Jennifer Gardner
Jennifer Gardner is a regular contributor to http://GolfBrief.com, specializing in equipment. She has also written for http://Golf.com, The Wire, The Tour Van, http://USGA.org, Reuters and Golfweek.
Champ suggests a spike change
http://www.golfbrief.com/articles/802/1/Champ-suggests-a-spike-change/Page1.html
By Jennifer Gardner
Published on 03/22/2008
http://www.golfbrief.com/articles/802/1/Champ-suggests-a-spike-change/Page1.html
Champ suggests a spike change
Have you changed your spikes yet?
With the spring weather — or the dreams of spring weather soon to come — many golfers are polishing their clubs and changing their grips. Putting in new spikes is another good task to remember before starting the season, according to John Healy, director of global marketing for Champ Spikes.
"Serious golfers change their grips once, sometimes twice a season," Healy said. “(Changing spikes) is the cheapest and easiest way to change your game. You don't have to buy a $400 driver — you'd be surprised if you change your spikes how much effect it has. Especially teeing off, when you tend to swing harder."
Healy said that a good ballpark figure to keep in mind is changing the spikes every 12 to 18 rounds. Or, you can use a wear indicator that Champ builds into each spike.
"The C, as the spike starts to wear down, the C (in the center of each spike) turns into a black splotch," he said. "If you look at the bottom of your shoes and you see the black splotch, it's probably time to change your spikes."
New for 2008, Champ has made improvements to its flagship spike, the Stinger. Both men's and women’s spikes underwent a re-tooling designed to improve traction and durability.
Each men's spike has both yellow and black legs that provide traction. The yellow traction elements on each men's spike is thicker and is positioned more up and down rather than at a slight angle. The black traction elements are a bit longer to cut down on clogging. A slightly softer material wears better while increasing comfort.
"So now, when you're walking, by the softness, you get a little extra benefit from the cushion," Healy said. "There's a fine line between having something be so soft it rubs out like an eraser would and being soft enough so there's some give, that makes the spike last longer."
The women's spike, called the Lady Stinger, has traditionally been the same as the men's spike but with different colors. Now, however, Champ has changed that so the spike better reflects the needs of women golfers.
"It's 15 percent smaller,” Healy said. “We were getting information from our manufacturers that we partner with, especially in the far East where shoes tend to be smaller, if you look at the smaller shoe, the receptacles have to be closer together. And when the receptacles are so close together we find that the standard size spikes start rubbing against each other. So we shrunk it down."
The Lady Stinger now comes in pink to tie into the company's Pink on the Links program, which benefits breast cancer research.
It's all a matter of educating golfers about their spikes and the role they play, Healy said.
"You see golfers get a new glove, they get new grips, if they're lucky enough — which I never have been — to use the same ball at the beginning of the round and end up with it, I wouldn't use that the next time I played," he said. "I would want to use a new one. Same thing with spikes. You don't have to change them every round, but at some point, the quality of the traction you have is going to decrease — same as the tires on your car."
While Champ spikes come standard with shoe brands Nike, Hi-Tec, Ecco and Puma, Healy said that they aren't standard with all golf shoes. But that doesn't mean that golfers can't look to Champ for their replacement spikes.
"The biggest hurdle we face is we're not on the shoe that sells the most pairs every year. I think a lot of times somebody will take their shoe and say, 'Oh, I have to get these spikes,' and they go in the store and that's what they get," he said. “We try to let everybody know we make spikes to fit every shoe."
Healy said that shoe manufacturers are also starting to notice the importance of increased traction, and that top players are paying more attention to their shoes and spikes.
"Perfect example, the guy who won the British Open, Padraig Harrington. He wears Hi-Tec shoes and we helped develop the spikes that he wears," Healy said. "Those things came just from his thought that traction affects the way you tee off. If you look, a lot of the manufacturers now are doing stuff on the bottoms of their shoes that have to do with traction and the way the sole is shaped."
So this year, a change of spikes may be in order to start off your season.
With the spring weather — or the dreams of spring weather soon to come — many golfers are polishing their clubs and changing their grips. Putting in new spikes is another good task to remember before starting the season, according to John Healy, director of global marketing for Champ Spikes.
"Serious golfers change their grips once, sometimes twice a season," Healy said. “(Changing spikes) is the cheapest and easiest way to change your game. You don't have to buy a $400 driver — you'd be surprised if you change your spikes how much effect it has. Especially teeing off, when you tend to swing harder."
Healy said that a good ballpark figure to keep in mind is changing the spikes every 12 to 18 rounds. Or, you can use a wear indicator that Champ builds into each spike.
"The C, as the spike starts to wear down, the C (in the center of each spike) turns into a black splotch," he said. "If you look at the bottom of your shoes and you see the black splotch, it's probably time to change your spikes."
New for 2008, Champ has made improvements to its flagship spike, the Stinger. Both men's and women’s spikes underwent a re-tooling designed to improve traction and durability.
Each men's spike has both yellow and black legs that provide traction. The yellow traction elements on each men's spike is thicker and is positioned more up and down rather than at a slight angle. The black traction elements are a bit longer to cut down on clogging. A slightly softer material wears better while increasing comfort.
"So now, when you're walking, by the softness, you get a little extra benefit from the cushion," Healy said. "There's a fine line between having something be so soft it rubs out like an eraser would and being soft enough so there's some give, that makes the spike last longer."
The women's spike, called the Lady Stinger, has traditionally been the same as the men's spike but with different colors. Now, however, Champ has changed that so the spike better reflects the needs of women golfers.
"It's 15 percent smaller,” Healy said. “We were getting information from our manufacturers that we partner with, especially in the far East where shoes tend to be smaller, if you look at the smaller shoe, the receptacles have to be closer together. And when the receptacles are so close together we find that the standard size spikes start rubbing against each other. So we shrunk it down."
The Lady Stinger now comes in pink to tie into the company's Pink on the Links program, which benefits breast cancer research.
It's all a matter of educating golfers about their spikes and the role they play, Healy said.
"You see golfers get a new glove, they get new grips, if they're lucky enough — which I never have been — to use the same ball at the beginning of the round and end up with it, I wouldn't use that the next time I played," he said. "I would want to use a new one. Same thing with spikes. You don't have to change them every round, but at some point, the quality of the traction you have is going to decrease — same as the tires on your car."
While Champ spikes come standard with shoe brands Nike, Hi-Tec, Ecco and Puma, Healy said that they aren't standard with all golf shoes. But that doesn't mean that golfers can't look to Champ for their replacement spikes.
"The biggest hurdle we face is we're not on the shoe that sells the most pairs every year. I think a lot of times somebody will take their shoe and say, 'Oh, I have to get these spikes,' and they go in the store and that's what they get," he said. “We try to let everybody know we make spikes to fit every shoe."
Healy said that shoe manufacturers are also starting to notice the importance of increased traction, and that top players are paying more attention to their shoes and spikes.
"Perfect example, the guy who won the British Open, Padraig Harrington. He wears Hi-Tec shoes and we helped develop the spikes that he wears," Healy said. "Those things came just from his thought that traction affects the way you tee off. If you look, a lot of the manufacturers now are doing stuff on the bottoms of their shoes that have to do with traction and the way the sole is shaped."
So this year, a change of spikes may be in order to start off your season.