Strong leadership often demands game-changing decisions. For Rick Reynolds, Founder and President of TurfHound Inc., the leader in performance synthetic hitting surfaces for ranges at nearly 1,000 golf facilities, the announcement that the pioneering company has committed more than $1 million to significantly upgrade its manufacturing capabilities is a massive breakthrough for TurfHound and welcome news for the increased demands of the industry.
A year in the making, TurfHound has secured four new machines specialized in high-tech foam molding, to more rapidly produce its exclusive dual-density foam technology. Brian Golden, a PGA of America Member for 25 years and TurfHound's Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, says the company expects to have two of the machines online by the start of February. Production will be fully operational in the spring, when the two additional machines are expected to be online.
"When all of the new machines are installed and running, TurfHound will more than triple its capacity," Golden adds. "For us, it's more than just working faster or smarter. Our mission is to realize more innovative ways to benefit golf. Utilizing our patented technology with these new machines, and their incredible capabilities, TurfHound is now positioned to handle future growth and the launch of new products to deliver the finest performance surfacing in the industry."
As interest in golf has boomed in recent years, with players hitting more practice balls on ranges, the demand for TurfHound's tee surfaces has skyrocketed. Golden acknowledged that the company struggled to meet that sudden, increased demand, with courses bursting with golfers wanting to practice and play in record numbers, and ranges exceeding capacity.
"The result," he says, "was that the tee areas took a beating and were destroyed. TurfHound was a big part of the solution, and as demand grew, so did our lead times. As the challenges continued, supply chains were devastated. We couldn’t get timely deliveries of raw materials, and hiring labor was difficult at best. This scenario created a challenging situation for us and made it extremely difficult to manufacture products anywhere near the normal pace, let alone at the level this new demand created."
Adding a second manufacturing shift wasn’t possible due to labor shortages, so Golden and other TurfHound leaders boldly looked to the future, gamely waited 10 months for the new machines to arrive, and are now set to deliver, like never before, on a superior product that performs, for players and facilities.
But first ... Golden is quick to thank TurfHound's many customers.
"They've been so patient and we sincerely appreciate their support. The reality is that we're very fortunate to have the industry-leading product, which, according to our customers, is worth waiting for. Our new manufacturing capabilities open up a world of opportunities for the future, with products that are produced with the highest accuracy and speed."
For more information, visit TurfHound.com, follow TurfHound Inc. on Instagram and Twitter, and call Brian Golden at 877-377-3100.