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Coming March 2012

2011 has been a year of change for Louisville Golf. In April we moved from a facility we occupied for nearly 3 decades to a newer building. Segments of our business that used to be strong have simmered down some, while other parts of our product line have taken off in ways we did not predict - our Hickory-shafted line of golf clubs in particular.

While it has taken some time to get used to our new digs, and our new business model, we are happy to report that 2011 is going very well for us, despite the recent challenges and expense of the move. Now that we have moved through a golf season, it is time to take a breath and look to the future, and that is what this post is about.

Moving forward, we would like to communicate the following updates:

NEW WEBSITE
In 2012 we will be launching a new and improved website. The new louisvillegolf.com will be a resource for the Spirit of the Game and will have fresh new features, including exciting new products. Stay tuned and sometime in the first three months of 2012 we will have our new website up and running.

2320 WATTERSON TRAIL, LOUISVILLE, KY 40299
This is our new address. Coming in the spring of 2012 we will have a new showroom and outlet area set up. Additionally, we will be giving tours by appointment of our new manufacturing facility. All our wood golf clubs are made here in our plant, and we would be happy to show you the steps to making a wood golf club when you have time to come see us next golf season.

NEW SPIRIT OF THE GAME BLOG
As of November 2011 the Persimmon bLog will not be receiving many more new entries. We apologize for the lack of new posts since our move. We plan to do better in 2012 with a new blog entitled The Spirit of the Game. This new organizing principle will be your repository for the things in golf that really matter. The blog and website will also re-launch our Facebook page and add a Twitter feature. More to come on all that.

So thank you for your support of Louisville Golf through the years. It has been our honor to be one of the last companies in the world keeping golf’s wooden tradition alive. We’ve been making wood golf clubs since 1974 and we’ll keep doing it as long as there are golfers like you out there with enough spirit to buy them; so far so good.

The New York/Long Island Hickory Players Club Presents

The Long Island National Hickory Open Sept. 16-18, 2011

To be played over the links at Long Island National Golf Club. This tournament is dedicated to the history of the game and to the many generations of parents who introduced their sons and daughters to the wonderful, magical, mystical game of golf.

Players must compete with original or Society of Hickory Golfers approved reproduction Hickory clubs and wear period attire. Demo Hickory golf clubs available at Long Island National Golf Club now!

Call Brian Schuman for more info 516-369-2195

Ligonier Hickory Classic
Ligonier Country Club established 1925
www.ligoniercountryclub.com

Saturday, October 1, 2011
cut off date is Sept. 28

contact the Ligonier CC pro shop for more information 724-238-5438 ext 1

Some of you might have heard of Wood Brothers, a venerable Persimmon wood clubmaker out of Texas. Their Texan Persimmon driver remains one of our favorite clubs ever made. Dave Wood, one of the Wood brothers, is a friend of Louisville Golf’s and has a website with some really cool artwork - one recently added accompanying a great piece on Classical Club Restoration. Click here to view or follow the URL below.

http://www.davewoodarts.com/

Here is a sneak preview of one of the new products we are developing for our new catalog coming out this March:

THE ELMORE 2011

Tenth Annual Elmore Just Memorial Golf Tournament
benefitting the Elmore Just Scholarship Fund at Bellarmine University

We affectionately call this event The Elmore! Thank you for participating in the past, or considering supporting our event this year. Since it is our tenth tournament, this year we have added some activities to the agenda. See below and let us know if you have any questions

Elmore Just was known as the “High Priest of Persimmon.” He founded The Louisville Golf Club Company, Persimmon Ridge Golf Club and the Professional Clubmakers’ Society. This Memorial Tournament is held every April to remember Elmore’s life and legacy. Held at Persimmon Ridge, one of the top golf courses in Kentucky, the event has grown into a very special day cherished by many. The proceeds from this event support the Elmore Just Scholarship Fund at Bellarmine University.

This year’s itinerary:

2:30 p.m. Beat the Pro Hickory 9-Hole Event | Cost $35
Cost includes 9 holes of Hickory golf at Persimmon Ridge, cart and prizes.
Limited to the first 24 golfers. Six foursomes will compete versus four PGA professionals including Ron Snider, host professional, in a special 9-hole match using Hickory-shafted golf clubs. If you do not have Hickory-shafted golf clubs they will be provided by Louisville Golf; bring shoes, balls, glove, and tees. Any modern golf ball may be used for play. Period dress is encouraged. There will be a Best Dressed award given to the male or female who best captures the spirit of this new event.

Contact Josh Fischer with Louisville Golf (information below) by Monday April 11 to reserve your spot.

6:30 p.m. dinner show in the grill room with Billy Mac | Cost: $30
Cost includes buffet dinner, show and commemorative bottle of wine.
Limited to the first 90 paid reservations. Adults only. Buffet dinner and fantastic stage show by the one and only Billy Mac, Elmore’s favorite entertainer.

Contact Josh Fischer with Louisville Golf (information below) by Monday April 11 to reserve your seat.

MONDAY April 18, 2011

8:15 a.m. Mass at St. Aloysius said in Elmore Just’s honor | All are welcome
Contact Josh Fischer with Louisville Golf (information below) to get  directions to this special mass said in Elmore’s memory.

11:30 to 12:45 Lunch and Registration
Cold cut lunch, register for the event, buy mulligans, receive tee prizes. 

1 p.m. The Elmore Memorial Scramble shotgun start | Cost: $125

After Golf: Turn in your scorecards, eat burgers

MORE TOURNAMENT INFORMATION:

TEE PRIZES: Persimmon fairway wood and a special sleeve of golf balls.

