At every tour stop, before many of the players have even turned up there will be an army of manufacturers’ representatives ready to fulfil players’ equipments desires. On the European Tour, one of these is Paul Constantine, the Tour rep for T.P.Mills putters. Golfwrx caught up with him recently for an exclusive interview to find out exactly what it’s like to be on the other side of the rope.

Golfwrx: Paul, how long have you been a tour rep and how did you get started?

Paul: I’m a bit of a putter collector and I bought a couple of hand made putters from David Mills (owner and the son of eponymous founder, T.P. Mills) back in 2004. After chatting with David he mentioned that he was looking for someone to represent him on the European Tour and I jumped at the chance. That might be seen as fairly recent for a manufacturer that has been around for such a long time but at the time the only putter companies that sent out reps on the European Tour were Odyssey, Yes! and Kramski. Even Scotty Cameron wasn’t there until 2007. When I started I had no real idea how I would be received but the pro’s were coming up and saying how fantastic it was to have another choice and especially one that had the heritage and quality of T.P. Mills.

Golfwrx: So what do you do when you are at an event?

Paul: Well obviously my job is to get my putters in the player’s bags. That basically boils down to being there on the practise green on the Tuesday and Wednesday of an event, sometimes even on a Monday at the bigger events. You are there all day with a bag full of clubs waiting for the pros to turn up on the practise green. Tuesday is really the busy day as Wednesday is the Pro-Am. That’s the day when you get to do your job. I will have a wide range of our putters in various specifications, weight/length/loft and lie etc, for the players to try out along with some custom ones specifically requested by certain players.

Golfwrx: How do you approach players?

Paul: I don’t like to approach players, not unless it’s someone who has used our putters before, like Colin Montgomerie or someone I have met at other events and stopped to chat, like Adam Scott. It’s much better to let the players come over. You have to remember that for these guys the equipment world is their oyster so they are constantly being approached and asked to try something new. I’m lucky in that respect as T.P. Mills is a respected name with a great history of making quality putters and a quality product is always going to attract a player.

Golfwrx:  If a player wants to try a putter, what happens?

Paul: Well all pros are great putters, they wouldn’t be on tour if they weren’t. These guys hit thousands of putts and know exactly what they like in terms of looks and feel and how a certain look at feel will perform for them so they know almost instantly whether a putter will work for them. They tend to focus on a couple of putters that they like the look of, give them a few swishes with one hand and if they like the feel then say that they will like to try it out.  Hit a few putts on the practise green and then normally take them out for 9 or 18 holes later on that day. If they like it and are going to put it in play then it’s theirs but if not, then they tend to give it straight back and maybe try something else.

Golfwrx: So no window shopping or hoarding then?

Paul: Not really. As I said, these guys have pretty much unlimited access to equipment. There’s no need for them to have a garage full of putters like so many of us average Joes seem to! Clubs are just business tools to them, like a good pen would be to us.  If you had a Montblanc you would know that it is a beautiful pen but you would be unlikely to put it in a display case and not use it. You would use it to write with because that it what it was built for.

Golfwrx: How are Tour Reps treated by the players?

Paul: The players are really nice which might sound like a cliché but it’s true! For guys that have so many demands on their time, they will stay and shoot the breeze with you more often than not. I can only think of one time a player has been abrupt with me and that was after media interviews after a not particularly great round and all he said was “Not now”. Even players who are notoriously quiet and reserved will stop and chat. You get players like Nick Faldo who was one of the most controlled golfers of his time stopping by and talking golf with you which would be surprising to most people who only saw him on the course and being interviewed, although that’s changed now that he’s commentating and his real personality has been revealed. Lots of players are like that: reserved on the course and in media situations but completely normal when they aren’t.

Golfwrx: Is there much rivalry with other manufacturers?

Paul: Absolutely! There is always going to be a strong rivalry in such a completive market, especially in golf where player exposure is all.  There is also a lot of camaraderie between reps. There are also going to be situations where you rely on other reps to help get things done and when that happens, you help them out and they help you out. Mind you I once had a putter unknowingly re-gripped by the manufacturer of the player’s current putter when I was too busy to do it myself so you don’t let it get in the way of your job!