Graphite Design International at the U.S. Open

TravelGolf.com Staff Report

Graphite Design International's Multi-Metal And Graphite Golf Club Shafts Used By More Than 35 Percent Of Players In U.S. Open

SAN DIGEO, CA (JUNE 19, 2001) - Graphite Design International ("GDI") announces that its multi-metal "GAT" and graphite "YS" golf club shafts were used by more than 35 percent of the players in the U.S. Open, which concludes today in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

GDI shafts were also used by two of the top-ten finishers at the U.S. Open.

GDI's achievement at the U.S. Open further cements the GAT and YS shafts as preferred among PGA Tour players. GDI shafts were used by five PGA Tour event winners in 2001 -- most recently in the Kemper Insurance Open -- and by 15 winners the past 17 months. This year, through the U.S. Open, the top 15 finishers each week on the PGA Tour have won more than $12,000,000 using GDI shafts.

"When a major tournament is on the line, PGA Tour players turn to Graphite Design products for exceptional performance," says Dan Brown, Vice President of GDI. "The success on Tour is helping translate into voluminous requests for Graphite Design shafts by amateur golfers seeking a significant competitive advantage."

Of select note in 2001, the winner of the French Open on the European PGA Tour used GDI's YS shaft in his driver, as did the winner of the Bruno's Memorial Classic on the Senior PGA Tour. GDI shafts have been in the golf clubs of four winners on the 2001 Senior PGA Tour.

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In 2001, GDI shafts have been in the golf clubs of 30 to 40 percent of the PGA Tour players most every week. In April, at the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, 40 percent of the top 15 finishers used GDI shafts. In early May, eight of the top 12 finishers in the PGA Tour's Greater Greensboro Open used GDI shafts.

Other Tour achievements include Greg Norman playing the YS shaft for 3-1/2 years and endorsing it for two; 40 percent of the top 65 players in the 2000 World Ranking play GDI shafts; and PGA Tour player Franklin Langham won more than $1,600,000 and ranked a career-high 26th in 2000 using GDI's GAT shaft (available exclusively in Titleist golf clubs).

GDI's YS and GAT shafts are comprised of more than 140 different types of composite materials in GDI's design portfolio. Their low-resin and high-modulus (stiffness) integration results in golfers' consistently experiencing superior distance, accuracy, balance, control, trajectory, and impact feedback.

About Graphite Design International

GDI was established in Japan in 1988 and its U.S. operation in San Diego in 1998. GDI made its mark manufacturing high-performance shafts to most of golf's major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide, including the top four companies by sales volume.

GDI's preeminent research-and-development talent and manufacturing technologies led the company to brand its own shafts - the YS and GAT lines - in 2000 and 2001, respectively.

For more information about GDI, call (619) 671-0505 or visit gdintl.com. To locate a nearby GDI dealer, call (888) 707-6132.