LD Mike Mahoney Talks about Lighting Six Areas at Golf’s Top Trade Event
The PGA Merchandise show is held every winter in Florida. It brings together nearly a thousand manufacturers of various golf equipment and draws upwards of 40,000 attendees each year. The show’s platform has expanded over the years to include the introduction of new products, indoor and outdoor product testing, symposiums on the show floor as well as educational seminars. The festivities include awards ceremonies and fashion shows along with player development and networking-type events.
Born in 1954 in Dunedin, FL, the show expanded and moved to various locations until it settled in Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) in 1985. As the convention center grew, so did the show. In 1998, the PGA joined forces with Reed Exhibitions, one of the world’s leading trade show organizers and expanded its operations under the umbrella of the PGA Worldwide Gold Exhibitions. They look after the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando as well as the PGA Fashion & Demo Experience in Las Vegas. The previous year (2019) marked the 100th anniversary of the PGA, and the number of people who flocked to the Florida area for some sort of golf function during the time the show went on is estimated to be close to one million.
PLSN sat down to talk with lighting designer Mike Mahoney from Mahoney Design Inc., a company he runs in the Chicago area. He has been lighting at least one booth or another at this show for 13 years now, and for the 67th edition of this event, held Jan. 21-24, his company lit six separate areas. He looked after lighting displays of apparel and equipment as well as the main stage forum.
“The show is divided into a few parts. They open the event with a “Demo Day”, which is not at the convention center. It’s the first day and some 50,000+ fans will show up on a good day to personally try out some gear on a range or putting green.” The next three days are spent on the trade show floor. The floor is pretty much divided into one section for golfing equipment and another for apparel. “One of my favorite spots is a small area all the way down in the F hall for everything new in golf. Whether it be a gadget or something to make your golfing experience more enjoyable. Then there’s one section where we have a stage set up, for what we in the biz might refer to as corporate theater. I am extremely fortunate to be involved in all of it.”
Mahoney has been lighting all kinds of events over the course of his career, starting as a young lighting tech touring with bands, he found his niche later on — illuminating trade shows. Having lived his whole life in the Chicago area he has been gainfully employed by several regional lighting companies over the years as well as being a card-carrying member of IATSE Local 2. He often chooses Upstaging to provide the lights for his events, as he’s had a working relationship with rep John Bahnick that goes back some 30 years. “Plus, they tend to have gear that is in exceptional shape. There’s very little time for error in my biz, or broken lights, for that matter. The only time I want to see a man in a lift is if we have to focus conventional fixtures.” Mahoney is quick to admit he prefers to use all movers and all LED gear whenever allowed.
Mike tells a great story about how he got involved in the PGA show through an old friend named Don Garrity, a longtime IATSE Local 2 rep in Chicago and the technical director for many events, including the PGA Merchandise Show. “About 13 years ago, I got a call from Don, who I’ve known so long I can’t remember what venue I first met him at. He was working with Reed, and they found themselves in a little dilemma. One of the vendors, Titleist, had pulled out at the last minute, leaving a large 100-by-100-foot square of prime real estate open on the floor. With time being an urgency, Reed asked Don if he could come up with something ‘interesting’ to fill the space. Don, of course, said he could accomplish that task, and then called me, knowing I had some experience in lighting rock ‘n’ roll as well as trade shows. So we came up with a music-themed area with elaborate lighting and video that could attract people from all over the floor. I remember someone from Reed telling Don and myself, ‘we need more!’ I love to hear that, so I asked Upstaging what they had on the shelf that they could toss in. John was kind enough to toss in a dozen [HES] Showguns. I flew them on single sticks of 10-foot truss in strategic locations around or near the main aisle of the equipment area. This ended up being the talk of the show. All we needed was smoke.
“I would say it was a bit more Tom Petty-ish than Pink Floyd, but you have to understand how much golf has changed in the last 20 years. For a long time, this game was depicted as a stuffy sport. There were some clubhouses where only men were allowed. This was a cigar chomping, baggy-clothes bunch of individuals playing a wealthy game, and some snobbery was in evidence, as many players belonged to country clubs. But over the last 20 years, much has changed. Youth has made the sport of golf cool for all. Obviously, Tiger Woods was the first big-name youngster to storm the field, but he’s been followed by a new breed of celebrity golf stars. Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy — guys like that have been getting a lot of press and changing the look of the game. The stuffy collared shirts and long pants that had long been commonplace in clubhouses were being re-thought. Some women golfers have become role models, and the clothing the younger generation is wearing now is what is setting the tone for what we are seeing on the floor with much of the apparel. Pro Dustin Johnson even sports his own line of sneakers, a la Michael Jordan.”
