SCHAUMBURG, Illinois (Oct. 23, 2007) – For the first time, golfers now have the opportunity to order Nippon Shaft’s revolutionary N.S. Pro 950 lightweight steel shafts as a custom option in the full range of TaylorMade irons and Rescue clubs, Nippon Shaft officials announced today.
Golfers may custom order Nippon Shaft products through their local golf retailers. There is no charge to custom order Nippon Shaft products for use in TaylorMade equipment, officials said.
Hiroyuki Fukuda, manager of sales and marketing for Nippon Shaft for the Americas, expressed his pleasure with the agreement.
"TaylorMade is one of the elite brands in the golf equipment industry and we are honored and proud to be able to offer our shafts to its customers," Fukuda said. "TaylorMade and Nippon Shaft have had a long term positive working relationship in the Asian market and we look forward to building a similar relationship in the rest of the world."
Nippon Shaft products will be available for custom order in the r7, Burner XD, r7 CBG MAXm r7 Draw, and racM8 irons. The shafts also will be available in the Rescue, Burner Rescue, r7 Draw Rescue clubs.
For Nippon Shaft, supplying shafts to TaylorMade is an example of the Japan-based company’s steadily increasing market share in North America, according to Fukuda. Nippon Shaft has an 80 percent market share in Asia and now is the second-largest steel shaft maker in the North American market.
The N.S. Pro 950GH shaft has powered Nippon Shaft’s growth in recent years.
"When it was introduced in 1999, the N.S. Pro 950GH – which weighs only 95 grams – was the first constant-weighted sub-100 gram steel shaft that maintained the consistency and accuracy that golfers demand in their irons," Fukuda said. "Since then the N.S. Pro 950GH has arguably become the world’s most popular shaft with more than 100 touring pros worldwide using Nippon Shaft products as well as millions of amateur golfers throughout the world."
As the industry’s first sub-100 gram constant-weighted steel shaft, the N.S. Pro 950GH provides players with consistency, because every iron in a player’s bag weighs the same whether it is a 3-iron or a pitching wedge. Nippon Shaft irons also are available in either parallel or taper tips, also unique in the industry.
"It doesn’t make sense to have a 3-iron that weighs more than your pitching wedge," Fukuda said. "The pros demand a constant weight throughout their set for consistency. The concept works for mid-to-high handicappers, too. It just makes sense."
What makes the N.S. Pro 950GH especially appealing to golfers of all skill levels is its unique ability to be both "soft" and "hard" as the same time, meaning that the club is simultaneously pliable and stable.
"Nippon Shaft uses the highest grade materials and manufacturing techniques, specifically in heat treatment," Fukuda said. "The common feedback we get from golfers is that they are amazed at how soft the shaft feels and how consistently it performs in terms of consistent length, trajectory and dispersion – characteristics normally found in heavier or "harder" shafts. The N.S. Pro 950GH is a shaft for everybody."
All shafts sold by Nippon Shaft are made in Japan in order to maintain the highest quality labor and technical expertise.
Nippon Shaft is a subsidiary of privately-held NHK, a Japanese automobile parts manufacturer based in Yokohama, Japan. Nippon Shaft’s North American headquarters is in Schaumburg, Illinois.
Contact:
Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-698-1801 (office)
847-867-3032 (mobile)
bcronin@cronincommunications.com