Personally, I am particularly delighted as Paul and I have history. Paul gave me my first job in journalism, at the Hayters news agency, so it feels much more natural for us to be colleagues rather than rivals. Duncan Lennard also remains on what we hope you agree is the strongest editorial team in the golf trade, and Duncan's excellent contributions will continue next month.
In Paul's first article for us he looks forward to the highlight of the British golfing summer, the Open Championship, although with a sense of disappointment that the trade has been marginalised at our home major.
The R&A, which runs the Open, has recently published its 2008 Annual Review, in which it reports that in 2008 alone, 3,000 new clubs were submitted by manufacturers to be tested for rules conformity. That is a lot of clubs, and more than 25% of the 11,000 items submitted to the R&A in total between 1956 and 2007. Perhaps there won't be so many clubs submitted in 2009, but nonetheless, the R&A has introduced a ‘nominal charge' for testing clubs. This may be an annoyance to manufacturers, but in principle it is a reasonable measure. After all, the R&A is not a commercial organisation and it devoted £4.9 million to a variety of golf development projects around the globe in 2008 - projects that are to the benefit of the golf industry as a whole.
Wouldn't it be nice though, if the R&A could direct some of its equipment testing income into giving us back the exhibition tent? I know, wishful thinking.
Robin Barwick, Editor
