Dick's Sporting Goods purchase of Golfsmith

[Shallowface]

Dick's Sporting Goods purchase of Golfsmith means that they now have the rights to the MacGregor name in the USA.

 

Earlier this year they purchased the Intellectual Property of The Sports Authority, which gives them the Tommy Armour name.

 

So, for the first time since 1967, it is possible to manufacture and sell a golf club that says both MacGregor and Tommy Armour on the same clubhead.

 

The mind boggles, although that is normal for me.

[LeoLeo99]

Dick's Sporting Goods purchase of Golfsmith means that they now have the rights to the MacGregor name in the USA.

 

Earlier this year they purchased the Intellectual Property of The Sports Authority, which gives them the Tommy Armour name.

 

So, for the first time since 1967, it is possible to manufacture and sell a golf club that says both MacGregor and Tommy Armour on the same clubhead.

 

The mind boggles, although that is normal for me.

 

Would you want them to find a foundry in Japan and reissue a classic iron from the 60s? Cool idea but I don't think it would see that well.

[Shallowface]

Dick's Sporting Goods purchase of Golfsmith means that they now have the rights to the MacGregor name in the USA.

 

Earlier this year they purchased the Intellectual Property of The Sports Authority, which gives them the Tommy Armour name.

 

So, for the first time since 1967, it is possible to manufacture and sell a golf club that says both MacGregor and Tommy Armour on the same clubhead.

 

The mind boggles, although that is normal for me.

 

Would you want them to find a foundry in Japan and reissue a classic iron from the 60s? Cool idea but I don't think it would see that well.

 

No, not exactly. If anything, more along the line of what's been done with the Ben Hogan revival, a modern club with classic styling and a classic name. And hopefully at an affordable price.

 

I have no idea how something like that would sell, but I will never understand why everything today (and especially golf equipment) is marketed toward the young and the broke. It's the demographic in this section of GolfWRX that's actually playing and supporting the game, and the fact is one of the major reasons we opt to play clubs we find in thrift stores is because we hate the looks of the toys marketed to the kids.

 

We're the people that have the money to buy equipment and the time to use it. Make something we want to buy.

[scomac2002]

It's all about easy; that's what sells today. If you can convince them that it's easy, they will buy into the tricked out looks. I've seen it over and over again! Cleveland tried to sell classic looking clubs (with easy features), but that didn't really sell as well as white drivers, adjustable heads and slots. Maybe it's as much about our demographic chasing it's diminishing sense of youth as anything else. They don't necessarily want something to remind them of their youth, but rather something that might allow then to extend their youth.

[super20dan]

they still want what they see on tv. white drivers and putters showed up on tv better so thats what sold ..... for a while at least

[Shallowface]

If what the industry is and has been doing was working, the industry wouldn't be in the toilet and Golfsmith would still be an independent entity.

[scomac2002]

If what the industry is and has been doing was working, the industry wouldn't be in the toilet and Golfsmith would still be an independent entity.

 

Yes, but that is independent of what the product looks like. They weren't going to sell anymore by changing cosmetics. Changing golf clubs every year or two just doesn't register with the vast majority of recreational players period. You add in declining player numbers with an over developed and over supplied market and you have what we've got. That's what's not working.

 

FWIW I was in Golftown today just checking things out to see what it looked like. The store had been reorganized with a lot less product on hand. There was a corner for clearance items and a handful of displays with marginally discounted items. The rest of the store was full retail for everything most notably balls. Granted, it was a Monday afternoon, but the place was empty. I was the only customer and I was just kicking tires. Staff consisted of about four which was half the previous number. It was just a skeleton operation of what it used to be where there always used to be deals.

[Shallowface]

If what the industry is and has been doing was working, the industry wouldn't be in the toilet and Golfsmith would still be an independent entity.

 

Yes, but that is independent of what the product looks like. They weren't going to sell anymore by changing cosmetics.

 

I can only speak for myself, and I wouldn't have most of what I see in today's golf shop and that is because of cosmetics. If they marketed to customers who are actually playing the game (103 rounds this year and counting) and can afford to buy the gear, maybe they would sell more.

