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"I'll just get a Strokesaver...."
by Colm Gill
From its HQ in Paisley, Scotland, the Strokesaver
company produces distance guides for some 600 courses in 21
countries including Austria,
China, Dubai, Italy, France, Germany, USA, Luxembourg, S.Africa
and Sweden. In fact, golfers can expect to find Strokesaver
guides
in the pro-shops of all the best courses from Australia to Zimbabwe.
It is important to emphasise the word 'best' as one of the principal
reasons Strokesaver has gained - and maintained - its premiere
position, has been the policy of situating itself at the quality
end of the
market.
The impressive client database at the Strokesaver
Head Office includes all the top Championship courses in the United
Kingdom and Ireland, plus the Augusta National and all recent US
Ryder Cup venues. The brand enjoys official recognition from many
Golf Federations as well as the PGAs of various countries. Each
year, the Royal & Ancient Club at St.Andrews, as organisers
of the golfing world's most important tournament - The Open Championship,
places its trust in Strokesaver to produce a definitive distance
guide, not only for the principal course on the Open rota, but also
all the Final-Qualifying courses.
Given such global penetration and presence, one
would be forgiven for believing that Strokesavers have been around
for as long as the R&A. In fact, Strokesaver has established
itself in a relatively short period of time. With the advent of
televised tournaments in the late '70s, the public became aware
of the tournament player's habit of referring to tiny diagrams of
golf holes on nothing more than a piece of card. The power of TV
resulted in the practice spreading to club players, particularly
when visiting unfamiliar courses. Generally, the guides then available
were scrappily produced and unsatisfactory due to the many inaccuracies
they contained. Something more professional was required to fill
a growing hole in the golf market - and it was David Duckering who
provided it.
Duckering was a scratch golfer who had previously
represented Scotland at University level. Being involved in the
whisky industry, the keen golfer had cause to travel the world and,
just occasionally, make time for some business during a round of
golf. Duckering explains, "One day I played at Pebble Beach
where it cost more than $50, I know it costs a lot more nowadays,
but, at that time, $50 was more than I'd ever paid for a round of
golf in my life. Being a true Scot, it hurt me to pay for something
and not get full value for my money. I hadn't a clue about clubbing
nor what shots to hit where, so it struck me that a distance guide
would be an extremely useful accompaniment to the round."
Upon returning to Scotland, Duckering made use of the golfing contacts
established during his university days to propose that he provide
the R&A with an official distance booklet for Muirfield, which
was to host the Open that year. "I thought we'd have a crack
at Muirfield in 1980 just to see if it could pay off. My inexperience
meant we spent far too much money on helicopters for the aerial
shots and, in the end, we lost about 4,000 pounds on that first
venture. However, it turned out to be money well spent."
The R&A left the distance charts in the locker
rooms at Muirfield at the start of Open week and almost every competitor
referred to them during the practice rounds. Top stars such as Jack
Nicklaus and Tom Watson used the information for every hole on the
course. In fact, Watson used the guide to assist his victory and
was seen by millions of TV spectators with a Strokesaver guide in
his hand during the closing holes of the championship. The exposure
was manna from heaven for the fledgling company. Acceptance by the
players led to a repeat contract with the R&A and Strokesaver
was eventually named as the Official Course Guide to The Open. Another
timely publicity boost came when Nick Price very visibly used his
guide to assist his success at Turnberry in 1994.
The passage of two decades has seen Strokesaver
build a reputation based on solid credentials. The production process
of high-resolution aerial photography, professional ground surveying
equipment being coupled with a full understanding of course design
has resulted in a guide that is unequalled anywhere in the world
today.
Although many firms produce alternative guides, these, generally,
tend to contain the same inaccuracies as those first seen in the
early 70s. To a certain extent, this is understandable as courses
are forever evolving. As a course matures, trees grow, tees are
changed or extended, and bunkers taken out of play or added to increase
difficulty. A change in greenkeeping staff can alter the dimensions
of a putting surface drastically through the simple act of mowing
greens in a different way. With the passage of time, the original
green is lost and all previous measurements have become obsolete.
Duckering says, "It's amazing the discrepancies to be found
on some cards. One hole we measure at Portmarnock, a few years ago
now, was 16m out - and that was a par 3!"
Strokesaver attempts to combat any modifications
through the use of a distance plate system. The method was first
introduced at Royal St.George's Open in 1993 and involves different
coloured plates being placed at key landing points on the fairway
so that players have defined reference points. Unlike the ubiquitous100m,
150m and 200m stakes, the plates are positioned in relation to the
length of the hole and, thus, vary from hole to hole.
Another advantage of the plate system is that the club creates a
permanent record of the original course layout (it is surprising
how many renowned clubs don't actually possess this information).
At commercial sites, the plates help speed up play by providing
exact information where it is required.
A further benefit for clubs that opt for an original
Strokesaver, rather than a less accurate alternative, is commercial.
Clubs can easily recuperate the start up costs of a first print
run through the sales income a Strokesaver will generate. Many corporate
venues, as a matter of course, include the price of a guide into
the cost of a company/society visit and are very happy with the
profits. It has consistently been proven that, a prominently displayed
Strokesaver guide can provide a disproportionate amount of a shop's
operational profits as the guide is an attractively priced souvenir
of a visit to a key venue.
Sales of the Valderrama Strokesaver shot up before
the 1997 Ryder Cup and have been maintained as visitors invariably
seek out a commemorative gift for family and friends. A similar
phenomenon occurs at St.Andrews where 'Old Course' guides sell by
the dozen. But, it is not just at the famous clubs where golfers
look to buy a Strokesaver as a souvenir. Mijas, Torrequebrada, La
Manga and Vilamoura, to name but a few, all enjoy an exceptional
level of sales to holidaying golfers. It is not unusual for many
visitors to buy an extra copy: one for use on the day, and another
to be kept in pristine condition as part of a valued collection
of 'courses I have played'. Indeed, such is the fad for collecting
original Strokesaver guides that the Paisley office offers a subscription
service for new guides published, incredibly there are over 1,000
Japanese names on the list !
So, next time you play a new course, say the magic
words "I'll just get a Strokesaver..." not only will you
cut shots off your card, but you will acquire a positive memento
of an enjoyable day's golf.
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