Neil Coles, Chairman of The European Tour Board of Directors, and Akito Mizuno, President of the Mizuno Corporation, were honoured at a special evening celebrating the Tour’s longest running partnership with both receiving engraved quaichs to symbolise their enduring friendship and support.
The celebration dinner at Wentworth Club brought senior executives of The European Tour together with those from the Mizuno Corporation and Japan’s Ambassador Keiichi Hayashi to recognise Mizuno’s contribution which began in 1986 and is set to continue through to 2024.
Akito Mizuno said: “This is a great honour and a surprise. We have been working for The European Tour for 27 years and are delighted to be working for all the players. We are very pleased with the support we have from the players and we look forward to continuing to do our best for the Tour.”
Coles added: “I feel I should be sharing this with Barry Willett. This story started two years before the relationship began with the Tour when I used to go and see Barry at St George’s Hill. We would discuss the technology of clubs and we would discuss how everyone can share in this expertise. One day he said he had the answer of towing a caravan around Europe as a mobile workshop. I said this would not last five minutes. Instead through a mutual friend we found a second-hand trailer and turn it into a workshop. It has since provided, for all players, the expertise that I was fortunate to have through Barry though your expertise from Mizuno. All players now have the technology at their fingertips and that is a huge step for The European Tour. I congratulate you on your support.”
The Mizuno Official European Tour workshop has serviced the clubs of the European Tour’s professionals since 1986. A vision of European Tour Chairman Neil Coles to provide the Tour with a mobile factory, the Mizuno workshop heralded a new level of professionalism on The European Tour, and the reputation and value seen by all the players led to the Official Workshop status being extended in 2005 for an additional 20 year period, up to 2024. This is the longest single running agreement any company has had with the European Tour which speaks volumes for the level of service and commitment Mizuno has given to the Tour.
The project started in 1984 when Coles and St. Georges Hill clubmaker, Barry Willett set up a temporary workshop at The Open in St. Andrews. That proved such a success that soon Mizuno were on board and within two years the Mizuno workshop was a fixture at some 25 events each season.
The latest Workshop – the third vehicle since 1986 – is a state of the art facility with every tool and device required to carry out full build, adjustment and fitting of golf club equipment to ensure the players are getting the most from their equipment.
The evening also offered an opportunity to recognise Andy Kikidas, who retired this summer after 16 year of heading the Mizuno Team on The European Tour’s Official Workshop.
