Scandinavian Masters – 16th -19th August 2007
I was unable to attend the Scandinavian Masters but what a tournament for SeeMore. Mikko Ilonen finished in 1st place, using his SeeMore m1 for the first time and having an unbelievable 24 putts on his way to victory on Sunday.
We also had the m3 in play with James Kingston. James finished in 7th place. Andrew Marshall and Shaun Webster were battling hard over the weekend, both using m1.
As the newest putter company out on the European Tour, we are extremely proud of the players who choose to play our products. We can be even more proud at the fact they do so without any payment by SeeMore, a rare fact in today’s game.
Whether it’s the Masters champion Zach Johnson, or any other tour player using SeeMore, you can always be sure he is doing so because he believes that the SeeMore putter he is using is the best for his game that week.
Congratulations Mikko!
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour Blog Memphis, Tn. Stanford St. Jude, June 2
As this is the PGA Tour event that takes place in our home state of Tennessee, I drove over to the tournament from Nashville, about a three-hour drive. It was great to see so many from the Nashville golf community at the event. I took the opportunity to take a great account to dinner, and it was very exciting to hear about how quickly the SeeMore RifleScope Technology story is catching on. The feedback was that the story is simple and logical, and that once golfers try putting with a SeeMore putter they quickly understand the capabilities of the system and how it can improve their game over time.
The Memphis facility at TPC Southwind is a fantastic layout for a PGA tour event. In fact the course rated the toughest on tour last year after the US Open, and it is a great preparation for the US Open next week at Oakmont.
We had a very good week, with Pat O’Brien joining us for the day to provide some coaching to some of the best players in the world. Our putters continue to attract the attention of new players on the PGA tour as well as the Nationwide and LPGA tours on a weekly basis, and this week in Memphis was no exception. Many players started the week with a much more rigorous Monday than normal as many had to attempt to qualify for the US Open, playing 36 holes at nearby Colonial Country Club, site of Al Geiberger’s famous 59 in 1977. In fact we stopped by Colonial on Monday and visited with Al himself, who was in town to route on his sone Brett as well as to touch base with his huge fan base in Tennessee.
The US Open is next week. I can’t wait! I will give you a solid in depth report on what happens behind the scenes. Stay tuned…..
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour Blog from Colonial, Ft. Worth, Texas, May 23
He did it again! I showed up at the Colonial with a ton of fanfare, as people could not stop talking about SeeMore. The reason is that we had another incredible week on tour at the AT&T Classic in Atlanta, where Zach Johnson won his second event in his last 4 starts with a dramatic back nine charge (sound familiar?) and playoff victory. Almost as amazing as another win for SeeMore was the fact that Matt Kuchar shot a tournament low round of 64 on Saturday with his new mFGP mSeries milled SeeMore putter and finished tied for 3d, and Briny Baird finished in the top 10 as well. So with a win and 3 top 10 finishes, SeeMore continues to be the hottest putter on tour.
At the Colonial I showed a few players, including Kenny Perry and Brandt Snedeker, a prototype of a new mSeries putter concept that would allow for players who prefer to have their hands slightly forward a chance to still realize the benefits of SeeMore’s patented RifleScope Technology when it comes to a consistent and reliable set up each and every time. We expect to get more great feedback in the weeks ahead on tour.
I also talked to Matt Kuchar, who was delighted with the SeeMore mFGP putter that he used to finish 3d in Atlanta the prior week. Matt also was pleased to see Pat O’Brien on the putting green on Tuesday, and spent another 20 minutes working with him to refresh all of the great information about the SeeMore putting system that Pat had given him in Dallas a month earlier. Next stop Memphis
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour Blog from PGA Tour AT&T Classic, Sugarloaf CC, Atlanta, May 16
The Sugarloaf CC, site of the AT&T Classic, is another absolutely incredible golf course and country club to marvel at. The practice putting green at Sugarloaf is a fantastic practice facility, and the way the tournament had the set up for those of us who serve the players was first class. It was very easy to interact with the players on the putting green and to quickly run over to the equipment vans and get any special needs on equipment taken care of.
Matt Kuchar approached me to say how much he was loving the SeeMore mFGP putter that we made for him in Dallas, and I watched him drain putt after putt with it. He certainly appears to be highly confident at this time that the SeeMore RifleScope Technology is a great fit for him and we look forward to seeing him play well.
It was also great to see Briny Baird feeling confident heading into this tournament. Briny has used the FGP for over 7 years on tour. And Zach Johnson was back on tour, being warmly welcomed back to Georgia with his new Masters title to go along with being a former champion of this event, his first tour victory in 2004. They love Zach in Georgia, and of course I had tons of fans want to look at the SeeMore putter that had received so much exposure recently thanks to Zach’s incredible victory.
Next week back to Texas for the Colonial in Ft. Worth.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour Blog from The Players Championship, TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, May 9
The players were amazed to see the renovations to this great golf course, as well as the complete tear down and rebuilding of a new clubhouse that is the nicest on tour. In one year the PGA rebuilt this entire course and facility, essentially storm proofing the course so that even major flood conditions would drain quickly and allow the players to get right back on the course and have it play as dry and fast as ever. Simply incredible.
On the player side we continued to have great interest in our new product at this event, billed as the 5th major and sporting the largest purse on tour. New players that expressed an interest in trying the new m3 mSeries milled mallet included Harrison Frazar and Sergio Garcia, who rolled the putter great on the practice green and wanted to hold onto one to practice with. You never know when a new putter that starts as a back up might show up one day and work its way into the starting line up! We were simply thrilled that players of this high stature continue to show interest in trying our new putters.
