ISSUE 180 SEPTEMBER 2015 SPECIAL FEATURE 20 34 20 Talent Watch – Lock In On Danny Masrin! In our search for young talent and the next prospect most likely to make it on the world stage, we came across an impressive young player from Indonesia. He is 22 year old Danny Masrin who will be graduat- ing from his college in North America in December and he is already preparing to get his card to play on the Asian Tour starting in 2016. 24 Asia’s Golf Legacy Stored For Life! In an unprecedented move, the Asia Pacific Golf Group (APGG), the longest established specialist golf media house in the region and the owner of the prestigious Asian Golf Awards has installed a permanent showcase to recognise the Continent’s best over the years. The permanent showcase will take the form of the Asian Golf Awards Museum and The golf industry has started a new romance in Asia and it will be a virtual site in cyberspace. this time, the heart throb of the industry is Vietnam. There 28 Version 3.0 – Growing COVER STORY is a major push towards the development of new golf From Strength To Strength 24 56 courses in this once war-torn nation and leading the thrust The world’s oldest golf company, Wilson Staff, after is the BRG Group, a multi-faceted Vietnamese conglom- flying under the radar for quite a while, is raising its erate led by the dynamic lady entrepreneur Madame profile and displaying some exciting developments in new product innovations. Most importantly, the Nguyen Thi Nga who is said to be the wealthiest business- one-time great is showing that it has also regained woman in Vietnam. Her newest golf project is the Nicklaus its ability to make money and be profitable. The Design Legend Hill Golf Resort in Hanoi. Asian Golf was company has definitely re-invented itself, a process that Asian Golf refers to as “Version 3.0”. Check out invited to visit the course and to get an insight on what this report to see how Wilson Staff is re-booting Madame Nga has planned for the future of golf in Vietnam.. itself. EQUIPMENT FOCUS 48 Callaway’s Big Bomber Blitzkrieg! Over a period of 15 months, Callaway Golf has introduced something like eight drivers – five of them bearing the “Big Bertha” branding. The latest to hit the market are the Great Big 34 If It Works For Mission Hills, Better Take Note! Bertha and the Big Bertha Alpha 16 driver. We Footgolf is growing fast. How fast? We understand that in the United States alone, footgolf have not received the products yet but based courses have surged from about 30 in 2013 to well over 300 this year. Mission Hills Group in on preliminary information, looks like Callaway China has recognized its popularity and has adopted footgolf as a new business model for the world’s largest golf resort. expects to do well with these new big sticks. 62 Black Hat Tips: 52 Miura’s Out With Its Newest Putter Pow! Knock Out! 40 Malaysia – A Giant In Professional Golf Miura Golf has debuted the KM 008 putter that If you are a golf fan, The next few months will see Malaysia playing host to multi-million dollar professional golf signifies a new chapter for the next genera- I’m sure you will tournaments. October will see the return of the hugely popular PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic tion of “the very best blade putter” made of a make time to watch GAME-IMPROVEMENT which is a US$7 million tournament. Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby will play host to forged, milled mild steel. Designed by master The Presidents Cup the US$2 million LPGA tournament and in early 2016, Maybank will be the host to the US$3 club-maker Katsuhiro Miura, the KM 008 is an this year. The Presi- million Maybank Malaysian Open. Welcome to the big time Malaysia! improvement on Miura’s now retired KM 350 dents Cup is going putter. to be a great match 46 Hail Jordan Spieth! play event, just like A special tribute to Jordan Spieth, the 22-year-old Texan who has assumed the pole posi- a “boxing match!” I tion as golf’s world number one. In the process, he toppled Rory McIlroy from the top spot. hope both teams are ready to com- 56 Golf Needs To Get “Cool”! pete! The big buzz amongst golf circles, especially those who are the power-brokers of the game, seems to be focused on how the game can pick up a head of steam and grow. Robert Phillion, president of Cobra PUMA Golf believes not enough is being done – check out what one of the industry’s brightest business minds has to say. 6 Asian Golf Editorial Team 8 Shared Thoughts From Publisher 64 Next Issue MIKE SEBASTIAN ANGELA RAYMOND Chief Executive Officer/Managing Editor President [ [email protected] ] [ [email protected] ] LAWRENCE YOUNG JIM PRUSA Editor (New Equipment) International Roving Editor [ [email protected] ] [[email protected] ] RAQUEL M. 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SHARED THOUGHTS From The Publisher he guy is the newly appointed – after all that Continent is its territory. That’s Our defenses are weak, almost non- chief executive of the European the market that the tour should develop existent and both these tours have and are Tour. And guess what is one of and not look at stretching its tentacles out taking advantage of this weakness to just his most pressing aims in his to Asia. But then again, maybe the tour has roll in and pick up choice opportunities. This new job? One would expect that no choice but to look for new markets to is not healthy for the sport from an Asia per- his priorities would be focused generate much needed revenue to keep it spective. The Asian Tour, which is a players’ Ton the European Tour and the challenges it alive and to ensure that prize monies for its tour, is going to be the big loser. While there faces, but this does not happen to be the case. players are both attractive and competitive. may be arguments presented that this will The man is thinking about “strengthening ties” The need to seek out new markets is have a positive effect on raising standards in Asia and by this, we reckon he is talking compounded by the fact that the European for Asian professionals, we think otherwise. If about ties with the Asian Tour which has so far Tour can’t look across the pond to the United anything at all, the earning potential of Asian had a chequered track record this year. States of America or Canada – both these professionals is literally going to be robbed So, are we to interpret Keith Pelley’s (this markets are totally out of bounds! Especially by tours that are going to hit our shores and is the new man at the helm of the European the U.S. where the PGA Tour, under the this is sad. Tour) as a gesture of well-intentioned good- watchful eye of commissioner Tim Finchem, While both these tours may bring some will or are there sinister designs behind his guards his muscle-bound organization like a spectacle to Asia, it is not going to be ben- self-professed proclamation of help? pit-bull! Let’s not forget that Finchem is also eficial to the majority of Asian professionals. Let’s first of all put everything into on the hunt for new markets to stage PGA We’d like to suggest that Pelley keeps his focus proper perspective. The European Tour is said Tour tournaments and he has already been on Europe and work at keeping his players in to have some 50 co-sanctioned tournaments successful in Asia with events like the CIMB Europe rather than creating excuses for them with the Asian Tour, most of which are events Classic – a rich US$7 million dollar purse! migrating to richer pastures in North America. that the former has brokered. Take away the So, the picture now becomes clearer.