Louisville Golf will turn 30 years old when the calendar strikes 2004, and persimmon purists will have something to celebrate.
The company was founded in 1974 and has 17 employees today. We've given positive reviews to a couple of Louisville Golf products recently, the Niblick Persimmon 7-Wood and the True Center Persimmon Insert Putter.
"What can I say, we're still here. I think that speaks for itself," said Mike Just, Louisville Golf president. "We wouldn't be here if we didn't still make a product that had some relevance to the game, so the three decades speak volumes for us, and we have our loyal customers to thank. We wouldn't have made it 30 years without them."
Founded by Elmore Just, Louisville Golf is the world's leading manufacturer of wood-centric golf products. The privately owned company specializes in persimmon woods, and is the only golf company still promoting and innovating what Elmore called "nature's gift to the game of golf."
"Elmore possessed enough wisdom to know that Persimmon woods eventually would come back. He knew they had too many good qualities to just fade away into obscurity," said Josh Fischer, Vice President of Marketing. "That's why we stuck with wood when the industry made a mass exodus to metal."
Under Just's guidance, Louisville Golf manufactured clubs for such historic companies as Ben Hogan, Wilson, Spalding and Tommy Armour. He invested heavily in research and development to ensure the quality of manufacturing and playability of all Louisville Golf made clubs. Just wrote "The Persimmon Story," a book explaining the unique qualities and attributes persimmon has that qualifies it as the perfect golf head material.
Just's life and livelihood revolved around persimmon. Company oldtimers recall seeing Just emerge from his office on a fall afternoon to pick, and eat, fresh persimmons that grew from the trees in front of the business.
Just also founded a golf course in the late 1980s and named it Persimmon Ridge. The course, in Shelby County, Ky., was designed by Arthur Hills and seves as the home course of Louisville Golf.
Just passed away on April 23, 2001 after suffering a heart attack completing a round of golf at Persimmon Ridge. He is buried in a plot of ground adjacent to the 7th hole. He wrote shortly before his passing: "So here is the challenge if you want to have more fun and play better golf. Forget about trying to play better golf and concentrate on enjoying the game. For in the long run this is the surest way to play better golf. I love this game."
Thirty years after Just founded Louisville Golf, those seeking a little bit of golf's tradition still love the company's products.
