Interesting Golfweek article on equipment deals on tour

[webber]

In last weeks Golfweek with Morgan Pressel on the cover there is a great article about the PGA Tour and the money these guys are making from companies like TM/Adidas, Callaway, Titleist, etc......it made me sick after thinking about Sunday at the Masters. I really think companies like Ping and Cleveland have it right by scaling back their tour staff. I am so sick of these pre madonna palyers like Sergio and Appleby making all this money by essentially being just above average. In all reality these guys will never win majors, just a handful of tour events. Companies are not getting a return on these players, and don't bash me, just look at an Adidas annual report! Taylor Made makes no money but sells a lot of drivers at very high prices to people like me and you. Golf is getting ridiculous, I paid $85 to play an average country club this weekend in San Diego. What is the world coming to? Sure, I'd love to pay $799 for a TP driver so you can pay some a****** like Garcia to spit in the hole! They have already built too many golf courses and the game is not growing at all, but hey pay Jim Furyk $10 million! That way I can pay $179.99 for Adidas 360 shoes! (He gets $90g's from Adidas)

[poty06]

do you have a link to the article?

[phillypete]

If you don't like it, play components

[golfernut78]

appleby??? a pre-madona???? spoiled???? he has a contract with bridgestone - a very small staff - and while has faltered in some majors is a pga tour winner and typically find his name on the upper quarter on the sunday leaderboard.

[smarshal75]

I agree with the general concept of your post...that is I think your trying to say that we (golfers) pay excessive prices for equipment to simply cover marketing costs (flashy prints ads, TV spots, tour staff, and so forth). Really nothing you can do about this fact (true with most goods), other than not buy new retail. I for one am a total scavenger...when I want to try a new club I troll the BST. Nothing beats getting a barely used club at a fraction of retail price.

[jlww3]

I think this goes to a bigger issue in America about how everyone wants to complain and no one wants to sacrifice to make things different. If you don't like the way a company does business don't use their products and services. All these companies care about is money so take that away from them if you want to do something other then complain. And it's not like 360 Tours are the only golf shoes out there. They're not even the only Adidas.

 

jlww3

[Joef2004]

LOL you must be bored tonight going from site to site to post your complaints about a free market..Nobody forces you to buy the product. Seems like an awful lot of sweat for you to get worked up over something that you cant do anything about. It is called AMERICA If someone is willing to pay the players, why shouldnt they take the cash, Whether you like it or not. Those players must sell products or else I have a hard time beliveing OEM`s just give away money! :rolleyes:

[scs1070]

I do agree that a lot of these players who are marketed to us as "elite" level player, really don't live up to the billing. I look at the current crop of player in the same light as the NBA. In the 80's and 90's both the PGA and NBA had a lot of "great" players...hall of fame players. Today there are a lot more "good" pkayers.....but very few top level guys. But since Tiger has brough so much money into the game, all of these manufactures are throwing a ton of maoney are some average players becuase someone has to win the 30 events that Tiger dosent' tee it up in.

[SadTrombone]

It's "prima donna".

 

-mini

[SPY ZINGER]

So, you are telling me, it's not before Madonna? :rolleyes:

[dac]

So, you are telling me, it's not before Madonna? :rolleyes:

 

everyone knows everything golf related was cheaper before madonna. "it's a material world." :P

[Milo]

Was waiting for the virgin joke. Thank God the Madonna moment has passed.

[sergizmo]

Some prices are ridiculous. Like drivers. Right now back up to $400-$500 after dropping for a bit. They are made in China by kids who make something like $.75 an hour. So why are they that expensive again?

 

And Sergio is overpaid. He is not a top player. He will never in a million years win a major. FACT. Come to think of it, TM's whole tour marketing strategy is pretty weak. "We sponsor lots and lots of players. They hardly ever win, but that doesn't matter." And people fall for it.

 

I can understand some of your anger. It doesn't apply to just golf, but a lot of things in general right now. The product doesn't seem to matter anymore, only how it's sold. Don't sell the steak sell the sizzle.

[Golfchicago]

Tyler, I share your frustrations but unfortunately it is all about business. Taylor Made has a business model that made the one of the leaders in the golf industry. I like what Stephon Marbury did in the basketball world. The affordable sneaker for every kid has a huge ramifications. Hopefully it will stop some killings. Wait how did I get off on this tangent. I don't think anyone on this board would kill someone for tour equipment, right!!! Maybe some OEM will step up and follow Stephon's business model!

