Tiger Woods kept his eye on the ball. So
did executives at Nike Golf, but for different reasons.
"Watching this weekend, we lived and died with every shot,"
said Mike Kelly, marketing director of Nike Golf, which makes the
ball Woods used to win the 100th U.S. Open by a record-breaking 15 strokes at Pebble Beach on Sunday.
Woods's victory was by the largest margin in any of golf's major
championships, breaking the mark set by Old Tom Morris in the
British Open in 1862.
By using the Nike golf ball Woods turned his sponsor into a
major industry player almost overnight. The company, which only has
1 percent of the ball market share, has been flooded with calls
from players who want to test the ball and retailers who want to
sell it.
"Obviously putting such a historical moment into context is our
next goal,'' Kelly said today. "Both golfers and nongolfers saw
what happened, now it's our job to leverage that into a commercial
success.''
The Tour Accuracy is a multilayered ball that spins less, giving
players more consistency and more options around the green. The
multilayered construction breaks tradition with once-preferred
wound balls.
Woods said the wound ball tended to peak a little more in
flight, while multilayered balls were more likely to be a little
more flat.
"It allows him to be much more creative around the greens and
hit more shots around the greens,'' Bob Wood, president of Nike
Golf, told CNN. "This ball flies through the wind very, very well
-- and that had something to do with his decision to switch before
the majors.''
Woods began testing the Nike balls earlier this year while at
home in Florida. He put the Nike ball in play for the first time in
a tournament in Germany, and used it to cruise to a five-stroke
victory at the Memorial in late May.
But it wasn't until two weeks before the U.S. Open that he
formally switched from using Titleist golf balls to the Nike ball.
Woods's decision ended a marketing conflict between his top two
golf sponsors that began last year when Nike entered the ball
market. Instead of filing a lawsuit, Titleist reworked Woods' deal
so that he was paid only when he used Titleist equipment in
tournaments.
Nike took advantage of the switch by putting together an
advertising campaign explaining the switch that was aired
throughout NBC's broadcast of the U.S. Open.
Kelly said it would be difficult to top the exposure it got
every time the camera focused on Woods'" ball, with the Nike
trademark swoosh, during the tournament. But it may consider
producing new commercials with Woods next year.
In the meantime, it has updated its Web site, and rejiggered
print advertisements going out this week that emphasize Woods'
decision to switch to Tour Accuracy. And, it is focusing on
distributing the ball and other golf merchandise at on-course golf
shops in addition to those off-course.
Woods's use of the Nike golf ball gave no immediate boost to the
company's stock.
In trading today on the New York Stock Exchange, Nike stock
fell 68.7 cents, or by 1.8 percent, to close at $36.563 a share.
