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Golf 2020 is Upon Us

Standard Golf
February 10, 2020

This was one of my favorite weekends of the year. After being on the road for 2 and 1/2 weeks, it was nice to finally spend a weekend at home with the family. A great relaxing time to catch the AT&T Pro-Am and think about the PGA Show and GIS and how the events from those 2 weeks will shape the 2020 Golf Season.

Big Crowds at Golf’s Important Trade Shows

I’ve not seen the numbers yet for either the PGA Show or GIS, but if our booth traffic is any indication the shows were a little busier this year. As is always the case at both shows, the last few hours of the last day of each show dragged on, but other than that we had great traffic and great conversations. It certainly does seem that Superintendents and Golf Pros alike are gearing up for productive years.

Talking with one of our Distributors from Michigan, an early season start is possible. He mentioned the grass is still green in some parts around his Grand Rapids office and he would not be surprised to see openings in late February. It seems Punxsutawney Phil agrees as he did not see his shadow on February 2nd so only 4 more weeks of winter if legend holds true. I’m personally a fan of both events and hope an early spring is around the corner.

Standard Golf Takes Aim at Golf’s New Rules

As we all know, in 2019 the USGA and R&A made many “modernizations” to the Rules of Golf. One of interest to many was the rule that allows a player to leave the flagstick in while putting from the green.

In 2019 we released the Putt-Saver Tournament Flagstick to take advantage of this rule. Not only is this a 2-piece flagstick, but it also is the narrowest on the market with a diameter of just 3/8th of an inch from the ferrule to a point 5 inches above the grass.

Feedback about this new rule has been all over the needle, but one thing was for sure: Superintendents and players alike wanted a better way to remove a holed ball with the flagstick still in the cup. This gave birth to our latest new product: The Cup-Saver Ball Retriever.

A small disk that attaches to the flagstick 3″ below the surface of the turf, your holed ball will sit on the cup-saver. Simply lift up the flagstick and the ball will come up as well. This should help keep hands from damaging the cup’s edges, but also allow players to retrieve their golf balls with out bending over.

The Best of the Rest

Standard Golf released 13 new products in 2020 but we had a few that seemed to steal the show.

  1. In-Ground Trash Can is a great device that will help streamline the looks and aesthetics of a golf course while keeping your garbage out of the hands (paws or beaks) of vermin. At 20-gallons (75 L) these trash cans hold a substantial amount.
  2. MagnaTech™ Budget Cup is our least expensive aluminum cup. The key, it comes without any powder coating or painting. The other added advantage is the new aluminum used in this cup is used on all of our cups beginning in 2020. This aluminum is a stronger or durable blend that eliminates copper and uses more silicone which also helps to lessen corrosion.
  3. Ultimate Utility Vehicle Tool Racks are a great way to customize your UTV. Add a hole cutter, hose or trash can to the outside of your UTV’s cargo box to free up the inside for sod, mulch, wood chips or other items you need to carry to your job site.
  4. Two-Piece Range Pole and flag top. This is two products technically as the new flag top is sold separately. We now offer our “barber striped” range pole in two pieces to help with shipping.

Here’s to a Great 2020!

It has been written that the Magic Kingdom is the Happiest Place on Earth – well perhaps that spills over to the rest of Orlando and the Orange Country Convention Center. During the back to back trade shows for the PGA Show and GIS it seems that optimism is plentiful. Superintendents and Golf Pros seem to be more than kicking tires. We had more productive discussions about custom flags, cups, bunker rakes and all of our products than in years past. In short, the industry seems ready to buy some more this year. As always, Spring Optimism can be contagious and it seems to have been running wild in Orlando.