Company Profile: KZG, by Jeffrey Reed
Copyright 2006 London Ontario Golf

In 2004, when PGA professional Mike Amira joined North Hollywood, California-based golf club manufacturer KZG, he said he was thrilled “to be part of a company that truly cares about the quality of the equipment they sell.”

It was a simple statement, yet it spoke volumes about KZG, the “#1 Custom ProLine.” In fact, KZG golf clubs are different than the competition’s. Founded in 1998, KZG prides itself not only in high-end equipment, but also in an uncompromising company philosophy.

“We built our company on the idea that every golfer, regardless of ability, deserves clubs that fit his or her swing and body,” states company literature. Boasting its own Master Club Fitting certification program, Fitting Lab software, a video training system, and numerous other programs designed to improve the game of every golfer, KZG is one of the most innovative club makers in today’s game.

The KZG Difference

Aesthetically, KZG’s clubs are gems. From tee to green, they are thoroughbreds. No surprise, KZG continues to win major awards and accolades from golf industry professionals including independent testing organizations, major media members and touring pros. In just over seven years, KZG already counts 2,500 dealers worldwide.

So, what’s the secret of success for this U.S.-based manufacturer? Look no further than KZG president Jennifer King. You may know her as a ground-breaking female newscaster – the first hired by flagship station KNBC Los Angeles in 1969. Thirty-five years later, King would break more ground as she successfully tackled the USGA in 2004 in an effort to gain conforming status for KZG’s twin-faced driver, the Gemini, which won top honours from GolfTest USA, Publinks Golfer Magazine, Golf Tips Magazine, Fairways & Greens Magazine, PGA Tour Partners, and the editorial team here at London Ontario Golf.

What drives King to make KZG the “#1 Custom ProLine?” Consider her journey. After leaving KNBC, King ran her own successful law practice from 1977 to 1999, helping several companies make the transition from startup ventures to profitable enterprises. She eventually entered the golf industry, selling innovative and technologically advanced clubheads and shafts to major OEMs. But, it didn’t take her long to recognize the biggest void in the game of golf: innovative, high-performance equipment with proprietary designs for professional club fitters.

With the help of her daughter, Lisa Jadon, also a lawyer by trade with much success in the area of business litigation – not to mention an avid golfer – King launched KZG in 1998. As vice-president sales and marketing, Jadon shares King’s passion to manufacture custom-made, pro-line golf equipment.

It’s very easy to identify the KZG difference. KZG hires the best designers, engineers, metallurgists and craftspeople. The company uses only the very best materials – regardless of cost. “Research and development is our lifeblood,” reads company literature. Irons, such as the award-winning Evolution line, are forged in Japan for top quality. Testing of prototypes is exhaustive, producing the highest quality irons, woods, wedges and putters. Never complacent, KZG is relentless in its search for new technologies, evident in its new adjustable weight GF 4 driver – the most innovative driver for custom fitting on today’s market.

KZG’s Top 100

In a recent KZG newsletter, King and Jadon explained their company’s vision.

“There was a poll published in Golf World recently that suggested nearly 65 per cent of the golfing public had been custom-fitted for clubs. Our first reaction when we saw it was a good chuckle, because it showed just how wide the gap is between our definition of custom-fitting and that of the rest of the world (including, apparently Golf World).”

“But then we got serious. Because if people don’t know what custom-fitting really is – and it’s so much more than giving a golfer a couple of demo clubs and asking them which feels better, or hitting a few balls off a lie board – they’re not getting the most out of their equipment,” wrote the KZG duo.

Enter KZG’s February 2006-announced World’s Top 100 Club Fitters. Applicants were required to complete a lengthy application that included several essays on equipment knowledge, club fitting process and business savvy. Career history and education were also considered.

There are 16 Canadian club fitters amongst KZG’s Top 100 – eight from Ontario, including Claude Giroux of The Village Green Golf Range and Practice Centre in Stoney Point.

King explains, “Certainly this list represents some of the finest minds in the golf business, but our panel felt strongly that it should mean more than that. So part one of being on the Top 100 is about process: understanding equipment, incorporating the latest technology, such as launch monitors, and providing first-class facilities and service. Part two is about integrity. There’s a mistaken impression out there, exploited by a certain few, that custom clubs have to cost considerably more money. We were looking for professionals who put the customer’s needs ahead of pure profit and understand the value of growing the game.”

King adds, “One of our goals for the Top 100 is to dispel the image of club fitting as a hobby or home business. The Top 100 are accomplished professionals who have studied and trained for years. In terms of skill and knowledge they’re on par with the technicians on Tour who optimize the players’ clubs to fit their swings. The difference is, the Top 100 Fitters provide those benefits to the everyday golfer, improving performance and ultimately making the game easier and more enjoyable.”

