Nippon shaft use up 42% in 2017 season

The use of Nippon Shaft products increased by 42% on the men’s PGA and European tours in the 2017 season, with the company recording 27 victories worldwide.

During the 2017 season, 195 players on the PGA and European tours played steel shafts manufactured by Nippon Shaft in their irons and/or wedges, compared with 137 the season before, an increase of 58 players, according to company officials.

In addition, Nippon Shaft added a travelling tour representative to the Web.com Tour, resulting in over 40 players using the shafts on the U.S. developmental tour, up from just 10 a year earlier.

The company is the second-most used shaft brand worldwide in major tournament golf.

“As top players learn about the high quality of Nippon Shaft and test our products, more and more of them every day are switching to our brand,” said Hiro Fukuda, sales and marketing for the Japan-based company.

“We are very proud that the best players in the world increasingly are utilising Nippon Shaft as the way to help them get the best out of their games.”

The company recorded seven victories on the PGA Tour in the 2016-17 season; four on the European Tour and Champions Tour, and seven on the Japan Tour. Meanwhile, on the LPGA Tour, Nippon Shaft had another dominant year, winning more than half of the tour’s 31 events, including four women’s major titles.

The LPGA Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, Sung Hyun Park (above), also used Nippon Shaft steels shafts, as did 11 Solheim Cup contestants.