{"id":231092,"date":"2022-06-13T14:37:13","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T14:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/interview-with-marcus-kraus-dragon-golf\/"},"modified":"2022-10-06T13:26:34","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T13:26:34","slug":"interview-with-marcus-kraus-dragon-golf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/interview-with-marcus-kraus-dragon-golf\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Marcus Kraus"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Interview<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Estimated reading time: <\/span>4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Born 1980 in the south of Germany into a craftsmen family. After studying mechanical engineering, I joined the Toyota Formula 1 team and got first in touch with Japanese business practice and philosophy. After Toyota withdrew from F1 I joined Porsche and was project leading the suspension of the 919 Le Mans winning car. When quitting Porsche and returning back to Cologne I started golfing in 2016.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Kraus Story<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

On April 27th<\/sup> 2019 I was competing in an amateur golf event \u2013 side note: I am not a good golfer, playing a handicap of around 18 \u2013 but nevertheless I came in second in my class. I recall flicking through Instagram after the golf tournament and stumbled across a ridiculously good-looking iron \u2013 not knowing the brand. I checked it online \u2013 and I could only find a Japanese website and no distribution outside Japan. One day later the idea of Dragon Golf was born and another four days later the business was set up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n


What was the genesis for Dragon Golf?<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dragon Golf is a platform for masterfully, handmade golf clubs from Japan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n


How was it determined to use the name “dragon” as your main identifier?<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Dragon is probably the most popular mythical creature in Japanese and Asian folklore and is associated with luck and positive attributes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n


Given the competition in the category — how does Dragon Golf differentiate itself from your\u00a0competition?<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There is no real competition. Dragon Golf is the only supplier for made to order, handmade golf clubs from Japan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Your primary area for sales at this moment is where?<\/h4>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/h4>\r\n

Germany & the United Kingdom.<\/p>\r\n


What impact has the pandemic had on your sales efforts and in coordinating matters with your various suppliers?<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The recent pandemic had only minor impact on our business. In fact, the number of golfers grew significantly during the pandemic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n


Who is your customer?<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Any golfer \u2013 but to be more specific our typical customer is someone who can appreciate craftsmanship and quality and who wants to stand out from the crowd.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Interview<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n


Customer service and securing meaningful feedback are two central features for any golf company. Define them both and the role they play in your efforts.<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Customer service and satisfaction is key. We are taking our customer on a journey. We are not selling golf clubs \u2013 we are creating unique pieces of Japan for our customer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n


What role does professional golfer endorsements play with your company strategy in expanding your overall profile?<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Professional golfer endorsement has no significant role yet \u2013 but we want to support young, aspiring golfers in the future.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n


If you could change one thing in golf unilaterally — what would it be and why?<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I am a fan of moving over the golf course quickly \u2013 and in the game of golf you\u2019re not in front of a flight but rather behind another \u2013 so if I could change one thing in golf, I would get rid of slow play.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n


Best advice you ever received — what was it and who was it from?<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Golf related? Probably never leaving a birdie putt too short \u2013 first advice was given by my golf coach Noah \u2013 but I\u2019ve heard it so often \u2013 I am wondering that he is not the origin for this advice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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***<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For more info go to:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

www.dragon-golf.de<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Instagram<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Founder & CEO Dragon Golf<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":218275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-231092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview"],"yoast_head":"\nInterview with Marcus Kraus - Golf Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/interview-with-marcus-kraus-dragon-golf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Interview with Marcus Kraus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Founder & CEO Dragon Golf\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/interview-with-marcus-kraus-dragon-golf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Golf Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-13T14:37:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-06T13:26:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/interview_marcus-kraus3.1.2-Itobori-NC-iron-New-MTGNC310.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"972\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"M. 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