Adam Barr, Miura Golf

Golf & Lifestyle: What made you decide to leave Golf Channel and pursue this position with Miura?
Adam Barr: I left Golf Channel at the end of 2009 and started my own golf equipment website, which featured video stories about equipment that I shot while traveling with the PGA Tour. The folks with Miura, who I met in 2003 during a Golf Channel trip to Japan and kept in touch with, approached me in mid-2010 about helping take Miura to the next level. I had such respect for the Miura family and what they have been doing that I felt I couldn't miss such a great opportunity. We worked for a while on creating the right position that would enable me to put my skills to the best use for Miura, and I got started with them in November 2010.

G & L: There is no question that the Miura product stands alone in a very elite category. Do you see Miura ever going more mainstream?
Barr: If by mainstream, you mean being like other equipment companies, the answer is a respectful no. Our golf clubs are the products of patient craftsmanship and personal attention to detail by Miura-san and his sons and their trusted employees, so they don't lend themselves to mass production or flashy marketing. We don't intend this as a criticism of other companies' business models – just as an affirmation that we choose to do business in a different way.

That said, we do intend to make Miura clubs as available as possible while maintaining the high quality standards that set them apart from other golf clubs. So we're expanding our network of elite dealer/fitters by adding people we know will be enthusiastic about Miura. And of course, they have to be expert custom fitters.

G & L: About how many sets annually is Miura producing?
Barr: With respect, we don't share such information. But we can say that quantity is not our first concern in the irons (and other clubs) we make; rather, it is consistent high quality, club after club, year after year.

G & L: What Tour Players are playing the product and what is the main reason why?
Barr: A number of pros, many with names you would recognize use Miura clubs. Some have won and had high finishes this year. However, in deference to them and other relationships they may have, we don't discuss them publicly. That's because Miura's policy is to not pay tour players to use our clubs. We are very proud if they choose to do so, and we are happy to provide them with clubs if they actually use them in tour events. But we don't enter into formal endorsement agreements with players.

As to why some tour players have chosen Miura: you would have to ask them, but I expect it has to do with the quality of the clubs. The grain of the irons is so fine, so uniform, and so "tight" that expert ball strikers can't resist the purity of the strike. Also, the manufacturing tolerances – for straightness of the hosel, for uniformity of weight, for the density of the steel supporting the sweet spot, etc. – are exceptional. There simply isn't any significant variance. Tour players – indeed, all players – crave that kind of consistency.

G & L: What US regions sell the most product?
Barr: Again, we don't make such information public. Our only real concern about regions at this point is to make sure golfers throughout North America have easy (or easier) access to our clubs. So we're working to add dealer/fitters intelligently, as mentioned in response to your second question.

G & L: Globally?
Barr: Same answer as the previous question. The main driver of our global strategy now is the broadening interest we see in Miura clubs. We get inquiries literally from all over the world, Scotland to Singapore, Brazil to Brunei. We just opened a dealer in Russia, and we get testimonials from players in Australia, India, Vietnam, and dozens of other countries. We find this encouraging, because it means that the golfer grapevine has spread the word about Miura all over the globe. Our job now is to ride that communications momentum.

G & L: In your opinion, with so much prize money on tour why don't more players focus on playing the best product as opposed to taking financial deals with other companies?
Barr: I understand the question, but I'm not comfortable generalizing about players' motivations. How a modern athlete organizes his or her economic situation and makes it work with the performance side of the game is each person's own business. I prefer to focus on getting the word out about the best equipment – which I am fortunate to represent – and allow intelligent golfers at all levels to make their own decisions.

G & L: Which clubs do you play and why?
Barr: I chose the CB-501 irons, but it wasn't easy because of the overall quality of our line. I knew I wanted some cavity-back technology, but I was looking for a classic look at address and solid forged feel too. The 501s were one of many choices I had. The 301s are also very tasty, and the CB-202 is a different version of the 501 head I chose. In the end, it came down to what I was hitting best that day. I'm delighted with my choice.
I also play our Precious Edition driver, the 10.5 degree loft. I pummel it. The head is 390 cc, much smaller than the 460s that are current in modern drivers. It's a great compact look. The small size makes the head easy to square up at impact.

Same for our Precious Edition 3-wood, which I rely on from the fairway a lot. My wedges are a Y-Grind 51-degree, our 56-degree K-Wedge (so good out of sand or cabbage), and a C-Grind 59-degree (tight lies, wet sand). My putter is a nice, hefty, solid KM-006.

G & L: What is the biggest hurdle that Miura runs into when trying to brand and sell the product?
Barr: We need to get more people to know about Miura, both the clubs and the people who make them. Once golfers know about us and hit the clubs, they tend to get on board pretty enthusiastically. So information is our chief weapon. I consider this an exciting challenge more than a hurdle. But it takes time to get the word out and do it right, so in that sense, I understand your question.
For some golfers, price presents an initial impediment. But again, once people hit the clubs, objections to price tend to dissolve. And there are many ways to join the Miura family of golfers. If irons don't make sense economically right now, having a Miura wedge (or two or three) can reform your game as well.

G & L: I notice a huge difference in Miura irons from my old irons and wonder why other companies have not replicated the process. Is it financial or is the secret not totally out for public knowledge?
Barr: There's really no secret. The central source of the purity of the strike is Miura-san's insistence on forging the clubs as well as can be done. That includes choosing the right steel, controlling the process patiently (right down to maintaining a constant temperature of the forging dies, so expansion or contraction doesn't accidentally change the shape of the club), spin-forging the hosel onto the rest of the head to maintain a tight grain in the hitting area, and hand-finishing every single head. That's just a brief look at the many steps Miura-san and his sons take to make sure every single element of a Miura club is perfect.

G & L: If you were standing in front of the top ten players in the world with 20 seconds to say whatever you could about Miura what would be the main point you would want to make?
Barr: ?I wouldn't need 20 seconds. I would make sure we were on a practice range, and I would say, "Ladies and gentlemen, here are clubs made by Katsuhiro Miura. Please hit them and let me know what you think." Then I would stand back and let Miura-san do the talking through his golf clubs.

G & L: In terms of other products having a similar reputation who would you say puts out the best product for the top players in the world?
Barr: As a matter of policy, we don't discuss the competition. •