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Interview with a Tour Rep – Part One

Published

18 years ago

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At every tour stop, before many of the players have even turned up there will be an army of manufacturers’ representatives ready to fulfil players’ equipments desires. On the European Tour, one of these is Paul Constantine, the Tour rep for T.P.Mills putters. Golfwrx caught up with him recently for an exclusive interview to find out exactly what it’s like to be on the other side of the rope.

Golfwrx: Paul, how long have you been a tour rep and how did you get started?

Paul: I’m a bit of a putter collector and I bought a couple of hand made putters from David Mills (owner and the son of eponymous founder, T.P. Mills) back in 2004. After chatting with David he mentioned that he was looking for someone to represent him on the European Tour and I jumped at the chance. That might be seen as fairly recent for a manufacturer that has been around for such a long time but at the time the only putter companies that sent out reps on the European Tour were Odyssey, Yes! and Kramski. Even Scotty Cameron wasn’t there until 2007. When I started I had no real idea how I would be received but the pro’s were coming up and saying how fantastic it was to have another choice and especially one that had the heritage and quality of T.P. Mills.

Golfwrx: So what do you do when you are at an event?

Paul: Well obviously my job is to get my putters in the player’s bags. That basically boils down to being there on the practise green on the Tuesday and Wednesday of an event, sometimes even on a Monday at the bigger events. You are there all day with a bag full of clubs waiting for the pros to turn up on the practise green. Tuesday is really the busy day as Wednesday is the Pro-Am. That’s the day when you get to do your job. I will have a wide range of our putters in various specifications, weight/length/loft and lie etc, for the players to try out along with some custom ones specifically requested by certain players.

Golfwrx: How do you approach players?

Paul: I don’t like to approach players, not unless it’s someone who has used our putters before, like Colin Montgomerie or someone I have met at other events and stopped to chat, like Adam Scott. It’s much better to let the players come over. You have to remember that for these guys the equipment world is their oyster so they are constantly being approached and asked to try something new. I’m lucky in that respect as T.P. Mills is a respected name with a great history of making quality putters and a quality product is always going to attract a player.

Golfwrx:  If a player wants to try a putter, what happens?

Paul: Well all pros are great putters, they wouldn’t be on tour if they weren’t. These guys hit thousands of putts and know exactly what they like in terms of looks and feel and how a certain look at feel will perform for them so they know almost instantly whether a putter will work for them. They tend to focus on a couple of putters that they like the look of, give them a few swishes with one hand and if they like the feel then say that they will like to try it out.  Hit a few putts on the practise green and then normally take them out for 9 or 18 holes later on that day. If they like it and are going to put it in play then it’s theirs but if not, then they tend to give it straight back and maybe try something else.

Golfwrx: So no window shopping or hoarding then?

Paul: Not really. As I said, these guys have pretty much unlimited access to equipment. There’s no need for them to have a garage full of putters like so many of us average Joes seem to! Clubs are just business tools to them, like a good pen would be to us.  If you had a Montblanc you would know that it is a beautiful pen but you would be unlikely to put it in a display case and not use it. You would use it to write with because that it what it was built for.

Golfwrx: How are Tour Reps treated by the players?

Paul: The players are really nice which might sound like a cliché but it’s true! For guys that have so many demands on their time, they will stay and shoot the breeze with you more often than not. I can only think of one time a player has been abrupt with me and that was after media interviews after a not particularly great round and all he said was “Not now”. Even players who are notoriously quiet and reserved will stop and chat. You get players like Nick Faldo who was one of the most controlled golfers of his time stopping by and talking golf with you which would be surprising to most people who only saw him on the course and being interviewed, although that’s changed now that he’s commentating and his real personality has been revealed. Lots of players are like that: reserved on the course and in media situations but completely normal when they aren’t.

Golfwrx: Is there much rivalry with other manufacturers?

Paul: Absolutely! There is always going to be a strong rivalry in such a completive market, especially in golf where player exposure is all.  There is also a lot of camaraderie between reps. There are also going to be situations where you rely on other reps to help get things done and when that happens, you help them out and they help you out. Mind you I once had a putter unknowingly re-gripped by the manufacturer of the player’s current putter when I was too busy to do it myself so you don’t let it get in the way of your job!

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. John Dortmunder

    Sep 11, 2007 at 12:00 pm

    question I would have liked to have seen asked:

    “can you make a decent living doing this and how are the expenses handled?”

    JD

    Reply Report comment

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 29, 2025

By

GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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News

BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 28, 2025

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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