Mitsubishi, Aldila enjoy lion’s share of the men’s Tours
THE shaft in a golf club forms part of a unique combination that constitutes the equipment and has long been crucial to its performance.
However, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation manager in the Composite Products Department, Ono Mikio, would not be drawn into saying to what extent the shaft’s influence was over the clubhead.
“It’s difficult to say when comparing the two (the shaft and clubhead), but I can say that it is vital for the two components to combine well for the golf club to perform optimally,” he noted.
On a three-nation visit to South-East Asia, which took them from Indonesia to Malaysia, and then Thailand, Ono was joined on excursion by fellow manager Katsunori Nakashima.
“The purpose of our visit to Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, is to engage in dialogue with our distributors, and here in this country we are partnering with Vins Sporting House and working closely with Sukhvinder (Singh), their managing director.
“We enjoy a close working relationship with our partners in this region and have done so since it started,” he added.
Turning to the shafts themselves, Ono said their two leading brands - Mitsubishi and Aldila - enjoyed a majority share of the men’s world Tours.
“Our estimates are that Mitsubishi is played by more than 30% of the men’s Tour pros and Aldila is second with about 25% of that – we cater for more than half.”
“As the only company that produces raw carbon fibre through to the shaft itself, Mitsubishi Chemical embraces the Tour pros and serious players, as well as the amateur, average and high handicappers, which makes our two shaft brands the leader in the field,” pointed out Katsunori.
“Mitsubishi acquired Aldila about three years ago and together we have grown noticeably. A lot of this has to do with the research and development that has gone into advancing the technologies used in the manufacture of the shafts,” he added.
Prior to heading off to their next stop, the two Tokyo-based managers indicated that in September the company would be unveiling a new line of shafts.