Blog
Firebird Group, Inc.Made in the USA
Recently, Steve Steurer and his wife, Melissa, began a venture of designing and importing leather products. It has been a joy both working with Steve and having a good friendship for the past 35+ years. During this time we have had a great run collaborating together on many design innovations in the golf industry. We wish him the best in his new independent venture.
Nothing has changed, or been impacted here at the Firebird Group, Inc., Crafters of the Steurer & Jacoby line of products, with the exception that Steve Steurer is no longer participating in any of our design work. In fact, his involvement over the past 2.5 years has been very limited because of his work and travel schedule with his primary employer.
During this time all of our designing and product improvements have come, proudly and directly, from within our shop. My biggest joy has been watching my daughter, Meghan, lead our team of talented seamstresses and continue the vision of QUALITY & TRADITION of our american CRAFTED products! In our shop we offer over 60 years of design and sewing expertise which is a testament to our commitment and our values of producing goods that are TRULY BORN IN THE USA!
Please keep an eye out for the launch new products that includes:
- Market Bags
- Garment Carriers
- Yardage/Scorecard Holders
- Backpacks
- and more...
The Firebird Group, Inc., the designers, marketers and crafters of the Steurer & Jacoby line of products, are grateful for every client and customer, every visitor to our website and every 'like' and 'share' on our social media. It speaks to the QUALITY & TRADITION we pour into every American Leather and American Leather & Canvas item we handcraft.
Cheers & Smiles!
Will
U.S. Hickory Open and a Tribute to Mike Just
Two very important events took place in the world of Hickory Golf this month. Both events have an important part in my life and I am going to share them not necessarily in order of importance but in order of the dates they happened.
The U.S. Hickory Open was held at the beautiful and challenging Links of Lawsonia in Green Lake, Wisconsin. This is not only a great course, ranked in the "Top 100 in the U.S. by Golf Digest". It has plenty of history with golf legends like Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson taking on the fairways. 65 years ago my family would visit Green Lake many times a year to go camping. Green Lake is also the deepest glacier formed lake in Wisconsin.
Back to the Links of Lawsonia, the course that was designed by the famous duo of William B. Langford and Theodore Moreau, opened for play in 1928 with 90 bunkers +/- (I am quite familiar with most of them) on over 140 acres of rolling land. The cost was $250,000 which in those days was a huge sum of money. Having played it 6 times, I can assure that it is challenging but fair. Local lore explains that a buried boxcar was used to gain the elevation for the 146 yard 7th hole.
This year, 2016, Jeremy Moe of Ft. Smith, Arkansas became "Mr. 4-Peat" by winning the U.S. Hickory Open Championship for the 4th consecutive year. Mr. Cliff Martin of Los Angeles, California pushed Jeremy to a "Sudden Death" playoff 36 hole card of 151. I wish my congratulations to both as they are not only great players but great personable and kind men. Golf is a game of INTEGRITY and GENTLEMEN and both of these men have their picture next to the definition!
Lastly, a word about the "OPEN COMMITTEE" headed by Bill "Ernie" Ernst and Jim "Doc" Eike. FABULOUS! They presented an excellent event that was well organized and flawless. in other words, GREAT JOB! The Hickory Nation needs to have a glass of your favorite libation raised to them.
More importantly, on Sunday, October 2nd, the golfing world, especially the Hickory Nation, lost the person that was the HEART, SOUL and INSPIRATION for so many who enjoy the game as it was originally designed. Michael Charles Just or "Mike" as his golfing friends called him. There was not a person that Mike would not discuss the TRADITION and INTEGRITY of the game with. His knowledge of the game, clubs and history was second to none. To be his friend was to have a treasure as strong as family.
Family was Mike's highest priority. His love of Lynn was his will to beat cancer. He and Lynn had 3 children. His precious granddaughter was his "heart"! His second drive was to see the marriages of his two daughters.
Mike was the Tom Stewart of today. He was the "Van Gogh", as written in his memorial notice (see link below), to the Hickory Nation. He never stopped looking for the perfect club from the past. He studied his finds and would reproduce them to the finest detail so they could be enjoyed today. For example:
- Last year he introduced the replica KEMPSHALL PUTTER in both black and white. There are only a "handful" of these known to exist. Mike painstakingly found the equivalent of the material that is available today and made an exact computer milling program to reproduce this 1903 Willie Dunn design.
