Polara Golf's Advantage Driver Featured in Asian Golf Monthly

Polara Golf continues to lead the golf industry with the development of products that help recreational golfers have more fun. Having started with golf balls that ‘correct up to 75 percent off a hook or slice’, Polara Golf President Dave Felker, tells Asian Golf Monthly’s Mike Sebastian about the company’s introduction of the aptly-named Advantage driver that provides golfers with more distance – up to 40 yards more driving distance in some cases.

Asian Golf Monthly:
The battle against producing non-conforming product continues and we hear that you now have moved into the golf equipment field. Give us the low-down on what is brewing at Polara Golf?

Dave Felker:
Polara Golf continues to lead the golf industry with the development of products that help recreational golfers have more fun. We started with golf balls that correct up to 75% of a hook or slice and now we are introducing drivers that provide golfers with more distance – up to 40 yards more driving distance in some cases. We have wedges that are still in development, but already we have been able to exceed the short game spin of any wedge on the market – our goal is to develop a wedge using brand new technology that will provide the average golfer with the ability to stop the ball on the green.

Asian Golf Monthly:
The new driver is appropriately named Advantage. That says it all, doesn’t it?

Dave Felker:
It sure does. The development of the Polara drivers started when we decided to create a driver that would deliver higher launch (HL) angle and velocity to complement the Polara Ultimate Straight ball, which tends to fly lower because of its low lift characteristics. Depending on a golfer’s swing speed, the combination of the flight characteristics of the Ultimate Straight and our 12-degree loft or HL1 driver provides the straightest, longest shot possible for a person who has a chronic slice problem. This is the first time a driver has been designed to maximize distance and straightness for any ball. With this combination, even a golfer with a chronic slice problem can hit every fairway in a round – fact, not marketing hype. We found the results to be so remarkable that we filed a patent on the combination of a low loft ball and a high loft driver.

In doing market testing with a wide range of golfers, we found our 10.5-degree loft driver was perfect for golfers who have a relatively high swing speed and just want more distance. But the most rewarding development for me was finding we could add up to 40 yards extra distance to golfers who have a lower swing speed, often the guys who are trying to recapture their long drives from years gone by. There was nothing on the market to really address their needs until we introduced the Polara Advantage HL3 driver. Women also love this driver. Until we test marketed the Polara Advantage HL3 driver I had never before been hugged and kissed at a driver demo day!

Asian Golf Monthly:
You are quite the maverick – bold and visionary and bent on helping the average struggling club golfer enjoy his game. What is the magic formula in Advantage that produces the extra distance? Obviously part of the power has got to come from the massive 475 cc club head?

Dave Felker:
The Polara Golf driver provides the average golfer with a distance advantage because it is not limited by the USGA and R&A equipment restrictions – we added a hotter, thinner, beta-titanium face for extra ball velocity. The larger size (475 cc) makes it more forgiving on mis-hits and also adds to the distance. The Advantage driver has a great feel of power.

Asian Golf Monthly:
What’s the reaction been like from those who have had the opportunity of putting the Advantage into play?

Dave Felker:
In golf, distance is intoxicating. Golfers love the Advantage driver. Golfers who try our driver against their own can see the difference – this is what we do with all of our products. If a golfer can’t see the difference in performance with our product, then I won’t introduce the product. By only being limited by the laws of physics, we are able to produce equipment with performance benefits that far exceed the equipment restricted by the USGA and R&A. Other sports found out long ago that increasing the performance characteristics of the equipment increased fun and participation rates. Golfers are no different. The restrictions of the USGA and R&A just don’t make sense to the 75% of golfers who admit they don’t follow the USGA rules because their prime objective is fun, not grinding out a score and turning in their card for handicap determination.

Asian Golf Monthly:
You are not a man who is intimidated by the powers that be in golf. Having said that, have you had any dialogue with the USGA over the non-conforming nature of the Advantage?

Dave Felker:
No, I have not spoken with the USGA. I respect their position in developing and maintaining their own rules for the highest level of competitive play, but they really have no place telling recreational golfers how to enjoy their Saturday. In the US, 75% of golfers have never read the Rules of Golf and about the same percentage admits to not following all the rules. Only 15% of US golfers have a USGA handicap and these are not the golfers we are developing equipment for. So speaking with the USGA has no purpose for us – our products are approved for recreational use!

Asian Golf Monthly:
Let’s look at non-conforming products in golf. You first broke the rules with the introduction of the Polara golf balls. The rule-makers tried to talk it down but Polara golf balls are doing fine. Why can’t club players be given the freedom to play with non-conforming products, especially if it helps improve their game and gives them a dose of fun?

