I met the Founder of PureOne Golf on the driving range of McCormick Ranch in the Spring of 2022. His name was Dan Bonomo, and he was doing what he has been doing for a number of years, walking the driving ranges of public and private golf courses, of muni's and pro tour practice areas, explaining to anybody working on their game and willing to listen about a better way to gain confidence through a new focus and commitment effort and how they might benefit from spending just a couple of minutes with him and his golf club.
When Dan approached me that morning, I was the only one left on the range because the 48 players that were there minutes ago had been called to their shotgun start, leaving me as his last available sales target before lunch.
He showed me the club, and I laughed.
As he had been watching me, I thought it appropriate to say something to the effect of "seeing how I can't hit my regular clubs all that well, how do you expect me to hit this little fella?"
He suggested I just try it, and gave me two pointers: 1) Swing easy and 2) really focus on keeping my eyes on the back of the ball at both address and through the swing.
Yeah, whatever...
Anyway, I started into the "lesson" expectedly firing a couple of zinging Chili peppers (for you Tin Cup movie fans) low, hard and left toward the trees that line the driving range boundaries. "Nope, I said. Not for me."
Dan retorted, "Just a few more."
He was right, I started hitting it, pretty high, pretty far, and generally straight.
Since we were the only two people there, I asked him to tell me more. He was working out of a pop-up tent at the edge of the range, and he had two folding chairs. Hmmm, I thought. Two chairs? One guy? Is this some kind of Candid Camera for bad golfers?
Anyway, I asked him questions for an hour. The one thing he told me that stuck with me so strongly was that during his time meeting PGA Tour players and showing them the product, one in particular, Charley Hoffman asked that Dan make him a full set of these "little fellas". Think about that!
A guy that literally hits the ball at the same spot on the clubface over and over was looking for an edge in his training regimen that would allow him to focus even more effectively on his ball striking.
I was hooked, even if my earlier shots with my clubs no longer were.
Got some folks together that know how to help entrepreneurs put business practices and personnel in place to scale and promote legitimate new ideas and products, and the company, PureOne Golf is now being re-invented. It's goal is to serve the training and preparation efforts that instill confidence and ultimately better scores to countless golfers of all skill levels.
All us golfers talk about the game's greatest gift being the camaraderie it provides on the course, for me, that now extends to the driving range as well.
By:
Mike Hammer - 11 handicap