- For the past few years Mike worked to replicate the most sought after Stewart Irons. As Tom Stewart was mainly known as a "Cleek" craftsman, his irons were very rare. With the help of his friends, Jay Harris, Brad Gregory and Deal Hudson, he was able to assemble all of the originals to bring these irons to modern golfers.
Five years ago, Mike lured me out of retirement after making golf bags for over 30 years, He said, "Will, we need a TRADITIONAL BAG that is made with QUALITY!" At first I politely, with locker room words, said one of us was crazy. It was me - because here I am.
For the remainder of my days I will be grateful to Mike for encouraging me to create the "Steurer & Jacoby" line of products. There is no way to articulate my gratitude to Mike for introducing me to the world of Hickory of which I have become addicted.
As one of our friends, Mr. Joe Lauber of Davos Switzerland, always says, "Enjoy the Walk!" Mike we will enjoy the walk with every step any of us take, you will be with us until the end of time!
Rest in Peace my friend and enjoy the walk up the 18th Fairway on the Championship Course in Heaven!
In Honor of Michael "Mike" Just, Louisville Golf
Welcome to Firebird Group, Inc. Crafters of Steurer & Jacoby Products
Let me introduce to you my company, Firebird Group, Inc., we are the "Crafters of the Steurer & Jacoby" line of quality and traditional leather and canvas goods.
First, OUR MISSION. We decided in 2011 to bring back to golf TRADITION and QUALITY in GOLF BAGS or as I prefer the traditional 1890's term GOLF CLUB CARRIER. Just as important we wanted our products to be crafted here in Kentucky, so we could proudly state: "OUR PRODUCTS ARE BORN IN THE USA!"
Second, THE TRADITION.
- Our DESIGNS are a throw back to how CLUB CARRIERS (as well as our other products) appeared for many years starting in the 1890's and well into the 1960's. A clean look with functional pockets for the necessary golf items [balls, gloves, weather wear, small snack/water, score card]. No "bill boards"! No "synthetic materials"! Steve Steurer and I spent months looking at vintage photos to select what we liked best in looks and features. It was important for our designs and products to say "TRADITION and VINTAGE with QUALITY".
- Our MATERIALS. We use the materials of the period. LEATHER and COTTON DUCK (canvas), both regular and waxed. WAXED COTTON DUCK dates back to the 1850's being developed for the British Navy and is a very durable and weather tolerant material that has some great visual features as it ages versus REGULAR COTTON DUCK that has its unique feature of naturally fading to offer the aged and vintage look.
- Our LEATHER offerings are from AMERICAN BISON, AMERICAN COW and CALF hides. We use a tannery that has been around since before the Civil War and it is one of less than a handful of tanneries left tanning here in the USA.
- We use exclusively "SOLID BRASS HARDWARE" from US suppliers. Our frames are custom formed with a special steel wire that offers comfort in carrying. lightness in weight and a substantial platform for your CLUB CARRIER to last for years.
Third, the QUALITY FACTOR.
- We bring over 80 years of experience with GOLF CLUB CARRIERS to the shop everyday!
- We bring over 50 years of seamstress experience everyday into the shop.
- We use both sewing machines that are over 40 years old to give us the type of stitching we want, all 100% lock stitched which means it will not unravel beyond 2 stitches should it break. We also use modern designed machines that give us the ability to stitch through 1" of leather. We have machines set for specific operations so there is 100% consistency with every stitch. For example, we have specific machines that only do zippers, another only carrier bottoms and still another that sews only tops. This is why we offer superior products to our customers.
Finally, the BOTTOM LINE.
- We understand the history of our product, the designing of a product from infancy, and the crafting of a product to stand the test of time and usage.
Please take a moment to look at all of our products and as you do please keep in mind that our promise to you is with every Steurer & Jacoby product you will receive both TRADITION and QUALITY! That is how we built our reputation!
Enjoy the GAME!
Cheers & Smiles!