THE SCHAUMBURG GOLF CLUB has introduced indoor golf all year round at the club. New simulators allow you to enjoy golf even when it’s cold and snowy outside, and now you can enjoy food and drink from Chandlers Chop House upstairs, or now have it brought down to the golf area. See Schaumburggolf.com or call (847)-885-9000, SGC is located at 401 N Roselle Road, Schaumburg. Just minutes away from Woodfield Mall.    ______________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by Rory Spears, Editor and Director of Content. Follow Rory to the hitting bays at the Schaumbrug Golf Club, on Facebook, Linkedin, & Twitter @GogBlogGuy

EDITORS NOTE***

Yesterday while shopping in the Schaumburg area, I stopped at the PGA Tour Store.

It took a while on my own to find the area where Wilson Clubs are sold in the store. But once I did, I looked for the Wilson Triton Driver, there were none.

I tracked down a store employee who told me the Triton had been pulled from the stores shelf’s because of the non-conforming issues with the USGA. They could not give me a date when the Triton would be put back on the floor for sale for it’s customers. This has to be disappointing for Wilson Golf that was on a roll, after the final show of Driver vs Driver. Triton which is listed at $449.00 at the PGA Tour Store, probably could have sold well during the holiday season. Can Wilson regroup in time for the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando in late January, as of now it’s hard to say.

I was told that customers are still coming into the store and asking to hit Triton. BIG 3 partner Len Ziehm reports from Florida that, there was a demo day at a store in Florida with the Triton as the main feature, that however doesn’t seem to be the picture right here in Wilson’s own back yard, Chicago.

The USGA in spite of my requests, is still not making technical director John Spitzer available for an interview. I was invited to submit questions for him, only to be told “most” of the questions submitted, now have to be referred to Wilson Golf. The other one’s I am still awaiting answers on, but not holding my breath. I am still hoping to speak with Wilson Golf GM Tim Clark on Triton, but he too, has not been available.

  VS                                            TITAN                                                         TRITON

Earlier this week Wilson Golf released a lengthy 2-page statement, that has no quotes from Clark or anyone else at WG. But here is a summary of it’s release.

MORE THAN 18 MONTH’S AGO Wilson Golf and The Golf Channel set out to do something unprecedented in the golf industry. We wanted to create an innovative, crowd-sourced golf driver through an engaging television series designed to open the game of golf to a broader audience and bring new and exciting ideas and products to fairways everywhere.

We saw Driver vs Driver as a compelling way to educate golfers on how drivers are designed, developed and manufactured, with particular emphasis on how to create products that conform with USGA and R&A regulations.

The winning design, the Triton Driver is the most adjustable multi piece driver ever introduced. Early feedback from professionals and amateurs, has been extraordinary.

The normal timeline for submitting new products to the USGA was compressed because of the format and confidentiality of the program. The USGA pushed through a ruling on the 9 degree model so it would be ready for PGA Tour play in January. It was ruled conforming. But the USGA had concerns about two features on Triton, in the retail market.

The first feature is an aesthetic one, that involves reducing the rear edge of the drivers sole-plates by a few millimeters. The USGA has informed us that a minor modification to the sole plates will bring Triton into conformity with the “Plain in Shape” rule. This small reduction is consistent with the sole plates of the 9 degree Triton model.

The second issue is related to the optional 12 gram weight on the 10.5 and 12 degree Triton accessory kits. In testing the driver with the maximum 24-grams of weight, with an optional 12-gram weight in the toe of the club, the USGA observed a CT (Characteristic Time) that was slightly above their allowable limits and testing tolerance.

Wilson would like it noted here that, this combination of the Triton Titanium sole plate and this extreme weight configuration was not used in Wilson’s evaluation of Triton, as it would have resulted in a heavy swing weight and a fade/slice bias.

Wilson says, “they are very disappointed” in the USGA’s position on Triton, and that doing what’s right for our players and for the game of golf come first. Wilson add’s it’s record of 100 years of bringing conforming golf products to the sport, and that Triton is not the exception, regardless of the configuration.

As a result, Wilson is removing the optional 12 gram weight from all Triton accessory kits, and the Triton with new sole plates have been submitted this week. Wilson is confident these changes will satisfy the USGA’s concerns, and Triton will be listed as conforming by December 19th.

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Once Wilson receives a conforming ruling, it will exchange the current sole plates for the new ones. The new plates will be identified by a “DVD” logo on the bottom of the Triton club.

For players who have already purchased a Triton please visit Wilson.com/Triton to register for the program. On January 1st shipments of the Triton DVD Driver will be available through Wilson golf authorized dealers.

Wilson says it’s excited by the prospect of Triton being enjoyed by golfers of all skill levels.

That being said, it will interesting to see what Triton will bring to the game, and if it will be back moving off the racks in golf stores in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned and clicked in here. RS