That’s not the only difference. Twenty years ago, the range was like the Wild West. All it took for someone slinging equipment to get a credential that provided access to the range was a fee. Now, at least one player has to already be using your stuff to get one. The economics of the equipment market have changed the process as well. In the more financially fertile days of driver wars, companies were notorious for spending $10,000 for a guy to use their stick that week to gain an advantage in driver count on tour, a key marketing tool they could use for consumers. With the business less ephemeral than what it was a decade ago, along with the advent of social media, that’s no longer the case. The result is a more professional scene with relationships that are far more convivial—gone are the days when a rep from one company would leave a box of prototype balls in a player’s locker, only to have a rival rep come in a few minutes later and remove them.