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12th Annual ING Conference
by Dan Perry, GolfProHelp.com

     I recently attended the 12th annual International Network of Golf (ING) Conference at Mid Pines Resort in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The conference began Sunday afternoon with the ING Short Course Championship, sponsored by Athlon Sports, the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA), Talamore Golf Club and Short Course Partners. It was the first time the Short Course concept was played, and it was a complete success. The format is relatively simple: Two persons per team, to be played in a foursome. Three sets of tees accommodating Men, Seniors, and Women. Most holes are 150 yards or less. Points are awarded as follows:
     Hole-in-one = 10 points.
     Within 10 feet of pin = 5 points
     On the green in regulation = 3 points

     The teams add their points together, and subtracts their best ball score for each hole. This round of golf went surprisingly fast (a welcome change), was short enough that everyone who participated made a contribution (accuracy, not distance was rewarded), and was a very good time overall.
     Monday began with the launch of a new product by Travis Norman, President of Nsystems of Jacksonville, Florida. It's a new email marketing system that consists of a kiosk placed in a pro shop that collects player information, and makes it easier and more efficient to market to golfers via email.

"The best thing about 2001 is that it's over." 
Rich Baker, GolfWeek

    We then had our first newsmakers roundtable entitled "State of the Golf Business". Rich Baker, Business Manager of Golfweek.com moderated a distinguished panel, which included Mike Tinkey, President, NGCOA, Mark King, President, TaylorMade Golf, Steve Mona, CEO, GCSAA, Marty Parkes, Senior Director, USGA, and Chris Higgs, Sr. VP, COO, LPGA Tour. One of the topics that always comes up is the growth of the game. Some of the current initiatives include the Get Linked, Play Golf program, the First Tee, and the juniorlinks.com web site. Some other interesting ideas included allowing individuals to play 3 or 4 holes early in the morning for free, establishing tees at or near the 150 yard marker and having beginners play the hole as a par 4 from there, and firming up the courses, which makes it easier to get the ball airborne.
     Another interesting point involved the so-called "Augusta Syndrome", and the need for courses to be exceptionally green. If courses would take the stance that "brown is beautiful", it would not only save money on chemicals and maintenance, but it would increase enjoyment, by making it easier to get the ball airborne. Mr. Tinkey also said that having courses self-certify themselves as "beginner-friendly" could also help promote the game.
     TaylorMade used the ING Conference as the launch pad for a new series of drivers and wedges. The R500 series drivers is "as new of a mechanism (to golf) as cavity-backed was to forged" said Dr. Benoit Vincent, Vice President of Research and Development for TaylorMade. For details, visit project500.com.
     Golf Gear International hosted lunch, with their board of directors on hand. They are introducing a line of clubs. An interesting point was made by Charlie Mandell of Rankmark, who stated that they (Rankmark) had tested every driver on the market up to May 1, and the Golf Gear Tsunami driver was longest overall.
     Monday afternoon golf was held at the Donald Ross-designed Mid Pines, which is the only remaining Ross design in the Sandhills region that remains unchanged from the way it was originally designed. The course was in outstanding shape, and made for a challenging afternoon. Dave Stockton, Jr. had a long, winding 40 footer on the 18th for a round of even par 72. (He made it.)
     Monday evening was the ING GolfEXPO, where the participating companies get to show their products to the media in a very relaxed atmosphere. Personally, this is one of my favorite conference events. Some of the highlights: KZG was introducing their new Progressive Face Technology (PFT) irons, which complement their PFT/300 driver. Garth Hughes was showing off EOS Sports new line of golf bags (frequent readers know what a huge fan I am of these bags. For a complete report, please visit http://www.golfprohelp.com/Archive/Issue21.asp. ) Powerbilt was displaying their extremely successful line of clubs for kids. According to Cheryl Fink of Powerbilt, they had to ramp up production, the clubs are so popular. Kinesys, maker of oil-free, alcohol-free skin-care products, has been very busy lately. They just signed an agreement as the exclusive sunscreen of the AVP Tour. They also signed Brian Mitchell, creator of the PowerBar, to their board of directors, and they added three new sponsored athletes to their team. The Golf Nuts Society also debuted a new product, "Golf Nuts Mixed Nuts" which are mixed nuts packaged to look like a sleeve of balls. (They were great on the course).
     Tuesday began with our second roundtable, entitled "When is enough enough in technology?" Dave Seanor, Editor of Golfweek moderated a group of panelists that included Barney Adams, Founder of Adams Golf, John Calabria, Vice President, Research and Development, Maxfli, Marty Parkes, Senior Director, USGA, and Benoit Vincent, Vice President, Research and Development, Taylormade Golf.