I never thought I would see the day when the cleanest looking equipment in the shop comes from Ping.

It is amazing to me to visit the other sections of this board and read about clubs that were supposed to be advancements and turned out to be inferior to previous models and sometimes significantly so. It's no wonder there's no one in the shop. At some point, the customer realizes he's been okey doked.

"You just won 1st prize, a $1,000 (enter name of golf shop here) shopping spree! 2nd prize is a $2,000 shopping spree."

[scomac2002]

 

I can only speak for myself, and I wouldn't have most of what I see in today's golf shop and that is because of cosmetics. If they marketed to customers who are actually playing the game (103 rounds this year and counting) and can afford to buy the gear, maybe they would sell more.

 

Perhaps, but then again, you would think that small niche type firms who offered products of that ilk would have been successful. I certainly didn't work for Scratch Golf and it remains to be seen how this works out for the latest iteration of Hogan product.

 

If cosmetics are really the determining factor for the average mature player with means there are venues to get that type of product be it Miura or other similar suppliers. I tend to be of the mind that playability is the first consideration followed closely by price. If the product works and is at a price point that the potential customer deems it to offer value, then cosmetics become a much more minor concern. It has been often said that you learn to love the look of something that works well and lasts which is essentially the mission statement of Ping. They've converted a lot of people over the years!

 

It is amazing to me to visit the other sections of this board and read about clubs that were supposed to be advancements and turned out to be inferior to previous models and sometimes significantly so. It's no wonder there's no one in the shop. At some point, the customer realizes he's been okey doked.

 

I agree. Not all that glitters is gold. There is a limit to what can be done with the restrictions that are in place and just because something works on paper there's no guarantee that it will work as advertised in the hands of a typical recreational player. I think a lot of what we see today is geared more towards the advanced player and can actually be a negative for those of more modest skillsets. That's probably always been an issue, but in past times pro type clubs weren't being actively marketed to the masses.

 

I think that by and large the problems with the equipment industry today are two fold. First is the insistence upon introducing new models annually or oftener just because development cycles have been shortened with technology. There's a cost to that particularly when it involves heavy discounting of outgoing models on an ongoing basis. The second is the cost of the marketing programs not just in advertising, but in pay to play contracts and the like. It's the era we live in, but does it really matter what club Rory or DJ or whomever is playing when I'm a 60 year old golfer looking for a driver that I can hit consistently in the fairway or a fairway club that I can elevate easily and consistently? That's really the great con, isn't it?

[HoganApexBlades]

Dick's Sporting Goods purchase of Golfsmith means that they now have the rights to the MacGregor name in the USA.

 

Earlier this year they purchased the Intellectual Property of The Sports Authority, which gives them the Tommy Armour name.

 

So, for the first time since 1967, it is possible to manufacture and sell a golf club that says both MacGregor and Tommy Armour on the same clubhead.

 

The mind boggles, although that is normal for me.

 

I don't think I want to see a 460cc titanium headed driver with a 45"+ lightweight Graphite shaft that says "Tommy Armour" in cursive on the crown with a 945/693/653 stamp and a faux eye-o-matic insert unless it is also stamped "T.F.A." instead of "L.F.F.".

[Blade Junkie]

Dick's Sporting Goods purchase of Golfsmith means that they now have the rights to the MacGregor name in the USA.

 

Earlier this year they purchased the Intellectual Property of The Sports Authority, which gives them the Tommy Armour name.

 

So, for the first time since 1967, it is possible to manufacture and sell a golf club that says both MacGregor and Tommy Armour on the same clubhead.

 

The mind boggles, although that is normal for me.

 

I don't think I want to see a 460cc titanium headed driver with a 45"+ lightweight Graphite shaft that says "Tommy Armour" in cursive on the crown with a 945/693/653 stamp and a faux eye-o-matic insert unless it is also stamped "T.F.A." instead of "L.F.F.".

 

The 460cc "B.F.H" ?

