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,” continued Fukuda.
The company recorded seven victories on the PGA TOUR in the 2016-17 season; four on the European Tour and PGA TOUR Champions, and seven on the Japan Tour.
PGA TOUR VICTORIES
- Shriners Hospital for Children (Las Vegas) N.S. PRO MODUS3 Tour 130 X
- Arnold Palmer Invitational N.S. PRO MODUS3 Tour 130 X
- The Masters N.S. PRO MODUS3 Tour 130 X
- Dean & DeLuca (Colonial) N.S. PRO MODUS3 Tour 120 TX and Wedge 125
- John Deere N.S. PRO MODUS3 Tour 130 X
- Wyndham N.S. PRO MODUS3 Tour 120 X
- BMW N.S. PRO MODUS3 Tour 130 X
EUROPEAN TOUR VICTORIES
- Omega (Dubai) PRO MODUS3 Tour 130 X
- Shenzhen International N.S. PRO MODUS3 Tour 120 X
- Lyoness Open N.S. PRO MODUS3 Tour 105 S
- Andalucia Masters N.S. PRO MODUS3 Tour 130 X
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 also used Nippon Shaft steels shafts, as well as eleven Solheim Cup contestants.
The dominant shaft on the LPGA Tour continued to be the N.S. PRO 950GH, while some 15 players utilised the newer MODUS3 family of shafts.
Nippon Shaft currently has more than 200 players on global tours utilising steel shafts created by the Japan-based golf shaft manufacturer.
Based in Yokohama, Japan, Nippon Shaft is the No. 1-selling steel shaft in Asia. Nippon Shaft is a privately-held subsidiary of NHK Spring Co. LTD, a Japanese automobile parts manufacturer. Nippon Shaft’s North American headquarters is in Carlsbad.
Nippon Shaft products are available globally either as stock or custom shafts in many of the world’s top iron brands. In addition, Nippon Shaft products are available through Nippon Shaft’s dedicated global club fitter network. Details of these can be found at www.nipponshaft.com