The World’s Leading Metalwood Brand ranks No. 1 in Drivers, Fairway Woods and Irons through first 20 Events
CARLSBAD, Calif. (May 6, 2008) – TaylorMade Golf is once again dominating key equipment categories on the PGA Tour, ranking as the No.1 brand of driver, fairway wood and iron according to the Darrell Survey, the golf industry’s official equipment authority.* Through 20 events, TaylorMade drivers and fairway woods have ranked No. 1 at every one; TaylorMade irons have ranked No. 1 at 15 out of 20. **
Tour BurnerNew Tour Burner® Driver Bolsters No. 1 Driver Ranking
TaylorMade® leads the PGA Tour’s cumulative driver count with 972 in play. *** That includes TaylorMade’s new Tour Burner driver, which has been played 160 times and was used by TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour Staff professional Andres Romero to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. **** Romero, who has used the Tour Burner driver since his 2008 PGA Tour debut at the FBR Open, has moved into the top-15 on Tour in driving distance by averaging 295.9 yards per drive, while fellow TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour Staff pro and Tour Burner user Sergio Garcia ranks in the top 20 in driving distance with an average of 294.5.*^ A season-best 26 players used the Tour Burner driver at the Byron Nelson Championship and Tour Burner has been the most-played driver model at the last six PGA Tour events.*^^
Engineered to promote tour-caliber distance for every type of player, the TaylorMade Tour Burner driver features Dual Crown technology to create an exceptionally low center of gravity (CG). This low CG, combined with the Tour Burner’s exceptionally deep clubface, makes it easier to create vertical-gear effect at impact, which promotes the high launch angle / low spin-rate combination that promotes increased carry and distance. TaylorMade’s new Tour Burner is scheduled to launch at retail at the end of April. Learn moreabout the Tour Burner driver.
Tour Burner IronsThe No. 1 Iron Brand on Tour is TaylorMade
More than a metalwood company, TaylorMade has in the past two years made remarkable market share strides in irons, and currently ranks as the No. 1 iron brand on the PGA Tour, having been No. 1 brand of iron at 15 of 20 events. TaylorMade irons have been put into play 739 times, and the No. 1 iron model currently is the TaylorMade r7® iron.*^^^ However, the newest TaylorMade iron to be validated on tour is the Tour Burner, used by TaylorMade Tour Staff pro Dean Wilson to ace the 174-yard fifth hole (8-iron) in the opening round of the Byron Nelson Championship. Tour Burner irons feature a variety of technologies that allow them to live up to the Burner family reputation for speed and distance. Yet they also feature a multi-functional sole that’s beveled at the back to make it perform like a much thinner sole, which increases playability from a variety of lies. This is critical to promoting a performance difference that helps separate the Tour Burner from other irons of its type. The multi-functional sole also features a low and deeper center of gravity that makes it easy to launch the ball on a powerful and penetrating flight. Learn more.
Rossa Monza SpiderRossa Monza Spider Explodes on Tour
TaylorMade has also generated an overwhelming amount of interest with the success of the Rossa Monza Spider, a revolutionary new putter that has been widely embraced by PGA Tour professionals. Through the Tour’s first 20 events, the Monza Spider has been played 136 times with 12 top-10 finishes, including two wins.*^^^^ TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour Staff pro Sean O’Hair used it to win the PODS Championship and the winner of the FBR Open used Monza Spider to triumph in a dramatic playoff.
Monza Spider was developed to deliver a significant leap in total performance by promoting super-smooth and accurate roll on all types of impact locations. Dynamic testing of its performance on mis-hits indicates that, compared to mis-hit performance of competitive high-MOI putters, Monza Spider delivers dramatically better results when impact is made away from the center of the clubface toward the heel or toe. Specifically, Monza Spider’s high MOI helps it to deliver extremely consistent distance results on off-center hits, so that instead of coming up short, oftentimes the ball reaches the hole. Learn more.
TaylorMade TP BallsTaylorMade Golf Ball Use Increases Dramatically
Use of TaylorMade golf balls on the PGA Tour this year has increased dramatically compared to the same period last year. TaylorMade golf ball use on the 2008 PGA Tour has increased more than 75% over a year ago.*# The great majority of players using TaylorMade balls this year are playing the new TP Red™ with LDP or TP Black™ with LDP. Short for "Low-Drag Performance," LDP is a technology that actually improves driver distance on mis-hits. The most common driver mis-hits are above the driver’s center of gravity, causing a dramatically lower spin-rate that causes the ball to drop from the air prematurely. LDP incorporates improved aerodynamics that reduce drag to help keep the ball in the air longer at mis-hit spin-rates, resulting in improved distance. Learn more.
*= Darrell Survey driver brand count statistics for the 2008 PGA Tour up to and including the Wachovia Championship
**= Including ties
***= Darrell Survey driver brand count statistics for the 2008 PGA Tour up to and including the Wachovia Championship
****= Darrell Survey driver model count statistics for the 2008 PGA Tour up to and including the Wachovia Championship
*^= PGATour.com and Darrell Survey
*^^= Darrell Survey driver model count statistics for the Byron Nelson Championship and up to and including the Wachovia Championship
*^^^= Darrell Survey iron brand and model count statistics for the 2008 PGA Tour up to and including the Wachovia Championship
*^^^^= Darrell Survey putter model count statistics for the 2008 PGA Tour up to and including the Wachovia Championship and PGATour.com
*#= 2007 vs. 2008 Darrell Survey ball model count through first 20 PGA Tour events during each year
About Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. dba TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company
TaylorMade Golf has led the golf industry’s technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly owned subsidiary of the adidas Group. adidas Golf footwear and apparel is the choice of hundreds of professional golfers around the world. Learn more about TaylorMade-adidas Golf and its brands at (866) 530-TMAG (8624) orwww.taylormadegolf.com , www.adidasgolf.com or www.tmag.com .
About the adidas Group
The adidas Group is one of the global leaders within the sporting goods industry, offering a broad range of products around three core segments adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade-adidas Golf. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the Group has almost 30,000 employees and generated sales of more than ?10 billion in 2006.
Contact:
TaylorMade-adidas Golf
Public Relations Department
Scott Leightman
Tel: 760.476.5748
email: scott.leightman@tmag.com
John Steinbach
Tel: 760.918.6330
email: john.steinbach@tmag.com