"The worst villian in golf today is the 15-minute product cycle." Barney Adams, Adams Golf

     There are many factors that have accelerated the pace of technology over the past 10-15 years, including: Computer-Aided Design software, the arrival of publicly-traded golf companies, computer analysis of the golf swing, Global Positioning Satellite systems, laser-measuring devices, and new strains of grasses. The culminating effect has all but eliminated the so-called "rub of the green". On the horizon: Form-fitting the club to the ball, and customizing balls for individual consumers. It's already available at the player level, and when price points drop, the consumer market will open up.
     The next roundtable was "Ingredients of a Top-ranked Course", with Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Craig Schreiner as panelists, and Mike Purkey, Senior Editor of Golf Magazine as the moderator. According to Dr. Hurdzan, to be a top-ranked course, it has to have a great site, have great conditioning, facilities, and accommodations. One of the last things to contribute is the actual design.

"A good golf course will unlock the genius of the site."
Craig Schriener

A great design cannot overcome a poor site, or poor conditioning, etc. Mr. Schreiner added that putting and the layout of the greens, being able to hit a variety of clubs, and the actual, physical beauty of the site (think Bandon Dunes) are his criteria.
     Tuesday afternoon was spent on the driving range and practice green, trying out all the represented clubs. My personal favorites: The KZG driver, the Hogan irons, and the Louisville Golf putters.
     Immediately following the demo day was the Skills Challenge, which includes such categories as longest drive, closest to the pin, longest putt, etc. Each sponsoring company gets to explain their club(s) and the technology behind it, and each member of the group (of 6 players) gets to hit. On a personal note, I actually won the long drive on Powerbilt's hole with their Citation driver, and they were generous enough to give each player in our group a driver! We also won a shirt from GolfOrlando. (Vanessa, Lisa, Josh, Jim and Billy Mac, enjoy the new club!)
     Wednesday began with the last of our roundtables, "How to survive and thrive in a shaky economy", which was moderated by Mark Grody, President of corporategolf.com, and included Tony Duran, President, The Duran Group, Jeff Hamilton, President, Golfpac, and Jeff Thoreson, Editor, Washington Golf Monthly, as the panelists. Mr. Hamilton made a good point when he said he'd rather add value than get into a price war. Strategic alliances are also important, because they add value without adding a lot of cost. Some resorts have realized that, post 9/11, less people would be travelling, so they had to work harder to get them, which included advertising more aggressively.
     We golfed at Legacy Links on Wednesday afternoon, a wonderful Jack Nicklaus Jr. design just south of Southern Pines in Aberdeen.
     Wednesday evening wrapped up with the awards banquet. Chris Hill, of Great Lakes Golf, won an award for the Travel Category. Congratulations Chris, and glad to see you bring a trophy back to Michigan!
     Next year the ING will travel west of the Mississippi for the first time, to the Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colorado. With 36 holes, all above 9,000 feet, and over 25 restaurants, it is already shaping up to be a winner. Mark your calendar for June 1 - 5, 2003.
     If you would like more information on the ING conference, or information on joining, please visit their site at http://www.inggolf.com, or contact Linda Jamison at ingmom@aol.com.