How It Works! – “The PGA Tour Van/Trailer”

Our friends at Solus Golf are a great group of guys and I have always loved reading Mark Thomas’s Solus Tour Blog over the years. His posts give you great you a true insider’s look into how the PGA Tour van and trailers work and also an insight into the life of a tour rep.

“The Bigger the Company..The Bigger the Campaign”

Depending on the size of the company and the player staff count under contract the trailer is designed to support those player’s needs. As you may have noticed the bigger the company the bigger the campaign! These “vans” or “trailers” are fully equipped with all of the necessary equipment to build, adjust and alter golf clubs as well as carry stock items that are distributed to the player staff each week i.e. (bags, shoes, balls, gloves, apparel and head stock) along with all of the components such as grips and shafts. These companies spare no expense when it comes to outfitting these trailers. Millions of dollars are spent on and for these support vehicles.

Is This NASCAR or Golf?

It looks like a NASCAR event instead of a golf tournament. Naturally the expense goes far beyond the van; you now have to have a tractor to pull the van from location to location which requires a team of drivers/technicians if they are to be at as many events as possible. The typical tour van schedule is 30-40 events especially if their staff player count is up there. The bigger the company and player staff in many cases necessitates the need for tractor/van combinations for both the east and west coasts. Logistics and DOT requirements deem it necessary for two vans. The end of last year we seen several companies consolidate tour operations due to the down turn in the economy i. e.(Cleveland/Srixon and Titleist/Cobra) for example. The tour support does not end there, each company has several reps to service the players the number of reps is determined on the staff size.

How The Smaller Company Operates On Tour

You would swear at times there was a rep for each player! This footprint is pretty much holds true with the big four Titleist/Cobra, Callaway, Cleveland/Srixon and Nike. These companies all have the “big” vans while Ping, Bridgestone, True Temper, Adams and Mizuno have the smaller gooseneck type vans that can be pulled by pick up trucks. Although these vans are smaller they are equipped with the same club building tools without all of the fluff such as player lounges and offices.

This brings us to the smaller companies such as Solus Golf. There are only three vans at present that are out here to give companies our size the opportunity to contract for services but in a smaller more affordable footprint. These three vans are what we call “independent contractors” in which the smaller companies pay for services depending on their size and service needs. Some companies such as shafts just need limited tech services but need product transported and stored to each tour stop. These guys let the small companies tailor their needs to fit their respective budgets. Typical costs to contract for services and signage will run $3000 to $40,000.

We are on a van that has been on the tour the longest and has one of the best technician available on tour, ProTour Services which is operated by Don Parker. Don is a seasoned vet as well as a very close friend personally. We contract with ProTour Services to store, inventory and provide tech services to 30-35 events each season. The Solus Golf Tour schedule pretty much parallels Don’s schedule. If you are going to be out here you have to have a place to work and his mobile shop provides just that. In addition we can purchase logo positions on the outside of the van which we all do. This van just like my tour support truck is seen millions of times across the country in addition giving the players the ID of particular brands which they may be seeking at an event for service.

Our van not only services our needs but that of several other companies such as Wilson Staff, Aldila, UST, Graphite Design, Golf Pride, Winn, Maui Jim, Soft spikes, Oban, Skycaddie, Rife and Fourteen. We are all very close friends and work as a team helping each other. We have to be, it is very tight quarters for so many of us! It is amazing how this team pulls together and accomplishes what needs to be done in such little space. I have had several requests to take more photos of our van for all to see which I will do at Bay Hill.