What is common place now, just a little over a decade ago was barely known. SuperStroke as a company burst on the scene and now in any given week 100+ PGA Tour players are using some form of their grips in the bag. To understand this rocket ship like phenomenon, we must first go back to where it began, back to even before 2009 when the first one appeared on tour in the bag of KJ Choi.
Dean Dingman has been in the golf business much of his life. Back in 1998, Dean, with his brother Darin, started producing beginner sets and licensed the name Tiger Shark for sales in the US. Shortly thereafter, they purchased the company outright. Why does this all matter? Because Tiger Shark had what many believe to be the original over-sized grip.
While all of this was taking place, the brand SuperStroke was created with a pretty rudimentary wooden model of a grip. To better understand the origins, Dean Dingman, CEO of SuperStroke expanded on the story.
“The brand began when a man named Harold Roelkey invented a wooden model of the grip. He then brought the concept to a man named Chris Doerr in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to partner up and bring the grip to market. There was an enormous list of names that were compiled as ideas, but Chris and his long-time business partner, Ron Creten, eventually landed on the name SuperStroke because of the “super-size” of the grip. The original strategy was to take the grip to market through infomercial, which was where the original grip launched.”
Then the first SuperStroke “Big Bang” happened. Six time PGA Tour Winner (at the time, he later won his 7th and 8th), K.J. Choi bought the original grip right from the infomercial and practiced with it for months before bringing it out on tour. Once in the bag, Choi won the Sony Open in January 2008, and it was immediately noticed.
Shortly after all of this took place, Dingman met with the SuperStroke owners at the PGA Show, which led to the acquisition of the brand for approximately $750,000. To put that into perspective, within 5 years time, the company did $15 million in revenue. In the original press release for the purchase, Dingman had this to say.
“This is an absolutely colossal addition to the Tiger Shark family of products,” said Tiger Shark president Dean Dingman. “The acquisition allows us to become a major player in the industry as manufacturers of important putting innovations.”
The product almost immediately went from a bulky and overweight rubber/metal combination that weighed a whopping 225 grams, and transformed it into a lightweight, EVA foam and polyurethane grip which cut the weight by 70%. They also developed multiple shapes and sizes to round out the line which started to take off on tour and at retail.
Dingman and SuperStroke were off and running, but then magic happened, or in this case the 2nd Big Bang of the company took place. As growth at both the store level and on the PGA Tour continued, Jason Dufner had it in play at the 2011 PGA Championship and finished runner up (he won it 2 years later). Two years after that at the 2013 Open Championship, Phil Mickelson won and was using SuperStroke as well.
Heading into 2015, sales had risen 300% each of the previous two years. These are staggering numbers for what many considered a pretty niche product. This meant it was time to expand beyond their full matrix of putter grips. Swing grips debuted in January of 2015 with the TX1 Tour Extreme. The best way to describe their first foray into this category was a proprietary blend of two rubber compounds melded into one grip. Almost immediately they gained some minor traction and the company has had a full line of round grips ever since.
By this time, nearly every putter on the market had SuperStroke as at least an option for the golfer. Going through our index of press releases, this particular one caught my eye in June of 2015 as the headline describes exactly how hot this product was.
“SuperStroke Grips were used by 19 players finishing in the Top 25 of the PGA, European and Web.com Tour Events”.
Not a week went by without a new press release hitting our inboxes talking about the majority of golfers in the top 10 or 20 using a SuperStroke grip.
While many of our Brand Story pieces feature a decline or pivotal moment that changes the landscape, SuperStroke really hasn’t encountered that. While the full line of swing grips has not captured the market the same way the putter grips have, they have continued to improve. Now they have a line featuring something for just about everybody and tour validation at the highest level including brand ambassadors Jordan Spieth and Sergio Garcia having them on all 14 clubs each and every week.
The brand as a whole continues to move forward with new releases, built by technology advancements each and every year. The company believes in finding the right grip for every golfer and has implemented a Grip Selector Tool right on their website which will fit you based on your putter style and head shape you work with.
Custom and golf is continuing to grow at a rapid pace. From headcovers to shafts and everything in between. It is important to remember that SuperStroke was one of the first grip companies to jump into customization. Will that continue? Dean Dingman explains.
“People love customization, and it is where we believe everything is headed. It has been received in a fantastic way because people love to make it their own. (Our customization feature is currently being retooled and will be back up and running June of this year).”
Looking past customization and that fun teaser about what is right around the corner, what does the future hold for SuperStroke? We asked Dean Dingman and the teaser, albeit it a bit cryptic, comes with the ability to let the imagination run wild.
“The future holds a bigger expansion into club grips and other golf technologies which will be launching in 2023.”
Obviously this is a story worth following, because in my decade plus of knowing Dean, rarely does a teaser like this not come to fruition and excite the core audience. As more becomes available we will have it here without a doubt.
What is your favorite SuperStroke item and how has it impacted your game? For more information on the company or any of its products, check out the website at www.superstrokeusa.com.