GF 4 Driver

With that thinking in mind, the just-released GF 4 driver is set to revolutionize the game. Taking its name from Gravitational Force technology, and four strategically-positioned weight ports, the GF 4 driver allows the selection of screws in seven different weights. Thus, swing weight, launch angle, and draw/fade bias can be adjusted thousands of ways – 2,401 different weight options, to be exact – to optimize literally any golfer’s launch conditions. Cast in 6-4 beta titanium, the 425cc GF 4 driver is classic in design, as is KZG’s style, and produces a deeper, denser explosion at impact than typical titanium drivers of similar size.

“Our goal with the GF 4 was to create a driver with unmatched performance, truly suitable for everyone from Tour players to middle-handicappers,” explains King.

Here’s the real deal: KZG strongly believes that adjustments to the GF 4 should be made by professional club fitters only. Explains King, “When you consider that engineers spend months manipulating a club’s centre of gravity to achieve a desired launch condition, it seems irresponsible to encourage the uninformed golfer to experiment.”

The GF 4 follows in the footsteps of the Gemini 460cc driver, one of the longest and most accurate drivers in golf. A deep, back-weighted head measures 5 inches across, 4 1/4 inches face-to-back, and 2 ½ inches deep. Boasting a legal, spring-like effect – an innovative club face – the Gemini features a second faceplate behind a forged and heat-treated titanium face. Hence, the name Gemini.

KZG Evolves

KZG does much more than let the big dog eat. Take the forged Evolution irons, for instance. Some of the prettiest and best performing sticks you’ll find anywhere, the Evolution irons were actually introduced at the 2004 PGA Merchandise Show. Yet, they continue to build momentum, thanks to their deserved reputation as the ultimate in a blended forged iron set. Each club is individually designed. The perimeter-weighted cavity back design of the long irons offer maximum distance and accuracy. The mid-irons are a hybrid between cavity and blade, maximizing the benefits of both. The short irons offer maximum control and feel.

Winner of the prestigious ING Industry Award for product ingenuity in forged irons, the Evolution irons are double forged, handcrafted and hand finished. Following forging, each club is shaped and ground to precise specs.

KZG dealers, including the company’s Dealer of the Year, Custom Golf Norway’s Andreas Lind (that’s right, Norway – KZG is a global company) are proud to carry such top-quality yet affordable equipment such as the Evolution irons. But KZG’s promise of satisfaction doesn’t stop there. Consider the latest group of fitting professionals to earn KZG’s elite status of Master Club fitter. They range from Ken Dowswell of Golf Etc. in Niagara Falls, Ontario to Thomas White of Golfusion in The Netherlands.

Back in California, Amira runs a tight ship at the KZG Fitting and Training Centre, while heading the company’s Master Club Fitting certification program. Since earning his PGA certification in 1991, Amira has held numerous titles of director of golf, head professional, and director of instruction at prestigious golf clubs across the U.S. He started the club repair department at The Villages Golf Academy in The Villages, Florida, home to Arnold Palmer and Nancy Lopez layouts.

The new state-of-the-art KZG Fitting & Training Centre is used to fit touring pros and ranked amateurs playing KZG equipment, and it doubles as the training and certification venue for KZG dealers. As well, the KZG centre is open to the public in order to further and continuously meet the needs of every golfer.

Rounding out the KZG team of executives is Jonathan Abrahams, director of public relations and marketing. A former editor at Golf Magazine, Abrahams is a two-time author, and winner of the 2001 ING Award for Instruction Writing. He has collaborated on stories with the game’s greatest teachers and players, and helped form two popular Golf Magazine franchises, Private Lessons, and Clubtest.

Recent correspondence with King resulted in a passionate statement. She said, “Our campaign this year is to educate the golfing public on what to expect in a bonafide custom fitting.”

Examine closely the KZG story, and you’ll quickly acknowledge this company is a bonafide hard-working overachiever in the golf club manufacturing industry. In just seven years, KZG has evolved from underdog with cult status, to maker of the award-winning Evolution irons.

With technology defining today’s game from tee to green, and an even greater emphasis put on true custom fitting, expect the name KZG to roll off the tongues of an even larger army of amateur and professional golfers. From California to Norway, KZG is synonymous with innovation.

Jeffrey Reed, editor of LondonOntarioGolf.com, is a leading-Canadian golf writer. Since putting the KZG Gemini driver in his bag in 2005, his handicap lowered to an index of 3.0. Reed used the Gemini driver en route to scoring a course-record 62 at Caradoc Sands Golf Club in Strathroy, Ontario, Canada.