《Golf Digest》高尔夫球具设计.docx

《Golf Digest》高尔夫球具设计.docx

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《GolfDigest》高尔夫球具设计

100Features

MadeinChina

Thelandofhightechandcheaplaboristheworld'sultimateclubmaker

Oftheworld's45millionclubssoldannually,three-quartershaveAsianfingerprintsonthem.

ByMikeStachura

GolfDigest

April2007

ANIMPACTFELTAROUNDTHEGLOBE

WhenDickRugge,seniortechnicaldirectoroftheU.S.GolfAssociation,wentlookingthreeyearsagoforatitaniumdriverthathecouldmaketheorganization'snewofficialtestclubforitsswingrobot,hedidn'tgotoTaylorMade,CallawayorTitleist.Hedidn'tworkwithanyofthehighlyregardedindependentdesignersintheU.S.Hedidn'teventapintotheeliteacademicexpertiseatsomeofthenation'stopengineeringschools,suchastheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology,LehighandNewYorkPolytechnic,thattheUSGAkeepsonretainertostudygolftechnology.

Instead,hewenttoAsia.

Moreprecisely,RuggecontactedFuSheng,thelargestmanufacturerofgolfclubheadsintheworld,whichhasmajorfactoriesinTaiwan,ChinaandVietnamthattogetherproducemorethanamillionclubheadsamonth.Ruggeexplainedwhathewaslookingforinaclubhead,andFuShengshippedhimseveral"openmodels,"whattheindustrycallsfactory-produceddesignsamplesthatsmallerclubcompaniesintheU.S.andaroundtheworldwillsometimesselectandslaptheirownlogoson.RuggeandtheUSGAstaffputthesamplesthroughvarioustestsandmeasurementsbeforesettlingononeparticularclubhead.Thatsamplebecametheclubthatthegame'schiefgoverningbodyusestodeterminewhichballswillconformtotheRulesofGolf.Inshort,thepresentandthefutureofthegamewillbedeterminedinpartbywhathappenedina3,000-degreetitaniumvacuumfurnaceinTao-YuanCity,Taiwan.

ADVERTISEMENT

Asia'scoming-of-agehaschangedeverythingingolf,particularlythepossibilityoftechnologicalprogress.Whatcanbedonetomakeapieceofmetalworkmoreefficientlyatgettingagolfballintothehole,andhowquicklythatpieceofmetalcanbetransformedintoaclubhead,dependsonthecapabilityoffactoriesinChinaandTaiwan."MadeinChina"notonlystockstheshelvesinWal-Mart,italsoinspirestheintellectualhorsepowerintheresearch-and-developmenthallsatgolf'sbiggestclubcompanies,aswellastheinquisitivetinkerersaloneintheirgarages.TheconfluenceoftheInformationAgeandtheChineseCenturyhasrevolutionizedmanufacturingandacceleratedinnovation.Newideascanbecomerealityindays,notmonthsoryears.Infact,asoneU.S.clubdesignersays,"Anyonewithafaxmachineandacouplethousanddollarscanbeintheequipmentbusiness."

THEGREATESTVENDOREVER

Fiveyearsago,theCalifornia-basedCoastcastCorporationwasmakingmorethanamilliontitaniumclubheadsayearforsomeofgolf'smajorbrands.Today,it'smakingnone.

Inatellingstatementin2002,BryanRolfe,vicepresidentofsalesandbusinessdevelopmentforCoastcastatthetime,dismissedanythreatfromitschiefU.S.-basedrival."OurcompetitionisnotRuger[Arizona-basedtitaniumcastingcompanySturm,Ruger&Co.]--notanymore,"Rolfesaid."It'sChina."Inlessthanayear,Rolfe'scompanyhadbeendelistedbytheNewYorkStockExchange,andby2004ithadcloseditsdoors.

Tomanyingolf,theemergenceofChinaasthecountryofbirthfornearlyallgolfclubsseemedtohappenthatquickly.Thatstatementhasthequalityofbeingoverlysimplisticandentirelyaccurateatthesametime.

Distanceintheraw:

Yourdriverrequirestheprecisionofawaxmoldandtheheatofa3,000-degreefurnace.

"Theyarethegreatestvendorsever,"saysClayLong,aveteranclubdesignerformanufacturerssuchasMacGregor,CobraandnowNicklausGolf."Theyaresuperiorineveryaspect.They'rebetter,fasterandnotasexpensive.Whatelsewouldyouwantinavendor?

"

Japanhasbeenintheclub-manufacturingbusinessfordecades,butasinvestmentcastingofclubheadsbecamemoreprominent,andthedesireformoreaffordablelaborbecameparamount,Taiwantooktheleadinclubheadmanufacturing.FuSheng,acompanythatdominatestheair-compressorbusinessinAsia,beganmanufacturingclubheadsin1978,andothercompanieswouldsoonfollow,aswouldyearsofconsolidation.Today,thefourmajormanufacturersthatgottheirstartinTaiwanhaveexpandedoperationstoChinaandbeyond.ThatfamilyoffourincludesFuSheng,Advanced,O-TAandDynamic.

