“The age to start playing golf is getting lower and parents want to spend more money on their children, particularly for activities like sports and music,” said Vincent Tsai, Duma Bear’s general manager. Duma Bear also offers custom fitting, an unusual service for junior sets.

Behind the Duma Bear brand, which was launched two years ago, is Yu Hong, a big supplier to leading golf brands including Wilson, Adams Golf and particularly U.S. Kids Golf. U.S. Kids, designed for demanding young players, has become a significant brand in junior golf.

With its long history of manufacturing golf clubs, it wasn’t a stretch for Yu Hong to develop quality junior sets. The company received help from a consultant who works with Yani Tseng, the 25-year-old Taiwanese golfer who topped the women’s world golf rankings for two years.

Tsai is seeking to introduce the Duma Bear clubs at influential golf academies around Taiwan and China, starting with Tseng’s training camp in Shanghai. He’s also in partnership discussions with the Taiwan Golf Academy in Hsin-Dian.

Prospects are limited in Taiwan, where Tsai estimates that only 500 children under the age of 12 play golf. He’s more upbeat about the potential in China, which has drawn abundant investment from golf course operators as well as equipment brands. “Many newly affluent parents are eager to take their offspring to the golf course and equip them with top clubs,” Tsai said. He said golf should get a boost when the sport returns tothe 2016 Summer Olympics for the first time in more than a century. He noted that the PGA is also preparing to launch the PGA Tour China this year with 12 tournaments, providing another boost to the sport’s visibility.

Each of Duma Bear’s two junior sets comes in two sizes, both intended for elementary-school-aged children. The top set comprises 10 pieces, with a swish white and gold design, and higher-grade materials. The irons are made of forged steel and the putter of304 stainless steel. The manufacturer has compensated for the extra weight of the irons’ heads by lightening other components.

The second set comes with five clubs, including an aluminum driver and steel irons and putter.Yu Hong’s factory in Shenzhen, China, employs about 700, but the junior sets are made at a partner plant in China. Custom-fitted clubs are assembled in Taiwan.

文章．圖片取自 2014 /3/5 TaiSPO Show Daily