Trailer TaylorMade just for golfers
First two days offer chance to fine-tune clubs
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It's 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, and Henry Luna is bending the shaft of Dustin Johnson's 54-degree wedge as he perfects the club's loft and lie.
About 10 feet away, inside the TaylorMade-adidas Golf trailer, Greg Norman begins working on his R9 driver. Within five minutes, the Shark changes the weight of his club and disappears.
Behind the large driving range net at Augusta National Golf Club, beyond Magnolia Drive, is where the unseen work gets done. All the big names in golf -- Titleist, Nike, Srixon, Bridgestone, Callaway -- bring their full-service trailers to cater to their golfers.
Inside the state-of-the-art TaylorMade traveling facility, Luna works on wedges, woods and irons leading up to the start of the Masters Tournament. He and fellow tour technician Wade Liles are the talented twosome who help about 130 PGA Tour players associated with TaylorMade-adidas Golf.
Throughout the year, Luna and Liles take turns hauling the trailer from tournament to tournament. The PGA Tour requires the trailers to leave each Wednesday, so when the Masters begins Thursday, the TaylorMade trailer will already be in Hilton Head Island, S.C., in advance of next week's Verizon Heritage event at Harbour Town Golf Links.
Though the trailer's all-black exterior grabs the spotlight, it's inside where all the work gets done. There are flat-screen televisions, a PlayStation 3, wireless Internet, and a kitchen area complete with a refrigerator, coffee maker and sink. A separate office has a sitting area for private conversations.
But that's just half of it.
The newly redesigned trailer features three workstations. Luna's area at the front of the trailer -- where the office once was -- boasts a bench grinder, blow- torches and drills.
With all the work equipment, the TaylorMade trailer has various drawers filled with shafts, grips and club heads. Also, there are four TaylorMade bags filled with an assortment of clubs, mainly Rossa putters.
On the first two days of a tournament week, the trailer typically is abuzz with activity. This day is no different. Ian Woosnam, the 1991 Masters champion, drops by to inquire about a set of clubs -- ones that were built and ready for him on the course. Justin Rose sent over a set of irons to get reshafted and regripped. In 30 minutes, Luna has his order ready.
On a normal pretournament day, Liles and Luna turn out between 150 and 200 clubs. They have to be fast. With the new workstations, they're able to get golfers back on the course quickly.
"We're like a NASCAR pit crew," Luna said.
It's not all work, though. Sometimes, top players such as Retief Goosen and Sergio Garcia walk to the front of the trailer and grind their own clubs.
"They like to come in here and play around," Luna said.
Johnson, who praised Liles and Luna for the job they do, said having the trailer nearby is beneficial. If Johnson is drawing his driver a bit too much on the range, for example, he can get it adjusted. Liles and Luna take the guesswork out of the club's weight and dimensions.
"You never order anything and guess that you like it," Johnson said. "They're fantastic at what they do."
On this day, Johnson wants a new wedge, one with a silver head instead of a black head -- it's an older wedge Johnson played with and liked before. Luna grabs a shaft and a head and glues them together. He tapes grip to the wedge. Luna is careful not to stretch the grip.
"These guys have tremendous feel," he said.
Luna then weighs the club. To illustrate how precise he has to be, he whips out a dollar bill and places it around the shaft at the end of the club.
"Guys can feel that," he said. "That's half a gram."
Luna finishes the wedge in about five minutes. For now, he is done.
Soon the routine will begin again. Today is traveling day. In Hilton Head Island, Luna will watch TV to see whether this week's Masters champion is using the clubs he worked on.
"It's a lot of fun," he said, "knowing guys are out there with your equipment."
Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.