MULLIGANS: 2 per player, $5 each, sold at registration table. Buy all eight mulligans for your team $40. All proceeds go to the Bellarmine University.

FORMAT: Scramble; move back a set of tees for every 4 under par. Start from the tee appropriate to your age and handicap. Contest holes have set tees = men use white and women use red. No handicaps required.

HOLES (JUST COURSE) = CONTEST
 1 = longest drive male & female
 4 = closest to the pin
 6 = longest drive with a Hickory-shafted driver
 7 = play in silence
 11 = straightest drive
 12 = closest to the pin
 14 = closest to the pin with a Hickory-shafted iron
 17 =  play from 200 yards if you birdied #16
 18 = longest drive male & female

No. 7 is Played in Silence: Silence is observed on this hole in keeping with tournament tradition. Elmore Just is buried adjacent to the green on this hole. Teams who birdie No. 7 place their ball on Elmore’s grave in the Just Family cemetery. (Each team member will receive a special 2011 EJMT Persimmon turning) Tee shots on No. 7 are hit with a Persimmon driver. Drivers are made available by Louisville Golf on the tee for those who do not have a Persimmon driver in their bag, yet.

TO SIGN UP FOR ANY OF THE EVENTS
Contact Josh Fischer with Louisville Golf
 phone 502-491-5490
 e-mail josh@louisvillegolf.com

Package pricing:
 Sunday Hickory event, Sunday dinner show, EJMT golf = $180
 Sunday Hickory event, Sunday dinner show = $60
 Sunday Hickory event, Monday EJMT golf = $155
 Sunday dinner show, EJMT golf = $150

* Modern sand wedge
* Classic toe peak design
* Solid hickory shaft
* Modern rubber or handwrapped leather grip
* Stiff or regular flex
* 56 degrees of loft
* Right hand

$149.99 with modern grip
$169.99 with handwrapped leather grip

Available for delivery in March, order online coming soon.
visit www.louisvillegolf.com

Available for delivery in March, order online coming soon.
visit www.louisvillegolf.com

This doesn’t surprise us, we talk to golfers all the time who value a Persimmon fairway wood in their golf bag, but to see it in a major golf publication (GOLF) from one of the funniest actors on the planet (Will Ferrell) is worth noting here on our blog. Check out what club Will Ferrell (Old School, Anchorman, Elf, SNL actor) favors for his game in the most recent issue of Golf Magazine:

GOLF MAGAZINE: Speaking of history, you used to play with clubs from the Woodrow Wilson administration. Have you upgraded your weapons?

WILL FERRELL: I still have the 4-wood—a sweet little persimmon. I love shaping that soft persimmon. Titanium doesn’t give me that controlled power fade.

CLICK HERE to read the entire article on golf.com Of course we have plenty of Persimmon fariway woods for sale on our website: www.louisvillegolf.com

SEVENTH ANNUAL MID PINES HICKORY OPEN

Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club
Southern Pines, North Carolina
November 5-7, 2010

FINAL RESULTS

Donald Ross Division (Open) Gross

First Place
Ben Plaunt, Beaumont, Alberta, Canada 78-79=157

Second Place
Rick Woeckener, Fredericksburg, VA 76-82=158

Third Place
Josh Fischer, Louisville, KY 82-81=163                             
Kelly Miller, Southern Pines, NC 83-80=163
Jeff Hunt, Bloomington, IL 77-86=163

Sixth Place
Fred Muller, Frankfort, MI 80-84=164
Jim Wilhelm, Paris, Ontario, Canada 80-84=164

Eighth Place
Ted Kopec, Oviedo, FL 80-85=185

Ninth Place
Rusty Wells, Pinehurst, NC 86-80=166
Brian Schuman, Melville, NY 85-81=166

These are the top ten golfers for the event in the open division; click here for final results or e-mail josh@louisvillegolf.com for a final score sheet.

Above, all five of these golfers used the Louisville Golf Fancy Face Hickory-shafted driver off of the No. 1 tee at Mid Pines Golf Club during the 2010 Mid Pines Hickory Open.

Above, Louisville Golf president Mike Just: We want to thank the great folks at Mid Pines Golf Course, a beautiful Donald Ross layout that was in perfect condition for the tournament. To Graham Gilmore, Bob Esworthy and the rest of the staff at Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club we want to give special thanks to their excellent service and care. We look forward to the 2011 event. And we want to thank the many players who have come to us for clubs, repairs, and good conversation about this great game of Hickory Golf that we all enjoy.

Hold the dates, July 11th,12th, and 13th 2011!

The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG) is pleased to announce its fourth annual U.S. Hickory Open Championship. In 2011, the tournament will be hosted by the French Lick Resort in French Lick, Indiana.

“French Lick Resort is just about an hour from Louisville, KY. My family and I have had many great stays there and the Donald Ross Course is really something special,” said Josh Fischer, Louisville Golf marketing director. “You do not want to miss this event if you are playing Hickory Golf or just starting out. Make sure you plan your trip with a tour of our facilities on the schedule.”

The U.S. Hickory Open will feature a practice round on Monday, July 11th followed on Tuesday and Wednesday by two 18 hole tournament rounds.

Mark your calendars and make appropriate commitments to attend this event.

Visit http://www.ushickoryopen.org/ for more information.

Visit the Society of Hickory Golfers website: http://www.hickorygolfers.com/