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Can The FJ ICON Replace A Legend?
- by14STIX on13th May, 2009 inBlog
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A few months back FootJoy announced the discontinuation of their legendary Classics line of golf shoes and the closing of the Brockton, MA plant that exclusively produced them - much to the displeasure of many longtime fans of the shoes (myself included). While I don't necessarily consider myself nationalistic when it comes to my consumption habits I always admired Footjoy for making the shoes stateside when other manufacturers cut out labor costs and moved production overseas. Perhaps, that's part of the reason why I never minded paying the premium price for these wearable works of art.
Today marks the start of a new era at FootJoy as the company announces the release of the new FJ ICON line. Essentially the line is going to consist of 19 stock styles that are available for pre-order immediately (with delivery later in the summer) or you can show some personality and choose from over 2.5 million style combinations that will be available through the company's MyJoy program coming later in 2009.
FootJoy’s Vice President of Golf Footwear, Jack Erickson cautions that the FJ ICON is not the evolution of the Classics line.
"FJ ICON shoes were never meant to replace Classics. They are also not the evolution of our Classics franchise. They are an entirely new category of performance golf footwear with styling that will appeal to a golfer seeking a golf shoe with traditional design."
Clearly, the FJ ICON is the evolution of / replacement for the Classics, however Mr. Erickson and FootJoy are smart to distance themselves from that notion because the of the closing of the Field Street factory. Calling it an extension of an existing line and then shipping the labor overseas would be tough for a lot of supporters (not to mention former employees) to stomach - especially in the current economic environment. Knowing FootJoy though, the FJ ICON is going to be a fantastic shoe that parallels the Classics in terms of quality, style and function - and I'll probably own a pair or two at some point - but the hand-crafted Classics will always remain on the top shelf in my closet. So, maybe Mr. Erickson was right afterall.
The FJ Blog has a nice interview with Mr. Erickson and you can read the entire post here.
You can view the stock styles here and see some of the players who sported the new kicks at THE PLAYERS last week here. 
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In The Bag: Henrik Stenson - 2009 THE PLAYERS Championship
- by14STIX on12th May, 2009 inBlog
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Image Credit: Scott Halleran/Getty Images
Henrik Stenson posted a final round 6-under 66 to win THE PLAYERS by four shots over Ian Poulter. Stenson did not record a single bogey on Sunday and managed to hit all 66 shots completely clothed. The 33-year-old Swede, who makes his home in Dubai, collected $1.71 million and moved up to No. 5 in the World Golf Rankings.
Driver: Callaway FT-3 (9.5 degrees; Grafalloy Blue shaft)
Fairway Woods: Callaway Big Bertha 3-wood (13 degrees) and 5-wood (19 degrees)
Irons (3-PW): Srixon I-506 Forged
Wedges: Callaway X-Tour (54 and 58 degrees)
Putter: Yes! Golf Donna
Ball: Srixon Z Star Diamond (Prototype)
Apparel: Hugo Boss
Eyewear: Oakley
Footwear: FootJoy (Softspikes Pulsar cleats)
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First Look: travis Mathew Apparel
- by14STIX on11th May, 2009 inBlog
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A few weeks back I was watching an episode of What's in The Bag on the Golf Channel that gave viewers an inside look at what goes in TaylorMade's Tour Van during a typical week on the PGA Tour. I'm generally fascinated by clubmaking so I really like seeing how Tour players have their clubs adjusted and customized - but strangely enough the most intriguing thing from the episode was this belt buckle that TaylorMade staffer John Mallinger was wearing (see above).
The whole Anthony Kim / Bubba Watson diamond-crusted belt buckle thing is a little much for me, but Mallinger's was really different. At first I thought the "M" was probably just for Mallinger - sort of like Hunter Mahan's "H" belt, but after quick Google search I found out that Mallinger along with fellow Tour member Peter Tomasulo are part owners of a clothing line called travis Mathew - designed and founded by their longtime friend and touring pro, Travis Johnson. As fir Mallinger's "M" belt buckle, upon closer inspection, is really a "t" and an "M" for travis Mathew (check out the logo on the homepage). Of course, I ended up buying the belt and a pair of shorts and a shirt to go with it.
