The First Tee Gets a Grip on the Game

Do you remember those moments when you caught yourself thinking, “I’m a kid in a candy store”. Well, this week six of our Eagle and Ace Level participants found themselves thinking just that. About eight years ago Eaton Golf Pride quietly moved their office and tech center from Scotland County to Moore County. A move that many are just beginning to learn about today. Take a moment to think about this, the #1 grip in golf is conceptualized, developed, tested and approved right here in Moore County. How cool is that? Very cool if you were to ask these six teenagers and their chaperones. Through a partnership between The First Tee of the Sandhills and Eaton Golf Pride, participants are rewarded as they achieve Eagle status with a VIP Experience at the Golf Pride office and tech center. Two and a half hours of holiday bliss. Their experience started with a brief tour of the Golf Pride corporate offices where they were escorted to an area of the facility that simulates the inside of a Golf Pride Tour Bus. From the black athletic gym-like flooring covered with bright red Golf Pride mats, re-grip stations prepped with tools of the trade and ready to do work, a catalog full of grips displayed on the wall and the TV tuned to Golf Channel. The only thing missing was the smell of fresh cut grass. Here they would determine what grips fit them the best. It’s would be a combination of grip size, feel and look. While thinking about what their perfect combination would be, participants got a sneak peek in the player vault. A room of shelves with grip boxes stacked to the ceiling donning names like Ernie Els, Steve Stricker, Gary Woodland, Michelle Wie, Yani Tseng or simply Tiger, Phil and Rory. Boxes of grips ready to be shipped to players, as needed, for refill. Grips that have been tweaked until the player feels they are just right to get the job done. While peeking into boxes, participants learned that during any given week on the PGA TOUR 80% of the field is playing with Golf Pride grips. And get this, The Masters, The US Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship were won by players using Golf Pride grips. All without any endorsement deals! Grips that were conceptualized, developed, tested and approved right here in Moore County. It was a short 8 minute drive from their Southern Pines office to Aberdeen where we found the Golf Pride tech center. What do a chemist, engineer and golf junky all have in common? A combined 80 years working in development for Eaton Golf Pride. Golf Pride has two full time chemist on staff. These masterminds carefully formulate, calculate and test rubber chemical combinations to determine what will produce the exact product make and model they are after. The engineers help bring the chemist ideas together in the form of a mold and the golf junkie’s help finish off the process by testing the product in an environment that mimics that of a day in the life of a golf grip. Participants had the opportunity to touch and feel rubber as it went through different states in the process of development from a chemical to a golf grip. Even watching as a mold was filled with rubber and baked for a very specific number of seconds. Depending on the style of grip mold being made, there could be only be a few seconds between a consumer ready product and a dumpster drop. It took the work of dozens of machines and hands to complete the process from powder to product. Even including a by-hand paint job on many of the grip models! The day concluded with a hands on experience of re-gripping their golf equipment beside some of the business’ best while taking in a few tips along the way. A special bond was formed not only between two organizations in the Sandhills but between young and old, golf enthusiasts and mentors, industry leaders and future leaders. A day of experiences that has ignited a fire within these six participants from The First Tee of the Sandhills.