As it turned out the final putter count at the Players had SeeMore with 7 putters in play, an all time high for our company, including 2 players with top 20 finishes. Our brand continues to gain incredible momentum as more and more players on tour discover the benefits of SeeMore putters.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Tour Blog from Wachovia Championship, May 2
The Wachovia tournament in Charlotte has become an amazingly successful new event on the PGA tour in the past 5 years. This year with the timing the week before the Players Championship there were 18 of the top 20 players in the world playing, including world #1 and the new Masters Champion coming off of a few whirlwind weeks of celebrity type events and celebrations and some well deserved rest.
The putting green at Wachovia was just like the greens on the course…..beautiful, fast, with undulations making downhill putts very slick and uphill putts deceptive. Until you have putted a ball on a PGA tour green you won’t really believe how fast and perfect they are.
Pat O’Brien joined me in Charlotte for a day, as well as our local sales rep Matt Wills, who will be representing SeeMore at a few upcoming Nationwide Tour events and was there to watch and learn from Pat as he worked with some of the tour players including Zach Johnson and Vaughn Taylor.
Many of the guys who had taken putters the past few weeks stopped by to say how much they enjoyed working with them, some using our putters at this time as practice aids and in practice rounds, and others making the leap to put them in play straight away. It is always a tough process for a PGA tour player to move out of one club and into another, and it is amazing how many players have moved so quickly to put SeeMore putters in play after only several weeks of practicing with them.
More new players came to us in Charlotte to try the new mSeries putters, including Daisuke Maruyama and Stuart Appleby. It was actually Stuart’s coach who picked up the putter and thought it would be a great putter to help one of the world’s great players to set up the same way each and every time and take advantage of the benefits of RifleScope Technology.
Next week is the Players Championship in Florida.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour Blog from TPC Las Colinas, Dallas, April 24
A few weeks have passed since the Masters and many players started showing interest in finding out more about SeeMore putters and RifleScope Technology. Players that were interested in Dallas included Tag Ridings, Joe Ogilvie, and Matt Kuchar. In fact Matt was able to spend some time with Pat O’Brien during a rain delay at one of the tour vans where we custom build the putters, called Golf on the Run and owned by our friend Scott Garrison. Pat worked with Matt on making small adjustments to his stroke so that he could really optimize the benefits of the SeeMore putter and move toward a more consistent putting stroke. Matt is a guy that could rise to the top of the PGA tour any time with his talent and great personality. Matt loved the new mFGP milled version of the FGP, as well as the original FGP. He asked us to build one of each to his specs.
I also met a group of players from local universities and some top junior players who were out at the event watching the best players in the world. They were very interested in trying our product, and thrilled when I was able to bring the new mSeries milled product over to them on the other side of the ropes for them to get a closer look. Several have already followed up with me that they have purchased one of the new putters and are putting great!
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour blog. Verizon Classic. Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. April 9-11
The week following the Masters victory has been surreal. We have had inquiries from every country around the globe from golfers, golf clubs, media, and professionals about our putters and our patented RifleScope Technology. Our team has met many times about our operations and we have implemented contingency plans that we had to be able to respond to the unprecedented demand for our product that this major global victory has brought about.
In the midst of all that, I had committed to be at Hilton Head to continue to show our product to other players on the PGA tour who might be interested in the benefits of SeeMore. I don’t need to tell you that this week I was on cloud 9, receiving warm wishes from many players, caddies, and the entire group of wonderful people that are a part of every PGA tour event. There seemed to be a real admiration for the fact that in this world of fewer brands and more consolidation to a few big companies, that a small independently owned golf company could have such a wonderful weekend and receive such amazing exposure. It is true that most of the world loves to pull for the little guy. We could not be any more fortunate than to be that little guy that everyone is rooting for right now.
On the product front, we will just wait and see whether some new faces start to put SeeMore into play. But right now we could never be happier with the guys that have been faithfully playing SeeMore putters on the PGA tour for years. In fact as I submit this blog, on Saturday night, two very familiar names will be playing in the last 4 groups on Sunday, using SeeMore putters……two guys that shared a very special day last Sunday at Augusta.
I hope you have enjoyed this blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Until next time. It all happens on the greens. Jim
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour Blog from Masters, Augusta GA-Sunday April 8, 2007
This is the American dream. Our putter was in the hands of the great new champion who won the Masters! Our little company…with no advertising, no endorsement, no public shareholders, no staff bags on tour, just a small group of passionate people focused on making the finest putters in the world using the most innovative putting system in the world...we were part of a great Masters victory.
In a dream scenario we could not have made up, both of the players using our SeeMore RST putters and putting system in the most elite and motivated field in the world played together on Sunday in the 3d to the last group, with one winning and the other finishing top 10. We could not make this type of story up.
Zach Johnson won it in one of the great finishes of all time, holding off the world number one at the end and actually stealing the lead back from him early in the round. It will go down as the first time in the most storied golf career of all time that Tiger Woods had the lead on Sunday of a major and did not win the tournament.
Zach’s putter was on fire Sunday, as he drained birdie putts on 2 and 3, chipped in for birdie on 8, and drained birdie putts on 13, 14, and 16 that will go down as one of the greatest back nine charges in Masters history. Every part of his game was brilliant, from driving to his approach shots, and his wedge play was extraordinary. On the greens he had that look in his eyes that made one realize early on that he was in it to win. We were just thrilled to have played a small part of this great victory as his putter of choice.
The new champion has instantly become an American hero, proving that greatness is not a gift for a privileged few but something that can be earned by those who work hard and stay within themselves and never back down or believe that they cannot achieve. Three cheers to Zach Johnson, the Masters champion of 2007! He has handled the victory with such grace and humility and is proving to be an incredible role model for the next generation of young golfers that will want to be like Zach.
We were equally proud of the fantastic top 10 performance of Vaughn Taylor, who played along Zach in the final round and but for a few breaks might have been wearing the green jacket himself. He was a great friend to Zach certainly offering strength to his buddy as they walked up the 18th, knowing that Zach was within an earshot of history with only the charging Tiger from behind able to end the dream. Like Zach, Vaughn is a believer in the teachings of Pat O’Brien and the SeeMore putter and putting system.