The line can really be described as more lifestyle wear and accessories than stritctly golf apparel. The fabrics have the quality feel and performance of a Hugo Boss but have a fun, almost retro vibe like Original Penguin or Pickering. The colors in the line are fairly traditional - lots of whites, blacks, grays, greens and light blues but the patterns are what really set the line apart. My favorite is the "I-Drop" which has this cool chalk-stripe horizontal argyle pattern across the chest. In fact, if you caught any of THE PLAYERS yesterday - it's the same shirt that Mallinger was wearing en route to posting a final round two-under 70 to finish T-3 in the Tour's "5th Major". The bold stripes in the "I-Brash" and "I-Line" are very sharp without that look-at-me feel that some other fashion-forward golf brands have.
There's also a lot of functional design in the brand. Their shorts (and pants) feature a patented "iPocket" for iPods - which is located in the center of the back of the shorts under the waistband and a Velcro "Glove-Stay" that allows gloves to dry out between shots. The iPocket is great and really keeps the iPod from getting in the way during practice sessions and though it's not quite hot enough here to put the Glove-Stay to the test it will be shortly and I'm sure it'll come in handy.
I expect to see big things from travis Mathew Apparel in the coming year - building on the success that their staff memebers have had on the PGA Tour. The line is a great blend of performance, style and personality that's works on the course, in the office or at the bar - which I think is really important to consumers right now because you geat a lot of wears for your dollar in this tight economy. You can get your own travis Mathew apparel through their webstore but keep your eyes peeled for here at 14 STIX as well...
Here are some more pics from the travis Mathew lineup.
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Anna Rawson is Good at Marketing
- by14STIX on7th May, 2009 inBlog
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This is Anna Rawson. She's in the middle of her rookie campaign on the LPGA Tour and though she's failed to make the cut in her 4 starts this year she is arguably the Tour's most marketable player. I think you can probably guess why. Her biggest deal to date is - joining Danica Patrick, Candice Michele, and Vanessa Rousso as the newest GoDaddy.com girl.
CNBC's Darren Rovell has a nice interview with Anna's agent. Check it out here.
And if you're on Twitter you can keep up with Anna here. Of course you can follow us as well - just keep your stalking to a safe distance.
[via SportsBiz]
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Get 14 STIX On Your iGoogle Start Page
- by14STIX on5th May, 2009 inBlog
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We get a lot of emails asking how customers can stay on top of the deals at 14 STIX. Well, thanks to the good folks over at Lifehacker you can set up your own iGoogle deal-finding start page that includes an RSS feed of the deals at 14 STIX.
The Simple Dollar also has a step-by-step how to on the subject as well as some links to various other deal sites for frugal-minded people.
We've set one up on our start page and it works great. Try it out and let us know what you think.
[Image Credit: Lifehacker]
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In The Bag: Sean O'Hair - 2009 Quail Hollow Championship
- by14STIX on5th May, 2009 inBlog
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Sean O'Hair picked a pretty good week to overcome the deflating defeat to Tiger Woods five weeks ago at Bay Hill in which he held a 5-shot victory over the world's No. 1 player. In what is one of the Tour's strongest fields, 26-year-old O'Hair closed with 3-under 69 and was the only player from the final nine pairings to break 70.
