Pursuit of par-fection
Hayward-based golf club designer considered among best in the world
By MARTY JAMES, Executive Sports Editor
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
“Every day I get up, I believe that I’ve got to make a better product than all the other guys just to stay alive. As long as I have that fire in my belly, I think I’ll make great products.”
— Jesse Ortiz, vice president/chief designer, Bobby Jones Golf Company
HAYWARD — When Jesse Ortiz wants to get away from it all — the phone calls, e-mails, faxes, business-related matters and other interruptions — he heads to the workshop in the garage at his home.
It’s a quiet place, where he can think and focus and apply his creative juices into his work as the chief designer for the Bobby Jones Golf Company, which has been based in Hayward since its founding in 2004.
“This is kind of like the dream of all the club makers in the world, that they start in a garage and they’ve got an idea,” Ortiz said. “I work with shapes. I work with ideas. I’m proud of having a lot of tradition in the clubs, a traditional look but the clubs are very high tech.”
Regarded as one of the premier golf club designers in the world, Ortiz has more than 40 years of golf-industry experience. He began his career as a teenager with guidance from his father, Lou, founder of Orlimar Golf. Together, Jesse and Lou hand-crafted golf clubs for many of the game’s greatest players, including Johnny Miller, Juli Inkster and Ken Venturi. The Ortiz’ became personal craftsmen for Northern California’s top golf professionals.
“I start at the basic level where I’ve got to change shape or form to improve the function of the club,” Ortiz said. “I start always with shape — because that then dictates how far the weight is away from the center of the club.”
Ortiz is especially proud of his latest creation.
Concluding a nearly four-year wait, the Bobby Jones Golf Co., and Ortiz have unveiled the company’s first new equipment products since 2004.
The new Bobby Jones driver is a revolutionary triangular-shaped 460cc tour de force that improves upon the distance, control, sound and feel that golfers have come to expect from Ortiz.
Ortiz’ new wedges are a stunning masterpiece, combining the craftsman’s design prowess with technology and precision. The company will launch its 52-, 56- and 60-degree wedges in two bounce options: low and standard. Then by March, the company expects to have 48- and 64-degree wedges.
Earlier this month Ortiz unveiled his classically modeled design studio, set inside the Hayward-based company headquarters, during a private reception that also served to introduce the company’s 2008 product line. The new clubs will be available from the Bobby Jones Golf Co., as well as various in-store and online retail partners in January.
“I know now that the new driver really is going to be the best driver I’ve ever made because it’s going to be a lot more forgiving,” Ortiz said.
“I really believe that I’ve got to make clubs that when I hand them to a professional or a very good player, they can put the club down and say, ‘Man, I can play with that.’ Especially now that I’ve got Bobby Jones. With Bobby Jones, there’s a classic tradition. I’ve got to be true to something that is drop dead beautiful. But if I can’t make that club work or help the average golfer, then I’ve only built a bridge half way. I really believe that I can make clubs that appeal to the best players in the world and have design features that help the average golfer.”
The Jesse Ortiz Design Studio is a 300-square-foot facility, developed as an inspirational workspace for Ortiz, who was raised in the Bay Area and graduated from the University of San Francisco with a marketing degree. The studio features a 35-foot, L-shaped workbench, adorned with classically shaped persimmon wood golf clubs. Many of the clubs and pieces on display within the studio pay homage to Lou Ortiz. Dozens of historic photos, press clippings, award plaques and fan letters hang from the studio’s walls.
“You’re in the garage, you’re in the workshop here,” he said.
The Jones Studio Edition Driver and Studio Collection Wedges represent the passion, inspiration and dedication from the past four years, said Ortiz, who has extensive experience in the management of research and golf development, production, quality control, distribution functions, advertising, publicity and media relations. The Ortiz family has been rooted within the Northern California golf community since 1960.
“I am very proud of the progress we made with these projects and am confident golfers will find genuine enjoyment and satisfaction from my new driver and wedge designs,” he said. “I hope these clubs underscore our commitment to providing golf’s finest clubs.
“I really believe these drivers are the best drivers that I’ve ever made. I’ve always believed this: you can create something that’s very beautiful but still function at the top level. I think triangular shapes are better. I think what I’ve done with the new drivers is kind of create a combination — I’ve made the club a lot wider, but then I’ve extended the toe out to give you kind of a pear-shape look so it gives you kind of a traditional look. It’s very wide and it’s got the properties of the old round one that I used to make.
“We are already receiving spectacular feedback on the driver’s playability from touring professionals who have sampled the club.”
