Vail, CO -PUTT PAL USA manufacturers of the first and only USGA and R&A permitted greens brushes designed to sweep away loose impediments on the green, cleaned up on sales at the 2006 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.
"Sales were up over 100% percent," said PUTT PAL USA Founder and CEO, Steve Wicklas. "The response and acceptance of PUTT PAL USA greens brushes is extremely high, now that the industry is more aware of the 2004 USGA and R&A Rule Revision to16-1a(i). Retailers loved our handsome packaging and our uniquely colored "European purple" bristles. They saw the true benefit the brushes provide to the golfer’s putting game and the mass appeal for every golfer owning one."
Hornungs Golf Products, who attended their 51st PGA Show, is a distributor for PUTT PAL USA and exhibited all three models in their booth. SPL International, worldwide distributors of Ripstixx and Stepstixx, reported that PUTT PAL was their top-selling new product at the Show.
PUTT PAL USA currently offers three models. POCKET PA Lâ?¢ is the sleek, compact retractable greens brush which conveniently slips into the front or back pocket of your slacks. PUTT PALâ?¢ Clip-On is a retractable greens brush, cylindrical in shape that clips onto your golf bag, golf towel or belt loop. PUTT PALâ?¢ Shaft is a retractable greens brush attached to a True Temper shaft with a Golf Pride grip for the golfer who prefers not to bend down or strain their back. The Shaft model is not counted as an "extra club" in your bag.
"With the change to rule 16-1a(i) we now have three products that make perfect sense for the golfer," said PUTT PAL USA CEO and founder Steve Wicklas. "The greens brushes not only sweep away loose impediments, they perform so quickly that they are even speeding up the pace of play. Before the rule change, golfers had to remove loose impediments by hand which was a time consuming chore, and not nearly as effective."
There were other factors that contributed to the buzz about PUTT PAL USA at this year’s Show.
"Last year was our first show and most of our focus was on educating the industry about the rule change," said Barbara Andrews, V.P. and Co Founder of the company. "This year, we were fully accepted by the industry, and buyers sought us out."
PUTT PAL’s management team also took advantage of attending Reed Exhibitions University seminar for exhibitors, earlier in the year, and utilized SmartBooth, an outstanding resource Reed added to the Show this year. "Both enabled us to generate leads, set up appointments with buyers in advance, and increased our visibility and booth traffic by vast margins," said Barbara. " We began making sales 15 minutes after the doors opened, and did not stop!"
Wicklas noted that PUTT PAL USA is taking steps to establish itself as a global company. They added four additional international distributors and are adding on-course and off-course retail shops in the US at a rapid rate.
"We’re extremely excited about the future," Wicklas added. "Our products are allowing golfers to lower their putting scores by having more putts roll true and unobstructed into the cup. The brushes are also affecting the mental game by increasing golfers’ confidence when their line is free of obstructions. Because the brushes are 100% effective and work in seconds, use of them is actually speeding up the pace of play. That’s great for golf!"
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Based in Colorado, PUTT PAL USA manufactures the first and only greens brushes permitted under the new USGA and R&A revision to Rule 16-1a(i). PUTT PALâ?¢ and POCKET PALâ?¢ are the "Official Greens Brush" of the Professional Caddies Association (PCA), and received the 2005 PGA Expo "Best New Product" Award.
For more information, visit www.puttpalusa.com or call 866-PUTT-PAL (866-788-8725) or contact barbara@puttpalusa.com.
Contact:
Holly Geoghegan
Golf Marketing Services
407-682-4853
holly@golfmarketinginc.com