This worked out well for the show and Mike was called upon to relight this space for three more years. “The youth of the PGA is helping to influence [and] change the mindset of their superiors. We were combining entertainment and technology at the same show for the first time, and it looked like this was the direction we would keep going in. When Titleist wanted to return (and obtain this premium space), we were shoved in a hole between them and FootJoy. This became a place where we could hold a forum, a place for people to meet up and network, as well as have a seat and take a load off while listening to speakers.”
The Forum
This stage consists of a lectern and a panel of chairs for experts to discuss topics. Some flats of eye-catching scenery elements provided by ASI Displays flank the stage, while a rear-projected screen sits behind the panel. Up to 500 people per day stop in at the various sessions, and Mike is on hand to light each one over the course of four to five shows each day. “We double-stack some 20K projectors to get imagery on the flats. This year, we rear-projected on the center screen. On the sides, we built some flats, utilizing some rental scenic elements from Atomic on the front side, some simple up and down lighting of the panels from [Martin] MAC Auras, and additional projection on them. We’d change the looks to match each speaker’s sponsors, or just give the room a fresh coat of color.
“I lit the stage and surrounding areas with all Martin automated fixtures. The MAC Viper AirFX fixtures are my go-to fixture, because they do it all for me — key light, rear fill, textures on the scenery. I can flip ‘em around and ballyhoo the audience whenever needed.”
The scheduled sessions included topics such as the “2020 Vision for the Future of the Caddy,” or, if you wish to get closer to some players, one could attend the “Experience of the Inaugural U.S. Women’s PGA Cup Team.” The stage also holds the “US Kids Top 50 Awards Ceremony & Reception.” They even include a fashion show to highlight the latest offerings.
Lighting Golf Gear
“The idea behind lighting the clubs is there is a lot of iron, a lot of metal I need to make pop. So I try and consistently keep the color temperature high in these areas, at 6000°K. With arc lights, it’s simple, but every conventional fixture lighting a golf club has to have a cut of Lee 202 attached.”
Mahoney expands on this. “Certain companies want certain looks. The golf game now is all about clothes and how long you can drive a ball. Some companies want a rock ‘n’ roll look, others demand old school. Ping, for instance, doesn’t embrace lighting technology. They just need a truss to hang a video wall and some down light. On the other end is a company called Bridgestone. They weren’t overly huge until a few years back, when Tiger Woods inked a multiyear deal to design and play with their golf balls. Before then, they just used some basic house lights, but with the attention they are gathering now, they have the funds to illuminate their path. They understand the importance of good lighting and drawing folks into their space.” The entire Bridgestone booth was lit with moving lights, Mahoney adds. “I’ve been a big user of Martin Lighting fixtures my whole career. The Viper Performance units are necessary because of the shutter cuts.”
Mike has been lighting Titleist gear for years, but laments that they prefer the old-fashioned lighting. “So I’ve probably got between 150 to 200 assorted ETC fixtures, between pars, ellipsoidals and 1K cycs. Don’t get me wrong. In the end, it always looks fantastic, but it eats so much time up. If it was all movers, I could focus a booth this size in six hours. Instead, it takes me two days, and I am all over the floor. I tell you what, the stagehands and riggers focusing at the OCCC are exceptionally fast. I couldn’t pull this schedule off anywhere else.”
Lighting Apparel
As for lighting clothing at the event, that’s almost an art unto itself, Mike says. “Some clients prefer to emulate the look of a fancy store, and they would like bright, almost fluorescent white source to hit their products.” Mike adds that for the Penguin apparel booth, he needed white-hot lights. “For their booth, my choice was to employ HMI pars to splash 1200 watts of arc light directly on their product.”
FootJoy is a big seller of golf shoes, but they also have absorbed other companies along the way. “It’s important to know that golfers consider their shoes, gloves and hats as tools of their game. What most of us consider attire, they consider equipment.” FootJoy also owns a brand called 1857. While the year pays homage to the company’s roots, it also serves as their luxury clothing line that celebrates the modern style. “They want that line to look hot, and I need to show off the colors. If I want a teal or salmon color to look precisely like they do in a catalog, I can’t light them with tungsten easily.