With Zach’s Master’s victory, and Payne Stewart’s 1999 US Open victory at Pinehurst, a SeeMore putter has helped sink the final and winning putt at the two most challenging major championships of the past 20 years, each time seeing a player putting with a SeeMore putter get into a zone on the final day and putt lights out on the toughest greens ever played.
Zach’s 27 putts on Sunday at Augusta, alongside Payne Stewart’s 24 putts on Sunday at Pinehurst, will be remembered forever as two of the greatest putting rounds in US major championship history. It simply leaves us breathless.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
European Tour Blog, March 26-27, 2007
SeeMore made it’s debut on the European Tour this week. We were showing our new m-Series milled putter range to the players and had a lot of fun and a fantastic reaction to the range.
Monday was quiet with maybe only 1/3 of the field already in town. This was good as it gave us plenty of time to talk with the players and as they were just arriving they were relaxed and not yet fully in ‘practice’ mode!
First to come over was former Open Champion Paul Lawrie. Paul took an m-1 and m-2 to work with and finally settled on the m-1 and will go away and work with it over the coming weeks. We look forward to hearing more feedback from a great major champion.
We then spent some time with Jose Lara. Jose is a really nice guy and a great player who has already won this season on the European Tour in Hong Kong. Jose really liked the look and feel of the m-2 and we are in the process of making one to his specifications which I will deliver in Madrid next month.
Alex Rocha took an m-1 and commented on how much the Rifle Scope Technology had taught him. It showed him that his set up altered considerably on left to right putts, something he was unaware of and maybe the reason he generally struggles with this particular putt. He is having 3 weeks off from next week and will work with the m-1 during this time and catch up with me in Madrid.
Sam Walker came along next and spent some time with us trying the entire range. Sam ended up going for the new m-FGP and told us it was definately going ‘straight in the bag’!
Shaun Webster loved the m-1 he took and also put it straight into play. Shaun commented on the fantastic feel and roll the putter gave him.
On Tuesday, Jean Francois Remecy, a previous winner of the French Open came to spend some time with us. Jean told us he had played with Zach Johnson at The Open 2 years ago and remembered not only how good Zach’s putting was, but also how much Zach loved our system. I told him how good Zach still putted and the very same putter was still in his bag today! We worked through the range and Jean fell for the new m-FGP, the milled version of the putter Zach uses, and said he was 100% sure it was going into play this week.
Stepthen O’Hara who had been using an FGP recently came and looked at the new range. Stephen enjoyed the look and feel of the new m-3 and took it away to work, later on Carlos Rodiles also took an m-3 after trying it alongside the m-2.
Shaun Webster popped back at the end of day 2 having played a practice round and was still loving his new m-1 and would be using it this week. Good luck to him and all the other guys using their new SeeMore’s.
Many other players came and tried the putters and have ordered their favourite to their exact specifications as by the end of day 2 we were running a little low on choice due to the demand!
The most satisfying part of the 2 days for me was seeing what I have always believed, Rifle Scope Technology works for all golfers and is as relevant to the best players on tour as it is your complete beginner. RST helps all golfers putt better.
We will be keeping an eye on all the guys who took putters and will look forward to seeing them hole more putts and catching up with them all in Madrid in April.
Graham
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour Blog from Shell Houston Open, March 27-28 Houston, Texas
This week I spent Tuesday and Wednesday at the Redstone Golf Club Tournament course, where they have tried to prepare the golf course in a way that will help the players prepare for Augusta while also participating in this very historic event. A team from this club visited Augusta to work with the team there on ideas to set up the course in a way that will help them be ready for next week.
I had a great couple of days, meeting some great college players and local golf professionals who really love SeeMore and were excited to see the new mSeries. These are some of the fans outside the ropes during the midweek practice rounds, and they are very tuned into what the players are using and who is doing well with certain equipment. All knew that SeeMore is a great putting system and knew that the tour players (Zach and Vaughn and Briny) that use it are all consistently very good putters.
I had some nice meetings with PGA teaching pros who were there to work with some of the players, and several thought the SeeMore putters and system would be a great way for their high profile PGA tour pro students to develop the perfect arc stroke that they are trying to teach. I will follow up with them and get them product for their teaching studios so they can teach and sell to students that can benefit from the proprietary alignment system.
I spent some nice time with Vaughn Taylor, who continues to be red-hot heading into the weekend at 3 under and 3 shots off the lead after a tough quadruple bogey on Friday. But VT is very resilient and will probably bounce back immediately Saturday and get into the lead. His great putting makes him a threat to go low every day, and his tremendous ball striking is a reminder that he earned a spot on the 2006 Ryder Cup team by being consistently excellent. I also spent time with Eric Axley, who is looking for a simple putting system he can grow his game around, and who believes SeeMore to be a system that can help. He played SeeMore successfully as a junior. I also had several other first timers look at the new mSeries with a lot of enthusiasm and desire to work with the new putters on an off week.
Watch for Vaughn and Briny and anyone else with a SeeMore putter to be around the leader board this weekend! Next week the blog will come from Nashville as we watch the Masters coverage on television and build the world’s finest putters. Until then, Jim
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour Blog from Doral CA World Golf Championship, March 20-21 Miami Doral Resort and Spa
Zach Johnson looks to be one of the big SeeMore stories this week, as he came to the event feeling like he was really starting to shake the rust off after a long winter layoff which included the birth of his first child during January. Zach and his caddie Damon Green both felt like Zach was rolling it great with his SeeMore and that he was going to compete well against the very best players in the world. Zach has always fared great against the best, at the World Golf Championship match play last year and of course competed very well at the Ryder Cup.
