I met Tirger Woods! My story of the Turf Chopper electric golf cart and caddy trolley at the 2009 PGA Arnold Palmer Invitational meeting all the Pros!

So let me start by saying that I am not a golfer, very much enjoy playing the game but certainly not a golfer. I have however played the game my whole life and am not too too bad, ok I suck, but I only played as a form of entertainment. I have never completed in any tournaments, well aside from a few charity or fund raiser tourneys and we all know those kinds of tourneys are not about score but socializing and drinking, which reminds me, I will post the story about the "Sun Downer Gentleman's Club" golf tournament a couple of weeks ago that I attended with the Turf Choppers, It was a wild one so watch for that post. Now working in the golf industry you would think I would have boned up on my golf knowledge and the who's who in the PGA but I didn't. Being with Bridgeburg Golf, as you know a company started by a couple of golf nuts, from the very beginning and being the only non golfer, I only saw the potential value of the Turf Chopper from a business aspect as a marketable commodity. I never really considered having to attend PGA events or any events for that matter because you would think anyone else in the company would love to do that stuff, a chance to meet their hero's and idols.
Anyway, we get an invitation to bring a couple of Turf Choppers down to Ball Hill C.C. for the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando Florida. We received that invitation for two reasons; 1st do to having greatly impressed several of the GM's and course pros at other Palmer owned golf courses, as well we were granted permission by the board allowing our Turf Choppers to be used on their courses. and 2nd we
had done our first full page ad in the Kingdom magazine, Arnold Palmer's up scale magazine. Well come to pass Jon Edwards, the SVP of Kingdom magazine in London met and befriended a gentlemen named Bruce Alexander, who was playing in the Pro-Am tournament at the British Open in 2008. Bruce plays in many of the PGA Pro-Am events and was planning on playing in the Pro-Am at the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational but feared he would not be able to, do to have had a knee replacement surgery and would not be able to walk an entire round of 18. The PGA did grant Bruce his request to use a golf cart for the tournament. Photo to the right is of me, Michael Mazza (letf) and Jon Edwards (right). One day Jon Edwards suggested to Bruce that he maybe able to persuade Bridgeburg Golf to lend him a Turf Chopper for the tourney. Bruce had one look at it and was hooked. All the arrangement were made with Bay Hill CC to have one unit brought down and used by Bruce in the Pro-Am portion of Arnold Palmer Invitational and another to be used as a display model at the Club house.
The 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational ran from March 23 to the 29th. Tuesday the 23rd is a Pros practise day, Wed the 24th Is the Pro-Am Tournament and Thursday to Sunday is the PGA event. At first we were just going to have a couple of Choppers shipped to the course and Jon Edwards who was flying in from London would handle it at that end. I had some business to do in central Florida anyway and had never met Jon so I figured I would take them over myself.
So now I show up on Tues the 23rd with the Turf Chopper. I check in with Bay Hill management because Jon missed his flight and I have no instruction on where or what to do with the carts. Bay Hill GM tells me to bring it around and someone would take it from there. I brought it around to where all the Bay Hill high ups, PGA tournament directors and executives, network reps and sponsor executives where hanging out for the opening day festivities. WOW what a response, I couldn't get them of if. I had one guy that was even driving right up to inquisitive spectator and onlooker giving them demonstrations.
What can I say, they all loved it! They even invited me to stay for the entire tournament with all access pass to everywhere and everything. I was even told to drive the Turf Chopper around for the whole tournament and pass out cards and any literature I had. I was also invited to the private PGA post game party. So having never been to a PGA golf tournament before and grateful for the wonderful marketing opportunity, for free, that they were offering me I accepted the invitation.
It was a beautiful Florida spring morning on Wed the 24th and the Turf Chopper was already a huge hit by all the spectators. However 5 minutes before Bruce Alexander was to tee off the PGA director told me that a clause in the tournament insurance policy was found that would only cover Bruce if he was to use a golf cart leased or owned by Bay Hill CC and registered as a current operating equipment assets as outlined in the tournament application prier to the tournament start date. We were all a little disappointed but none more then Bruce who after a half an hour of riding it around getting used to it, fell in love with it and was very excited to be on one for the tournament. He did want to buy one so we gave him one for cost to take with him after the tournament and he loves it!
It was on that Wednesday when I first started to officially meet all the pros, which looking back was a little embarrassing because aside from Tiger Woods and a few other pros I couldn't tell ya who's who and that was made apparent to me when a tournament spectator came up to me after I had give a demo and a lengthy test ride to a guy. The man came right up to me and said "Do you know who that was?" I did not, and as far as I was concerned he was just an interested customer. Turns out he is one of the all time top money earners on the PGA tour. Shortly after that eye opener Mike Weir and a few other pros walked off the driving towards the club house. Well being a Canadian I do know who Mike is and was extremely excited when they approached me with questions about the amazing little Turf Chopper golf cart I was riding around on. I did give them a demonstration and as soon as I completed the demo one of the pros jumped on it and took off. Mike told me to follow them or I wouldn't get my cart back. He took it in to a players only practise area and began showing it to his buddies. It was at that time when I was introduce to about a dozen of the competing pros.
One of my greatest memories of that week was Thursday morning at the official PGA start meeting in the club house. I was approached by Johnson or Watney (I think) who told me that he had been watching me the past 2 days and had drawn bigger crowds and had more pictures taken of then most of the pros. I do have a bit of a sarcastic sense of honour so quickly responded with " If I ask you for your autograph will you stop wining?" he said "Yes" and grabbed the hat off my head and signed it as well did the guys around us. One thing lead to another and about 28 of the completing pros all came over, introduced themselves and signed my hat. He then returned my hat to me and asked if I liked that, my reply jokingly was "you guys wrote all over my favourite hat. I can't wear it now." But really it was a great experience for me and very encouraging to be accepted in
that elite cycle.
This is a picture of the hat that now hangs in my office, unwearable lol.
I did get to meet Tiger Woods twice which was a great thrill for me, but it wasn't at the club house. The first time I was parked in the shade somewhere along the 18th fairway when Tigers tee shot landed aprox. 6 feet from me. As he approach he commented "that's the way to travel. What do you call it??" We talked for a minute or so then he went on his way. The second time was after he had completed his round on Saturday. We formally introduces ourselves and shook hands. WE talked about non-golf related topics for a few minutes before the camera crews whisked him away for some interviews. He really seems like a down to earth and easily approachable kinda guy, real cool.
Over all it was an amazing week for me. I was invited to not only the private PGA post party but was also invited to a annual party that some business mogul's throws at his multi million dollar estate which I did attend, with the company of a beautiful North American Mercedes rep, but thats another story.
I look forward to my next PGA event. Please have a look at the video on our website: http://www.bridgeburggolf.com/

