January 5, 2019

NORWALK, Conn. (Jan. 4, 2019) — Inventors of new golf training and teaching aids, accessories and equipment will be able to gauge the interest of more than 40,000 attending PGA Professionals, golf industry leaders and media from around the world at the Inventors Spotlight, during the PGA Merchandise Show, Jan. 23-25, 2019, in Orlando, Florida.

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Organized in partnership with the United Inventors Association (UIA), the Inventors Spotlight on the PGA Show Floor showcases new golf and golf lifestyle-related products developed by independent inventors. In addition to the business networking opportunity provided by the PGA Show, Inventors Spotlight exhibitors also participate in the UIA Awards Program, where their products are reviewed and top inventions are presented with one of three awards – Most Innovative Concept, Best Marketing, and the Pinnacle Award (Best in Show) – on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 1 p.m. Judging will be conducted by UIA experts, who will be in attendance throughout the PGA Show to answer questions associated with taking an idea to the development, patenting, production and product distribution stage.

“In working with the United Inventors Association, we are pleased to provide a platform unlike any other in the golf industry for inventors to introduce and demonstrate their golf-related innovations, receive feedback from industry influencers, and, potentially, secure new points of retail distribution,” said PGA Merchandise Show Event Vice President Marc Simon. “The Inventors Spotlight at the PGA Merchandise Show has easily become a favorite Show floor destination among attendees over the past several years.”

Inventor’s Spotlight participating inventors/inventions currently include:
(as of Jan. 4, 2019)

Best-Putt
Burken Products, Inc.
Btheline Golf
Exact Golf Designs
Fourball LLC
Golfuture
Guided Knowledge

Lock-in Golf Grip, LLC
Notify Golfers
Sit Fit Inc
Snap-IN golf
The Media Stick
United Inventors Assn
Walk18 Golf

About the Awards:

Most Innovative Concept: This award recognizes a product (in development or finalized) that is truly unique in a product category. From a sketch through a fully developed product, this category looks at the overall innovation of the concept and how it fits into the category. Examples of this include: Does the product represent an innovative approach to the benefit it provides the consumer? Does the product take a novel approach to its function and design? Does the product solve a consumer problem in a new or creative fashion?

Best Marketing Effort: Marketing an idea effectively can be a daunting challenge. This award showcases inventors who develop and deliver an irresistible sales pitch that makes prospects acutely aware of the value they will derive from their product or service, in a clear and quantifiable way.

The Pinnacle Award (Best in Show): The successful development of a product takes talent, knowledge, and tenacity. As such, the Pinnacle Award recognizes the broadest range of efforts by the inventor, be it from design, market research, sales, fulfillment, manufacturing and quality. This category is judged on the entire process. Judgements on this award are based on the attention paid by the inventor to all phases of ideation, invention and commercialization.

How Judging Works: Judging will be conducted by UIA experts, who will visit inventors at their booths to learn more about the product. Inventors will share attributes, demonstrate the product and be able to ask questions to the judges to further their invention. There is no fee required to participate in the UIA Awards Program.

About the United Inventors Association
The UIA is a 501c3 non-profit educational foundation dedicated to providing educational resources and opportunities to the independent inventing community, while encouraging honest and ethical business practices among industry service providers. As the largest inventor membership organization in the country, which includes nearly 100 affiliated local inventor clubs, the organization’s mission is to empower inventors through education, access and advocacy. Learn more about the UIA at uiausa.org.

About the PGA Merchandise Show
The 66th PGA Merchandise Show, held Jan. 22-25, 2019, in Orlando, will welcome some 1,000 top golf companies and brands and more than 40,000 industry professionals from around the world to the industry’s annual global summit for the business of golf. The PGA Show Demo Day, the world’s largest professional golf testing event, will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at the Orange County National Golf Center. During PGA Show days, Jan. 23-25, at the Orange County Convention Center, PGA Professionals, retailers and industry leaders will uncover the latest trends, source the newest golf merchandise, test the latest equipment, learn proven business best practices, network among peers and move forward the business of the game. The PGA Merchandise Show, “the MAJOR of Golf Business,” is a trade-only event, not open to the public.

Until The Next Tee!!