Dave Felker:
Golfers are playing with our products and the fact that they are non-conforming to the USGA and R&A’s rules does not matter to the majority of golfers. In 2010, we had Golf Data-Tech survey over 1,100 golfers and found more than 40% would be willing to play non-conforming equipment if it provided a performance advantage. We conducted another survey just a few months ago and found the number has risen to 63% of golfers. Times are changing – the majority of golfers play for fun, not to post a score.

Asian Golf Monthly:
It seems that the rule-makers are in a state of self-denial. How can they be brought to realization that golf needs game-changers like you to bring about change? What you have done with the Polara golf ball and now the Advantage driver are classic examples of the will to change. It does not help to have folks like you to be shackled!

Dave Felker:
The rule-makers are now realizing it is impossible for one body to edict to such a large and diverse group of golfers how they should play the game. The recent proposed ban on anchoring is a perfect example. It is dividing the golf community. The USGA and R&A would do a huge service to golf, and help grow the game, if they were to issue a statement to the affect that their ban on anchoring is not meant to apply to recreational golfers – it will only apply to those who play in USGA and R&A sanctioned events. Furthermore, the ruling bodies should explain that it is perfectly fine if recreational golfers don’t follow all of the rules. What’s the harm in carrying an extra club, offering or taking a gimmie putt, leaving the pin in, not taking stroke and distance penalty on an OB driver, taking a Mulligan, winter rules? All of these acts are part of the fabric and tradition of golf – some of which predate the USGA. Golf was developed as a leisure activity and somehow over the years it has been almost hijacked by what I call the ‘Golf Puritans’ who feel the need to edict how others should enjoy their free time – recreational golfers (who represent the majority of golfers) need to say: ‘Enough!’

Asian Golf Monthly:
Let’s look ahead for Advantage. You have created quite a stir globally with this revolutionary driver. Your order books must be the envy of many a manufacturer.

Dave Felker:
The demand for the driver is going strong. This year we held back on orders because it was our first year so demand has clearly outstripped our supply. We are scrambling to get more drivers as fast as we can.

Asian Golf Monthly:
Using the Advantage as a base product, are there plans in the works to produce non-conforming woods and hybrids with the built-in Advantage DNA?

Dave Felker:
Our next product introduction will likely be wedges that develop about 30%-40% more spin for the average golfer. Then we will have covered what I call ‘the three biggest needs of golfers’: (1) stop the slice and hook; (2) drive the ball farther and (3) stop the ball or back it up a little on the green.

Polara Golf Announces that PGA TOUR Professional John Daly has Signed an Agreement to be a Polara Golf Ambassador

CARLSBAD, CA – Polara Golf, the leader in game improvement equipment for the recreational golfer, announced today that PGA TOUR Player John Daly has signed an agreement to be a Polara Golf Ambassador.

"I'm really excited about being involved with Polara Golf. They've created some exciting products for recreational golfers that will allow them to Grip It and Rip It, be more consistently in the fairway, and ultimately have a lot more fun on the golf course!," said John Daly.

About John Daly
John Daly turned pro in 1987, and he earned his first pro victory soon after at the 1987 Missouri Open. He joined the PGA TOUR in 1991, and won the PGA Championship that same year. Daly garnered quite a bit of media attention from this victory, due to the fact that he was the ninth and final alternate for the event. The eight other alternates couldn’t make it. John, playing in just his third major, secured a three-stroke victory. That earned him PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honors in 1991. John won the British Open in 1995 in a playoff with Italian golfer Costantino Rocca at St. Andrews. Daly is the only eligible two-time major winner never selected to play in the Ryder Cup. Daly went on to win the Buick Invitational in 2004, and earned the PGA TOUR Comeback Player of the Year distinction that year. He is primarily known for his driving distance off the tee, earning him the nickname “Long John.” He’s earned some attention for his free-wheeling attitude and his multiple business ventures. Daly is also known for his involvement with many charities, including several in northwest Arkansas.

“We’re extremely excited to have John on board as our first Polara Golf Ambassador,” said Dave Felker, Founder, President and Chief Technology Officer for Polara Golf. “John’s all about enjoying the game and having fun on the golf course which is exactly what we at Polara Golf are all about. His bold, no-nonsense approach to the game is what makes him so popular with his fans, and John’s fans are the same recreational golfers that we design and manufacture golf equipment for. So this is a perfect fit.”

About Polara Golf
Polara Golf is the leader in game improvement equipment for the recreational golfer. Polara Golf’s mission is, “To make the game of golf more fun”.  All of the Polara golf balls and clubs are designed for use by recreational golfers who want to take advantage of technology improvements designed to help them score lower and enjoy the game more.

For more information about Polara Golf, visit www.PolaraGolf.com or call 866-556-3100. Media members interested in field testing any of the Polara Golf products for an editorial review should contact Joe Wieczorek joe@themediagroupinc.com of The Media Group at (847) 956-9090.

