ORLANDO, Florida — Some golfers subscribe to the time-honored tradition of everyone in the golf group taking a shot of some sort of alcohol after every birdie that is made.
Golf Shotz takes that ritual to the next level with its Wasted Wedge, which is designed to look like a golf club and features disposable shot cup holders mounted on the shaft.
The idea was born out of first-hand experiences on the golf course from company founder Jeff Podosek.
"I've probably drank hundreds of shots with guys who made birdies," Podosek says. "One time we pulled up to the next tee box and there was a little bit of a backup, and one of the guys handed each of us a little cup to drink out of. At that moment I thought, ‘Wow, wouldn’t it have been cool if we could have all drank our shots together?’ And I thought, you know, there has to be something for golf like that. Well, there wasn’t."
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Podosek went to work designing the Wasted Wedge, which began production in 2021 in the middle of COVID-19. He now has a patent in the United States and 29 other countries, and is displaying the unique product in the New Product Zone at this week's PGA Show.
“It’s portable, you can put it in your cart and pretty much take it anywhere," Podosek says. "All the cups are disposable, so it's sanitary coming off of COVID — with the thought of keeping everybody from having to touch somebody else's cup."
The Wasted Wedge, which costs $69, is also adjustable for more than a few shots at a time. There is also a vintage line for the same price point, but those are to be used as wall hangers.
"You can make it as long as you want for bachelor parties and bachelorette parties," he says. “It is basically meant to have fun and bring people together. It's also a great photo moment on the golf course."
FLORIDA COMPANY GOES BIG
One of the more eye-catching items at the annual PGA Show was a 200-pound head of a Ping driver with a large golf ball in its sweet spot.
The $13,000 hardened polystyrene foam prop was headed to a sporting goods store in Kansas City after this week for yet another advertising "wow" from Florida-based Unique Rabbit Studios.
"Whatever you can dream up we can make and we can build it for you," says David Kane, who has owned the company for 25 years, but it was the first time he has attended the PGA Show.
“We’re pretty close in Fort Lauderdale and we had this project going on with the Ping driver, so we said ‘Let's get up here and see what we can drum up," says Kane, who noted that his display was creating interest. "It's not just about golf because we can do anything and everything. If you can imagine it we can whip it up."
Like a giant-sized World Series ring for the Houston Astros organization to display or 6-foot tall bobbleheads of Chicago sports figures or 20-foot tall Super Bowl replica trophies for the Kansas City Chiefs' opening season festivities in 2023.
"We pretty much dominate the major league sports markets," Kane says.
Over the last two decades, Unique Rabbit Studios has designed items for USGA and PGA of America clients, and various golf courses, but would like to grow more in the golf business.