15 Photos of Hot women on Turf Choppers golf carts at the 2008 PGA golf show in Orlando Florida.

I have been many places and met many wonderful people but this post is a sample of some Lovely women that I have met and become friends with at a few trade shows and events.

• This beautiful woman almost drove through the show booth next door just 2 minutes before this photo. I did catch her tho :-)
  

• This beauty is GiGi Foy an international model. What a cool girl. Beauty and brains. It was cool hanging out with her in Orlando

• I got tired of taking all the Hot women photos and wanted to get in at leased one.

• Here are some of the CaddyChicks in Orlando
  

• This pretty young woman wanted a picture with me and my Turf Chopper at the riday the 13th bike rally at Port Dover. She sent me this one.

• I love New York. Had a great time. I'm looking forward to going back. Met so many cool girls.

• This booth had all kinds of Hot women working it. This was on the last day of the show and most of them had left, I was disapointed.

• One of two marketing executives bidding on our contract.

• These two exibitor at the Buffalo golf show had a race around the convention centre and Cindy the cutie won hands down.

• This was outside Penn Station in New York City.

• I think this was at the NY City golf show at Madison Square Gardens.

• This is Maradith, we first met her at the Buffalo NY golf show.

• These two asked me to take a picture of them with the Turf Chopper, not sure why but whatever.

Hello and welcome!

I would like introduce myself I am Michael Mazza, I'm the GM of Bridgeburg Golf and we are the inventors and manufacturers of the Turf Chopper. The Turf Chopper is the latest in golf cart technology. It is currently the only single rider golf cart that can convert in seconds to an electric walk behind personal cart caddy. I would like to get your honest feedback on this cool new product.
This is amature video that I shot on a couple of company golf outings actually I was playing hooky so don't tell anyone.

Also you can have a look at the Bridgeburg Golf website for stats and specs, pricing and more: http://www.bridgeburggolf.com/. Feel free to also offer your feedback on the website because I made it.

Let me tell you the Turf Chopper back story.

Tom the Inventor of the Turf Chopper and president of Bridgeburg Golf was suffering from a back injury which prevented him from playing any golf what so ever, his passion. He was unable to walk 18 holes and could not get in and out of a traditional golf cart without intense pain. After being away from the game for a couple of years and being a well know Canadian inventor he started development of an electric walk behind personal caddy system that could convert in seconds to a single rider golf cart after 10 or so holes when his back would start to seize up on him.

In 2006 he created the Turf Chopper, not as a commercial product either but as a golfing aid for himself to use, however, every time he took it out on the course to use he would draw a crowd of eager people wanting to know more about it, could he make them one and maybe get a test drive. People to this day still come running across fairways to check them out. One fine spring day while Tom was playing around of golf with another fellow Fort Erie native, Dave Watson, a friend and local entrepreneur, decide to create the Turf Chopper brand and develop an affordable priced personal caddy and cart system for all golfer demographics so then was the birth of the Bridgeburg Golf Corporation.

Summer of 2006 prototypes were actually build in Dave's 5 car garage at his home by Tom and young "Mike the Geek" . Mike joined the team as a 22 year old walking encyclopedia who had collaborated with Tom on other projects in the past. Really smart kid and was an vital part of the creation of the Turf Chopper.
Early fall of 2006 I, and I'm not going to tell my company nick name here, got involved with the setting up and company structuring end of Bridgeburg Golf Corp. I began to creating and build the administration systems and business model.




As the prototypes evolved so did our manufacturing needs, labour needs and space requirements but off market development and extensive testing of the Turf Chopper continued full time and in June of 2007 The Bridgeburg Golf manufacturing facility opened their doors and began the manufacturing development, labour training and test marketing phase at our current home town Fort Erie head quarters.


I could go on all day about the amazing response we got during all of our test marketing events but this one I'll share is one I found interesting; The Golf Channel was advertising additions for a reality series that they were producing called "For Inventors Only". A reality show designed to find the next big golf invention. We seen that auditions were coming to New Jersey, which is only a short 5.5 hour drive from Fort Erie so we decided to take a Turf Chopper down and see what their response would be. Well, the producers of the show loved it!! They invited us to participate in their program. Unfortunately though, after a couple of months of contract negotiations neither party were able to come to an acceptable agreement so we had no choice but to decline the offer. I still sometimes wounder what the effects of that kind of exposure could have had on a young Bridgeburg Golf company.
So, after all the test marketing results and the Turf Chopper tweaks, modification, manufacturing and company stream lining Bridgeburg Golf officially launch the Turf Chopper to the public at the 2008 PGA merchandise trade show in Orlando Florida and what a response. The response from that show alone was incredible, we established distribution lanes with several foreign countries, also took on sales reps from all over North America.

To be continued...