Early demand for Ping's new G15 and i15 ranges - which is so far out-stripping the G10 line that was introduced two years ago - has meant the company's European headquarters in Gainsborough has employed 24 new staff to work on assembly and shipping.

Srixon has launched a new range of clubs - Z-TX -, which features driver, fairway woods and irons. The Japanese-owned brand, which joined forces with Cleveland Golf last year, has also launched a new hybrid to complete a busy month, as Srixon introduced the improved AD 333 golf ball at the beginning of September.

The hardware offering from Mizuno for 2010 is led by a pair of new MP irons, the MP-68 and MP-58.

The MP-68s are classic Mizuno blades but with what the company describes as "enhanced feel". They are designed for professional players and elite amateurs, while the MP-58s are muscle-back blades, and Mizuno promises the clubs will offer greater forgiveness.

The BGIA has published an extensive study on the golf apparel and footwear market in Europe, split into three volumes: Southern Europe, Northern Europe, and Central & Eastern Europe. In part five of SGB Golf's exclusive series of country summaries from the report we cover Greece.

Danish shoemaker Ecco has launched the Ultra Performance Hydromax for Spring Summer 2010, following on from the success of its original Ultra Performance this year.

Specialist battery distributor Manbat is offering the Numax Golf range. The batteries come with maintenance-free ‘sealed' technology and Manbat says they offer superb performance. The batteries are designed to operate through a far greater number of charging cycles than standard batteries.

Open invite from 2Thumb

Philip Gazeley, inventor of the 2Thumb putter grip, is offering all PGA professionals and trade distributors a free 2Thumb demo at the company HQ, at The Bedford Golf Club. Call 01908 585 232 to arrange a visit.

www.2thumbgrip.com

MD Golf has extended its line of Superstrong woods for 2010 with a pair of ‘Fairway Finders'

MD Golf has added a pair of clubs it calls the ‘Fairway Finders' to its Superstrong line of woods for 2010. The new clubs are designed to fill the gap between 3-wood and driver.

This year has certainly been challenging. At the end of 2008 we could see a slow down in certain sectors, such as our corporate business, and so we bought slightly differently for the shop. There has been a stigma attached to corporate entertaining over recent months, but I think that is trailing off now, and I am positive our corporate bookings will rise for next year.

At the beginning of this year you re-located from Uxbridge to Manchester and gave the company a new name. Has the transition been a success?

The move has definitely worked. A company in Manchester wanted to invest in our business [previously known as UK Golf Services] as a silent partner, and they had existing facilities and infrastructure in Manchester. It was not designed to be a cost-cutting exercise as such, but it made sense to move up to Manchester. One of the motivations for the move was that our silent partner has a lot of expertise in the clothing trade, and we are getting more into the clothing side with Stuburt.

Titleist bounced into the New Year with its new Pro V1 balls, and the American brand is smashing its way out with a gleaming, virtually overwhelming new armoury of irons, wedges and putters.

Galvin Green is best known for its waterproofs, but at Golf Europe the Swedish brand will be displaying its entire lightweight multi-layer concept, which incorporates a variety of garments designed to ensure golfers remain warm, dry and comfortable on the course, in all weather conditions.

Dubai-based Scorpio Golf is making its official launch to the European market in Munich. The brand will be displaying garments made from a selection of high performance, technical fabrics, incorporating UV protection and cooling attributes, and the range also features knitwear and waterproofs.

CaddyAid will be displaying its new CaddyAid Mobile software at Munich, which allows golfers to have a fully supported golf GPS system on their mobile phone. The software retails at £49.99. DMC is also offering the complete software package to club pros free of charge, and pros who sell the CaddyAid programme to golfers will only be billed for what they sell.

Bunker Mentality has expanded its Spring Summer range for 2010 to the point where it is twice the size of the 2009 collection. Coolmax shirts are part of the offering for the first time, and the range also features an array of  new accessories and golf bags.

Popular items such as the Ball & Tee Playa shirt return, but in new colours.

Stewart Golf is exhibiting at Golf Europe for the fifth year in a row, and the luxury trolley brand's latest range features the F1Lithium and the X5 Remote,with both trolleys available for trial runs at the show. The remainder of Stewart's 2010 range is being kept tightly under wraps until the show.

Softspikes says its Black Widow Tour is golf's first ‘self-adjusting' cleat, designed to let golfers custom-match their cleats to their swing, balance and weight. The cleats are fitted with ‘support rings', which can be adjusted by the golfer to the ‘Tour-comfort setting' of maximum flex, or a ‘Tour-firm setting' for extreme traction and a spike-like feel.

Nike has combined its new Compression Channel technology with its STR8-FIT face angle concept in its latest driver, the Victory Red STR8-FIT Tour, and the company promises this will enable golfers to drive further and with improved shot-shaping control. The club comes with 32 possible customised clubface positions.

The full range of Champ spikes will be on display at Munich, in partnership with German distributor Silverline Golf. The all-weather Pro Stinger offers a combination of plastic cleats with a central metal spike, with a view to providing exceptional traction in all conditions.

For 2010 Glenmuir is introducing more than 130 new products in a broad range of colours and designs. The men's 1891 Classics and Men's Performance & Trend collections have a particular focus on summer layering, with fabrics such as mercerised and Pima cotton and Coolmax all prominent.

The Superlight is Sun Mountain's best-selling bag, and it features a patented Roller Bottom and recessed Y-spring leg activator.

It also has an E-Z Fit dual strap system, a full range of pockets and triangular non-slip foot pads at the end of the stand legs. Distributed by Brand Fusion in the UK, the Superlight has an RRP of £129.

