With Orlimar, Ortiz served as Vice Chairman/Chief Designer. As a result, he has extensive experience in the management of research and development, production, quality control, distribution functions, advertising, publicity and media relations. While at Orlimar, he designed and developed many successful products introduced by the company, including the TriMetal™ fairway metal line, widely considered to be among the most lucrative and innovative ever introduced. It was consistently ranked among the top fairway metals by professional PGA Tour and senior PGA Tour players in Darrell Surveys. Before leaving Orlimar, Jesse introduced the critically acclaimed TriMetal™ HipTi Driver, which featured not only the thinnest conforming face in golf, but also the strongest and most rigid.

Jesse’s metal wood innovations propelled sales from $1.5 million to $100 million in the late 1990s. Since 1998, over 700 PGA professional players have used Ortiz clubs in tournament play. During this period, Ortiz’s name has become synonymous with high-quality woods and fairway metals design.

In 2004, the Jesse Ortiz Design Studio partnered with the upstart Bobby Jones Golf Company, and resounding success has followed. Driven by the commercial and critical triumph of the Bobby Jones Hybrid by Jesse Ortiz, the Bobby Jones Players Series by Jesse Ortiz continues to benefit from heavy media acclaim and increasing sales. In 2008 after nearly four years in the workshop, Jesse launched a revolutionary new 460cc driver and a collection of technology-shaping wedges for Bobby Jones Golf.

Born of Basque descent, Jesse was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He earned his marketing degree at the University of San Francisco and his “doctorate” in club design at his father’s factory, pouring inserts into fairway woods and marking scoring lines or lettering on irons. Ortiz was also interested in real estate, and upon entering college was the youngest landlord in the area, if not the state. He already owned a building with his earnings from waiting tables and working at his father’s factory. Yet rental properties were just numbers to Jesse. He decided to follow his passion: crafting golf clubs.

In 1999, Jesse received the International Network of Golf Business Achievement Award and was recognized as the Entrepreneur of the Year for Northern California by Ernst & Young.

Throughout his illustrious career in golf club design, Jesse has been featured by U.S. publications and organizations including The Wall Street Journal, The Metropolitan Golf Writers Association, USA Today, Associated Press, CNBC, The Golf Channel, Los Angeles Times, Golf Magazine, Golf Digest and many others.

Awards, Honors & Achievements

• -Entrepreneur of the Year, Northern California (Ernst & Young)
• -Achievement Award (International Network of Golf Business)

1999

• -Named one of seven “Men of Steel” by Southland Golf magazine
• -Bobby Jones Driver, Fairway Wood and Hybrid named to Golf Digest’s annual Hot List. Fairway Wood named category winner for “Personal Preference” by Hot List judges. Hybrid named category winner for “Performance/Playability” and “Personal Prefer ence” by Hot List judges.
• -Bobby Jones Fairway Wood a 4-star recipient in Golf magazine’s Fairway Wood ClubTest.
• -Bobby Jones Hybrid named Winner of Golf magazine’s Hybrid ClubTest, awarded honors for “Tester’s Top Pick” and “Best Value.”

2006

• -Ortiz and Bobby Jones Golf Company’s pending television informercial campaign featured in the Wall Street Journal.
• -Bobby Jones Driver, Fairway Wood and Hybrid named to Golf Digest’s annual Hot List. Fairway Wood received Gold seal and named Category Leader for “Technology.” Hybrid named Category Winner for “Performance.” (Second straight year for all three clubs.)
• -Bobby Jones Fairway Wood named top tested Fairway Wood of the year by independent equipment review Rankmark.com.

2007

• -Bobby Jones Fairway Wood named to Golf Digest’s annual Hot List for third straight year.
• -Independent equipment review Rankmark.com names Ortiz’ Bobby Jones Workshop Edition Driver top tested driver of the year and Ortiz’ Bobby Jones Hybrid one of the top two Hybrids of the year.

2008