With a handful of manufacturers having a tight stranglehold on the multi-million dollar golf club market, you might wonder why anyone would try and start up their own clubmaking operation. Well, the guys at Woodinville-based Upswing Golf feel like they have a unique angle on the business, with the goal of making the game more affordable. But before you dismiss Richard Merk and Bret Larsen as naïve about the golf club industry, consider their resumes. Merk spent more than two decades in executive management with TaylorMade and Callaway, working in strategic planning, marketing, manufacturing and supply chain management. Larsen served as VP of Manufacturing and VP of Golf Club Development at Callaway for 15 years, supervising the production of millions of golf clubs. So clearly Merk and Larsen know the club-making business, from R&D to delivery, and they felt they could do it more efficiently — without sacrificing quality — and pass the savings onto the consumer. One way is by cutting out the big-name endorsements — and the subsequent national advertising — that ultimately drive the cost of brand name clubs higher. “With new restrictions by the governing bodies, the technology wars are over and (the top name brands) are just fighting over the same acreage, more shelf space,” Merk said. “You have to be prepared for a marketing war and it doesn’t guarantee you diddly. We’d have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on advertising, then hope that you read our ad, hope that you decide to go down to your retailer, hope that they carry our product and hope that a sales person doesn’t steer you to something else.” Upswing’s model bypasses the retail and wholesale stages entirely. Instead, Upswing promotes their clubs directly to corporate, charity and club tournament directors to use for giveaways, raffle and doors prizes. Upswing will be a part of 15,000 to 20,000 events this year, giving them exposure to hundreds of thousands of golfers. Many of those players will get a driver, wedge or hybrid from Upswing for just the cost of shipping, and in turn, the company believes those players will come back and purchase more clubs once they see how it performs and its affordability.

“We can’t think of a better way to promote our clubs than to give people one, have them play it and tell us what they think.” — Upswing Golf’s Richard Merk

Merk and Larsen have confidence because they know they’re getting their clubs from the same foundries — using the same materials at similar cost — as the industries’ big boys. Like nearly all clubs sold in the U.S., Upswing clubs are cast and finished in China. “All of the major foundries that existed in the U.S. are now gone,” Merk said. “You can get knockoffs (from China) that look like the real thing but they perform at 30 or 40 percent,” Larsen said. “We’re very careful and focused on getting premium manufacturing.” In independent, invitation-only tests in 2006, two highly-reputable golf equipment testing firms — Rankmark and GolfTest USA — recently gave Upswing’s 400cc titanium driver marks equaling or surpassing name brand drivers in the category that are more than twice the price. You can learn more about Upswing Golf at www.upswinggolf.com.