Hot Off The Press: KBS Tour Shafts Announce New Website Design

KBS Tour Shafts Announces New Website Design
BOULDER, CO (February 16th, 2011)

KBS Tour shafts announced today the expansion of its primary website KBSshafts.com to include new Social Media features and design enhancements offering a better user interface and experience with the KBS brand. Complete with improved navigation, technology features and targeted communication programs; the new website delivers ‘core’ golfers an informative center for shaft technology and designs relating to the KBS Tour Series.

WEBSITE HIGHLIGHTS:
- Revamped “Homepage” complete with new navigation tools optimizing user experience.
- Enhanced “Product Pages” complete with shaft technical details, specifications and trim instructions.
- Redesigned “KBS News” section delivering all current headlines and information for the KBS brand.
- An all-new “KBS Blog” giving voice to the KBS brand focused on technical and tour information.
- Integrated “Social Media Functions” allowing users to interact with KBS and share in their network.

As explained by Rob Cheng, Director of Global Operations, “The redesigned KBS website is another step the KBS brand is taking to become the leader on shaft design and technology. Core golfers have long recognized the merits of shaft selection; and, we understand our role to share KBS design concepts and technology in order to continue pushing innovation. Our new website accomplishes this and also offers new social media tools to interact with our audience as well.”

Since being introduced in 2008 worldwide, the KBS Tour shaft continues to rack up tournament accolades being used in over 30 PGA and EU Tour affiliated victories through 2010. Last year alone, KBS Tour shafts delivered 15 combined victories at PGA and EU Tour affiliated events along with 14 more runner-up finishes. Expect more stories to come.

The KBS Tour shaft design is based on optimal shaft geometry to improve club performance. As explained by renowned designer Kim Braly, “The KBS Tour shaft incorporates a unique distribution of stiffness along the center-line maximizing energy transfer and load into the club head. When properly fitted, the shaft enhances player feel with tight ball dispersion and maximum total distance.”

Formalized in 2007, KBS Tour shafts are the premiere brand of steel golf shafts designed and manufactured by FEMCO Steel Technology (FST) headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. Since 1949, FEMCO has remained committed to providing the highest quality steel products and services worldwide.

Website: www.KBSshafts.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KBSshafts
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KBStour
--
Contact:
Eric Hubbell, Director of Communications
EricHubbell@FSTshafts.com
(303) 444.2226 x12

WRX Study Conducted by KBS

As a company interested in learning from our users and fans, KBS has long been exploring ways to connect with our audience. Online, the world is changing with the progression of social media and our ability has grown tenfold to converse with an everyday fan and share that experience with the rest of our base. It's truly a unique opportunity and one that we don't take lightly. 

GolfWRX.com has truly emerged on that scene growing tremendously in recent years to become golf's largest online community. WRX now boasst approximately 100,000 fans and has brought significant consumer attention to component suppliers such as KBS Tour steel shafts. 

Recognizing this new medium, KBS Tour shafts signed on with GolfWRX.com last fall as a sponsoring partner and immediately set to work developing a survey (posted below) to learn from our fanbase there. The results were truly supportive. In total we saw over 1,200 unique respondents take the time to answer our questions and offer feedback for our team to review. Our survey wasn't perfect but it still sheds light on many player's sentiment for our product and the design. As such, we thought it may be helpful for those still 'wary' to take a look. We've posted a link to the full results HERE and at the bottom. Take a look at the summary below and let us know what you think!

--
Survey Demographics:
Total Respondents = 1,183
68% hold an 11 handicap or lower
40% hold a 6 handicap or lower
82% classify as a 'consumer'
64% do not currently play KBS


Survey Results For Respondents Not Playing KBS - 752 respondents
70% of players having demoed KBS “Likely” to shaft KBS in next set
40% of players never demoing KBS still “Likely” to shaft KBS in next set where 52% “Unsure”

Survey Results for Respondents Currently Playing KBS – 442 respondents
88% indicated satisfied or better with KBS ball flight
91% indicated satisfied or better with KBS ball dispersion
93% indicated satisfied or better with KBS club feel

In each category, less than 4% of respondents were unsatisfied

And, less than 1% do not plan to repurchase KBS in their next iron set.

CLICK HERE FOR SURVEY RESULTS

--

That's all for now. Cheers Readers!

- The KBS Team

Custom Fitting: Shaft Stepping and Mid Flex Offerings

Over the last year, KBS has noticed considerable growth in custom fitting for the golfer and with the KBS Tour series this translates to more soft and hard stepping for in-between players. Soft and hard stepping is a process for taper tip /constant weight shafts wherein the club builder puts either a 4i shaft or 6i shaft into a 5i head and maintains that setup through the set.

This accomplishes a couple of performance differences. First, it tweaks the shaft flex about 1/3 of a flex either direction or roughly 3cpm's on a frequency scale. This allows for a softer 'Stiff' flex or a firmer 'Stiff' flex in the 120g KBS Tour shaft model. Second, these custom builds alter the ball flight just slightly because we've softened or stiffened the tip section versus the entire shaft.

In general, the KBS Tour series has become popular among club builders for the degree of customization our line offers since weight is a consideration as well moving R to S to X-flex. Club builders and fitters can alter weight, flex and ball flight uniquely in the KBS Tour shaft while still maintaining the principal performances of feel, dispersion, trajectory and distance. A very customizable shaft. 

In 2011, we're taking customization one step further offering KBS Tour shaft mid-flexes R+ and S+ at 115g and 125g respectively. This allows a greater degree of fitting for players and fine-tuning for ball flight. 

First scenario. Say you have a player hitting the KBS Tour Stiff-flex and the ball flight and dispersion are good  but the flex feels just a little off. Fitter's have a simple solution: move the player into a 115g R+ not needing to alter the tip section. 

Second scenario. Say you have a player hitting the KBS Tour Stiff-flex and the ball flight is a little high but the flex and feel are spot on. Fitter's have another option: move the player into a 115g R+ hard-stepping the shaft 1x to lower the ball flight and retain the same flex as before.

Send us your feedback on custom KBS Tour shaft builds through our FB Page Discussion Forums. Post any questions you have there and we'll check in to cover popular inquiries here. 

That's all for now!

Cheers Readers,

-The KBS Team