New Ball Makers Already on a Roll

We’re getting deep into it now, and it seems clear that the Great Golf Ball War will continue rolling along for a long time.

The latest estimates of wholesale revenue from golf ball sales are $725 million this year, so there is a lot at stake for the newest producers on the block: Callaway Golf, Nike Golf and Taylor Made.

Not surprisingly, all three of the fledgling ball makers say things are going great.

Callaway’s golf balls are projected to generate retail sales of $69 million in 2000, according to an investment report by brokerage A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc.

The new balls are called Rule 35. There are 34 official rules of golf, but Callaway is saying the balls relate to a new rule, Rule 35, to “enjoy the game.”

“The demand for it from retailers is huge,” said Larry Dorman, vice president of advertising press/public relations at Callaway Golf. “The main question we have to answer is ‘How can we get more?’ ”

Bruce Fleischer is playing the Rule 35 ball on the Senior PGA Tour and Callaway’s main regular tour guys such as Rocco Mediate, Olin Browne and Brian Henninger are expected to start using it any time. Annika Sorenstam is playing the ball on the LPGA Tour.

Meanwhile, it’s going to be interesting to see what Callaway does with Paul Azinger. He is appearing in Nike ball ads while being sponsored by Callaway in an equipment deal.

Callaway’s motto is “Hit it, Believe it.” Then there is Nike, of “Just Do It” fame. Whatever “it” is, it is apparent that the ball makers want you to think about “it.”

None other than Ely Callaway is the subject of the newest Callaway ball spot.

Nike’s ball allocations are sold out through May. A new series of five television ads about the ball are on the air featuring Azinger, Notah Begay, Craig Stadler and Paul Lawrie.

InerGel, Taylor Made’s new ball, is making inroads, according to Merle Marting, Global Director of Brand Communications.

Marting said Taylor Made’s ball finished the year with 3.4% of the market share.

“For a new ball intro, that’s quite a good start,” Marting said. “We’re trending up.”

John Cook, Lee Janzen, John Daly and Gary McCord are among the pros using the Taylor Made ball.

Marting expects some “consolidation” among manufacturers in the future, meaning “there are some people in the golf ball business now that won’t be.” He also said Taylor Made testing of InerGel against Rule 35 showed the Taylor Made ball superior in distance and spin.

Dorman said robot testing of balls is flawed.

“You can dial in any result you want,” Dorman said. “That’s why we never use any comparative robot testing. It’s the ultimate yes-man. . . . If you want to find out if our golf ball is any good, just hit it and find out.”

FOOD NEWS

Gong the dinner plates. Sound the silverware. Alert the gourmands.

Here is Jose Maria Olazabal’s menu selection for the Masters Champions dinner: Starters--roasted almonds, olives, cheese; entree--filet of beef with Bordelaise sauce, European-style potatoes, green salad with oil and vinegar; dessert--chocolates.

Said Sam Snead, who wasn’t too happy (“That’s no dinner.”) about Tiger Woods’ choice of cheeseburgers in 1998: “Beef, now that sounds good to me.”

MASTERS MILESTONES

It’s been (blank) years since (blank):

10--Since the last playoff, when Nick Faldo defeated Raymond Floyd.

20--Since Greg Norman made his debut.

25--Since Lee Elder became the first African American to play.

30--Since the last 18-hole playoff, when Billy Casper defeated Gene Littler.

WEEKENDS IN AUGUSTA

There probably is something to be said about consistency, so here it is: Four players in the Masters field (who have made at least five starts) have never missed the cut at Augusta National.

They are Fred Couples with 15, John Huston with 10, Janzen with eight and Daly with seven.

But Bernhard Langer has the longest current streak with 16 straight Masters without missing the cut, over the last 17 years.

LOOK, A STREAKER

For what it’s worth, Woods’ stretch of 10 victories in his last 17 tournaments is the best since Byron Nelson won 10 straight in his 1945 streak of 12 in a row.

Other than Nelson’s mark, Woods’ success ratio is better than Ben Hogan’s stretch of 10 victories in 19 events that spanned 1949-1953 and Johnny Miller’s 10 of 23 in 1974-1975.

IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS

It’s perfect for your office Masters pool. That would be a new site on Golfonline.com, called GolfStats, which enables the user to search by player, tournament, year and tour--back to 1970 on the PGA Tour, 1975 on the LPGA Tour and 1990 on the Buy.com Tour and Senior PGA Tour.

SEE YA, ERNIE

Also for what it’s worth, Ernie Els’ tie for 20th at the Players Championship dropped him to No. 11 in the official world ranking, the first time he hasn’t been in the top 10 in 299 weeks, since he won the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont.

POWER BROKERS

The Guardian in London ran its list of who it believes to be the 50 most powerful figures in sports, and Rupert Murdoch was No. 1. Tim Finchem was No. 12, Bud Selig No. 13, David Stern No. 20, Michael Jordan No. 44 and Woods No. 45.

LOOK, SHE’S SMILING

She no longer wears braces, so Sorenstam is smiling a lot more than she used to. It wasn’t as if she was unhappy, just bashful.

“I kept my lips together,” Sorenstam said. “I didn’t want to show my metal. Now I’m making up for all the smiling I didn’t do the last two years.”

DRESSED TO DRIVE

Sorenstam is featured in a Callaway Golf TV ad in which she socks a ball while she is dressed in an evening gown. The 30-second spot took eight hours to complete, she said.

Sorenstam tried a number of dresses before she chose a sleeveless number that allowed her to swing freely. Besides showing that she could actually bend over in an evening gown, Sorenstam said the ad proved something else about her that was much more important.

“I do dress up sometimes, I do wear makeup sometimes,” she said.

CHECKING THE ODDS

Who has the best chance to win the Masters? Woods, of course, who is listed as a 5-1 favorite, according to Golf Digest.

Closest to Woods are David Duval at 10-1, Els, Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie at 20-1.

Sergio Garcia and Tom Lehman are listed as 25-1. Norman and Olazabal, the defending champion, get no respect at 40-1.

TOM TEES OFF

Tom Weiskopf is known these days as one of the top golf course architects around, but he is also known as one of the more outspoken golfers ever.

Here is what Weiskopf had to say recently about the senior tour:

“Excluding about a dozen guys, they are the most unhappy group of individuals I’ve ever been around in my life,” Weiskopf told Golf Digest. “It’s just pathetic. There are guys you see at the end of the day taking the plastic bag you’re supposed to put your golf shoes in and filling it up with beer or soft drinks to take it back to their room or out to their buddies.

“They dress in the dark; you see polyester and western pockets all over the place. And they’re cheap. I’ve watched some of them tip the locker room attendant, the guy who shines their shoes all week long, as little as $20. I mean they drink $30 worth of soft drinks and beer alone. I just couldn’t believe it.”

It’s too bad Weiskopf has no opinion. Anyway, it should be noted that Weiskopf’s management firm, IMG, sent agent Chris Roderick to the Legends of Golf senior event to soothe any ruffled nerves.