Eighth Consecutive Year On PGA Tour Nets Nearly $100 Million in Earnings, Including Two Majors
MIAMI, Fla., Dec. 4, 2007 — Strategic Shaft Technologies, LLC, makers of the patented SST PURE® Shaft Alignment System, today announced its year-end Tour Report for the 2007 PGA Tour season.
Celebrating its eighth consecutive year on the PGA Tour, SST finished with a record-setting year. The results are a staggering success, including 21 PGA Tour victories, two major championships, the Canadian Open and for the second consecutive year, the Order of Merit. Total earnings reached over $94 million, surpassing the 2006 mark by $24 million. More players used SST PURE® shaft alignment technology than ever before and the company expanded its Tour reach with a year-long presence on the Nationwide Tour for the first time. SST Tour vans participated in selected LPGA and European Tour events as well. In the overall Top 10 categories, SST dominated. A total of 10 players were in the Top 10 Finishes list (some were tied for 7th place); in Driving Accuracy, 4 of the Top 5 places went to players using PURE® alignment, including a sweep of the 1-2-3 spots. This key category effectively demonstrates SST’s ability to improve ball flight by making the shaft perform at its optimal best, resulting in straighter and more consistent shots. In the Par 3 Birdie or Better Category, 2 of the Top 3 players used PURE® aligned shafts. In the Official World Golf Ranking for the year, 8 of the 11 Top Players all used shafts that were PURE® aligned. This unprecedented success made PURE® technology the most successful shaft performance enhancement tool in professional golf. SST PURE® Shaft Alignment is now used by more than 200 players on the PGA and European Tour and is available to recreational golfers of all skill levels through a network of custom clubmakers and manufacturers throughout North America, Europe and Australia.
"It’s been an awesome year to be on Tour with so many players using PURE® alignment," said Arnie Cunningham, SST’s longtime PGA Tour rep. "I have been on Tour working alongside the top players for the better part of 20 years now and it’s impressive to have players tell me how SST PURE® alignment has made a positive difference to their ball striking ability. The comment I hear most often is that PUREing® golf shafts eliminates one variable that a player does not have to worry about. He or she can focus on their game and not have to wonder if the logo-up position or (random) factory-installed shaft position may in fact be inadvertently inducing a hook or slice."
Using proprietary computer software and sensitive data-acquisition sensors, the SST PURE® shaft alignment process analyzes the structural irregularities that exist to some degree in every golf shaft and locates the shaft’s most stable orientation. By assembling the club with the shaft in its SST PURE® orientation, off-line bending and twisting of the shaft are minimized and impact repeatability on the center of the clubface by the golfer improves by up to 51 percent. The process can be performed on existing clubs, new clubs or new shafts – steel or graphite – from all major manufacturers.
"We’ve always appreciated the tremendous support the Tour players on all of the various Tours have given SST PURE over the years and we derive considerable satisfaction in seeing these players go out and do so well week after week," commented SST founder Dick Weiss. "Recreational golfers live to play golf, while Tour players play golf to make a living and they count on having the best tools in their hands to do so. We are greatly honored to have contributed in part to their success and we look forward to another record year in 2008 as SST continues to spread its word."
While setting records on Tour, SST also set records in their expansion of official SST Licensees around the world. Carefully selected amongst the best clubfitters globally, SST’s network of golf retail specialists expanded in domestic as well as international markets, making PUREing® technology available to more recreational golfers than ever before. New licensees were signed on in Ireland, Canada, Australia and Japan and domestically, major retailers such as PGA Tour Superstores added SST PURE® shaft alignment facilities in new stores in Atlanta, Ga., Plano, Texas, Frisco, Texas, Chandler, Ariz., and in Scottsdale, Ariz. Golfsmith stores added PURE® shaft alignment services to more sites including the recently opened Raleigh, N.C. store. Henry-Griffitts, the global leader in exclusive custom-fitted clubs, now offers PUREd® shafts as a standard feature on all their golf equipment around the world. "Our licensee network represents the leaders in retail golf and the very finest custom clubfitting service specialists and we thank all of them for their enthusiastic support," Weiss said.
For more information on SST PURE® shaft alignment or to locate a licensee near you, please call 877-254-4848 or visit www.sstpure.com. SST will be at booth #4401 at the 2008 PGA Show in Orlando, Fla., which will be held Jan. 17-19. SST will also be participating at the upcoming Professional Clubfitters Society Golf Equipment Technology Conference in Palm Harbor, Fla., from Jan. 12-15 and the upcoming International Clubfitters & Clubmakers Organization Conference in Columbus, Ga., on Dec. 10-12.
Contact:
Gary Sheppard
(817) 966-0908
gary@sstpure.com