#FightAndGrind #SeeUOnTheNextTee

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Honma Golf. While the golf manufacturer from Japan isn’t widely known in North America that’s something that’s about to change. On New Year’s Day, Honma Golf announced the signing of current World Number Two golfer Justin Rose to a multi-year agreement.

The announcement puts an end to the rumors that Rose was leaving his former club manufacturer in favor of Honma Golf. These rumors have been churning since the fall as his previous contract was expiring (some time around the Turkish Airlines Open). The contract involves a 10-club agreement consisting of Driver, Irons and Wedges. Rose can round out the rest of his golf bag with whatever he sees fit. The same goes for his golf ball.

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Honma Golf also happens to have current Women’s World Number Three golfer SoYeon Ryu and former World Number One golfer Shan-Shan Feng in their stable.

Honma Golf has three distinct product ranges available for golfers with three different price ranges. First they have the premium Beres range, covering the middle ground of the market is their Tour World line-up (these are the clubs that Justin Rose will be playing) and last but not least the BeZeal line. All of their equipment is of the highest quality. I visited their booth at the 2018 PGA Merchandise Show (Demo Day) and I was very impressed by my experience. I always figured Honma Golf to be pretentious however I couldn’t have been more wrong about that. As a matter of fact, their booth was probably the most laid back that I visited.

Honma Golf is about a lot more than just golf clubs. They also feature everything from apparel to golf shoes and several models of golf balls.

Thanks go out to Preston Toulon from Honma Golf USA for sharing the press release below outlining the details of the Justin Rose signing.

(January 1, 2019 – Hong Kong) Honma Golf Limited (“HONMA”, stock code: 6858.HK), one of the most prestigious and iconic brand in the golf industry, is pleased to announce that HONMA and Justin Rose, 2018 FedEx Cup Champion, have agreed to a multi-year partnership in which Justin Rose would lead HONMA’s worldwide tour presence. The Board sees this as an important milestone in HONMA’s efforts in global professional golf. Founded in 1959 in Japan, HONMA is one of the most prestigious and iconic brand in the golf industry, synonymous with intricate craftsmanship, dedication to performance excellence and distinguished product quality. According to a recent Nielsen research, HONMA ranks as the world’s number one premium golf brand in terms of sales.

Photo Credit: Honma Golf

Justin Rose, aged 38, is an English professional golfer and the Rio 2016 Olympics Gold medalist. Justin is coming off the strongest year of his professional career in which he captured the coveted FedEx Cup and helped Europe to a dominating Ryder Cup victory in France. He ascended to number one in the Official World Golf Rankings multiple times and is currently positioned as the second-ranked golfer in the world. “I’m extremely excited to be joining HONMA.” said Justin, “Coming off one of my best years professionally, I wanted to make it a point to get better. I believe HONMA equipment and the legendary HONMA craftsmanship can help make me better.” Mr. Liu Jian Guo, Chairman of HONMA Golf, commented, “when we thought about the ideal golfer that aligns with our company values, everything pointed to Justin Rose. Justin is a world-class player, and beyond that, a gentleman and family man. We are ecstatic to have him on the HONMA team. Besides, we strongly believe that with Justin’s local and international influence in the sport and his media coverage and social media following, the partnership will create an immediate and positive uplift of HONMA’s brand image and product awareness in mature markets such as North America and Europe which will in turn accelerate the implementation of HONMA’s growth strategies in these markets.”

About Honma Golf Limited

HONMA is one of the most prestigious and iconic brands in the golf industry, synonymous with intricate craftsmanship, dedication to performance excellence and distinguished product quality. HONMA Golf was successfully listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 6 October 2016 (Stock Code: 6858.HK). The Company predominantly designs, develops, manufactures and sells a comprehensive range of aesthetically-crafted and performance-driven golf clubs, under 3 major product categories for clubs, namely BERES, TOUR WORLD and BeZeal, each targeting specific consumer segments. HONMA Golf also offers customers a complete golf lifestyle experience through an extensive portfolio of golf balls, apparel, accessories and other related products. According to Frost & Sullivan, HONMA ranked among the top ten golf product brands in the world and was the number one brand for premium golf clubs, in each case in terms of retail sales in 2015. It was also the fastest growing brand within the top 10 golf products brands as measured by year-on-year retail sales growth from 2014 to 2015. HONMA Golf’s products are sold in approximately 50 countries worldwide, primarily in Asia and also across North America, Europe and other regions.