Bridgestone Golf

January 27, 2005

BRIDGESTONE BRAND BRINGS PRECISION ENGINEERING TO UNITED STATES GOLF MARKET IN ‘05

Equipment Innovations Address Needs of Discerning Top-Tier Golfers

Covington, Ga. — In 2005, Bridgestone Golf, Inc. (formerly known as Bridgestone Sports, USA) with a 33-year heritage of clubmaking craftsmanship and the number one ball market share in Japan, will bring one of world’s most venerable brands into the North American golf market. Bridgestone Golf will make its entrance into the United States’ premium equipment segment with an array of inventive new equipment, utilizing proprietary elastomer precision engineering.

The new Bridgestone Golf line, developed in collaboration with PGA Tour pros, will feature two complete sets of premium forged irons, a set of fairway woods, utility clubs, premium forged wedges, a driver and a new seamless cover technology multilayer urethane ball.

“The new Bridgestone equipment is the product of years of refinement of the science of golf,” said Sadahiro Yoda, President, Bridgestone Golf, Inc. “Our team of PGA Tour Pros were brought into the design process very early on and their valuable input has helped to fine-tune our engineering concepts into features that will benefit skilled golfers. You may say our formula for success has been ‘Bridgestone Science’ + ‘Art of our Pro’s’ = premium, high-quality products.”

The Bridgestone Golf brand will utilize its parent company’s expertise of elastomer and polymer materials to create golf products optimized for adding distance and accuracy to low to mid-handicappers’ games. Going forward Bridgestone Golf, Inc. will employ a two-brand structure, which will designate Bridgestone as the premium brand for skilled players, while Precept will continue its current trend of becoming a more moderate-priced brand geared towards competitive game improvers.

“The Bridgestone brand has long been a global success and those of our Tour players who have already put the new Bridgestone equipment in their bags are unequivocally impressed with the results,” said Shigeru Nakayama, Vice President – Marketing, Bridgestone Golf, Inc. “Stay tuned, we are only beginning to reveal our portfolio of golf equipment innovations in the US market.”

Bridgestone will receive a fully integrated marketing support effort in the United States with a star-studded PGA Tour presence, a brand new ad campaign that is set to break in the first quarter of 2005 and a comprehensive public relations campaign aimed at building awareness for the new brand.

Bridgestone to Have Powerful Tour Presence

Joining Shigeki Maruyama as part of the Bridgestone family, longtime Precept stars Nick Price and Stuart Appleby will begin playing the new equipment in competition almost immediately. In addition, PGA Tour driving distance leader Scott Hend, and crowd favorite Matt Kuchar will also join the Bridgestone Golf PGA Tour player stable in 2005. News of the new ball and clubs has leaked out around the tour and created quite a buzz. Players have contacted Bridgestone seeking endorsement deals for 2005 and the company expects to add several new players to the Bridgestone Tour Team before the start of the season.

The first SKUs of Bridgestone branded equipment will begin shipping in January of 2005, with the entire line introduction expected to hit shelves around early spring. Bridgestone Golf equipment will be available at green grass retailers and golf specialty stores nationwide.