News

July 2008

European Golf Machinery are one of Europes biggest golf ball distributors. Due to our recent move to new premises we have invested in a new building on site. This unit has been built to store range balls and range mats to facilitate the fastest possible delivery times for our customers.

April 2008

New Business Premises for EGM

January 2008

Profit from the Practice Ground

July 2007

It comes as no surprise to David Lindsay, head physiotherapist and golf researcher at the University of Calgary’s Sports Medicine Centre, that golf injuries are on the rise. Baby boomers heading into retirement have led to an influx of golfers hitting the links, but a recent study shows they may be doing more damage than they think depending on the type of surface they hit from.

“People are generally aware that aches and pains occur in golf, but they kind of just accept it,” says Mr. Lindsay, who travels to golf conferences around the world each year. Up until recently, there hasn’t been much hard data on golf injuries to reveal why there are so many injuries. There was also a lack of hard evidence that hitting surfaces can impact the risk of injury or affect the comfort of golfing, until now.

A new study by Mr. Lindsay and the U of C’s Sports Medicine Centre research team has found that hitting surfaces, such as golf mats at driving ranges, can greatly impact perception of comfort and ultimately the risk of injuries. Over the past ten years, more research has finally started to come out due to advances in technology which measure and analyze the effect of golf swings on the body, says Mr. Lindsay. “Golf is regarded as a very complicated, biomechanical activity, which is why we all struggle to master it. When Practicing, the golf mat does influence the stress that every shot entails and with enough shots, things start to ache,” he says.

The mechanics of golf are designed so that the golf club digs into the ground slightly, compressing the ball between the club face and the ground. A normal shot is designed to have a divot, which absorbs much of the impact when hitting on a fairway. However, when golfers hit balls from a regular, hard Astro Turf golf mat the impact is transferred to the body and raises the risk of injury significantly, says Mr. Lindsay.

While any type of injury cannot always be prevented, golfers should be asking what type of golf mat their local driving range or golf course is using. A traditional carpet type or Astro Turf mat used at some driving ranges typically offers very little absorption and can actually be the root cause of golf injuries.

What golf mat you are practicing with could be hurting you. During a recent research study examining different types of golf mats at the University of Calgary Human Performance Laboratory, Sports Medicine Centre, about 90 per cent of study participants reported Fiberbuilt Long Grass Mats as being superior overall, offering the best quality of ball contact, the best absorption and providing the best simulation of hitting off a lush fairway, thereby reducing the risk of injury. What is most interesting about the study is that when asked about the level of comfort while practicing, the resounding opinion of the golfers studied is that the Fiberbuilt Grass felt most comfortable compared to the typical carpet-type Astro Turf mats where almost all golfers stated they felt some level of discomfort.

Regardless of the type of injury sustained, a significant price is being paid by avid golf enthusiasts who often aren’t aware of the reasons for their injuries. Many golfers may spend weeks avoiding the links or driving range due to these injuries, resulting in lost business for golf facilities and increased pain for golfers. Many of these injuries are preventable.

Golf injuries such as “golfer’s elbow” and other repetitive strain injuries are increasing, which has led to 25 per cent of golfers playing with an injury or sitting out for weeks because of an injury they suffered at a golf facility. Maybe it’s a stiff elbow that won’t go away, a strained feeling in the wrists and hands or perhaps it’s a backache that reappears every time a golfer hits a few balls.

The Fiberbuilt Golf mat is not a carpet or Astro Turf construction at all, but a tufted surface of engineered monofilaments designed to look, feel and play like real grass. “The fibers on Fiberbuilt Mats are sitting up an inch or two above the hard surface so your club can strike the ball and you don’t suffer the same impact as an unforgiving hard surface,” says Mr. Lindsay. “Nothing replaces grass, but at least it’s far more forgiving to the body than hitting off the carpet-like or Astro Turf surfaces.”

Mr. Lindsay is likely the pre-eminent expert on golf injuries worldwide. With more research completed and papers published than any of his peers, Mr. Lindsay is keenly aware of golf injuries and the significance not only to the golfer but to the game itself. The surprisingly high rate of injury could also have a major, negative impact on the golf business.

Dean Walker, a head golf professional for over 20 years, has been a fan of Fiberbuilt since the product’s introduction. “I have used Fiberbuilt Golf Mats for years because the look, feel and play of Fiberbuilt Grass is by far the best I have seen in a golf mat,” says Mr. Walker. “I have had virtually no complaints from my membership using Fiberbuilt, whereas with the traditional Astro Turf mats I receive complaints weekly." Mr. Walker adds: “My membership always wanted to move off those turf-type mats and onto the grass. This created huge problems for the driving range. The grass was always stressed and overused. When we implemented Fiberbuilt Golf Mats we were able to keep our golfers on the mats longer allowing us to create better, healthier grass for our membership.” “I believe in the product,” says Mr. Walker. He must, as last year when his head professional contract was up for renewal, Mr. Walker elected to make a significant career move and became the Director of Sales for Fiberbuilt.

Michael Hooper, Fiberbuilt’s President, says Regular Golf Mats vs Fiberbuilt Long Grass Mats • 86% of subjects said Fiberbuilt Grass Mats best absorbed impact of the club • 80% agree Grass Mats allow best quality of ball contact • 90% report Fiberbuilt Mats as most comfortable overall • 81% said they also best simulate hitting off a lush fairway • 81% prefer hitting off Fiberbuilt Grass Mats Golf Injuries on the Ris • 25% of golfers are either playing with an injury or avoiding golf due to an injury • 42% of golf injuries are upper limb injuries (hands, wrists, shoulders) • 36% are spine injuries (back, spine) • 22% are lower body injuries • 60% of upper limb injuries are repetitive strain or overuse injuries that result from continous impact Source: University of Calgary Sports Medicine Centre the company developed the product because there was virtually nothing on the market serving this need. “Our success to date really speaks for itself,” says Mr. Hooper. “We’ve built a name for ourselves as having a product that is not only technically superior, but which has been proven to be vastly more popular among golfers themselves”. “We have the Fiberbuilt Golf Mats in some of the best Golf Courses in the World,” says Mr. Hooper, “Our client list is really a who’s who of Golf.” The key for Fiberbuilt is getting the mat more widely used within the industry. “We have a premium product and a premium price,” says Mr. Hooper. “However, once the true economics are known and understood by the golf facility, there is really no alternative to Fiberbuilt.”

March 2007

Dispensing with Barcodes - another first from EGM!

European Golf Machinery have designed and built the first ever Dispenser to incorporate a bar code reader. Some of its benefits are:

“New EGM Dispenser Network Software”