[augustgolf]

Dick's Sporting Goods purchase of Golfsmith means that they now have the rights to the MacGregor name in the USA.

 

Earlier this year they purchased the Intellectual Property of The Sports Authority, which gives them the Tommy Armour name.

 

So, for the first time since 1967, it is possible to manufacture and sell a golf club that says both MacGregor and Tommy Armour on the same clubhead.

 

The mind boggles, although that is normal for me.

 

Would you want them to find a foundry in Japan and reissue a classic iron from the 60s? Cool idea but I don't think it would see that well.

 

Why wouldn't it sell well? Here, on this site, you have people everyday expounding about how much money they pay for a Miura head.

 

Since the actual design of the club head really hasn't changed that much in a good forging....I could easily see someone making a club equivalent to the MacGregor Tourney Custom irons that every great player in the 70's played. The real key is finding the proper material for the metal to "feel" right, and having someone with the knowledge and ability to grind the clubs the way that they should be done....a lost art, if you ask me.

 

I think that DSG would do great with this idea! Since people seem to have zero problem throwing over $2500 at a set of PXG irons, and there is a definite niche for players' forged irons...Dick's could utilize the names that they now "own" and, IMHO, do quite well with it. Maybe they don't truly realize what they have....and, maybe the do. Time will tell.

[Shallowface]

Dick's Sporting Goods purchase of Golfsmith means that they now have the rights to the MacGregor name in the USA.

 

Earlier this year they purchased the Intellectual Property of The Sports Authority, which gives them the Tommy Armour name.

 

So, for the first time since 1967, it is possible to manufacture and sell a golf club that says both MacGregor and Tommy Armour on the same clubhead.

 

The mind boggles, although that is normal for me.

 

Would you want them to find a foundry in Japan and reissue a classic iron from the 60s? Cool idea but I don't think it would see that well.

 

Why wouldn't it sell well? Here, on this site, you have people everyday expounding about how much money they pay for a Miura head.

 

Since the actual design of the club head really hasn't changed that much in a good forging....I could easily see someone making a club equivalent to the MacGregor Tourney Custom irons that every great player in the 70's played. The real key is finding the proper material for the metal to "feel" right, and having someone with the knowledge and ability to grind the clubs the way that they should be done....a lost art, if you ask me.

 

I think that DSG would do great with this idea! Since people seem to have zero problem throwing over $2500 at a set of PXG irons, and there is a definite niche for players' forged irons...Dick's could utilize the names that they now "own" and, IMHO, do quite well with it. Maybe they don't truly realize what they have....and, maybe the do. Time will tell.

 

Don't forget that Dick's owns The Golfworks as well, so they have people who are well versed in design of clubheads and working with foundries.

[Fellaheen51]

And does one think that Dick's (or any big box retailer) has enough marketing savvy to rebuild a fully devalued product name? MacGregor, Tommy Armour, Ram, etc. have become synonymous with basic, cheap, department store golf clubs. What would be the point. When the major OEM's do all the marketing for them. These once proud names have no standing in today's equipment landscape. The "new" Ben Hogan clubs were available last year at a major. independent LGS in this area. This year, gone. Why? They didn't sell. Sadly, just names from the foggy past that no longer have any equivalency to what they once were nor any cache with the golf equipment buying public. I'm having a difficult time thinking there's much room left in a diminishing marketplace for another another over-priced, high end, niche market manufacturer.

 

In total, a rather bleak state of affairs for those involved in the golf business. The demographics are miserable for any change in the situation moving forward. Look about. There are casualties everywhere. And I shed not one tear over this. The equipment side has been based on false premises for a long time now. That this year's model is "Boeing" designed and so much better than anything that preceding is simply marketing jive. Give me a break. Perpetrating the myth that one could buy a game. All it takes is deep enough pockets. And this year's model. The public can only be lied to for so long, eventually they figure out the ruse. And no longer furnish the demand necessary to support the supply. A failed business model.

