EMOTIONAL RETURN FOR LETTERS IN SCOTLAND

NEWS RELEASE BY PURE SPORTS MARKETING

John Letters, Scotland’s finest clubmaker since 1918, officially opened its new Showroom and Custom Fit workshop in St Andrews last Friday with the help of John Letters Staff Player, Sam Torrance OBE and guests of honour, Jimmy and Hope Letters.

An emotional evening at the brands new premises on North Street, St Andrews, saw 10 members
of the late John Letters family reunite and show their support to new owner of John Letters of Scotland, John Andrew, and officially open the showroom, workshop and museum at the Home of Golf. Sam Torrance and John Andrew are pictured on right.

Over 120 people attended the event with a wide cross section of the local community represented; from R and A members and professional golfers, to the captains of the St Andrews University Men’s and Women’s Golf Teams plus members of the Scottish media.

The emotion of the evening did not go unnoticed by Sam Torrance, commenting: “It was an absolutely fantastic evening and brought back a lot of great memories. The John Letters Company was a huge help to me back when I started and it was great to see so many of the family again today.”

“Jimmy Letters signed me to my first professional contract back in 1971 and actually got me a job at Sunningdale as an assistant professional and it was there that I met Norman Mackenzie, who sponsored me on the European Tour” added Torrance.

Under the Stewardship of John Andrew, John Letters of Scotland are making big steps to regain the title as the finest clubmaker in golf and the Showroom and Workshop, a mere 254 yard drive from the 18^th green of the Old Course, are a continuation of the brands commitment to reconnect with its Scottish heritage.

The new Workshop will enable John Letters to combine the latest performance technologies with their finest clubmaking traditions and expertise to hand assemble and custom-build its 2011 range of products in Scotland.
 With the majority of golf equipment manufacturers assembling their equipment in the Far East, John Letters are bucking the trend of brands by hand-assembling and custom-fitting products in Scotland in a bid to ensure the most-exacting standards on each John Letters product including the recently re-launched Master Model irons and much-coveted Tour Black wedges.

Speaking at the launch, John Andrew, Managing Director, said: “John Letters is such an iconic Scottish brand, it made perfect sense to turn back the clock and open a showroom and workshop in the home of golf. The Letters family have been true pioneers in the golf industry and it was such an honour to have so many family members in attendance this evening.”

The members of the Letters family in attendance were all presented with John Letters staff bags with their names embroidered, while the golfers in the family all received a set of Master Model irons personalised with their initials.

Carole Letters, now Championship Office Manager for the European Tour, said: “We were so overwhelmed by the evening. We didn’t know what to expect when we were contacted by the Company, but the evening was better than anything we could have imagined. It was such a touching gesture to receive our bags and clubs and we all had tears in our eyes. I can’t wait to try them now.”

“The family were all involved at some point in the business. From running the company like Jimmy to designing the Golden Goose and Master Mex logo’s like Susanne. They are huge part of the brand’s history and we wanted to recognise them and what better way to do that than by involving them tonight, bringing together past and present, as we look to move the brand forward” added Andrew.

With a hugely successful launch and resounding ‘thumbs up’ from members of the family, the new John Letters team are excited about the new base in Scotland and the reception to their latest collection of golf equipment for 2011.

The John Letters Showroom and Workshop

9 Albany Place

North Street

St Andrews

Fife KY16 9HH