When you are watching coverage from the PGA Championship this week – on Golf Channel, TNT or CBS – look a little closer at players like Sergio Garcia, Kenny Perry, Sean O’Hair, Retief Goosen, Rory Sabbatini, Matt Bettencourt and Justin Rose when they turn their heads.

TaylorMade Logo Aug 8, 2009 by John View Album Play slideshow

They will all have two things in common. First, they all want to win the 91st PGA Championship at Hazeltine and second, they all will be sporting a unique logo by their main sponsor, TaylorMade.

From hats to bags to headcovers, the TaylorMade Staff Players are all given specialized equipment designed especially for the Majors.  It’s a practice the company has been utilizing for several years.

“Players really love taking a look at this,” said Chris Piniarski, a graphic designer with TaylorMade-Adidas Golf Company. “Each one, since 2003, has all kinds of symbolism pertaining to the course it’s being played at, history, past players that may have won, the surrounding area, the location, historical facts,” he said.

This year, there was one on Greg Norman’s bag at Augusta, on Ryan Spears’ gear as he made his pro debut at Bethpage in the soggy U.S. Open, and there every time Mathew Goggin swung at Turnberry.  He was paired with Tom Watson during the final round of the British Open.

“It took a ton of research to get to that and finding different nuggets of information that would be linked together in a cohesive way that would make sense,” said Piniarski, who grew up in Western New York and designed the logos for the first two Majors this year.
DESIGNS ON CALIFORNIA

That famous quote, “Go west, young man,” (attributed to Horace Greeley) lives on through Piniarski.  Three years ago, he earned a Communication Design degree from the University of Buffalo and moved to California. “I’ve always loved the West Coast vibe my whole life and wanted to try it and here I am,” he said in a recent phone conversation.

Piniarski drove across the country to “surf and just hang out” and play golf. Two of those things are scarce in Buffalo.  Hanging out can be expensive, so Piniarski did what most college graduates do, began looking for a job. He found an ad at TaylorMade through Monster.com.

“I sent my resume and they liked my stuff and I decided to stay down here,” Piniarski said from the company headquarters in Carlsbad, California. It started as a temporary position and then in 2006 he was hired full-time. “The stars aligned,” he said.

Even in this tough economy, it has worked out for Piniarski. The 25-year old was one of four graphic designers on staff, now there are two. Each designer would take a Major and create the “identity” for it. Now, the four Majors are divided in half. It’s a good living: “I’m doing OK, I’m not going to lie.”

This year, Piniarski designed the logos for The Masters and the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, NY. “We do all the research ourselves,” he said.
THE U.S. OPEN LOGO

The Major on Long Island gave Piniarski plenty to work with. He went from ideas about state parks and railroads. Of all the ideas submitted, the logo the company ultimately decided to go with for the U.S. Open identity was Piniarski’s favorite design. “This one was a little more patriotic,” he said.

It literally revolves around a propeller in the logo, which symbolizes Grumman, a company that started on Long Island in 1936, the same year the Black Course opened. “They introduced an American Fighter biplane that was delivered to the U.S. Navy,” Piniarski said. “The propeller tips had red, white and blue paint on them so it kind of all fit together.”

There are seven rivets representing the seven years that have passed between the first Open held at Bethpage in 2002 and this year. One holds the number “2” to mark the second time the USGA has held its National Championship in Farmingdale.

In the middle of the logo is an exclamation point which represents the warning sign at the first tee at the Black which reads: “The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers.”

On the bags, there is a second logo near the top that includes a drafting compass, the year 1936 and the initials “AWT” for A.W. Tillinghast, who designed the Black Course. “The red, white and blue horizontal air crew badge is a qualification badge that the United States military awards to all branches of their armed services involved in military aircraft,” he said.
THE GREEN JACKET

The ideas flow back and forth between the designer and the creative director.  Piniarski estimates it take eight months to go from concept to completion. “We do a ton of research and make sure we have our facts right and once we have those facts we put a visual to it and bring it to life,” he said.

For the Masters, Piniarski based his idea all around the Green Jacket. The flourish shape of the logo is inspired by the lapels of the jacket and its three gold buttons. There’s a “60” in the middle marking the 60th anniversary of when the garment was first awarded to the winner at Augusta.  And it came with a hat label in honor of the fedora that Sam Snead wore. He was the first winner to take his Green Jacket off the premises.

“That’s the fun part,” Piniarski said. “It’s an opportunity to get away from the design work that we normally do. We can really do research and capture the essence of what the tournament’s all about and pieces of knowledge that no everyone knows about until they read a little bit deeper.”

Piniarski says his company will continue to produce these unique logos. They have generated discussion and interest from around the world. “We raffle off some of the bags too and the proceeds go to charity,” he said.
PINIARSKI’S PUZZLES

Some of the Staff Players who receive the hats, headcovers and bags try to figure out the puzzles. Piniarski said a few players understand the elements, some find them a bit obscure, but that’s all part of designing. “We and try and please the tour players as much possible,” he said. “They’re the ones we support.”

In 2008, he got a real treat. As a thank you, TaylorMade rewarded the four designers on staff by sending them to the Major they created the logo for. Piniarski went to Royal Birkdale. “I was the lucky one that happened to do the British Open and got sent there,” he said. “I got to walk with the players and chat with them about what the logo was all about. Justin Rose is one of the guys who really enjoys getting the product and the bag. He really likes taking a look and trying to guess what all the symbolism means in the logo.”
A BUFFALO 10-HANDICAPPER

Piniarski’s loves the game of golf.  He plays to a 10-handicap and says he can hold his own.
“Everyone here is a golfer,” he said. “It’s something that’s really ingrained in everyone who works here.

“I think a lot of us here are golfers first and then whatever our job title is [next.] It goes hand-in-hand.”

Piniarski learned the game from his father but never took formal lessons. He was good enough to make his high school team and played casually in college. Right now, he is working on some top secret projects, plus TaylorMade’s golf ball packaging for 2010 and those graphics that frame the in-store displays for the next club line launch.  He’s always got something going.

“We’re keeping pretty busy,” he said. But his allegiance to NY remains. “Buffalo Bills and Sabres for life,” he said. “Western New York all the way.”

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