O'Hair looked to be in complete control birdieing 6 out of 12 holes from No. 5 through No. 16 to reach 13-under and a two shot lead. A bogey on No. 17 - the hardest hole all week - cut the lead down to one and a 3-putt bogey from 25 feet on No. 18 left the door cracked open for Lucas Glover to force a playoff with a birdie at the last. When Glover closed with par O'Hair became just the third player on the PGA Tour under the age of 30 with three or more victories - joining Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott. O'Hair also holds the distinction of being the only American-born player under 30 with more than two victories (J.B. Holmes, D.J. Trahan, Anthony Kim, Dustin Johnson, Charles Howell III and Nick Watney all have two wins).
But perhaps the most valuable accolade for O'Hair came from the man that had defeated him at Bay Hill. Apparently, Woods stuck around to congratulate him on the win and sent him text that O'Hair said included "some nice words". When asked about O'Hair's play of late Woods said, "He's got all the talent. We know that. We've seen how well he's played. He's been through a lot off the golf course, and it's just a matter of time before all that settles in."
He looks pretty comfortable to us, Tiger, and we would not be surprised to see him in the mix at The Players next week.
Here's an insider's look at the equipment in Mr. O'Hair's bag this week:Driver: TaylorMade R9 (10.5 degrees; Mitsubishi Diamana Blue 73-gram shaft)
Fairway Woods: TaylorMade R9 3-wood (13 degrees; Mitsubishi Diamana Blue 83-gram shaft) and TaylorMade R7 5-wood (17.5 degrees; Mitsubishi Fubuki Tour shaft)
Irons (4-9): TaylorMade Tour Preferred
Wedges: TaylorMade rac (48, 50 and 54 degrees) and Cleveland CG12 (60 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Rossa Monza Corza
Ball: TaylorMade TP Red LDP
Footwear: Adidas (PrideSports' Softspikes Pulsar cleats)
Apparel: Ashworth
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Chris Berman is Sweaty
- by14STIX on30th April, 2009 inBlog
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If you think you suffer from summertime swamp ass - get a load of ESPN's Chris Berman and bow down to your Swamp Ass Overlord. The pic is from yesterday's Pro-Am at the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, NC where it was 80 degrees and breezy. Someone get that guy abottletruckload of Gold Bond - STAT!
Thank you to Deadspin for the horrifying image.
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What's in a Name? - The 2009 Quail Hollow Championship
- by14STIX on30th April, 2009 inBlog
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This week the PGA Tour visits the Quail Hollow Club for theWachovia ChampionshipQuail Hollow Championship. Yes, there's been a name change for this year's event. According to Kym Hougham, executive director of the tournament, "(Wachovia) has been a wonderful sponsor for us, and they're still our title sponsor, their name just is not in it." Not really sure how a title sponsor isn't in the title, but whatever.
The backstory goes like this. Wachovia merged with Wells Fargo late last year and began accepting TARP money to help relieve some of the woes from the stumbling banking industry. The tournament committee decided it would be in the best interest of the event to drop the Wachovia name from the event and instead go with the generic Quail Hollow Championship in an attempt to head off any backlash from the public about the bank's role in the economic crisis.
And when Northern Trust received public criticism for hosting lavish parties during the Northern Trust Open at Riviera CC earlier this year Wells Fargo made the decision that they would not do any client entertainment at the event. This is an interesting decision because Wells Fargo is still contributing a huge amount of money to the event as the un-named title sponsor but in not attaching they're name to the event are they in some capacity letting the public know that there is little to no return on investment from these types of sponsorships? CNBC's Darren Rovell argues that point in his post at Sports Biz. Darren astutely notes that corporations like Wells Fargo could justify the title sponsorship to the public by showing the ROI is there and that the government aid is being put to good use. It seems that Wells Fargo has decided that the potential cost of negative publicity from remaining the named title sponsor outweighs any positive ROI from the title and client entertainment during the event. Or perhaps they believe there is more value in the publicity generated by distancing themselves from the practices of others in the industry like Northern Trust. I tend to think this is the real reason and that companies like Wells Fargo don't want to start a PR firestorm by coming out and justifying their use of their funds in this economoic environment. The American public doesn't want to hear about executives spending millions of dollars to entertain clients at a golf tournament - even if there's a positive ROI.
