A MARTINI THAT ACTUALLY IMPROVES YOUR DRIVING.
A new golf tee, designed to resist breaking,
surprises even the designers, as field-testing shows that the tee
results in longer, more accurate drives.
Grand Blanc, Mich., January 13, 2009 -- When the
founders of Michigan's Martini Golf Tees Inc. handed out thousands of
samples to Florida golfers this past winter, they expected the "test
drives" to confirm that a radical new design made their tees virtually
unbreakable. But they heard a lot more than that.
"When the first few people said the ball was going
both farther and straighter, I thought they were just being nice"
recalled Dave Baker, president of Martini Golf Tees. "But when more and
more people were saying the same thing, it seemed like we were on to
something."
In this day of constant new, elaborate and
expensive golf equipment, could something as simple as a tee really give
you a longer, straighter drive? The owners of Martini had to find out.
The results were indisputable; the larger, martini-glass shape of the
Martini Golf Tee gives golfers of all skill levels a head start.
Human and Robot Golfers Agree
Martini had retired PGA professional Ron Andrews
put on a demonstration of their product in Ft. Myers, Florida, in
February, 2008. Andrews, a golf instructor from Ohio, showed how the
large cup on the Martini Golf Tees could hold the ball in place while
tilted as much as 20% forward. This results in a lower drive with
greater distance and a longer roll.
"It's the best tee I've ever used," said Andrews.
Next, Martini needed the cold, hard, scientific
opinion of a computer. So it was off to Southern California golf country
where Golf Labs Inc. of San Diego used computer-controlled robots to hit
drives off both traditional wooden tees and new Martini tees. The
comparison tests confirmed that the ball hit from a Martini tee went not
only farther but straighter. One amazing fact: 70% of the drives off
the Martini tee traveled over 240 yards and within 20 feet of center,
while only 20% of the drives off wood tees did the same.
Evolution of the Martini
While Martini Golf Tees are a new product, their
heritage goes back more than thirty years to the Air Lift golf tee, the
first plastic tee on the market. Cliff Baker paid a visit to Jackie
Ramsten, who was running the company started by her late father Norm
Kelly and mother Vereen. Baker, an Army Air Corps pilot during World War
II and a member of the Plastics Hall of Fame for his pioneering work in
plastic milk bottles, was friends with the Kellys, and offered to help
Jackie re-design the tee to make more resistant to breakage. But Ramsten
was more interested in selling the business, so Cliff, along with son,
Dave and daughter Beth, bought her out, but kept her in the foursome as
a distributor of Martini Golf Tees.
Next came a complete redesign, with dozens of
different materials and two years of field tests aimed at finding the
magic formula for the perfect Martini.
And the name? That was easy. Cliff Baker showed a
first prototype to his family, and his wife's daughter Jane Grambo said
"It looks like a Martini glass."
Given all the positive testimonials as to the
increased distance and accuracy, it's safe to say that the Martini Golf
Tee is the only martini that can really improve your driving.
Martini Golf Tees Inc., of Grand Blanc, MI, is
dedicated to creating exciting new golf and sports-related equipment,
all made in the USA. Their first new product is the Martini Golf Tee.
They will be made available to pro shops and driving ranges and sold on
the Martini website
www.martinigolftees.com. Suggested
retail price is $5.00 for a package of five.
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