The Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is one of the biggest events played but it's also one of the quietest weeks for us, if quite tiring, with long days. The players have a full schedule for the week. In addition to playing and practising they have to attend media interviews and dinners. They'll have their equipment checked and ready the week before and won't change anything unless it's broken.There are quite a few trees at the K Club so there's always a chance of a broken shaft or two, especially with match-play format, where they'll go for the shots. This time, though, we weren't called into action.

What a fantastic week of golf it was. I can't remember seeing so many great shots played under such extreme pressure. Luke Donald and JJ Henry, both of whom are contracted to Mizuno, of course, played great all week. The player of the week for me, though, was Darren Clarke. To play that well in such a pressurised environment, having been through what he's been through, was almost super-human an inspiration to millions. I stood by the first tee when he arrived. His reception was rapturous. The cheering and clapping was deafening. I also had prime position on the clubhouse balcony on the final day when the champagne was being opened over the crowd and that was unbelievable too. To have a bit-part in the Ryder Cup was an experience I will never forget.

Watching golfing history unfold is a wonderful part of our job but the workshop had a lot of hard work on its hands before the K Club. There had been a welcome August break. The US PGA Championship and following week's WGC Bridgestone Invitational Championship being in America, it allowed technicians Tommy and Terry to take a rare trip home to Japan. Then everyone got back to work in earnest after we received shipment of a couple of pallets containing all our freshly launched models for the 06/07 season. These were packed onto the workshop for immediate promotion the following week at the BMW Championship in Munich.

There was enormous interest in our new models. The MP-67 is a new Cut Muscle blade, the MX-25 replaces MX-23 and takes the one-piece forged iron to a higher level of forgiveness. The R-Series wedges feature a round head shape and a new Workshop Grind sole. And we've also got two new utility clubs in the MP Fli-Hi and the CLK Fli-Hi. The MP Fli-Hi is a direct long iron replacement club and will be very popular on tour. The 2, 3 and 4-irons have a hollow construction, allowing us to move the weight low and deep in the head to provide a high launch angle from a very forgiving sweet area size. So instead of trying to fit a different shaft with a lower kickpoint, we are able to use the same shaft as the rest of their set - and let the head design do the work of launching the ball high. The other real bonus is a soft landing. The CLK Fli-Hi is a wood-based hybrid and titanium has been used on the crown, again to provide a lower, deeper centre of gravity for a higher flight.

So the BMW Championship was a very busy week for us. Any time we have new models the players queue up to place their orders and they all want to be the first. The initial reaction was fantastic. They have to like the look of the heads before they'll think about trying them. The offset, face profile, head size and overall look are very important but it's the performance that will really dictate whether a model will become a success. A success? I'm pretty sure we have some future award winners onboard.

That week we made about 20 sets of irons, in addition to wedges and utilities. The MP-67, as expected, was very popular. The Cut Muscle blade design really enables the player to work the ball. The feel further enhanced with the use of a new softer material called 1025E Pure Select mild carbon steel is tremendous and the head design provides great feedback, informing the player just how he's struck it. In addition to our regular contracted players, the MP-67 also caught the eye of Nick Faldo and - how topical can you get - the European Ryder Cup captain! Faldo is currently using MP-60 but has used blades for the majority of his career so we made him a set to try. Marcel Siem and Nicolas Colsaerts both put an MP Fli-Hi in their bag, commenting on the ease of use and the great flight it offered, so a good start for that model too.

After the BMW we headed back to the UK for the World Matchplay. We left there after a fairly quiet week, with only 16 players on duty, to get to the K Club for that memorable Ryder Cup.

Pic: JJ Henry - an impressive Ryder Cup debut

Andy Kikidas - Workshop Manager