Despite all of this financial and political hoopla the Quail Hollow Championship is going to be a tremendous event. Ten of the top 14 golfers in the World Golf Rankings are in the field, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, Jim Furyk and defending champion Anthony Kim. The golf course is a classic design that makes it a favorite stop among the PGA Tour's elite players. It also doesn't hurt that the event is the week before The Players Championship.
We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play the Quail Hollow Club about a year and a half ago (see pics below). It's a tremendous test of golf and the 478 yard, par 4 18th is one of the best closing holes the players on the Tour will face all year. The tee shot is guarded by a bunker on the right and a meandering creek that runs the length of the left side of the fairway. The players will face an uphill second shot with a mid to long iron to a green that is framed by the creek on the left and bunkers on the right. A one shot lead coming down No. 18 is no guarantee. Look for this hole to play a major role in deciding who will be hoisting the trophy on Sunday.
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In The Bag: Jerry Kelly - 2009 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
- by14STIX on29th April, 2009 inBlog
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It had been exactly 200 starts on the PGA Tour since Jerry Kelly's last victory in 2002. Costly mid-round bogies on No. 8 and No. 10 left the 42-year-old veteran looking up the leaderboard at perennial underachiever Charles Howell III who was making a Sunday charge that included 6 birdies. Howell left the door open with bogies at No. 15 and No. 17 and Kelly closed it out with a bounce-back birdie on No. 11 and rolled in another on No. 14 to climb back into the race.
A routine par on No. 18 for a closing (-1) 71 was good enough for a one shot victory that earned Kelly a $1.1 million dollar payday, fully exempt status on the PGA Tour until 2011 and the all important invitation to the 2010 Masters. The win also vaults Kelly from 97th on the money list to 14th and into 17th in the FedEx Cup Standings.
Congrats, Jerry. Laissez le Bon Ton Roulez!
Here's an insider's look at the equipment in Mr. Kelly's bag this week:
Driver: Cleveland Launcher (7.5 degrees; Srixon Miyazaki prototype shaft)
Fairway Wood: Titleist 906F4 3-wood (13 degrees; Graphite Design Pershing shaft)
Hybrid: Cleveland HiBore XLS (16 degrees; Graphite Design YS Hybrid 85 shaft)
Irons (3-9): Cleveland CG7 Tour
Wedges: Cleveland 588 (47, 53 and 60 degrees)
Putter: Cleveland Classic #3
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x (2009)
Footwear: FootJoy SYNER-G (PrideSports Softspikes cleats)
Glove: FootJoy SciFlex
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Great Moments in Awkward White Guy History: Bernhard Langer & Tom Lehman
- by14STIX on27th April, 2009 inBlog
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Critics who say golfers aren't real athletes - prepare to be silenced once and for all. Tom Lehman and Bernhard Langer (again with the awful Rugby shirt, Bernie?) teamed up for a (thrilling?) victory in the Champions Tour Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf event last weekend. On the first hole of a sudden death playoff against the team of Jeff Sluman and Craig "The Walrus" Stadler (another couple of physical specimans) - Langer ran in a 45 footer for birdie that prompted this great moment in awkward white guy history. Looks like Tom and Bernie might have taken a page right out of the Tiger/Stevie Williams Awkward Celebration Playbook. However, the Cialis-sponsored celebration was a little, umm, premature. Stadler ran his birdie putt in right on top of Langers forcing a second playoff hole. Not to worry though, a second Lehman/Langer embrace was not to be denied after Jeff Sluman missed a four-footer for par to extend the playoff. The foursome was a combined -54 thru 54 holes yet only Lehman could manage to muster up a par on the final playoff hole. Must have been his youthful athleticism. The win made Lehman the 13th player in Champions Tour history to win in his debut event.
[Photo Credit: PGATour.com]
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