FootJoy Blog

More players wore FootJoy shoes than any other shoe brand at the 2008 Memorial Tournament.

The FootJoy team is on location this week at the Pinehurst resort for our semi-annual brand meeting and will be bringing you updates on what’s happening this week. Not only will we give you images and information from the resort, we might also be able to give you some ideas for what to expect from the 2008-2009 FootJoy line of products.

While we hoped Wednesday would be a beautiful afternoon for golf on Pinehurst #4, about all the day was good for was field testing the new outerwear, which has been completely rebuilt from the ground up…new construction, new zippers, new material, etc. And according to the players we spoke with, the reviews were all positive. Despite driving rain and cool temps, the outerwear was greeted with rave reviews from players of all levels of ability and wetness, clearly making any day playable. Look for some sneak peeks of the outerwear and other cool new products in the coming days and check back tomorrow when we take our best shot at the Donald Ross legend…Pinehurst #2!

Check out the slideshow below from our tour of Pinehurst on Tuesday.

Click here to begin the slideshow.:

Jay Haas survived a wild final round at a stingy Oak Hill to hang on and win his second Senior PGA Championship in three years. Haas endured a five-bogey, one-birdie round of 74 to finish the tournament at 7-over 287 and claim the title.

Haas calmly converted a 2-foot par put on No. 18 for his 11th victory on the Champions Tour and second Senior PGA Championship after wining in 2006 at Oak Tree. He also becomes the 13th player to win at least two Senior PGA titles. Haas relied on a full arsenal of FootJoy products this week, including Classic Tour golf shoes, a SciFlex glove and FootJoy Performance Outerwear.

You would be accurate in saying the players “survived” Oak Hill this week. Haas’ 7-over was the highest winning score in relation to par in the 69-year history of Senior PGA, shattering the previous high of 2-over set by Sam Snead in 1970 at PGA National at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. It also marked the second-highest winning score in Champions Tour history, two short of Arnold Palmer’s 9-over at the 1981 Senior Open at Oakland Hills.

More players wore FootJoy shoes than any other shoe brand at the 2008 Crown Plaza Invitational.

Our Tour reps are at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas this week for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. The tournament has been held at this course every year since 1946 and it’s interesting to note that only one tournament has been held at the same venue longer…the Masters. So you know the players must love this place. And they do. According to Tour Rep Mike Chisum, several players he spoke with consider this the easiest course to walk on Tour, with tees and greens in close proximity and not too many steep slopes.

In addition to some “inside” photos, we spoke with Ian Poulter on behalf of reader Steve Harrow. Steve had asked in a previous post how Ian decides what to wear each week and you may be surprised with the answer…check out the slideshow for more.

Click here to begin the slideshow.:

Check out the latest news and notes from our European Tour reps who are at Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship…

Busy week at Wentworth with every man and his dog out to enjoy the sunshine on the build-up to the tournament. With the standard sunny British weather (!) the course is in fantastic condition, running firm and fast with the usual slippery Wentworth putting surfaces.

Alex Noren came onto the Tour Van this week to show off his new shield tip Classics Dry Premiere. He had ordered a pair of style #50819 in Black Pebble with Black Patent, which looked fantastic. These shoes are sharp…perhaps we should include them in the 2009 line of FootJoy products…

The week of the PGA sees the annual Tour Dinner. Frenchman Gregory Havret, who won at Loch Lomond last year, came to Wentworth straight from Ireland the previous week, and had not packed any dress shoes for the Gala Dinner. The only suitable pair in Gregory’s size belonged to Tour Rep Jonathan Loosemore who kindly lent him his Spikeless Classics (style #51464) for the evening!

Martin Kaymer (right, top) also paid us a visit to confirm his new shoe size. He has dropped a width in his Classics for a slightly snugger fit, which is providing him with more support and stability.

Plenty of players stocking up on socks. Almost exclusively opting to go with the ProDry Extreme. Players love the comfort and cushioning the socks provide.

The Tour Reps are continuing to work very closely with one of our FootJoy shoe wearers to find the correct shoe style, and size to accomodate the player who wears orthotics. Ross McGowan (Team DryJoys) also underwent an extensive shoe fit this week, to discover the best fitting last for him.

The following players are sporting the FJ logo on their collar this week: Andrew McLardy, Ross McGowan, Soren Kjeldsen and defending champion - Anders Hansen (right, bottom).

Two tournaments without a win was enough for Lorena Ochoa.

Ochoa closed with a final round 1-under 71 Sunday to win her third consecutive Sybase Classic and her sixth victory of the season. Ochoa is quickly approaching her win total from last year (8) when she ascended to the #1 world ranking and was named Player of the Year. The victory is Ochoa’s 22nd since April 2006 and the first place check made her the fastest player on the LPGA to reach $12 million in career earnings.