AsthedemandforclubheadshasincreasedandthefactorieshaveexpandedtoChina,thatcountryhassproutedmorefirmstoworkwithsmallerU.S.companies,becausenoteventhecombinedresourcesofthefourpowerscancomeclosetohandlingtheordersthatcometheirway.JustascottagesubcontractorvendorsspranguparoundDetroittosupporttheU.S.car-manufacturingindustry,sotoohaveequipmentoperationsinsouthernChina,acrosstheTaiwanStraitinhigh-riseboomtownslikeZhuhai,Zhongshan,Guangzhou,DongguanandShenzhenandupthecoasttoShanghai.Throughouttheregion,thehotelsareflashynouveauriche,factoriesarebuiltontopofeachotherandcapitalismhastakenhold.AccordingtoareportintheChinese-languageCommercialTimesofTaiwan,oftheworld's45millionclubssoldannually,three-quartershaveAsianfingerprintsonthem.

MadeinChina:

continued

EfficiencyExperts:

FuSheng'sU-shapeworkstationshaveearneditareputationforhighqualitycontrol.

ByMikeStachura

GolfDigest

April2007

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WHATWECANDO,THEYCANDOBETTER

First,alessoninclubdesignandmanufacturing.Adesignidea,ofcourse,canstartinavarietyofways--onacocktailnapkinonatranscontinentalflight,asaprototypealuminumheadshapedbyhandonamillingmachine,or,asismostcommonlythecasetoday,asacomputerfile.Butitmattersnothoworwheretheideacomesfrom,somehowthatdesignmusttakerealform.That'swhereAsiacomesin.Companiesthroughouttheregioncantakethatideaandmakeitreal.Theirmethodologiescanbefrighteninglycomplex,yetthecompetitionisasmuchfraternalasfractious.

Butaboveallthings,itishighlyevolved.Forinstance,itisoneneattricktodevelopthewaxmoldusedinthetitaniumcastingprocessforanew460cubic-centimeterdriverheadthathasfourintricateweightportswithaspecializedscrew-tighteningmechanism,asintheTaylorMader7Superquaddriver.Butit'sanotherthingtocastthewallthicknessesat0.6millimeterswithoutthree-quartersoftheheadscavinginafterimpact.Speedingtheprocessisthepresenceofrapidprototypingmachines.Thesehigh-techscanningdevicescanproduceathree-dimensionalmodelofacomputerdrawinginminutes,andthemosthighlyevolvedcanyieldhittableversionsofproductideasinonlyafewdays.

Toallthis,addthetediousfinishingcomponentoftheclubhead-manufacturingprocess,withitspolishing,grindingandprecisionpainting,themajorityofwhichmustbedonebyhand,andtheroleofChinaanditsimmenseworkforcecanbeunderstood.

"Ofcourse,ifyouwanttousespecificnewtechnologies,youneedtodevelopthemwayaheadoftimeandprepareequipmentandprocesses,"saysTaylorMade'schieftechnicalofficer,BenoitVincent."Thisistheworkofourresearchdepartment:

preparetechnologieswithvendorsyearsbeforewecanusetheseprocessestomakenewdesigns.

ADVERTISEMENT

"Really,wesplitthecostofrunningthebusiness:

Thevendorsinvestinequipmentandmanufacturing,andweinvestindesign,marketingandsales,"saysVincent.

What'sleftunsaid,ofcourse,isthatonceauniqueprocessisdeveloped--say,thin-wallcasting--othercompaniesbeginusingit.JohnZeravica,anIllinois-basedindependentconsultanttotheequipmentindustry,saysthatcooperationhaslaidthefoundationforChinatobecomeabehemoth.

"It'snotthattheysuddenlyfiguredouthowtomakegolfclubs,"Zeravicaexplains."Wetaughtthemhowtodoit.Itusedtobethatyouwereneverquitesurewhatyouwereexpressingbecauseofthelanguagedifference.Thatgaphasclosedtremendously."

THEFIRSTTIER:

THEMANUFACTURINGGIANTS

FuSheng'sWang-MingLeelooksalmostprofessorialinhismilitary-cuthair,hisfashionablyframelesslensesandhismeasureddemeanorashewalksthroughthecompany'smassiveWorldmarkSportingGoodsfactoryinZhongshan.HespeaksasonewhoknowshiscompanyholdsthekeytoanyproductamajorU.S.manufacturer'sR&Dteammightdevise.Heknowsthatkeyisallaboutdollarsandcents.HeknowsnotonlybecausehiscompanyoccupiessomeofthetrendiestofficespaceinHongKong'sTsimshatsuidistrict,butbecausehehas14,000workersunderhiscommandasdeputygeneralmanageratWorldmark.HeknowswiththewisdomofsomeoneraisedintheageofChairmanMao.

"Ourcompanycultureistoneversayno,"hesaysthroughaninterpreter,awide-eyedjuniorsalesmannamedStonewhoiseagertotryouthisEnglish."Ofcourse,everythinganymanufacturercanthinkof,wecando.Butithasaprice.Wecanshowalternativesthatmaybereducethecost,buttherehavebeencaseswhere,becauseofus,thepricepointhasmeantaproductwasscrapped."

FuSheng'smanufacturingbulkcannotbeoverstated.Ifyouthinkproducingmorethanamillionclubheadsamonthsoundsincredible,considertheworkforcethatmakesithappen.Intotal,therearemorethan16,000FuShengemployeesdevotedtogolf,withabout14,000ofthematWorldmark,FuSheng's1.8-million-square-footfactoryinZhongshan.Itisoneofahandfulofmanufacturingmega-centerssurroundingsouthernChina'sPearlRiverDelta.Andthebusinessgeneratesdollarsnearlyasjaw-droppingasitsworkforce.FuSheng'srevenuehasincreasednearlyten