{"id":1445,"date":"2015-04-21T16:16:27","date_gmt":"2015-04-21T16:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/?p=1445"},"modified":"2015-04-21T21:25:07","modified_gmt":"2015-04-21T21:25:07","slug":"novel-cork-grips-are-no-mere-novelty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/golf\/equipment\/1445\/novel-cork-grips-are-no-mere-novelty","title":{"rendered":"Novel Cork Grips Are No Mere Novelty"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Grip_8_RGB_300dpis(1)\"<\/a>Breaking into the golf gear business is tougher than a rattlesnake that bites Chuck Norris and does not die in agony three days later, which is seriously freaking tough.<\/p>\n

After all, most every equipment-related idea imaginable has already been introduced. Major manufacturers dominate nearly every category save for funky tees. And when it comes to grips, the likes of Winn, Golf Pride and Lamkin seem to have the market wrapped.<\/p>\n

Today, however, there is a new entrant in putter grips and it just might be different enough to have a chance. Cork Tree, based in the southern Portugal city of Sao Bras De Alportel, has introduced four different models of putting grips that are comprised\u00a0of what the company’s name suggests – -it’s hand-made from sheets of natural cork that\u2019s lined with fabric to form a type of leather. Exceptionally soft to the touch, the completely natural product remains dry even in humid or rainy conditions.<\/p>\n

“That means the grip won’t slip in your hands — regardless of how moist your hands are,” says company co-founder Marc Boggia, a British PGA member since 1981 and a well known course owner, tournament director, golf product distributor and instructor with\u00a0John Jacobs Golf Schools. “That lets you confidently putt away without any tension in your hands and arms, promoting a more fluid stroke. Once you try it, I know you’ll agree that it feels amazing. Plus, it cleans very easily — dirt wipes away with a wet cloth.”<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, because it\u2019s identical to the cork stoppers used in premium wine bottles, the Cork Tree grips are perhaps\u00a0the most distinctive looking and stylish new item in the game.<\/p>\n

An Important Matter of Feel<\/strong><\/p>\n

One can\u2019t discount the importance of a comfortable putter grip, in that the club is typically used more than any other in the bag. And while such grips are very much a matter of choice and preference – – from its circumference to tackiness – – the cork grips have a remarkable feel.<\/p>\n

They are also remarkably light, mainly because cork has a honeycomb cell structure in which each cell is a 14-sided polyhedron filled with air. The bark is, in fact, 89 percent air, just like those trees that shots never seem to get through. Then again, like leaves on those air-trees,\u00a0the cells in cork won\u2019t let water in or air out, which makes\u00a0the cork grip\u00a0waterproof.<\/p>\n

There are also a couple of interesting back-stories to these grips. First is the fact that unlike real leather grips that are made from the skin of cows, these are from tree bark that regenerates. It’s arguably a vegan product, since no animals were harmed or sacrificed in the making of the grips. And because the grips included no\u00a0petrochemicals, cork leather is hypoallergenic and environmentally friendly.<\/p>\n

The other interesting backstory is about the company, the nature of cork farming and the temporal side of a long-term business.<\/p>\n

Cork Tree was founded by Boggia and Nuno Nasciemento, whose family has been in the cork business for generations. With come 500 hectares of cork oak trees, the Nascimentos continue to sell cork bark to the stopper industry. From his earliest memories, Nascimento went with his grandfather to the family cork oak forest, learning the natural variations of the growing process. He studied and tested trees to find the best cork bark, and experimented with\u00a0myriad cork products that could be commercialized.<\/p>\n

Four Decades From Planting To Harvest<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cork farming\u00a0is demanding work done mostly by hand on southern Portugal\u2019s rocky terrain. The forest demands\u00a0almost constant cleaning, fertilizing and replanting. The Nascimento plantation has put in\u00a0some 40,000 new cork trees in the past eight years, an act that involves a great deal of foresight. \u00a0Indeed, the time between planting and an\u00a0investment payback would make wine growers crazy, and the heads of Silicon Valley investment bankers explode.<\/p>\n

From when a tree is planted, it takes more roughly 25 years before the first layer of cork can be harvested. Even then, the virgin cork has little commercial value. It\u2019s used in flooring, isolation boards in construction materials and other fabricated products, but isn’t particularly profitable.<\/p>\n

The tree is harvested for the second time about 9 years later, the average time it takes for a mature tree to regenerate the bark on its trunk. Because the second harvest still has too many irregularities for premium wine corks, it also goes into agglomerated products. Finally, nearly 40 years after its planted, does the cork tree yield quality material for wine stoppers and the cork leather putter grips. And while it\u00a0can be harvest many times thereafter, that’s a long time between returns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe investment (we make today) is for the future generations that will come after us,\u201d says Nasimento. \u201cHowever, we have a legacy now and we care about that. What was left to us we proudly say thanks and we will leave to others that will follow us. Then, they will decide what to do with it.\u201d \u00a0The current generation has decided to break into golf.<\/p>\n

Cork Tree’s grips are available in four styles, and with each \u00a0available in four accent colors. Two of the grips, the Slim Jim<\/em> and the Gimme<\/em>, feature the conventional putter-grip shape, with two different degress of taper. For those who favor larger grips, Cork Tree offers the Bandit<\/em>, which tapers from a chunky 30.8 mm in diameter at the bottom to a slightly narrower 28 mm at the butt end. The fattest grip, which I tested, is the Stumpy<\/em>, measuring 41 mm at the bottom and tapering to 39 mm at the butt.<\/p>\n

All four retail for $29.95. For more information, contact Cork Tree at mailto:info@corkputtergrips.com<\/a> or visit their website at http:\/\/corkputtergrips.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Breaking into the golf gear business is tougher than a rattlesnake that bites Chuck Norris and does not die in… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":1449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,3],"tags":[291,969898,969899,969889,969900,969890,969901,969891,969892,843419,969894,969895,2020],"class_list":["post-1445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-equipment","tag-portugal","tag-sao-bras-de-alportel","tag-marc-boggia","tag-chuck-norris","tag-british-pga","tag-rattlesnake","tag-john-jacobs-golf-schools","tag-cork-tree","tag-winn","tag-golf-pride","tag-lamkin","tag-nuno-nasciemento","tag-silicon-valley"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2015\/04\/Grip_8_RGB_300dpis1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1445"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1456,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1445\/revisions\/1456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}