SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Hot Stix Golf, the golf industry's leading independent custom club fitting and equipment testing lab, announced that it will open a state-of-the-art, club-fitting facility at PGA National Resort & Spa, located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The Club fitting services begin on Monday, December 15, 2008. This new permanent location will provide Hot Stix Golf's proprietary Tour-Level golf club fitting services to the guests of the PGA National Resort & Spa as well as Floridians residing near or visiting this south Florida vacation mecca.

As with the other locations, the new facility at PGA National Resort & Spa combines cutting-edge, custom-fitting technology (TrackMan launch monitors) with first-class facilities, making PGA National Resort & Spa one of the leading providers of advanced fitting services in Florida. The fitting sessions will take place on the resort's outdoor practice tee allowing the professional club fitters to examine ball flight from launch to landing.

"We are extremely excited about this opportunity to open up shop at PGA National Resort & Spa," said Tom Graunke, chairman of Hot Stix Golf. "With the resort's long history of outstanding golf along with a high percentage of golfers living in the area, we think that this relationship will take off to the benefit of all involved, from the resort's guests to local golfers."

PGA National Resort & Spa recently completed a $65 million resort-wide renovation. A stunning new entrance and lobby, signature new contemporary American dining experience, lush new resort pool, extensive golf course upgrades and beautiful new meeting space join 339 spacious guest rooms, 42 club cottages and a collection of five championship golf courses. An outstanding golf instruction program, full pro-shop and golf simulation make this legendary resort a golfer's haven. And for the non-golfers, an award-winning spa and 33,000 square foot health and racquet club promise there is something - or nothing - to do for everyone.

The Hot Stix Golf Difference

Hot Stix Golf is truly unique in the golf industry in that they fit golfers to the best equipment regardless of brand. This impartiality is one of the main ingredients of their success. Since opening its first club-fitting facility in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2000, Hot Stix Golf has custom fit more than 250 Tour Professionals and 35,000 amateurs. Graunke credits the growth in demand to Hot Stix' ability to provide general golf consumers with an affordable, state-of-the-art club-fitting and customization process that is identical in every way to that which the major manufacturers provide to Tour players and VIPs. However, Hot Stix Golf has two important advantages over even the manufacturers - cost and impartiality.

"We independently test the equipment, we fit the golfer to the best equipment for their unique swing, then we built the clubs to Tour-level specifications," said Graunke. "It's about quality and consistency. The Tour Pros were the first to demand that. All we're doing is making it available for everyone else."

"At our new PGA National facility, we'll offer a complement of club-fitting services beginning with the highly successful Tour Fit which offers golfers the flexibility to separately or in a combination choose a Woods Fit ($200) or Irons Fit ($200) to hone in on the area most in need of improvement," said Graunke.

During a Tour-Fitting at the PGA National facility, Hot Stix' certified club fitters gather data using a proprietary fitting system as players hit a variety of shots. This information enables the club fitters to determine a player's exact "Swing DNA" - the elements that make an individual's golf swing unique.

A player's Swing DNA is then compared against a vast database of golf club and component performance data that Hot Stix Golf has captured over time. In more than six years, Hot Stix has invested millions of dollars to independently test the products of all the major club and component manufacturers. Over 100,000 R&D testing robot swings have been completed since Hot Stix opened, along with advanced shaft, club head and ball testing. This testing has enabled Hot Stix Golf to create the most advanced and unbiased repository of golf equipment data in the industry.

By comparing a player's Swing DNA to the performance data of various golf clubs and components, Hot Stix' club fitters are able to determine the ideal makeup of a player's set of golf clubs -- the number and type of woods, hybrids, irons and wedges for that particular player, as well as the precise loft, lie, length, shaft and grip for each club.

Currently Hot Stix Golf operates seven club fitting locations nationwide including: Indoor Location, Main Build Shop and R&D Labs in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Game and Tour Fitting Center at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Game Fitting Performance Center at Legend Trail Golf Club, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Game and Tour Fitting facility at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; Game Fitting Performance Center at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, Denver, Colo. (Seasonal); Tour Fitting Center at Angel Park Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nev.; Game and Tour Fitting Center at Doral Arrowwood, Westchester County, N.Y. (Seasonal).

About PGA National Resort and Spa

Opened in 1981, PGA National Resort and Spa is a stunning South Florida vacation and meeting destination. The legendary 381-room resort recently completed a $65 million facelift including completely new front entrance, outdoor pool and pavilion as well as enhanced public areas, restaurants, golf courses and landscaping. PGA National Resort and Spa offers 90 holes of championship golf, including the famed Champion Course, new home to the PGA Tour's Honda Classic and past host of the 1983 Ryder Cup, the 1987 PGA Championship and a litany of other prized professional golf tournaments. Other distinguishing features include a 40,000 square foot European Spa with 56 treatments areas and the exclusive Waters of the World outdoor mineral pools, a world-class health and racquet club, 39,000 square feet of self-contained conference space and seven on-site restaurants and lounges.
PGA National Resort is located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. For more information call 800-633-9150 or visit www.pgaresort.com

To make reservations or to learn more about Hot Stix Golf, please call toll free 877-513-1333, or visit www.hotstixgolf.com.

Janet Thornton
Marketing Manager
jthornton@stratcogroup.com
www.stratcogroup.com
443.299.6405