HOW TO SPOT A FUTURE STAR

Michael Weston investigates how equipment manufacturers go about trying to find and sign up the next big thing

- Michael Weston

Every season there’s a new ‘next big thing’. They’re fitter, stronger and, as we often hear, “ready to win”. Feeding the top tier, there’s a never-ending conveyor belt of young hopefuls among the mini-tours jostling for a breakthrough, all looking to take that next step – and perhaps even score a career-changing sponsorship deal with a manufacturer which could help kick-start their journey. The brands are watching; they're always on the lookout, searching for fresh talent and assessing potential. There’s a certain strategy involved – and it’s not simply about splashing the cash.

In the NBA or NHL, when players go to Combine – a scouting exercise in front of top coaches – they are put through all manner of tests, designed to determine where they are at with their game. These aren’t just physical trials but mental ones, too, which reveal more about their attitude and how they view life. Formal trials like this don’t exist in golf – not in front of manufacturers, at least – but these same personality traits are taken into account. For manufacturers, they offer a clue as to how much potential a player has and how, even, someone might represent the brand.

“You walk down the range now and everyone hits the ball so well,” says Alex Thorne, tour manager and product manager for golf clubs, EMEA, Mizuno. “Where the game’s advanced so much, the guys have become so much bigger and stronger. Everyone’s hitting it so well and so consistently. It’s more mental attitude that we’re looking at. It’s about process and preparations – what kind of process they go through on the range and before they get to the range and how they address the whole week.”