[DemolitionMan]

Just a little FYI to add to the discussion so that perhaps the perspective can be broadened. It's not just a simple, pay a player $90K to wear shoes and hope a GolfWRX member is tricked into buying a pair because he/she loves Jim Furyk. As a major OEM, and as a major manufacturer of any product that is sold to mass consumers, you have to advertise. And in this world of short attention spans and diversity in entertainment, you have to not only be creative in your advertising, but more importantly you have to find numerous ways to get your brand out there. It's not about a direct relationship between Sergio's performance and you buying his driver. It's about Sergio's popularity and how many times he is on TV or anywhere else in the media.

 

You can be sure that among the major OEMs they have employed consultants or have internal staff who understand the value of exposure as it applies to number of impressions and how much to pay for it. Sergio may not ever win a major, he has golf issues, but there is no denying his popularity. And for the amount of coverage he gets, TM is willing to pay $millions.

 

Probably for a brief moment some guy in a meeting brought up the idea that the company could cut a lot of contracts, save a ton of money, and pass the savings to consumers through lower prices and in the long run make more money through increased sales. The guy at TM who came up with this, if he still works there, is the guy who can make anyone's eyes roll in a meeting, all he has to do is open his mouth. He's laughed at for being out of touch and not part of the culture. The guy who came up with this at Cleveland is in upper management. Do I even need to ask which company is doing better?

 

The reality of the industry is the big players are not going to give up on this formula, it's not worth the risk. It's the middle tier OEMs that are doing the most complaining about this because they cannot afford it. They cannot even afford the research to better target their advertising, instead they let the big OEMs set the prices, and they go along with it complaining the whole way. It's an unfair world I suppose, or you can quit wasting time complaining about it and make some money. You have to be a big OEM or have something really special to set a new tone in the industry.

 

Take a look around and see what is happening in your golf community and then think about how the industry is at work. Take Scotty Cameron putters for example. They are expensive, no doubt, suggested retail is around $299. Play golf at a nice private club and count how many Camerons you see in bags. Now go to a $50 or less daily fee course. Two things you should notice - a lot more golfers and a lot less Camerons. Point being, the golf industry is not going to hell because Cameron sells $300 putters, TM sells drivers for $700 and Adidas sells shoes for almost $200. The money crowds can afford this, are willing to pay, and TM has a market. The majority of golfers have other options that cost a lot less and it does not hurt their score one bit. Lot of birdies being made at the the daily fee course by the guys in jeans using clubs that most of the snobs here do not even recognize.

[RagingAardvark]

I don't buy my products based on who plays them, not in golf, not in cycling, not in rock climbing, etc etc. That's what the companies are trying to influence by the sponsorship of big athletes. I am far more likely to buy product from a company that sponsors smaller, different programs (such as ClifBar which sponsors the little developmental cycling team I coach). I don't buy their stuff because of the big athletes they sponsor. I bought my current road bike from a local builder who sponsored a couple of my buddies when they formed their first pro team. I buy beer from the brewery whose owner I know (and coach his kids).

 

As far as golf goes, if you think the prices are too high there are plenty of ways around it. Who says you have to buy a $500 driver? Wait 6 months after it comes out and the price is already coming down. I'm building my new 3wood from components and it'll run me under $100 new and that's WITH the after-market shaft that works really well for me! You don't have to be a slave to the market, with a few minor tweaks you can get out of it very easily. :rolleyes:

[Grimace45]

I agree with the general concept of your post...that is I think your trying to say that we (golfers) pay excessive prices for equipment to simply cover marketing costs (flashy prints ads, TV spots, tour staff, and so forth). Really nothing you can do about this fact (true with most goods), other than not buy new retail. I for one am a total scavenger...when I want to try a new club I troll the BST. Nothing beats getting a barely used club at a fraction of retail price.

 

Amen. Look at my signature, it was a bag built with the equipment I wanted at a fraction of the cost since I got it all used. It is not a flashy or sexy bag but it all works well for me. I am interested in what the pros are playing, but it does not influence what I put in the bag in the least.