Callaway Golf in trouble?

[MattM97]

Can see the pro "any day now that gimmicky Callaway company will fall. Any day now."

[anythingfinite]

To be clear: I thought the article was garbage but am admittedly a Callaway fan so I wanted to get the group's thoughts. Glad to see I'm not alone in my eye-rolling.

[golfschnell]

Dude is an idiot that obviously just doesn't like Callaway products. In this era of opinions equating to facts, he provides a perfect example of the stupidity that this type of thinking produces. Callaway's diverse product line, quality, and customer service are without question some of the best in the golf industry.

[bogeypro]

This author doesn't seem to understand golf companies at all. Very poor opinion piece, imo.

[cgasucks]

You're not alone, I'm not a Callaway fan (I think it's an ok OEM) and I too thought the article was poorly written since he didn't get his facts straight (like calling Nike making golf clubs a flash in the pan even though they've been doing it for over 15 years).

[JackpotJohnny]

My favorite part was learning about ‘brand permission’ whatever the F it is supposed to mean.

[Kaexo]

I didn't read the article but I'm sure the big brands with large amounts of money going to tour players are struggling. Just look at TM and how they had to shed players and restructure with outside investment.

Look across the spectrum of golf and most people are using equipment for longer so the new sets being produced every year isn't helping brands while costing millions sinking money into those productions.

I honestly have hated every iron release besides the apex pro irons in the last 10 years from Callaway and outside of the epic, there hasn't been much to talk about in their driver game. They hired Cleveland to revive the wedge game but it has been mediocre at best. The ball was a disaster which cost them 50 mil to fix + loss of marketshare.

I just think other companies like PXG, Mizuno, and Srixon specifically are doing a much better job. Bridgestone and Titleist are going to dominate the ball market going forward.

[anythingfinite]

That part makes sense. We are seeing it with Kirkland, atm.

[JackpotJohnny]

Actually in the context of the article, Kirkland is the perfect example of why it makes no sense at all. They can get away with making clubs and balls just fine, but Nike can’t?

 

[ThinkingPlus]

Brand permission is also a function of price. Anything cheap enough needs less permission.

[ssfranny]

Yeah dont see article having a lot od weight when he says a Toulon is twice the cost of a Scotty. Looking at $400 compared to $450 for a Toulon which also has more tech like Stroke Lab shaft. Author prob a Titleist homer.

[Kaexo]

I don't think he was knocking the drivers. I'm just assuming he was referring to the epic/rogue and now the mavrik irons which was a colossal failure.

[anythingfinite]

I'm saying Kirkland is an example of someone acting without "brand permission." Its like if Chevy started making motorcycles.

The author is just an idiot who doesn't understand that club manufacturers have also made balls forever.

[1Mordrid1]

Rogue irons actually sold very well.

[iNeedMoreGolf]

Pretty sure they are number 1 in irons and drivers. Pretty sure odyssey is also number 1. This is just bs. Guy probably sucks at golf and has callaways and is blaming them.

[Warrick]

I am not sure the Mavrik irons have been out long enough to label them a colossal failure . I think they were released just prior to all of this starting.

i know 3 people that play the Mavrik pro

[MtlJeff]

My friend just bought them, they are actually really sweet.

I have some sort of mental block about buying irons that have a non-successive name for some reason. So i could never buy them LOL. I like my irons to be part of a longstanding series so i know where they stand

[third-times-a-charm]

I'm the same way, I love the apex but can't get myself to buy the mav pro's because they're not a multi-year release type club.

[MtlJeff]

It's kinda ridiculous right? But for some reason i always think 5 years from now i'll be like "what the heck was a Mavrik"

[pheenomz4774]

Some parts of this make sense though. If you find an iron-type you like, if they are in a series they are much less likely to drastically change what the iron does and how it fits your game. AP2 players have had longstanding confidence that the next iteration addresses the small things they find instead of being a completely different iron each release and there is some comfort in using past history of an iron release to help our current choices.