While at Orlimar, he designed and developed many successful products introduced by the company, including the TriMetal fairway metal line. It was consistently ranked among the top fairway metals by PGA Tour and Champions Tour players. Ortiz’ metal wood innovations propelled sales from $1.5 million to $100 million in the late 1990s.
“It’s very important that the shape of the club is very pretty, but the shape of the club also dictates where the weight is in a wood,” said Ortiz. “It’s no different when we were doing persimmon woods. Over the years I know where the weight in a club head has to be.”
Ortiz’ new Jones driver retails for $500. Each club is fitted with Tour Premium shafts. Right-handed options include 9-degree, 10.5-degree and 13-degree. The 10.5-degree left option is available in a left-handed model.
The new wedges retail for $150 each.
The Bobby Jones Golf Co., will continue to manufacture and sell its inaugural Players Series club lineup, which includes the award-winning lineup of fairway woods and popular Bobby Jones Hybrid by Jesse Ortiz.
“When you look at my clubs, they may look very modern, they look high-tech, but there’s a lot of tradition built into them,” Ortiz explained. “The leopard doesn’t change its spots. I’ve been in the business so long that a lot of what I’ve learned goes into all the new high tech-looking clubs. What I can do is move the weight within the club head so that it helps the average golfer miss the center of the face a little bit and still get a pretty good shot.
“I really try to stay ahead of the curve. I want to make a great product.”
In 2004, the Jesse Ortiz Design Studio partnered with the upstart Bobby Jones Co., and resounding success has followed. Driven by the commercial and critical triumph of the Bobby Jones Hybrid by Jesse Ortiz, the Bobby Jones Players Series by Jesse Ortiz continues to benefit from heavy media acclaim and increasing sales.
In 1999, Ortiz received the International Network of Golf Business Achievement Award and was recognized as the Entrepreneur of the Year for Northern California by Ernst & Young.
“We’re convinced that there’s a healthy market for golf clubs whose prototypes are hand-crafted, have a very traditional, clean look and feel, with the latest technology and aren’t tricked up as the latest gimmick,” said Ortiz. “I think we have a real shot at being a force in the business.”
For more information, call 1-800-366-1989 or visit the Web site at www.BobbyJonesGolf.com.
Hayward-based golf club designer considered among best in the world
By MARTY JAMES, Executive Sports Editor
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
“Every day I get up, I believe that I’ve got to make a better product than all the other guys just to stay alive. As long as I have that fire in my belly, I think I’ll make great products.”
— Jesse Ortiz, vice president/chief designer, Bobby Jones Golf Company
HAYWARD — When Jesse Ortiz wants to get away from it all — the phone calls, e-mails, faxes, business-related matters and other interruptions — he heads to the workshop in the garage at his home.
It’s a quiet place, where he can think and focus and apply his creative juices into his work as the chief designer for the Bobby Jones Golf Company, which has been based in Hayward since its founding in 2004.
“This is kind of like the dream of all the club makers in the world, that they start in a garage and they’ve got an idea,” Ortiz said. “I work with shapes. I work with ideas. I’m proud of having a lot of tradition in the clubs, a traditional look but the clubs are very high tech.”
Regarded as one of the premier golf club designers in the world, Ortiz has more than 40 years of golf-industry experience. He began his career as a teenager with guidance from his father, Lou, founder of Orlimar Golf. Together, Jesse and Lou hand-crafted golf clubs for many of the game’s greatest players, including Johnny Miller, Juli Inkster and Ken Venturi. The Ortiz’ became personal craftsmen for Northern California’s top golf professionals.
“I start at the basic level where I’ve got to change shape or form to improve the function of the club,” Ortiz said. “I start always with shape — because that then dictates how far the weight is away from the center of the club.”
Ortiz is especially proud of his latest creation.
Concluding a nearly four-year wait, the Bobby Jones Golf Co., and Ortiz have unveiled the company’s first new equipment products since 2004.
The new Bobby Jones driver is a revolutionary triangular-shaped 460cc tour de force that improves upon the distance, control, sound and feel that golfers have come to expect from Ortiz.
Ortiz’ new wedges are a stunning masterpiece, combining the craftsman’s design prowess with technology and precision. The company will launch its 52-, 56- and 60-degree wedges in two bounce options: low and standard. Then by March, the company expects to have 48- and 64-degree wedges.
