tepat mementingkan prestij."

"Set golf tidak perlu ditukar sekiranya pemain berasa tidak selesa dengannya. Ia mungkin tidak sesuai kerana tahap hayunan dan kayu golf tidak sepadan. Di sinilah peranan club maker melaras dan menyesuaikannya kembali kayu golf dengan pemain."

Sumber: Berita Harian Online

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