As I am typing this blog on Friday, Zach is the leader in the clubhouse at 4 under along with Thomas Bjorn, and he is tied for 6th overall. He leads the field in birdies so far through the first two rounds and is putting lights out. Every one of his shots is on the Golf Channel, so he is certainly giving us some great exposure. Go Zach!!!! After Vaughn Taylor’s very impressive 3d place finish last week this gives SeeMore 2 guys that have been in the top 5 over the past two weeks. We could not possible ask for a greater situation than to have these 2 guys playing great and putting great on television all weekend.
Other exciting news this week came on Tuesday night on the Golf Channel, where Pat O’Brien was in fact featured along with Vaughn Taylor talking about SeeMore and the simple SeeMore putting system that Vaughn uses to be the best putter on tour last year. And I received a phone call about doing a live radio interview this Saturday morning to talk about the buzz that is out there about our new product line.
That is all for now. Very excited about another weekend with one of the best players in the world using a SeeMore putter and being on or around the first page of the leaderboard! Looks like the television will be on again all weekend! Jim
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Arnold Palmer Invitational, Orlando, Bay Hill Golf Club, March 13-14
I headed back down to Florida this week and met up with Pat O’Brien there. Pat was working a bit with Vaughn Taylor on the putting green Tuesday, sort of an annual tune-up for one of the tour’s best putters. It was really cool to watch the interaction from a distance as Vaughn trusts and believes in Pat’s simple teaching theories and the two happen to work very well together. I hear several players every week comment that Vaughn has one of the sweetest putting strokes on the PGA tour. Of course one of the reasons is that he works at it, another one is that he is an incredible talent, and the third reason is that he has a simple system he can go back to time and again.
In fact as I submit this tour blog on Thursday afternoon from my office in Tennessee, I notice on the PGATour.com site that Vaughn has come out of the gates roaring to a fantastic 6 under par 64 in round one and is tied for the lead with Tiger Woods. It looks like he has had a tremendous round with 6 birdies and no bogeys. It will be fun to watch him heading into the weekend! We also saw Zach Johnson, who was in a great mood with family and friends around him. He sure seems ready to have a great week, and is in a confident mood about all parts of his game. Zach is capable of firing a 65 or 66 at any time like he did last Saturday to get into contention in Tampa.
Other highlights out there this week included several more new players wandering over to our staff bag and checking out the new mSeries putters. They included JB Holmes and tour rookie Tom Johnson, who both loved the feel of the putters and thought the RifleScope Technology made sense and could help them. Also Henrik Stenson was seen working with several new putters including a SeeMore mSeries that he had taken a few weeks ago. Certainly the hottest player in the world is in no hurry to change anything, but it says a lot about his pursuit of excellence that he continues to fine tune and look for ways to make him self better. It would be great if we could help him along the way. I did introduce myself and we shared a few minutes about the heritage of my last name being from Sweden. He said that Zach putted great against him in their very tough opening match at the world match play in Tuscon, which Henrik ended up winning by running the table and going 6-0 in matches.
The last thing of note this week was that it was really fun to be around the putting green on Wednesday when the tournament pro-am was taking place. Only on the PGA Tour are the best athletes in the world playing weekly on pro-am day with the fans and aspiring golfers that so greatly respect and admire them. For serious amateurs to be able to show up at a tour event and go through a tour practice routine on the range and putting green and then be able to play 18 holes alongside the best in the world, is such a great thing. And I met so many great amateurs this week, from corporate presidents to local golfers to young high school and college players who are crazy about the game. And it was very rewarding to see their response to our new product line as they were able to try it for the first time. Without a doubt, the amateurs that tried the new mSeries putters raved about the look and feel and many are now looking to own a new SeeMore mSeries and be the first at their clubs to putt with one.
Things are really starting to buzz at the SeeMore headquarters with golfers around the world starting to learn about the new product.
That is all for now. Jim
________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour Blog from Tampa (PODS Championship), Innisbruck Copperhead course.
Greetings from Tampa! Scott and I worked Tampa together. The course was setting up like a US Open course in terms of the fast and undulating greens and the deep rough. Players were excited that conditions were very similar to a major championship course.
We had another good week showing our new product to the best players in the world. We had final prototypes of the mFGP 100% milled 303 Stainless Steel putter with black satin finish and we were excited to show Zach Johnson and Vaughn Taylor and Briny Baird. Zach and Vaughn absolutely loved the look and feel. We are now building putters to their exact specs. Briny also loved the look and feel, and asked us to make one for him. We should have new putters for these guys in the next 2 weeks.
Interestingly, all 3 of the above mentioned players have had such extended success over 6 years with the original FGP that they really feel emotionally attached to their putters, so even changing to something new and improved for them will take time. Briny Baird allowed me to photograph his putter. It has thousands of miles on it, yet he said he would be devastated if he ever lost it. I will try to post it in the next few weeks as we add photos to this page so you can see for yourself. In this way, the passion they have for their first SeeMore putter is unlike what I have observed with many tour players but exactly like I have observed with many everyday golfers.
There are other manufacturers out there that provide enough weekly incentive to get the interest of many players, but from my observation this tends to lead to a situation where some are changing out models on a very regular basis just to continually try to find one that justifies the association with that brand. I liken it to process of having a short-term lease on a car of a particular brand and trading it in every year for the next year’s model. There is almost never enough time to develop true passion for the product. What I have found with SeeMore users, even on tour, is that the bond and passion for the first SeeMore becomes very strong.
Scott did an excellent job of working with 3 or 4 new players that we had not worked with in demonstrating the SeeMore putting system and showing the benefits of the new mSeries product. Each of them special ordered a putter, and hope to work with them over the next month. Each understands that a move to SeeMore is more than just a move to another new putter, but rather is the beginning of building a putting system which will pay off in more consistent putting over time.