Ochoa was pursued all day by a group of players but managed to maintain her lead despite cool, wet conditions that shortened the tournament to 54 holes. With her lead cut to one on the 18th tee, Ochoa reached the par five in three shots. When her closest pursuer missed her putt to tie, Lorena calmly two-putted to victory.

Ochoa once again relied on her customary white custom Classics golf shoes as well as the FootJoy Performance Light Jacket during her victory.

FootJoy player Ryuji Imada claimed his first PGA TOUR victory Sunday, winning the AT&T Classic with a par on the first playoff hole after his opponent hit his approach in the pond fronting the 18th green. It was a complete turnaround from last year at the same tournament when Imada got into a playoff with Zach Johnson at the TPC Sugarloaf, only to lose when he knocked his second shot into the same pond (43 balls found the pond this week). Imada has been a runner-up three times on the PGA TOUR, including earlier this season at the Buick Invitational and the PODS Championship.

Imada, who wore a pair of black Classics Dry Premiere during the final round, needed a birdie on the 72nd hole in regulation just to get in the playoff. Trailing by a stroke, he was right of the green on his second shot with a 3-wood, but chipped up to 4 feet and made the putt for a 5-under 67. Imada averaged 27.25 putts per round this week, the best among all the players.

A native of Japan, Imada had plenty of fans cheering him on at TPC Sugarloaf; he attended the nearby University of Georgia. As he walked off the green after his winning putt, a few fans woofed it up. He’s certain to receive another warm welcome when he returns to the area about a year from now…not only to defend his first Tour victory but when he walks to the first tee at Augusta National for the first time.

“I know I get invited to the Masters now,” he said, breaking into a big smile. “I always dreamed of playing there since I was a kid. I can’t wait to see what it’s like.”

Click on the picture above to launch the video.

The European Tour is at the Irish Open this week and we sent a couple of our local sales reps out to play in the Pro-Am. Read their personal tales of playing a Tour-caliber course with Swede, Pelle Edberg. Pelle, known for his signature headband and for a pre-shot habit of licking his right pinkie finger, was a great teammate for the guys! More players are wearing FootJoy golf shoes (69%) at the Irish Open than all other brands combined. [Read more →]

We caught up with several FootJoy players recently to ask them about their overall style and how their FootJoy shoes reflect that style. As you can imagine, we heard some very entertaining responses!

Click on the picture above to launch the video.

Very unique situation on the Nationwide Tour this week at the BMW Charity Pro-Am. Not only are the pros joined by a large number of stars from sports and entertainment, but the tournament is actually played in two states - North and South Carolina. While Thornblade Club (Greer, SC) is the base of activity, the contestants also play at The Carolina Country Club (Spartanburg, SC) and Bright’s Creek Golf Club in Mill Springs, NC. Onsite this week we had Drew Morris in the locker room and Bill Hughes, Lee Oyer and Greg Shaw in the Tour Van. Julian Taylor, the local Titleist/FootJoy Sales Rep, was also onsite to lend a hand. Click here for a list of celebrities playing in the event and click on the slideshow below to see some shots from behind-the-scenes.

Click here to begin the slideshow.:

This is the second installment of our interview with FootJoy President, Jim Connor. In addition to discussing innovations consumers may begin to see in FootJoy’s four key business categories (golf shoes, gloves, outerwear and socks), Jim talks about white Classics saddles and StaSof gloves, Porsche, four-putts and more.

CLICK HERE for Part 1 of Jim’s interview.

Click on the picture above to hear part 2 of Jim’s interview.

More players wore FootJoy shoes than any other shoe brand at the 2008 AT&T Classic.

We caught up with Paul Goydos Sunday shortly after he finished one of the greatest weeks of his career at THE PLAYERS Championship. Around the top of the leaderboard all week following a first round 68, Goydos hung tough over the weekend, even when wind gusts picked up Sunday and were blowing golf balls all over the course. Goydos was steady in closing with a 2-over 74 to enter a sudden death playoff where he came just short of capturing his third career PGA Tour victory. Goydos wore a pair of custom Classics Dry Premiere “wave” pattern shoes and a SciFlex glove during Sunday’s final round.

Watch this interview to hear some of the highlights from his final round and the week overall.

Click on the picture above to hear Paul’s post round interview.

FootJoy player Colt Knost, the 2007 U.S. Amateur champion, captured his first victory as a professional with a blazing final round 5-under par 65 to win the Fort Smith Classic. Knost overcame a 6-shot deficit to edge fellow FootJoy loyalist Darron Stiles by one shot. Needing just 23 putts during the final round, Colt finished the week fourth in Putts per GIR and tied for seventh in Greens Hit in Regulation.

Knost, who started the day in 41st place, finished at 12-under 268 and then had to wait for over an hour before his victory was sealed. Despite the runner-up finish, Stiles’ effort vaulted him from sixth to first on the Nationwide money list.

Click here for the full story on pgatour.com.