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AccuFLEX News Update To: Our Dealers, Distribution Partners, Friends and Family From: Steve Zunich, AccuFLEX Golf, Inc., 909-304-3704/800-721-3342 Re: The Bruce Edwards Trust (June 19, 2003) - Beginning in late March through the present, something special has been happening with the ICON v.2, as many of you know. The ICON v.2 began to create quite a buzz on the Champions Tour. Jerry Garrison, who runs an independent repair van on the Champions Tour, referred to it as a "feeding frenzy". Word got out about the performance of this shaft and some of golf's greatest legends started putting the v.2 in play out on Tour. Some of the players who have used the ICON v.2 in competition are Larry Nelson, Allen Doyle, Sammy Rachels, Mike Smith, Eamonn Darcy, Rodger Davis, Jim Holtgrieve and David Graham. While many of these players may still be using AccuFLEX shafts (a lot Tour players are noted for frequently changing their shafts or using certain drivers for certain courses), the players that we know are consistently using the ICON v.2 week in and week out are Wayne Levi, Larry Zigler, Bruce Lietzke (who earned a win with the v.2 in his bag), Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd and Tom Watson. To have this many players put our shaft in play in such a relatively short time is a testament to the outstanding quality of our products. In many ways the knowledge that these legends are hitting AccuFLEX products seems to have become taken for granted around here as a "routine" occurrence. When we take the time to think about it, however, we are just as honored as we were just a few short weeks ago when we first heard that our shafts were starting to be used by these legends of the game. Many of you will recall Jody's eyewitness account of watching Tom Watson tee off with his ICON v.2-shafted ADAMS "Redline" driver at this year's Masters tournament (see the text below). That thrill is still there and we feel truly humbled and blessed by our good fortune. A week or so after our ICON v.2 Masters "experience", we saw a press release about the formation of The Bruce Edwards Trust, benefiting Tom Watson's long time friend and caddy, who, as the world now knows after last weekend's US Open, has been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Upon seeing this news I called Jody, who was just about to call me. We both had seen the announcement and were moved by what we read. We agreed that we wanted to do something and came up with a plan to donate a portion of all sales of ICON v.2 shafts to The Bruce Edwards Trust. We also felt that we should widen the availability of golfers that might want to participate in this offering by creating a new shaft, the ICON v.3. After consulting the trustee, David Enenbach, we were told that the Trust, Tom Watson and Bruce Edwards were happy to accept our offer. Mr. Enenbach told us that Tom Watson, in particular, was very moved by and appreciative of our gesture. As of yesterday afternoon, AccuFLEX Golf is still the only company in the golf industry that is donating to the trust. All other donations have come from individuals or companies outside of our industry. AccuFLEX Golf is proud of its actions and we would like you to know that our level of commitment to Bruce Edwards and this cause is unending. We have pledged to Mr. Enenbach that we will continue donating to The Bruce Edwards Trust until they want us to stop. What is more likely to happen is that once Bruce's families needs are met (he is expected to incur at least $250,000.00 in medical and drug treatment expenses alone over the course of his life expectancy), then funds will be redirected to helping find a cure for ALS. We will keep you informed with any new developments. I would like to take a few moments to give you an insiders update on the post-US Open reaction of the public to Bruce and Tom and some idea of what events may transpire in the near future. Tom Watson will continue to speak out on behalf of finding a cure for ALS. As any of you who saw Mr. Watson speak from his "bully pulpit" after his earth shaking opening round of 65 at the US Open knows, Tom is a very intelligent and articulate gentleman. Mr. Enenbach told me (and it was very evident) that Tom, a Stanford University graduate, has done extensive research into this disease and has fully committed to being in the forefront of the effort to find a cure. We at AccuFLEX fully expect and truly hope that the entire golfing world will get behind Tom and support his efforts. And while no other company in golf has yet gotten behind The Bruce Edwards Trust, hundreds of individuals have donated as generously as they can. When we first pledged our commitment to the Trust, the total donations had reached $30,000.00. As word got around about the needs of Bruce Edwards and his family, a private country club in the eastern U.S. organized a weekend tournament for its members in which each player donated $2,500.00 for a total of over $135,000.00, all of which was donated to the Trust! With the increased awareness from Tom and Bruce's exposure at the US Open, we are encouraged that more and more individuals and corporations will get involved. We find all of this very inspiring and we will be embracing our role as the first golf company to contribute to the fight against ALS with a much more assertive attitude. We at AccuFLEX encourage you to be much more assertive with your role in aiding this cause that we have chosen, as well. Without your effort, our efforts to help will have little or no impact. With your effort, we can truly make a difference. As an AccuFLEX dealer/distributor/supporter, you have the right to speak from the same "bully pulpit" that Tom Watson described last Thursday. Inform your customers and associates that they can help both their golf game and The Bruce Edwards Trust by purchasing an ICON v.2 or ICON v.3 (arrival date: June 27th!) shaft for their driver and/or fairway woods. Several of our customers have made direct contributions to the Trust or have posted the Trust's contact information in their shops or on their websites. We encourage all of you to do the same. This more aggressive stance of ours has been embraced and encouraged by David Enenbach at The Bruce Edwards Trust. Furthermore, the desire to take action to help a fellow member of our golfing community is leading to a collective effort that will involve a broad spectrum of our entire society working together to eradicate a terrible disease. The word I received from David Enenbach at The Bruce Edwards Trust is that AccuFLEX Golf, and anyone interested in helping eradicate this disease, should help in any way they can. That is what we intend to do. Watch Tom Watson over the next few weeks and months and you will be as proud of your efforts as we are of ours. Thank you for your efforts to date and for your continued support of this worthy cause. The Bruce Edwards Trust Contact Details The Bruce Edwards Trust In closing, thanks again for your support as AccuFLEX Golf continues to grow. AccuFLEX Golf is proud of its involvement with The Bruce Edwards Trust and we appreciate your support in our efforts. As always, we are very grateful to all of you for your belief in and support of our products. You really keep us going. Warm Regards from all of us at AccuFLEX Golf. |