Published: March 31, 2007 12:14 am         

Hold-N-One

A common problem plagues golfers everywhere — how to keep their golf bags from tipping over when they’re not being used on the golf course.

Tired of constantly picking up clubs, one couple invented a device that holds the bag in place. The Hold-N-One was designed by Teutopolis native Vanese Clough and her husband, Donald Corey. The two came up with the idea about five years ago when Corey, an avid golfer, accidentally drove over one of his clubs and broke it.

“We had trouble storing the clubs. They were always falling over because they are so top heavy,” said Clough.

The wall-mounted device grabs the mouth of the golf bag through a spring-action latch to keep the bag firmly upright.

After coming up with the idea, the Raleigh, N.C., couple had no trouble developing it, since they own an industrial design firm, The Other Edge Inc. and have designed for clients everything from outdoor furniture to pet products.

However, Clough said this is the first project they’ve done on their own and have completely financed themselves.

But before the inventors could develop the product, they had to do a patent search to make sure there wasn’t already a similar device in existence. Clough said she was “pleasantly surprised.”

“There wasn’t anything like this,” she said.

The couple then did drawings for prototypes to be made.

“We were going back to the drawing board a lot since it is a spring-loaded device,” she said. “We had to make sure the springs were strong, but not too strong to hurt someone,” she said.

After having prototypes made and tested, the two finally came up with a product they were ready to sell.

Clough and Corey’s work didn’t end there. They also designed the packaging and graphics for the device.

Although there are rack systems, Clough said unlike her invention, the racks can take up to five feet of room and are expensive. The Hold-N-One retails for about $20.

According to Clough, the Hold-N-One holds the bag in one square foot of space, making it easier to store in a closet or cabinet and to store multiple bags.

The couple debuted the device at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., in January, where they said they got a lot of good feedback.

Since then, Hold-N-One has been placed with six nationwide distributors and is currently available in Australia and New Zealand at Rebel Sports. It also is available online. For a list of online retailers visit the couple’s Web site www.hold-n-one.com.

The couple hopes to expand to retail markets in the U.S.

For those who don’t want to wait to order, the device is available at Wessel’s Grocery in Teutopolis.

Cathy Thoele can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 126 or business@effinghamdailynews.com