The weather was fantastic, and we truly enjoyed the time we spent with the professionals as well as the amateurs who stopped by before the pro-am to check out the new product. All for now, we will report again next Friday during Bay Hill, one of the best fields of the year with Arnold Palmer serving as host. Until, then, roll em straight! Jim
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour Blog from West Palm Beach ( The Honda Classic ) March 1, 2007
I worked with Pat O’Brien this week on the PGA tour at the Honda Classic. Pat’s going to be out from time to time representing the SeeMore name as an instructor. He has worked with several tour pros and is Zach and Vaughn’s full time putting coach. The conditions were very windy and the players were commenting that the course would play very long this week. Monday was a bit of a wash out with rain most of the day, but Tuesday and Wednesday were sunny and warm. We had visits from several of the players this week. Harrison Frazier rolled putts with the m1 and mFGP prototype that is getting its first view on tour. Many of the players are drawn to this putter because it is a perfect copy of the original FGP that Payne Stewart used and the same as Zach Johnson, Vaughn Taylor and Briny Baird are using now, except this version is completely milled. This putter not only looks great it feels great. Look for it to be available soon.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Padrig Harrington stopped by and rolled the m1 and m3. He said he was really putting well with what he had, but loved the feel of the new m series, which was great to hear. Eric Axley stopped by late that afternoon as well, we are making a couple of putters for him that he will get next week at Tampa.
We got a lot of looks from other tour players and the word is that the new m series looks and feels great. John Brendle stopped by on Wednesday. He is long time PGA tour official and was a very close friend and neighbor of Payne Stewart. John was the person who gave the eulogy at Payne’s funeral. He shared stories with me about being around Payne when he won the 1999 Pebble Beach event after first getting his SeeMore putter. He flew home with Payne after the win and he told me how much Payne felt that the putter had helped him win that event. John told me he still putts with his SeeMore that Payne had given him. He was such a pleasure to meet and such an advocate of the SeeMore putter system.
I got a late visit from Henrik Stenson Wednesday afternoon and I congratulated him on his win last week at the WGC Match play event. He took one of our m2’s last week and we are making him a special version of the m3 that we hope to get in his hands while he is on the Florida swing. He had withdrawn from this week’s event due to the length and amount of play of last week’s event.
All in all a great week at the Honda Classic
Next week Jim and I will be in Tampa for the PODS PGA tour event.
Until then, Scott
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour blog from Riviera Nissan Open (from Jim and Jason and Pat OB)
Jason and I were joined this week on tour by Pat O'Brien, who will join us regularly on the PGA tour and also visit some Nationwide and LPGA events as an ambassador to SeeMore. Pat is close friends with Mike Hicks, who caddied for Payne Stewart, and also was very close to Payne. Pat is a teacher who studied Payne's putting stroke and technique with the SeeMore putter in 1999 and created a simple putting theory around it. He then put the putter in the hands of Zach Johnson, Vaughn Taylor, and Briny Baird in the year 2000 along with teaching them the story of how SeeMore's RifleScope Technology can help a player become a better and more consistent putter over time. Pat has since gone on to be the putting coach of Zach and Vaughn and remains so today. As of Saturday night after round 3 Zach and Vaughn and Briny had made the cut using SeeMore putters and shot under par Saturday to all be in the top 50 heading into Sunday's final round.
Watch our web site for very soon we will have a video of Pat O'Brien conducting a small putting clinic which is a fabulous insight into the theory that Payne, Zach, and Vaughn all used to set putting records on the PGA tour.
Jason and I made some very nice introductions on the practice putting green at Riviera on Tuesday. We had Eric Axley, Steve Elkington, and Matt Kuchar all stop by to say hello and to look at the new product. They could not have been any nicer in stopping to learn about our new product. Each shared stories of having played well in the past with SeeMore putters and being very familiar with RifleScope technology and its success on tour. While they each currently putt with another putter, they are like most players in that they are always open to see what is new and at what might become their next putter if they should for any reason begin to lose confidence in what they currently have in the bag. In this way tour players are no different than the rest of us. Our goal is to show them our technology and our product and work our way into their rotation of putters that are on their short list for future possible use. Then one day down the road, it just might be that our putter works best for a certain type of green and course condition and makes it into play. If they then like the performance of the product under pressure, they may just keep it in play. This is how the process always unfolds.
Scott was at the Outback event on the Champions tour this week, so we are interested to see what he has to say about that event. This will be the first time many of those players will have seen someone from SeeMore in a few years, now that we are up and running with our exciting new mSeries milled putters.
And Scott is off to the World Golf Championship match play event in Tuscon, Arizona this upcoming week, where the top 64 players in the world will compete. Zach Johnson finished 3d in that event last year behind Geoff Ogilvy, a great performance showcasing his tremendous playing and putting skills and competitive fire. Zach will get a chance again this year to knock off some of the biggest names in golf. We can't wait for that event!
All for now. Jim
________________________________________________________________________________________
Outback Steakhouse Champions Event : TPC Tampa
I made my way to Tampa this week for the Champions Tour event, while Jim, Jason and Pat were in L.A. at the Nissan. This event was voted as the best event to play in on the Champions Tour for the past few years and it is obvious why. The volunteers are fantastic and go out of their way to make everyone associated with this event feel welcome. This week was Mark O'meara's debut and he was very excited about being there. I was received very well by the players as they were glad to see our product represented again on their tour. Several players stopped by this week to see the new product and say hello, and it was such a pleasure to meet these legends. I had an opportunity to meet and talk with the likes of Tom Watson who was telling a story about him and his son playing together last week at Pebble and reliving his fantastic chip-in on the 17th at the open. He said that his son tried the shot 3 times and all three shots were very good, didn't go in, but were close to the hole. I also had a chance to talk with Jay Siegel, Kenny Knox, Jim Dent, Chip Beck, Loren Roberts and a host of others who stopped by to see the product. I spent some time with Larry Nelson and we found him a new m1 that was cut to 35 inches that he took with him to work with this week. Larry was looking for something to help with alignment and our RST allowed him to get his hands in the same position every time, he liked that. It was great to see the players who are still at the top of their games, players that I have followed since I was young. This tour is very competitive with the fields small and anyone being able to pull off a win at any time. The fields are basically filled with winners from the regular tour, so they all know what it takes to win out there and anywhere for that matter, you have to putt well to win.
