One result of an equipment company signing an endorsement deal with a PGA Tour player or LPGA Tour player – heck, any tour player – is usually an increase in the price of the equipment.

Ya gotta pay for that endorsement contract somehow.

On the other hand, if the endorsements are chosen carefully, the deals can enrich not only the player, but also the company. Brand name recognition is huge in golf, and seeing a company’s name emblazoned on a bag or cap plants seeds of interest in the minds of TV viewers and on-course spectators.

Tour Edge Golf, one of those long-time up-and-coming golf equipment companies just announced the signing of its first major Tour player endorsement deal: Stacy Prammanasudh, 2-time winner on the LPGA Tour since 2003.

Prammanasudh is currently 24th on the 2008 LPGA money list, and has a youthful game and smile that attracts the attention of fans and cameras.

Although there are some PGA Tour fans who could not tell you the name of more than a handful of players on other professional tours, there is no doubt that exposure on these tours has helped several smaller equipment companies develop all-important name recognition.

Tour Edge has announced that it is beginning a strategic plan to sign a few players on the various tours, which deserves some more attention from pros and weekend players alike.

But you might want to buy their equipment now, before the prices go up.

Stacy Prammanasudh might be the first of several Tour Edge Staff players on various pro tours.

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