April 24, 2006; Phoenix, Arizona: Club Fitting pioneer and leader PING announced today Ray Cutright and the staff at Idle Hour Golf Learning Center in Macon, Georgia have been honored as the 2005 PING National Club Fitter of the Year. The company also announced 62 Regional PING Club Fitters of the year.
The national award, first given in 1997, recognizes the authorized PING Club Fitter which has demonstrated the highest commitment to custom fitting and the promotion of its benefits to golfers of all abilities. Idle Hour was chosen from nearly 2000 eligible PING Club Fitters throughout the United States.
"Ray Cutright and his team of fitting specialists embody everything about PING custom fitting," said John A. Solheim, PING Chairman & CEO. "In addition to being experts in the fitting process, they invest a significant amount of time and effort in educating their members about the benefits of fitting. As we all know, that leads to loyal, long-time customers. The club’s membership has long benefited from the entire staff’s commitment to improving their games. Idle Hour’s level of personal service is an example for all to follow."
Idle Hour is an 18-hole facility founded in 1912. All the fittings are conducted in the 4000 square foot Learning Center, which is fully equipped with launch monitors, plasma monitors, a classroom and other fitting tools to educate golfers on the value club fitting offers. Cutright, a PGA Master Professional whose thesis was entitled, "The Inter-Relationship of Club Fitting & Teaching," estimates more than 500 PING fittings were performed in the Learning Center in 2005.
"PING is the standard for club fitting in the golf industry," said Cutright, the facility’s director of golf operations and winner of the 2003 Horton Smith Award from the PGA of America for his commitment to continuing education. "This award is a great tribute to our staff. Our entire team is out there every day working with golfers to improve their games. We know when we fit someone into PING, they’ll be happy. There’s never a quality or performance issue and the golfers receive their clubs in a matter of days. That combination is hard to beat."
"Bobby Hix, Neal Johnson, Sally Hammel, Kirk Hice, Jeffrey Cutright and Josh Holloway deserve the credit for this tremendous honor. Receiving this award will make them even better at what they do. They’re proud to represent PING."
Nearly 2,000 authorized PING Club Fitters were eligible for the award. Among the criteria considered by the selection committee are length of time in the program, commitment to on-going training, sustained sales growth and support of the entire PING product line.
Nominating Idle Hour for the honor was Kevin Platt, PING Field Representative for Central Georgia.
Contact:
Pete Samuels
602-687-5487
