Endorsements: Are you Swayed?

[MidwestGolfBum]

I play the specific clubs that I do because of the people I know and the deals that I'm able to get on them through those relationships. Given how long I have been playing almost exclusively Titleist equipment, if they were to change brands, it would be hard to change for me at this point due to the stockpile of shafts and extras that I have now piled up.

 

As far as clothing goes, I wear what fits me the best while retaining some sense of style so I can also wear those clothes off the course too.

 

Does the fact that I see the clothing brands constantly when watching events help me to take a look at them here and there? Sure, but I tend to go back to what I know fits and lasts me vs hoping that another brand will be as good or better. Here and there I find something that I really like when looking, but for as often as that happens, they aren't going to be paying the athletes because of me.

 

As far as the other sponsorships go and since it has been brought up, KPMG is a household name when you get to the point that you need the big four. Before that, you probably have no reason to know, nor should you really care a lot about, who KPMG is. Rolex is an example that I have pointed out to friends and family as well, as they are typically already a very well known brand. Just because a bunch of golfers wear a rolex/tag/omega doesn't make me want one any more or less. A watch like that needs to be seen as an investment and purchasing the "right" one will generally lead to appreciation if taken care of properly.

[smeech8000]

I was on Callaway staff when I worked in the industry - I am partial to their irons and likely always will be as a result. Never really liked how the woods set up, so I'm pretty loyal to Titleist in that department.

 

Taylor Made will never occupy any slot in my equipment because of how much product they release and difficulty to deal with as a green-grass shop.

 

Soft goods-wise I like the look and fit of Nike, plus had a great experience with them (their sales reps were awesome) when I was working. I still wear most of the pants even today, now 10 years later - quality stuff!

[johnseg]

I think most are influenced by marketing on some level. ProV1 the #1 ball in golf. That comes from somewhere. The fact that I can amass dozens from the rough throughout the season tells me that it works. Scotty Cameron is another business great at marketing. Switching gears Apple is probably better at this than anybody. They announce new features that I have had for years in another platform.

 

I am a second hander for clubs. I just don't see any value in a $400 driver that I can have for a 1/3 of the price next year. I do know that I am always looking at the "name" companies. I'm not out looking for clones.

[Tcann32]

Well, Nike pays me as much money as they Pay Rors to wear their gear, so yeah.

 

The only difference: It looks like Beef trying to wear the exact shirt that Ror's is wearing.. ;). (I'm in better shape than that, but you get the idea).

 

The tongue in cheek statement was my attempt at humor, in saying no, it doesn't matter. I didn't use Tax Slayer to do my taxes this year, I didn't use KPMG to try and enhance my vertical (that's what that brand phil wears does, right? ;) ).

 

I might see something that a pro wears that I like, and then I see if I can find it, but I take no solace in wearing the same shirt, shorts, shoes, under wear, etc. as anyone who makes more money than I do. Maybe I'm nicer than them. Maybe they buy some new balance cause I'm a nice guy, and they should be a nice guy too. lol just kidding.

 

Honestly, endorsements drive me crazy. When I worked as a manager for GNC, there would always be someone famous that would endorse products, and masses of people would come in for them, and it would just make me livid. Sometimes i would just be mad because it's an easy way to prey on people who don't know any better.. " Well, it Mark Wahlberg says he takes this and look at him. He's huge." Me: "It's literally one of the lowest quality products in this store, speaking from actual knowledge of the ingredients in there." Them: "Well whatever man, I wanna be Marky Mark."

 

Or my personal favorite: Oprah. Oprah would endorse something for weight loss and people would go insane. We would need shipments of the stuff every day, and we were a high volume store, so we had a lot of people as it is. I just didn't understand it. Oprah? You want to take weight loss advice... from... OPRAH? She weighs 100lbs more than you. Does it look like it works? Maybe you should sell her some of whatever you eat all the time.

 

 

Anyways, sorry for the rant Sean. No, endorsements don't do anything for me. Putting a product infront of my face that I think looks cool, yeah, that works, because then I know it exists, but as far as which professionals use what.. no. Doesn't make a lick of difference. I have a friend that asks me to find clubs for him, and then always asks if any tour pro's play them. I don't understand it. There is literally no correlation between quality and who uses what. It's all about the money, and what personally fits their taste, swing, game, etc.