Finnish brand Rukka will be exhibiting at Munich in its showroom in Atrium 2, along with its sister brand for women, Luhta. Rukka concentrates on providing technical clothing made from a variety of functional materials, including Gore-Tex, and made with ergonomic designs.

Rife will be exhibiting in Munich through its German distributor Orgahead, and the main focus will be the IMO putter (RRP £129) and trainer, with new models due to be launched in 2010. 85% of the IMO's mass is concentrated directly behind the impact area of the putter-head, with a view to helping golfers drive trough the ball.

The Spring Summer 2010 collection from Swedish brand Rohnisch remains true to its traditions of strong and ‘happy' colours.

The brand is drawing on hues from the 1980s, combined with base colours of White and Black. Other colours include Soda Pink, Jelly Green, Sparkling Blue and Fair Lilac.

As part of a product range that includes football club mascot headcovers, crested umbrellas and golf balls, Premier Licensing will be taking its new club golf bags to Munich. The lightweight golf bags are currently available in Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton and Liverpool designs, with more clubs set to follow.

Can you tell us what first drew your company to the Grip Master?

Recently we brought out a 25th Anniversary set of club to commemorate Seve's famous victory in the 1984 Open at St. Andrews. As the set is retailing at £5,000 we searched around the world to find the best of everything, we wanted things that were special and of course extremely high end.

On one side you have an established and highly-regarded, 118-year-old company with tie-ins to official Open and Ryder Cup apparel; on the other you have a fledgling company not yet two years old, which itself offers eight brands and potentially eight times the work. Why would you swap a great job at the first for the second?

With sets for 4-7 year-olds, 8-11 year-olds and 12-14 year-olds, the Tiger Plus package from Longridge comprises an over-sized titanium 3-wood with a tiger headcover, 7-iron, 9-iron, pitching wedge and putter. The three irons are all made with cavity backs for forgiveness, and the putter is centre-aligned with a view to improving set-up. The set comes complete with a bag, and it is available right and left-handed.

Wilson Staff's Junior Package Set is designed to resemble the adult clubs used on Tour by Wilson Staff golfers such as triple major winner Padraig Harrington. The set features a 15° driver, fairway wood, hybrid club, irons 6 and 8, sand wedge, all built with graphite shafts, and a Wilson Staff putter. The clubs come in a junior bag with double strap. The set is designed for golfers aged 9-11, and comes in boys and girls sets. Wilson Staff also has a Youth Package Set of four clubs for golfers aged 6-8.

Available as a boxed set or as open stock, the Junior Web range from Go includes a 14° driver, 3-wood and rescue club, irons 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, pitching wedge, sand wedge and three putter models. The clubs come right and left handed, and golfers can also get a stand bag, glove, and all woods and putters come with a headcover. The range is also broken down into three categories according to the height of the golfer: Blue (93-112cms); Orange (113-132cms); Silver (133-152cms).

The Blackhawk starter set is designed for the adult golfer looking for high quality in a single purchase. The clubs are all fitted with Golf Pride grips and Miyazaki graphite shafts, and the driver is made from 100% titanium. The set features a 3-wood and a pair of hybrids - 21° and 24° - and irons from SW up to 6. The set is completed with a 60° gunmetal lob wedge and gunmetal putter, and there is an option for a stand or cart bag.

Cobra's J-Speed Series comes in two sets for players aged 6-8 and 9-11, and the clubs are engineered with the same computer-aided design programs and materials as Cobra's adult clubs. The 6-8 year-old set features a 300cc J-Speed driver, Baffler hybrid, stainless steel 7-iron and wedge, putter, lightweight stand bag with dual carry strap and a J-Speed cap. The 9-11 year-olds also get a J-Speed fairway metal, and the 7-iron is replaced by a 6-iron and 8-iron.

The Zevo Junior Boxed set comes in three sizes: ages 5-8; 8-10; and 10-12. All sets feature a metal driver, a trio of irons and a putter, and they come in a lightweight carry bag with automatic stand. The clubs and bag are all colour co-ordinated in chrome, black and red, and Golfsmith says the set is ‘perfect for the golfer who is yet to discover custom clubs'.

Mizuno offers Academy sets in two sizes: the 120 for ages 5-8; and the 140 for ages 8-12. The slightly offset clubheads for both sets are the same, but the 140 set comes with shafts 4-5 inches longer than the 120. The classically styled clubs included are a 16° driver, 30° utility club, six iron, eight iron, 51° pitching wedge and putter. The Academy Series is available in right-hand only.

Callaway has junior sets in two sizes. The first is for 5-8 year olds (or 41-50" tall) and features a 320cc aluminium driver modelled on the X460, stainless steel fairway wood and hybrid, a 9-iron, sand wedge, Odyssey 2-Ball putter and a lightweight stand bag. The slightly larger set for 9-12 year olds features a 360cc titanium driver, and instead of a hybrid it includes irons 5 and 7.

Nike has brought out a pair of TW Kids sets. The Red set is for golfers 4'2" tall and under, and it comprises a driver, 5-iron, wedge and putter, two EZ-Distance golf balls and a lightweight carry bag. The Black set is designed for golfers between 4'3" - 4'10" tall, and in addition to longer versions of the Red clubs, it features a hybrid and two more irons; 7 and 9.

On the bench

The first and most essential piece of kit in a pro's workshop is a strong, sturdy bench with and a good quality vice. You can buy a cheap vice from any hardware shop for around £15-20 but it's worth spending a few pounds more to get one with larger jaws and a swivel base. This will not only put you in good stead for club building, but also for re-gripping and general club repairs.