Earlier this month Ortiz unveiled his classically modeled design studio, set inside the Hayward-based company headquarters, during a private reception that also served to introduce the company’s 2008 product line. The new clubs will be available from the Bobby Jones Golf Co., as well as various in-store and online retail partners in January.
“I know now that the new driver really is going to be the best driver I’ve ever made because it’s going to be a lot more forgiving,” Ortiz said.
“I really believe that I’ve got to make clubs that when I hand them to a professional or a very good player, they can put the club down and say, ‘Man, I can play with that.’ Especially now that I’ve got Bobby Jones. With Bobby Jones, there’s a classic tradition. I’ve got to be true to something that is drop dead beautiful. But if I can’t make that club work or help the average golfer, then I’ve only built a bridge half way. I really believe that I can make clubs that appeal to the best players in the world and have design features that help the average golfer.”
The Jesse Ortiz Design Studio is a 300-square-foot facility, developed as an inspirational workspace for Ortiz, who was raised in the Bay Area and graduated from the University of San Francisco with a marketing degree. The studio features a 35-foot, L-shaped workbench, adorned with classically shaped persimmon wood golf clubs. Many of the clubs and pieces on display within the studio pay homage to Lou Ortiz. Dozens of historic photos, press clippings, award plaques and fan letters hang from the studio’s walls.
“You’re in the garage, you’re in the workshop here,” he said.
The Jones Studio Edition Driver and Studio Collection Wedges represent the passion, inspiration and dedication from the past four years, said Ortiz, who has extensive experience in the management of research and golf development, production, quality control, distribution functions, advertising, publicity and media relations. The Ortiz family has been rooted within the Northern California golf community since 1960.
“I am very proud of the progress we made with these projects and am confident golfers will find genuine enjoyment and satisfaction from my new driver and wedge designs,” he said. “I hope these clubs underscore our commitment to providing golf’s finest clubs.
“I really believe these drivers are the best drivers that I’ve ever made. I’ve always believed this: you can create something that’s very beautiful but still function at the top level. I think triangular shapes are better. I think what I’ve done with the new drivers is kind of create a combination — I’ve made the club a lot wider, but then I’ve extended the toe out to give you kind of a pear-shape look so it gives you kind of a traditional look. It’s very wide and it’s got the properties of the old round one that I used to make.
“We are already receiving spectacular feedback on the driver’s playability from touring professionals who have sampled the club.”
While at Orlimar, he designed and developed many successful products introduced by the company, including the TriMetal fairway metal line. It was consistently ranked among the top fairway metals by PGA Tour and Champions Tour players. Ortiz’ metal wood innovations propelled sales from $1.5 million to $100 million in the late 1990s.
“It’s very important that the shape of the club is very pretty, but the shape of the club also dictates where the weight is in a wood,” said Ortiz. “It’s no different when we were doing persimmon woods. Over the years I know where the weight in a club head has to be.”
Ortiz’ new Jones driver retails for $500. Each club is fitted with Tour Premium shafts. Right-handed options include 9-degree, 10.5-degree and 13-degree. The 10.5-degree left option is available in a left-handed model.
The new wedges retail for $150 each.
The Bobby Jones Golf Co., will continue to manufacture and sell its inaugural Players Series club lineup, which includes the award-winning lineup of fairway woods and popular Bobby Jones Hybrid by Jesse Ortiz.
“When you look at my clubs, they may look very modern, they look high-tech, but there’s a lot of tradition built into them,” Ortiz explained. “The leopard doesn’t change its spots. I’ve been in the business so long that a lot of what I’ve learned goes into all the new high tech-looking clubs. What I can do is move the weight within the club head so that it helps the average golfer miss the center of the face a little bit and still get a pretty good shot.
“I really try to stay ahead of the curve. I want to make a great product.”
In 2004, the Jesse Ortiz Design Studio partnered with the upstart Bobby Jones Co., and resounding success has followed. Driven by the commercial and critical triumph of the Bobby Jones Hybrid by Jesse Ortiz, the Bobby Jones Players Series by Jesse Ortiz continues to benefit from heavy media acclaim and increasing sales.
In 1999, Ortiz received the International Network of Golf Business Achievement Award and was recognized as the Entrepreneur of the Year for Northern California by Ernst & Young.
“We’re convinced that there’s a healthy market for golf clubs whose prototypes are hand-crafted, have a very traditional, clean look and feel, with the latest technology and aren’t tricked up as the latest gimmick,” said Ortiz. “I think we have a real shot at being a force in the business.”
For more information, call 1-800-366-1989 or visit the Web site at www.BobbyJonesGolf.com.