The U.S. Open Demonstrated that Professional Golfers and Weekend Golfers Play Entirely Different Games

 
 The 2013 U.S. Open at Merion quietly demonstrated that professional golfers and the everyday or weekend golfer play entirely different games in different circumstances with different rules.

Examples:

1. Out of Bounds: the pros finally had to deal with out of bounds and how many strokes did it cost? Average golfers face this all the time.

2. Rough: the pros finally had to deal with rough over their shoes. Average golfers deal with this all the time due to our cheap courses only mowing once a week or less.

3. Conditions: no matter what, courses prepared for a tournament are in top shape with markings for ground under repair, etc. Pros get every advantage in regards to course conditions.

4. Caddies: a professional caddie is not a normal caddie. Besides most amateurs rarely having a caddie.  Pro caddies are similar to on course coaches/psychologists.

5. Venue Change: the course layout/yardages were changed mid tournament to help the pros score a little better. When does that ever happen for the weekenders playing an informal tournament on a golf weekend?

6. Equipment: the pros have EVERY advantage in terms of equipment. Tiger has a reference set at Nike’s manufacturing facility to ensure that each club made for him is exactly the same!

7. Balls: some pros play with a higher compression ball that only a very few golfers could ever compress. Is this an advantage to those few?

8. Ball Spotters: the pros get the advantage of ball spotters/finders with their little flags. Average golfers take strokes all the time trying to find a ball hit in rough so high the foursome can’t find it. We know it’s somewhere… we just can’t find it.

9. Officials: the pros get in trouble and they call for help. Sometimes knowing the rules can help! (Burrowing animal anyone?)

10. Conditions Again: I have to restate conditions, this weekend proved that the pros regularly play on different courses in different conditions than most of us. When faced with similar conditions that the average golfer faces, the pros scores started to seem a lot more familiar.

The USGA and PGA should create two separate rules or start playing courses like the rest of us with equipment that we buy off the shelf!

 Guest Blog Post: Matthew B.

We Really Don’t All Play the Same Game

Second Thoughts

The USGA is Flat Wrong. Anchor-Putting isn’t Cheating –It’s a Needed Tonic for the Amateur Game.

Dear USGA,

I admit we’ve had our differences (you’ve labeled seven of my putter designs as nonconforming), but those are in the past. I know your executive director, Mike Davis, and his R&A counterpart, Peter Dawson, very well and consider them friends. I like these gentlemen, and realize that the task of preserving and protecting the game is a difficult one. I admire their efforts.

The reason for this letter is to ask you to reconsider, or at least reword, your proposal to ban the anchoring of belly and long putters for all golfers. As part of the justification for this ban, you expressed your desire to keep the rules the same for all golfers so that everyone plays the “same” game. Relative to this point, I offer the following:

1.    You banned the box grooved wedges for pros and elite amateurs in 2011, but allowed the rest of us to use them until at least 2024.
2.    Your professional and elite-amateur competitions are held on courses that stretch 7,000 yards and longer, yet you encourage amateurs to “tee it forward” and play from the “up” tees.
3.    You approve the balls that generate extra distance when sufficiently compressed, even though Tour-level swings are the only ones capable of such compression.
4.    You legislate that pros must walk, yet most modern daily fee courses are “carts only”.
5.    You allow high-C.O.R. drivers that enable pros to hit balls prodigious distances, but their “spring-like” effects don’t benefit players with slower swing speeds (i.e. most amateurs).
6.    Green speeds on typical municipal and country club courses run around 8 to 10 feet. The green speed you reported from the U.S. Open at Olympic Club last June was 13 feet.

These differences (and there are many more) emphasize that we really don’t all play the same game, or play the game in the same way. And this is as it should be, because the game is already tough enough for amateurs.

Imagine the drop in amateur participation and enjoyment if you made all golfers play the same game as professionals – by that I mean on super-long courses, from the back tees and into narrow fairways lined with high rough, pitching balls to super-fast greens and impossible hole locations while using wedges with low-spin grooves. Oh, and force them to walk, too!

Let me get to the point: If you’re going to make a new ruling that restricts anchoring for elite players, use words that allow the majority of golfers to continue enjoying the game as they do now. Many amateurs are using belly and long putters, and they’re not hurting anything. Don’t label it illegal or cheating and ban it from golf. Slot it into the same category as carts, range finders, slow greens and short courses – not legal for U.S. Opens, but perfectly okay for recreational and club play. That’ll fit well with your core philosophy – that there really are two games.

We need to grow the game, not shrink it. We need to make it more enjoyable, not more difficult. By my calculation, you’ll drive up to a million players from the game – and make it less enjoyable for a million more – if you stick with a universal anchoring ban. I base this number on the amateurs I’ve taught in my schools who have found a second golfing life with an anchored stroke. These are good people – good golfers – and having them involved is important to this wonderful game.

