Nike Golf is "expected to make available at retail the
identical Tour Accuracy golf ball now played by Tiger
Woods," according to Gene Yasuda of GOLFWEEK. Nike Golf
Marketing Dir Mike Kelly said that the "public debut" of
Woods' customized ball has been "in the works for months --
long before a media frenzy erupted this week" over a lawsuit
filed by the nonprofit group Public Remedies alleging that
Nike is "engaging in unfair business practices" because the
ball Woods "plays and promotes" is not available to
consumers (see THE DAILY, 8/23). While Nike has said that
they have "done nothing wrong and are engaging in a common
business practice within the golf industry," Kelly said that
the company has "been aware of the public's desire" to play
Woods' model and has been "planning for months to make it
available" (GOLFWEEK, 8/24). Kelly said that Nike research
"indicates no more than" 5-8% of the market is "interested
in using the exact same ball as Woods" (AP, 8/25).
SPIN CONTROL: In L.A., Thomas Bonk: "It's not unusual
for a player to use a ball that's not always for sale to the
public -- and the ball Woods uses is on the USGA's approved
list. This issue probably won't have any effect on sales,
but Nike should have been more honest when it was brought
up. ... Actually, the public probably wouldn't want the ball
Woods uses anyway because very few have the swing power to
make the ball do what Woods does" (L.A. TIMES, 8/25).
AMEX PROMOTES ITS MAN: AmEx runs a full-page ad in the
N.Y. TIMES promoting Monday's online chat with Woods at
www.worldgolfchampionships/com/amex/tiger (THE DAILY).