I will be off to Tuscon for the Accenture Matchplay event on the regular tour next week and looking forward to Zach Johnson pulling off a win.
Until then, Scott
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Feb. 5-7, 2007
Pebble Beach
What a great week in Pebble Beach, even though again the weather was a little brisk and rain in the forecast. This is such a beautiful place and what a venue for golf, almost distracting. This tournament is played on 3 different courses but I stayed at the Pebble putting green for the week. You will see most of the players as they make their rotations for practice rounds. First thing on Tuesday morning Danny Ganns, 9 time Las Vegas performer of the year, stopped by looking for a lefty, fortunately there was a left hand m1 that fit him to a tee. Danny rolled several putts with the new m1 and loved the feel of the putter, he practiced a little more with the putter and made his way to the first tee to play his practice round. Tuesday was a busy day for celebrities and some tour players. T.J Trahan stopped by to look at the putters and rolled a few as well as John Ellis who was interested in the putter system and how seemore helps with consistent alignment. This day was again a little rainy but we did get some great comments for the > people who made it over to the putting green.
I arrived early on Wednesday after hearing that this is celebrity day because of the 11:00 celebrity skins game. The likes of Kevin Costner, George Lopez, Bill Murray, Huey Lewis and the list goes on and on with the celebrities playing in the shootout. The media takes full advantage of all these stars in one place; it becomes bit of a media frenzy. This event gives tour reps an opportunity to not just get the putter in the hands of tour pros, but also to see some of the better amateur players all over the world. W.G. Jurgensen, CEO of Nationwide Insurance and the Nationwide Tour, stopped by with some putting questions. He had missed several short putts during the shootout today and after talking with him and his son Joe, who was his caddy for the week, I put an m3 seemore in his > hand and worked on his alignment, he made about 10 in a row. We happen to have one that fit him perfectly, so he promised to put it in play for the Thursday round. Also after working a little with Kyle Reifers, who is a winner on the Nationwide tour, we are getting a belly putter made to his specs to him at the next event. We also had a visit from Rich Lerner from the Golf Channel, he stopped by just before going on air to roll some putts with our m1 belly. Rich was having some problems with leaning on the putter, he is very tall at 6’5 or so, with that in mind I got him to raise the putter off the ground just ¼ of an inch just before taking it away, he made several putts after doing so. He left saying “ I think you > may have converted me.” The day ended with many celebrities and players getting a look at the new seemore putters and nothing but great feedback from all, it was wonderful to experience Pebble Beach for the first time.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
January 29 – 31, 2007
FBR Phoenix Open
Jason and I made our way to the FBR in Phoenix. The weather again was not great at high 50’s and rainy, but several of the players were out on Tuesday. We got looks from players in between putting the umbrella up and taking it down. We had introduced Zach and Vaughn to our new mFGP last week at the Buick and gave them a week to look it over and get their ideas on the new design. They both were very positive about the look and had a few ideas on how to make it even better; of course we listened closely and have tried to incorporate their ideas into the new design. After talking with Zach about the new putter he had informed me that he actually had used the m1 that we cut down for him last week on Sunday at Torrey Pines. After getting some input on the mFGP we are now working with our design team to come up with the exact putter that will become our milled FGP. Both Zach and Vaughn are as excited as we are about the buzz of the new putters and both are looking forward to getting the final product in their hands.
I also had a chance to show the product to Briny Baird, who has used the putter a lot during his career and is now using a FGP that he has had for several years. Briny rolled some putts with the milled FGP and loved the new fill. He in fact asked us to get him one just like it and we did of course having it shipped to his house the following Friday. We are anxious to see how it performs for him in his next event in L.A.
Matt Killen, an instructor for some of the top tour players, teaches out of Kenny Perry’s Country Creek in Franklin Kentucky stopped by to view the new putters. He is working with some of the great players on tour and also works with hundreds of young promising golfers from all over the world. He was very impressed with our designs and new materials and is coming by the studio to get fit for a putter and hopefully be able to use it in his teaching program. He loved the idea of the alignment system for players of all levels.
Brian Gay and his caddy Kip Henley, Big Break 2’s winner and an old friend of mine, stopped by to look at the new m1 and give it a roll. Brian liked the feel of the putter and said he would love to give one a try, so we made him up an m1 black nitride to his specs and he will pick it up at the L.A. event
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
January 15-16
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
Jason and I spent Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. It was the first time Jason and I had been at an event together as the new owners of SeeMore, having now owned the company for 120 days. Jason has insisted that I write this blog this week, which will blend a few stories about our week on tour along with a few general insights about how we are thinking. I am sure after the long winded nature of this blog that he will never allow me to write one again so I will try to get my money's worth!
Jason had been in Hawaii the week before along with our product designer Andre Shmoldas, and together they had already struck up several promising new relationships, and in fact taken orders from tour players who provided their custom specifications. We intend to deliver that product at the tournament next week in San Diego.
First a little background on how the system out here works. We are fortunate to have been granted a PGA Tour Manufacturer's card allowing us to serve the needs of the tour players with our unique product, and we understand that the expectations are that we will serve those needs well. With over a dozen victories on tour since Payne Stewart won the US Open at Pinehurst, and after becoming the number one putter model used by the US Ryder Cup team with Zach Johnson and Vaughn Taylor, SeeMore has established itself as a legitimate and proven technology which has helped many tour players improve their putting statistics. That is why we are able to qualify for a tour card. Our goal for the few days here at the Hope was to simply continue to establish a trustworthy presence on the practice putting green for our brand. We had a really cool new staff bag that Belding made for us in the USA, which matches the quality and precision and elegance of our made in the USA milled putters.