“Now on the other hand, this company has acquired a line called Links and Kings that is a throwback to the hoity toity of old, with the puffy pants and fluffy hats. They demand a warm light to accent that leathery and wood look. I simply rent some house pars from the convention center and flood that area of the booth with 3200° tungsten light.”
The Companies Involved
Mike is quick to point out that his friends at ASI Displays did a tremendous job on the Titleist booth this year. “In fact, they built all the booths I worked on. Michael Thompson and Pat McAvoy run that company, and with their more-than-capable staff, they do a bang-up job. They have a great relationship with Reed, so it’s always a good day at the golf show.”
Lighting-wise Mahoney chooses to divide the gear between two companies, Upstaging out of Chicago and Nuance Lighting out of Orlando. “I have to look at my overall budget between all the spaces. If I use Upstaging for everything, I have to pay for the shipping and drayage from those out-of-state companies hauling semis of gear 2,500 miles round-trip. Adds up quick. So I used them on the big jobs such as the main stage, FootJoy and Bridgestone. Nuance is a local company, and Joe Neff has a great relationship with Don Garrity and myself, so it’s a no-brainer to let him supply the gear for the big Titleist booth and others like Penguin that pop up last minute.”
Mahoney does like to give credit where it’s due, and Chicago native Mike Walker serves as his ME/programmer at many of his shows. “He and I work great together — he knows how I think and he can make decisions without having to drag me across the convention center to answer a question.”
As far as programming the Forum Stage, Mahoney points out that his usual guy happened to be out on tour during February, so he did it all himself. His choice of console this year was the Whole Hog, and he used a variety of them, dependent on size of the area.
The show loads in eight days in advance. “We get three days to rig all the lights, then we get lost (read — go golfing) while scenic comes in for the next three. A couple of days to focus, program cues and, other than the Forum, we are set until Saturday when we load out.”
The PGA Merchandise Show
Jan. 22-24, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL
Key Personnel
- Mike Mahoney/Mahoney Design Inc. — Designer/Director/Programmer for PGA Equipment & Apparel booth properties
- Don Garrity/Production Management LLC. — Producer/TD for PGA Equipment forum Area
- Mike Walker/Independent Contractor — Master Electrician for Bridgestone, FootJoy and Main Stage
- John Bahnick/Upstaging Inc. — Account Manager for Bridgestone, FootJoy and Main Stage
- Joe Neff/Nuance Lighting — Account Manager for Titleist, FJ 1857, and Penguin
- Bruce Vogel/Freelance Video Engineer/Camera Director for PGA Equipment forum area
- Todd Krouse/OCCC — Rigging supervisor
- Joe Shelton/IATSE Local 631 Orlando — Union steward
- Special shout out to our stagehand “Frost;” we celebrate his birthday every PGA show.
Gear
Bridgestone Golf
- 9 Martin MAC Auras
- 12 Martin MAC Viper Performances
- 11 Chroma-Q Color Force II 72” LED strip lights
- 2 Chroma-Q Color Force II 48” LED strip lights
FootJoy
- 23 Martin MAC Auras
- 28 Martin MAC Viper Performances
- 39 Martin MAC Viper Air FX
- 12 Chroma-Q Color Force II 72” LED strip lights
PGA Equipment Forum Main Stage
- 16 Martin MAC Auras
- 10 Martin MAC Viper Performances
- 13 Martin MAC Viper Air FX fixtures
- 17 Chroma-Q Color Force II 72” LED strip lights
- 9 Chroma-Q Color Force II 48” LED strip lights
- 8 Martin Atomic 3000 LED Strobes
Titleist
- 87 750W Source Fours (10 x 50°, 8 x 36°, 26 x 26°, 12 x 19°)
- 126 750W ETC pars (58 x wfl, 56 x mfl, 13 x nsp)
- Plus all necessary barn doors, top hats, etc., per plot
- 12 Single cell focusing Cyc
Original Penguin
- 34 Arch Pars with medium lensing
- Plus all necessary barn doors, top hats, etc., per plot
FJ1857/Links & Kings
- 28 1000-watt house pars with gel frames
Next year’s event will be held Jan. 25-29 at the OCCC. More info on Mahoney Design can be found at www.mahoneydesign.biz.