 

I should be an ideal candidate for new golf equipment. Adequate amount of disposal income, passionate (within reason) about playing. Consider golf equipment to be an intrinsic part of the overall enjoyment I realize playing at golf. And I'll never buy new golf equipment again. For I have discovered that it really doesn't make all that much difference. Given my modest abilities. An old(er) driver that I have researched as being a best of breed in its time performs just as well as a new $500.00 one. Score is not significantly impacted one way or another by an iron set that may be approaching 20+ years of age vs. a set that is substantially newer. With the caveat that certain specs need to be addressed to make them playable according to my preferences and capabilities. Will I putt any better with a $400.00 SC than a Zing 2? Probably not. Plus being out the money to find out. But I remain constantly intrigued by golf stuff, unfortunately that does not include 98% of what the manufacturers are making and the retailers are attempting to sell me. A driver that is white, irons that are colored lime green, drivers that can adjusted 18 ways, have no cache with me. In fact, I have an entirely adverse reaction to all of it.

 

But what do I know about such matters. Spent 25 years of my life with only one set of clubs and barely played the game Now find more "poser" pleasure rolling up to the first tee with a bag of nearly 20 year old Hogans, old metals or woods that I can hit reasonably well, a non-conforming SW and old Ping putter that I found for $5. Now that's something really different compared to shiny new things.

 

The ONLY thing that matters on a given day at the course, how well do I properly swing the golf club to affectively strike a golf ball.

[northplatteriver]

And does one think that Dick's (or any big box retailer) has enough marketing savvy to rebuild a fully devalued product name? MacGregor, Tommy Armour, Ram, etc. have become synonymous with basic, cheap, department store golf clubs. What would be the point. When the major OEM's do all the marketing for them. These once proud names have no standing in today's equipment landscape. The "new" Ben Hogan clubs were available last year at a major. independent LGS in this area. This year, gone. Why? They didn't sell. Sadly, just names from the foggy past that no longer have any equivalency to what they once were nor any cache with the golf equipment buying public. I'm having a difficult time thinking there's much room left in a diminishing marketplace for another another over-priced, high end, niche market manufacturer.

 

In total, a rather bleak state of affairs for those involved in the golf business. The demographics are miserable for any change in the situation moving forward. Look about. There are casualties everywhere. And I shed not one tear over this. The equipment side has been based on false premises for a long time now. That this year's model is "Boeing" designed and so much better than anything that preceding is simply marketing jive. Give me a break. Perpetrating the myth that one could buy a game. All it takes is deep enough pockets. And this year's model. The public can only be lied to for so long, eventually they figure out the ruse. And no longer furnish the demand necessary to support the supply. A failed business model.

 

I should be an ideal candidate for new golf equipment. Adequate amount of disposal income, passionate (within reason) about playing. Consider golf equipment to be an intrinsic part of the overall enjoyment I realize playing at golf. And I'll never buy new golf equipment again. For I have discovered that it really doesn't make all that much difference. Given my modest abilities. An old(er) driver that I have researched as being a best of breed in its time performs just as well as a new $500.00 one. Score is not significantly impacted one way or another by an iron set that may be approaching 20+ years of age vs. a set that is substantially newer. With the caveat that certain specs need to be addressed to make them playable according to my preferences and capabilities. Will I putt any better with a $400.00 SC than a Zing 2? Probably not. Plus being out the money to find out. But I remain constantly intrigued by golf stuff, unfortunately that does not include 98% of what the manufacturers are making and the retailers are attempting to sell me. A driver that is white, irons that are colored lime green, drivers that can adjusted 18 ways, have no cache with me. In fact, I have an entirely adverse reaction to all of it.

 

But what do I know about such matters. Spent 25 years of my life with only one set of clubs and barely played the game Now find more "poser" pleasure rolling up to the first tee with a bag of nearly 20 year old Hogans, old metals or woods that I can hit reasonably well, a non-conforming SW and old Ping putter that I found for $5. Now that's something really different compared to shiny new things.

 

The ONLY thing that matters on a given day at the course, how well do I properly swing the golf club to affectively strike a golf ball.

