The fact it is the same genre of putters used by Tiger Woods didn't hurt. SoftSpikes leads the pack as non-metal spike stampede continues. Only three years ago, there were but a handful of courses in the United States that had banned the wearing of metal spikes on golf shoes. That changed, explosively, from 1996 through '97, as more and more, golfers and golf courses became aware that synthetic cleats ended the nuisance of spike-marked greens. Md. It eventually broke away from a pack of competitors that have all dabbled to varying degrees in synthetic cleats and, in 1997, SoftSpikes established a beachhead.
Ping jumps into player-endorsement arena.
Karsten Manufacturing Corp. had been a holdout. While other companies happily signed PGA Tour stars to rich endorsement contracts, Karsten, maker of Ping clubs, declined to pay for exclusive, megabucks promoters of its products. The higher the finish, the greater the cash. Ping announced new plans late last summer. It would drain the pool and begin signing Tour stars to exclusive contracts.