While NIKE officials claim they will pursue players to endorse the company's new golf ball line, which will debut in January, the buzz from many manufacturers is that there will be very few big player endorsement deals in 1999 on the PGA Tour. Instead, there will be more player pools, where manufacturers have mini-tournaments within each PGA Tour event for players using their brand of clubs that week. RAY COOK , for example, well-known for its putters and wedges, has debuted a new wind shirt line. TOUR EDGE , a Chicago club manufacturer, has gotten into manufacturing its own bags. It's a lot harder when people invest money in your company.
Business gets more serious and investors expect results over time.
The challenges are different, but you can either make the most of them or let them run you over. I wish everyone knew how dedicated we are to our formula. That included nearly 2,000 visitors from 53 other countries. But the PGA also anticipated there would be 100 fewer exhibitors this year at Las Vegas than last, and that there were 259 first-time exhibitors this year. Watch for our show reports from there.