Amen. I am actually more interested in finding good condition or NOS condition vintage Hogans than in purchasing or playing the new ones. I would be more likely to have my full set re-chromed before going out and purchasing a new set. I should probably go and hit some of those new Hogans just to see how they feel, but something tells me it is not going to make much of a difference. It always comes down to the old archer not the arrow thing for me.

[Hoganite65]

The only really new things in golf equipment that are coming out is the snappy tag lines Ad executives are tossing to Jon Q Public. Other than the ball nothing really has changed all that much. Casting, Forging etc.. Look at a 2016 forged blade then look at a 1960's and tell me there is a significant difference. $200 a head for Miura, those are the marketing guys I want working for me. Its like all the hype over Honda or Toyota, Hell if the Buick salesman in the 70's and 80's would have preached oil changes and doing your maintenance on a regular schedule as much as the import guys we wouldn't have the Myth of a better product coming off the boats. I love the classic irons and woods, I have putted with a Wilson 8802 or copy of since I started playing in 1972 and every time I try someones new 300 dollar ZORCH platinum plated dynamic space putter I giggle and take the skins with 40+ year old iron. Would Love to see 1 year of no pay to play equipment on the tour to see what they would really use, Does everyone remmy Greg Norman's Mac-Cobras? lol. Ok ranting posting a few adds from a better era for people to smile over.

[HoganApexBlades]

The only really new things in golf equipment that are coming out is the snappy tag lines Ad executives are tossing to Jon Q Public. Other than the ball nothing really has changed all that much. Casting, Forging etc.. Look at a 2016 forged blade then look at a 1960's and tell me there is a significant difference. $200 a head for Miura, those are the marketing guys I want working for me. Its like all the hype over Honda or Toyota, Hell if the Buick salesman in the 70's and 80's would have preached oil changes and doing your maintenance on a regular schedule as much as the import guys we wouldn't have the Myth of a better product coming off the boats. I love the classic irons and woods, I have putted with a Wilson 8802 or copy of since I started playing in 1972 and every time I try someones new 300 dollar ZORCH platinum plated dynamic space putter I giggle and take the skins with 40+ year old iron. Would Love to see 1 year of no pay to play equipment on the tour to see what they would really use, Does everyone remmy Greg Norman's Mac-Cobras? lol. Ok ranting posting a few adds from a better era for people to smile over.

 

What a bunch of marketing BS! Jack never played Keysite woods. After he cracked his beloved '59 MAC TA SS1 driver, he used a '54 MAC TA 945 EOM driver until he went metal. He also used '59 MAC TA SS1 irons until late '66/early '67 when he started playing the MAC VIP by_Nicklaus blades. I guess MacGregor lied in order to move product over 50 years ago just like the OEM's are doing nowadays with their over-inflated distance claims.

[Hoganite65]

I took the adds as Play MacGregor Jack does.... :stink:

[jonnygrouville]

Bright blue driver blue-toothed to my 'phone that posts on Facebook every time I find the sweetspot, swingweight of B4, haven't hit a fairway since March LOL!!! My six iron has twenty degrees of loft and I carry it 310, five hour rounds, custom headcover Scotty Cameron, bling-bling on eBay, passive brag on GolfWRX, Miura on Instagram, shoot 98.

 

 

[mocokid]

Bright blue driver blue-toothed to my 'phone that posts on Facebook every time I find the sweetspot, swingweight of B4, haven't hit a fairway since March LOL!!! My six iron has twenty degrees of loft and I carry it 310, five hour rounds, custom headcover Scotty Cameron, bling-bling on eBay, passive brag on GolfWRX, Miura on Instagram, shoot 98.

 

and a flat brim hat, yo yo yo !!!

[Par-net-birdie]

Good lord , blue tooth driver would probably sell a ton

I think you missed the boat with the Wilson driver challenge

In testing at Tahoe it would've had a carry of 350 with a hold off fade

Nice post dude - made me chuckle

[jonnygrouville]

Good point Mocokid. Forgot to mention that I dress like I am on the way to the X-Games, but father would be livid if I bought a motorcycle.