This tournament is very unique in that it is a major pro-am conducted across 4 courses at 4 completely different locations around the Palm Springs area. It is a 5-day tournament starting on Wednesday, and each pro will play with 3 amateur partners for the first 4 days. The Hope is always well known for the many celebrities that play, and this year is no exception. This year the tournament is being hosted by the comedian George Lopez, following in the footsteps of the great Bob Hope himself. The equipment companies were all set up at the new Classic Course, which will be the final round venue of the tournament on Sunday when the amateurs are no longer playing. But the players were practicing across all the courses, so we only saw about 30 of the 144 players at the Classic Course putting green. Next week at Torrey Pines will be much easier where all of the players practice Monday - Wednesday at one primary putting green.
Of the players that did stop by to see our product, many commented on the exciting design and finish of the new mSeries putters that we had fanned around our new tour staff bag. One father of a rookie who is under contract with one of the big equipment companies commented on how great he thought it was that we were re-energizing the SeeMore putter brand and showcasing our RifleScope alignment technology in a new line of milled putters. He said the SeeMore putter helped his son as he was growing up in junior golf perfect his putting stroke. A tour player noted that the m1 he had received from us in the fall was rolling the ball great and that it was poised to make it into his bag very soon (even when players start to like a new product, they typically work it into the lineup only after considerable off course testing, as the putter is the club they use most and one which typically is treated with great tender loving care until its usefulness runs its course).
We spent some great time with Vaughn Taylor and his caddy Adam, a great player in his own right. Vaughn is very happy with his new equipment deal with Taylor Made, where he will be carrying the company bag and playing their woods and irons this year. Fortunately for us he still believes his SeeMore putter gives him the best chance to win and complement his bag of Taylor Made clubs.
We watched Vaughn make about 49 of 50 5-foot putts as he systematically grooved his stroke on the practice green. While many have systems, Vaughn's seemed to be one of the most simple yet impressive. He and his caddy chalk line a 6 foot straight putt, and Vaughn will putt that straight 6 footer over and over and over. He has incredible confidence in his putting stroke right now, and he showed us his SeeMore FGP putter that he used last year to become one of the best putters on tour. It looks like it has been to the moon and back with all of the miles of made putts he has on it, but why would a guy ranked number one in putting average of the top 50 on tour in 2006 want to switch putters? We offered to back him up with some new putters, which he appreciated, but for now he is very happy using his trusty original FGP and we are delighted for him to continue playing with it. It may be the most beat up looking putter on tour. Vaughn did think the new mSeries product looked great, even though he is not in the market for a new putter!
We also spent some time with Al Geiberger and his delightful family, who live in Palm Springs. I was thrilled to talk to Al a bit about his 59 in Memphis, one of the most famous rounds of golf in history, and learned that he has never seen a tape of himself sinking the 15 foot putt on the last hole for 59 as the only television footage was destroyed in a fire. Al looked great, and had 2 of his sons Al Jr. and Brian rolling our new mSeries putters. We had a delightful time spending an hour or so with this famous golf family. Al showed us a brochure on an incredible new golf club called Stone Eagle that he is involved with, which is certain to become one of the nation's most spectacular tracks.
Jason and I then spent Wednesday morning following a few of our new friends at the tournament, of course watching the leader board to see how all of the players using SeeMore putters were doing. Given the fact that so many players are under contract on tour to play even certain brands of putters, it is so refreshing to see that there are still many players who believe that the putter is the one club not worth chasing a contract for but rather finding the right one that can help them win. Our mission at SeeMore is to do whatever it takes to help those players who are open to change get the right putter with our RST that can help them go to the next level.
Thanks for being interested if you are still with me. And please send us your stories about SeeMore if you ever have the time. Jim
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Off Season Tour Info 12-12-06
The past 2 weeks have been incredible !!! Ernie Els put the new m1 putter in play at both the Nedbank Challenge and the Alfred Dunhill Open. In his interview at the Nedbank, Ernie goes into detail of why the SeeMore putter appeals to him. He explained that if he got his hands too far forward or too far back or if his stroke was a bit off the red dot and white lines of the SeeMore RST system would help him get back on track. This is exactly our technology story. Ernie Els is one of the greatest players and most loved golfers on the planet, not to mention one of the best putters. He can putt well with any putter, but the fact that he gave us a test drive with one of the only m1 prototypes in existence was absolutely thrilling. It was never even in our dreams to have a player of his stature try our new product so soon, but we are committed to create the finest putter in the world and will do our best to serve his every need.
We are excited about tuning in to the South African Open this week on The Golf Channel to see whether he might still be testing our product.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
PGA TOUR Q-SCHOOL FINAL STAGE
LaQuinta , CA
There again, knowing that most would not be making any changes to their equipment, I was there to show the new M-1 Series as well as a first look at the M-3 which is a mallet putter. Reception to both was incredible and 9 different players took one to work with in the off- season.
It appears that we are on the correct path as 99% of players have told us so. The only holdout was a player who doesn't like center-shafted putters. I agreed and told him that is why we have designed the M-2 series which will be near heel shafted. The prototype will be available later this week.
________________________________________________________________________
NATIONWIDE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Going in I know most players might take a look at new technology but will not be making any changes for this big and important week. That said Matt Kutcher, former US Amateur Champion and top 10 on the money list this season tried the new putter and really liked what he saw. The ability to make the same set-up time after time is very crucial to the putting stroke and he liked that aspect the most.
________________________________________________________________________
PGA Tour Championship-East Lake Golf Club
Although the field was small (27 players) some very high profile players took a look at the new M-1 series putters. Ernie Els liked the SeeMore product for its looks, sound and feel but also because it forces him to set his hands in the correct position each stroke. He will not be switching putters this week but ask if he could work with it in the off season-of course I said “yes”.