Sincerely submitted for your consideration,

Dave Pelz
Golf Magazine’s Technical and Short Game Consultant

Polara Golf Issues Official Statement on USGA’s Anchoring Ban

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                 
For Information Contact:
Joe Wieczorek
 (847) 956-9090
E-mail: joe@themediagroupinc.com

CARLSBAD, CA – Polara Golf, the leader in game improvement equipment for the recreational golfer, issued its official statement today on the USGA’s decision to enact the rules change proposed back in November that has split the golf world: Starting Jan. 1, 2016, players competing under USGA/R&A rules will no longer be allowed to affix or "anchor" the putter to their bodies. Rule 14-1b will prohibit most players from using the increasingly popular belly and broomstick model putters.

“Although we do not agree with the USGA’s ban on anchoring, we do respect the USGA’s right to make and amend their rules, which apply to USGA sanctioned tournaments and the professional tours”, said David Felker, Founder, President and Chief Technology Officer for Polara Golf, “but the fact is their rules and their adopted ban on anchoring only apply to about 15-20% of the golfers. That’s the number of golfers that either keep a USGA handicap or play in USGA sanctioned tournaments. The vast majorities of golfers don’t follow the USGA’s rules and simply play for fun and recreation.  These recreational golfers either don’t know about the ban, don’t care about it or simply disagree with it. To even imply that this ban on anchoring would apply to recreational golfers is a case of the USGA overstepping their governing authority.  The USGA does not rule all of golf, they only rule USGA sanctioned tournament golf and the small fraction of golfers that choose to play by the USGA rules during normal rounds, but this is a small fraction of golfers.”

In December 2012 a Google Consumer Survey of 6,800 internet respondents found:

•    78% of golfers play for fun and 22% play according to the USGA rules
•    61% of respondents said they sometimes take mulligans, gimme putts and other popular infractions such as using a "foot wedge."
•    63% of golfers said they would consider using golf equipment that was banned from professional play.
•    72% of golfers said they have never read the USGA Rules

“With rounds of golf played per year declining because golf takes too much time, costs too much and is too frustrating, we at Polara Golf are focusing on making the game more fun by creating balls and clubs that enable golfers to hit the ball significantly straighter and farther.  The means faster rounds, fewer lost balls, and lower frustration.  Our products are so technically superior they are not allowed in USGA sanctioned tournaments, but they are perfectly fine for recreational golf”, said Felker.

In April 2013, Polara Golf commissioned a Google Consumer Survey of 18,000 internet respondents; 1,000 of which were golfers with a USGA handicap that were asked what they thought of the anchoring ban.

Here are the results:

35% - I don’t care.
25% - I agree with the proposed ban.
23% - I didn’t know there was a proposed ban.
17% - I disagree with the proposed ban.

“That means that only 25% of their members agreed with the USGA’s decision to ban anchoring. It looks to me like the USGA is out of touch with what its members want,” said Felker.

Polara then went a step further and surveyed another 1,000 golfers (not narrowed to just those with a USGA handicap) about their opinion on anchoring and the results were as follows:

31% - I golf for fun so it doesn’t matter
20% - I didn’t know there was a proposed ban.
20% - I agree with the proposed ban.
16% - I don’t care what the USGA does.
13% - I don’t agree with the proposed ban.

“When we surveyed the general golf population, made up of roughly 75-80% recreational golfers, the support for the USGA ban on anchoring was even lower,” said Felker, “only 20% of them agreed with the anchoring ban. The 24 million golfers in the US are a large and diverse group; so diverse that the USGA cannot hope to appeal to and support all of their varied interests.  Recreational golfers represent about 18M golfers in the USA. These are the golfers who just want to play golf for fun. They don’t follow the USGA Rules, and most have never even seen a USGA Rule handbook, but they represent the largest part of our golfing community.  The USGA has an opportunity to clarify its role in golf and to actually help grow the number of golfers in the US by simply clarifying its position and making it perfectly clear that their ban on anchoring was never meant to apply to the golfers who simply golf for fun.” 

About Polara Golf:
Polara Golf is the leader in game improvement equipment for the recreational golfer. Polara Golf’s mission is “To make the game of golf more fun”.  All of the Polara Golf balls and clubs are designed for use by recreational golfers who want to take advantage of technology improvements designed to help them score lower and enjoy the game more.

For more information about Polara Golf, visit www.PolaraGolf.com or call 866-556-3100.

Media members interested in field testing any of the Polara Golf products for an editorial review should contact Joe Wieczorek joe@themediagroupinc.com of The Media Group at (847) 956-9090.

###