ADAMS GOLF ANNOUNCEMENTS

Adams Golf's (ADGO:NASDAQ), announcement that it has signed Tom Watson to its tour staff, has several messages that can be found if you read between the lines. Watson will translate into substantial airtime for his new company, once he joins the senior tour. The Hall of Famer will command the television cameras as he begins the next chapter of his already illustrious golf career.

The next message is that Adams will have a line of irons in the future. This isn't a surprise, but it assisted in making the Watson/Adams union materialize. "It (the agreement) happened quickly. It took about three weeks. Tom knew about our woods but he was looking for irons as well. I told him we had a set of prototypes. We went to Kansas City with them. Once he tried them, he said, 'How fast can I get them?' Tom wanted a one company affiliation," Barney Adams recently told Web Street. The agreement will start with the driver, woods, hat, and bag then eventually lead to irons to be included in the bag. Therefore, look for Adams to deliver irons to Watson as soon as possible. Will they be available to avid golfers soon? Not likely, but it becomes a logical step in the product evolution for the manufacturer of the Tight Lies and SC Series driver.

The five-year agreement includes stock options that vest over the life of the contract. With Adams' stock price already battered, Watson and his representatives believe in the equity investment when many on Wall Street have deserted it. "We were not high bidder for Tom's services," Adams reported to Web Street. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "We have been requested not to release the details," Adams reported.

The last message the signing offers is Adams Golf's strategy towards its tour representation. "There are two philosophies towards signing tour players. Some companies sign players to get a bag or an individual club (in their bag) and may have 30 to 40 guys or create a player's pool. The strategy is to place high in the Darrell Survey. Historically we haven't taken that approach. We prefer a 'Few Good Men' theory. Credible men who play our clubs and are our spokesmen," Barney Adams concluded.