Tennessee Pro John Spelman Named PING Clubfitter of Year

Contact Steve Bostwick
602-687-5449
or Bob Cantin
602-687-5480
or Pete Samuels
602-687-5487

PHOENIX (January 10, 2002) -- Nashville's John Spelman, who has been involved with golf ever since he first bought a PING putter at age 11, has been named PING National Clubfitter of the Year.

The winner of numerous collegiate honors and professional titles over his 30-year golfing career, Spelman, 41, was selected from nearly 2,000 entries. He is the director of golf at Richland Country Club, Nashville.

The entries -- all from PING Fitting Cart accounts throughout the United States -- were reduced to 57 regional winners from whom Spelman was judged the overall winner. He is a former Regional PING Clubfitter of the Year.

A PING Fitting Cart account includes a highly trained staff that has a thorough knowledge of PING golf equipment, and is committed to custom fitting and servicing the golfing customer.

"John's knowledge and enthusiasm for the PING product line, his dedication to properly fitting our golf clubs, and his exceptional service to his club members were key reasons for his selection," said Steve Bostwick, PING Marketing Products manager.

Specific criteria were evaluated in the judging for PING National Clubfitter of the Year, including a personal commitment to club fitting, as well as consistently strong sales of PING golf equipment over the past five years.

Spelman and Chris Cauthen, Richland CC head professional, both have visited the Phoenix, Arizona-based PING plant for a three-day seminar on investment-cast golf club construction and custom-fitting of golf equipment. They each earned 12 re-certification points from the PGA of America for completing the seminar and became certified PING clubfitters.

The former University of North Carolina Collegiate All-American has high praise for the PING Demo Cart Fitting Program.

"We signed up for the program when it became available in 1997 because the prospect of getting custom-fit, custom-built PINGs in a week was fantastic," Spelman said. "Members wanted quick delivery and PING made it possible."

"PING took the custom-fit process to the next level. It's one of the best things the company has ever done. Our members appreciate the performance quality of the product and the quality of the service. That's what sets PING apart from everyone else," Spelman said.

PING offers its Fitting Cart accounts rapid four-day delivery of custom-fit, custom-built golf equipment, and this service is one of the key selling points that Spelman explains to his club members. It was put to the test most recently last month.

"A member came into our shop Dec. 18th and said his wife wanted a gap wedge to match her set for Christmas. I told him to go home and get the serial number off the hosel of her irons, which he did. PING made her a gap wedge to fit and got it here by Dec. 21st. Customer service is PING's outstanding strength," Spelman enthused.

Customer satisfaction stories like this have convinced Spelman to make PING the premier club fitting system at Richland Country Club.

The former two-time Middle Tennessee PGA Chapter Merchandiser of the Year says he is confident that when PING develops a new club, the company has made improvements. "I feel like I'm offering members better golf clubs, not just another model. The innovation behind PING and the quality of the product sells itself," Spelman said.

Most golf course facilities have an annual "Demo Day" for manufacturers to display their irons and metal woods. Spelman has gone one step farther on Demo Day by putting up a PING fitting tent on the Richland CC putting green.

"It was a no brainer," he said. "I believe that putter fitting is the next great advance to be made in custom fitting. We've had a lot of fun fitting putters to players. After all, putting is more than 40 percent of the game."

Impacted by the events of Sept. 11, Spelman wanted to do something extra special to help the victims in New York City. He gave blood at the Red Cross, but that wasn't enough.

"Our goal was to involve the entire club, play 100 holes of golf in one day, take pledges from members, and see if we could help the families of the victims of Sept. 11," Spelman said.

Joining him were Fred Palmer from Club Car, PING's Tennessee field representative Tom Squires and Cauthen. They began play on Oct. 12th in pouring rain at 6:41 a.m. and finished at 6:20 p.m. They averaged 7 minutes per hole riding, made 35 birdies (10 by Spelman) and one eagle. When the final putt dropped, close to $30,000 had been raised for the New York Police and Fire Widows and Children's Fund.

It was the largest single-day golf event donation ever achieved in Tennessee.

Was it gratifying to Spelman? Of course. But there was no hesitation when asked about the most memorable tournament of his career.

"Finishing 4th in our club's Parent-Child Tournament this past summer," Spelman offered without hesitation. "It was my 8-year-old son Philip's first tournament."

keywords: John Spelman, PING, Clubfitter of the Year, Fitting Cart, Richland Country Club