[storm319]

Comparing Callaway to MacGregor based solely on subjective anecdotes? Simply ridiculous. The time for worry was when Callaway ran negative operating/net incomes for 5 straight years in 2009-2013. They have been doing just fine over the past 5 years or so and there really is no evidence pointing to the company repeating 2009-2013 from a financial perspective (although the Jack Wolfskin acquisition is not looking great thus far especially given the cost). https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/ELY/callaway-golf/operating-income

[ssfranny]

Well they are good enough for Peyton Manning and Im sure he can play anything. The 2019 Apex/Apex pro prob one of the best irons to come out in the last few years. And Ive tried a lot of irons haha

[lkbreeder]

Long time Callaway guy here- can't agree with this article.

[LeoLeo99]

Or expensive enough.

[rgk5]

A puff article with little basis in reality. Callaway is the number one selling iron brand, number one in putters via Odyssey and second in ball volume. If that is failing, what is success? Toulon was never going to be more than a niche product, just like Cameron. Their clothing line sells very well particularly for girthy types. I've witnessed all of this during the last 17 years in golf retail. The author needs more brains to rattle.

[ChipNRun]

@jholtz noted: "I think this is largely an issue of scale, rather than the life or death of the company. Callaway tried to out Taylormade Taylormade, if you know what I mean, and they've followed the same path - rose to the top for awhile, now sliding back into the pack. ..."
The TM-Callaway arms race hit full stride circa 2011. Callaway launched the Razr X line with either six or seven iron models (Cally watchers couldn't tell if the Razr Proto irons were for general sales or tour van only) ... TM doubled down with Burner 2.0, R11 and several Tour Preferred iron models. Next year Callaway quickly followed with X Hot and X2 Hot models, and TM countered with RBZ and RBZ Stage2, SLDR and JetSpeed.
TM hit the wall in 2014 when a new flurry of models, coupled with manufacturing glitches and shipping delays, missed the Christmas/New Year selling time. This, occurring with TM parent Adidas' less than spectacular sales related to World Cup futbol, sent shock waves through through Adidas + TM kingdom.
This scrambled golf sales plans for Dick's Sporting Goods, which would fire more than 500 in-store PGA golf pros in July 2014 as a costcutting measure. Plus, too-late equipment glut hastened the demise of Sports Authority, which carried a lot of TM golf clubs.
Callaway came to its senses a bit sooner. In 2015, a regional Callaway rep explained to me a change in strategy. Try to keep a two-year cycle for golf club models, and use a pull vs. push release philsosophy. By pull, Callaway would wait for the previous model to be pretty well sold out before releasing the follow-on model. This is sometimes called sell out vs. sell off.
I've seen what appears to be the pull effect in recent Callaway wedge models. At the spring golf expo, I haven't noticed much variety left in phased out MD3 and MD4 wedges - other than in Lob Wedges. I've steeled myself to the fact I would probably have to buy future Callaway wedges right at first price break, or risk not getting the grind/bounce I want.

[Jvoom30]

Me too

[ProjectX]

Stock price is currently 3x what is was in 2011. It was 4x what it was in 2011 until the global pandemic hit. You won't find many investors that will turn down tripling or quadrupling their money over a 10 year period. I wouldn't worry about Callaway going anywhere.

[Thinnedit]

Can tell you're a TM fan which brings me to ask, How many people do you know play SIM irons?

Very early call labelling the mavrik line a failure, nowhere near enough hard data to back any claims at the moment. Golf right now is recovering as courses start to open again and people get outside. I expect all OEMs to experience a surge for a while until we get back to a new normal.

[GolfChannel]

The most diversified company in golf, you do know how Ping actually makes its money?

Every OEM has an issue, some are dealing with them in ways that help or hurt, but they are aware of them and trying to do something.

For example, boring and predictable Titleist, nothing beats the comfort of consistency. You will not find the bright shiny new thing that the masses will run to in that house. They are banking their next revitalization on youth and quality. They have stepped up their “sponsorships” of AJGA golfers. They have banked on the power of “cool” aligning their brand with a personality, Justin Thomas, a golfer who has a firm grasp of who they are, what they want to be, and who is in their way to get there. Someone who understands that confidence is cool and oozes it as if it could be bottled and sold.

This is risky putting an important aspect of your companies growth on the back of someone’s talent (ie: Jordan Spieth), but it’s one if done right will build the next generation of loyalists.