Chad Campbell also liked the new look of the M-1. He will also be looking at it for use in the off-season. Admittedly, he is more of a candidate for the M-2 series putter as it will have a shaft moved further back towards the heel. This model will not be available to the tour players until early January. (Sony)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
FUNAI CLASSIC AT DISNEYWORLD
10-17-06
It's Tuesday at Disney and the players are slow to arrive, as it is not only late in the season many players brought their families for obvious reasons. Unless you are on the bubble for a top 30 finish on the money list or top 40 for a trip to the Masters or top 125 to retain your card there is no reason to rush things.
However, some players did take a look at the new line and really liked what they saw. James Driscoll really liked the look and feel of the new M-1 prototype but doesn't want to switch with just 2 tournaments left on the schedule.
Next Vaughn Taylor stopped by to look at the new models and really liked the look. He told me he wasn't looking to switch as he is currently ranked 3rd in the putting stats on the PGA TOUR.
I called a friend of mine Aaron Stewart, son of Payne, who is currently a senior in high school, came by to see the new M-1 putters. He gave us rave reviews, as he gets ready to attend SMU on a golf scholarship.
When milling the new putters I had them make one to Tom Lehman's exact specs. Tom uses a 49.5-inch putter that weighs 480 grams. Immediately Tom began holing putts from everywhere. The SeeMore Riflescope technology allowed.
Tom to line up exactly the same way every time. That, coupled with the sound that a milled 303 stainless steel putter produces seemed to be the perfect match for Tom. I will be meeting with him again tomorrow for additional practice.
At the end of the day, Bob Estes came by to see what the excitement was all about. As with all of the pros, Bob loved the putter. Sound and feel along with the riflescope really helped Bob square up to the line.
After a very successful day on the green, Jim Grundberg and I stopped off at an Orlando tradition CHARLEY'S STEAK HOUSE! As usual, the meal was unbelievable-the perfect ending to a great day!
________________________________________________________________________
Wed 10.11.06
News from The Las Vegas Invitational
It was a beautiful day here in Las Vegas at the TPC at Summerlin. It was also very busy on the putting green.
Eric Axley, who won at Texas 3 weeks ago and finished 3rd last week in Greensboro came by and we discussed some of the missed putts he experienced going down the streach last week. He noticed that all of the misses were right of the hole (Eric is a left hander) meaning that either he was aimed right or pulled the putt. Last year he putted with a SeeMore and didn't experience that problem. He is currently putting with a different putter.
He admits that with the SeeMore he will always start square to his line. I am making him a new LH M-1 putter. The M-1 prototype will be available to the pro's next week at Disney.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
New Product
I met with arguably the worlds best teacher yesterday and he confirmed he and his teachers use the SeeMore putter to show correct alignment and swing path. Stay tuned as next week will be a huge week for SeeMore as the new Product (M-1) is introduced. The M-1 will be a fully milled stainless 303 putter. It will incorporate the finest in precision milling, shafting and grip. A picture will be available soon on this web site.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Wed 10.4.06
Today I worked with Ryan Hietala. Ryan, who is known as a good putter, has been struggling with his putting. It was obvious that he was aiming incorrectly. I then used the SeeMore Triangular to see his exact aim. On a 10 foot putt he was aimed 8 inches to the right of the cup. The aim was causing him to pull every putt just to have a chance of making it. He couldn't believe how far off he was. Secondly, because of his aim he uncontiously had his shoulders going right and his hips aiming left. I simply had him get his hips and shoulders square.
I then had him try a SeeMore putter (the Brass Blade 35" long with a 69 degree lie-this is the same putter Payne Stewart used to win the 1999 US OPEN). Immediately, we began to see results. He agreed that regardless of the putter one must trust his line. The beauty of this thinking is that as you trust your line the use of a SeeMore insures that the putter face is guaranteed to be square to you intended line of aim. At this point it comes down to speed.
Ryan is averaging 1.802 putts per green in regulation which ranks 158th on the PGA TOUR out of 200. As the week progresses, stay tuned as I will update his progress after each round.
Others who showed interest were Peter Lonard and Jonathan Kaye.
________________________________________________________________________________________
NEWS FROM THE RYDER CUP 9-17-06
Breaking news on the equipment front! The small yet prominate SeeMore putter Company is tied for first in the putter category for the 12 Ryder Cup players. Not only are they tied for first they are the only company that sports 2 of the same models. Two rookies will be using the FGP Putter by SeeMore this week at the Ryder Cup. This is also the same model that Payne Stewart used to win the 1999 US OPEN.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Tour week in Chattanooga (Nationwide Tour)
This past week I worked with Tim O'Neal a great young talent who has lost confidence in his putting. His putting average thru 6-18-06 was 1.863 (putts per green in regulation-ppgir) which is the most commonly used stat by the players. His grip pressure was extremely tight on the club and it was forcing the club to go down the line and then across the line causing him to push his putts. Unknowingly, he started aiming further left which just exacerbated the problem all the more. After working to get his aim proper and show him the SeeMore system of how he can check himself by hiding the red dot through the follow through his stats instantly improved and he finished 3rd for the tournament. His putting stats for the week were 1.667 which would lead the Tour if he was to average that for the year.
Scott Ford
Scott is a journey man player with an incredible pedigree. His father is the Pro at Oakmont and his grandfather won the Masters (Doug Ford). His biggest problem was his ball position. Like all players it is easy to accidentally change thing when looking for an answer. I showed him the SeeMore system which is guaranteed to start you in the same position each and every putt and his stats improved from 1.805 to 1.7 (ppgir).
James Oh
James is a terrific player who is just getting his career started. Once again, his problem when he did experience a problem was that he pulled putts to the left. After watching him it was quite noticeable that in transition from backstroke to forward stroke he had a tendency to tighten up his right hand which causes and over the top and therefore pulling it left. This was easily demonstrated by using a SeeMore putter and being able to see part of the red dot as the putter past the ball. James led the field in putting for the week with a 1.56 average.
*Stats are from PGA TOUR.com