[playa]

Not swayed by what pros wear, but can find myself drooling over some of the equipment I see in tournaments.

[The Chicken Connoisseur]

Not at all.

 

The only time I look to see if pros might be using something is if I am interested in a certain training aid

[dan360]

Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.

 

 

[The Chicken Connoisseur]

I think most are influenced by marketing on some level. ProV1 the #1 ball in golf. That comes from somewhere. The fact that I can amass dozens from the rough throughout the season tells me that it works. Scotty Cameron is another business great at marketing. Switching gears Apple is probably better at this than anybody. They announce new features that I have had for years in another platform.

 

I am a second hander for clubs. I just don't see any value in a $400 driver that I can have for a 1/3 of the price next year. I do know that I am always looking at the "name" companies. I'm not out looking for clones.

 

Yeah, but most people aren't WRX'ers who do research on everything and are very knowledgeable on gear

[xflex]

No. I prefer brands that i find that either make a superior product - or provide good value.

 

That being said there are also some brands that you can find for dirt cheap if you know where to look - ashworth for example.

 

Usually the brands that spend the most money on endorsements spend the least money on product quality and quality control.

[the bishop]

On the one hand no, but on the other I have no explanation for why I have owned 2 of everything ever made.

[Sean2]

If anything, I'd say I pay more attention to the lack of endorsements. If players are playing something that's not part of their contract, I'd say that speaks a lot louder than what they're paid to play.

 

That's a good point.

[Sean2]

For clubs I would say I'm not tremendously swayed by what a pro might play. Clothing however, I think I'm a little more swayed by. If I see something a pro is wearing on TV and I like the look, or the color combinations, I think that gets logged into the memory banks for the next time I'm in the pro shop buying.

 

Yes, but you are not buying it because a pro is wearing it but because you like the look/color.

[Sean2]

A counterpoint to Air Jordan is TW golf shoes. Not being a cognoscenti, I guess Air Jordans are a good basketball shoe, and have considerable cachet with kids who care about the latest and greatest. I don't know anyone who owns a pair of TW's, and where I play, Ecco's are the upper end shoe of choice. Phil and KPMG is different, those who need one of the big four know KPMG. They pay Phil to do meet and greet events and corporate outings with major players in that atmosphere.

 

I have a couple of pair of Ecco's. Great shoes.

 

I purchased a pair of TW's a few years ago...the dressy kind...they were 70% off, and I wanted a nice pair of dressy golf shoes.

[Sean2]

Well, Nike pays me as much money as they Pay Rors to wear their gear, so yeah.

 

The only difference: It looks like Beef trying to wear the exact shirt that Ror's is wearing.. ;). (I'm in better shape than that, but you get the idea).

 

The tongue in cheek statement was my attempt at humor, in saying no, it doesn't matter. I didn't use Tax Slayer to do my taxes this year, I didn't use KPMG to try and enhance my vertical (that's what that brand phil wears does, right? ;) ).

 

I might see something that a pro wears that I like, and then I see if I can find it, but I take no solace in wearing the same shirt, shorts, shoes, under wear, etc. as anyone who makes more money than I do. Maybe I'm nicer than them. Maybe they buy some new balance cause I'm a nice guy, and they should be a nice guy too. lol just kidding.

 

Honestly, endorsements drive me crazy. When I worked as a manager for GNC, there would always be someone famous that would endorse products, and masses of people would come in for them, and it would just make me livid. Sometimes i would just be mad because it's an easy way to prey on people who don't know any better.. " Well, it Mark Wahlberg says he takes this and look at him. He's huge." Me: "It's literally one of the lowest quality products in this store, speaking from actual knowledge of the ingredients in there." Them: "Well whatever man, I wanna be Marky Mark."

 

Or my personal favorite: Oprah. Oprah would endorse something for weight loss and people would go insane. We would need shipments of the stuff every day, and we were a high volume store, so we had a lot of people as it is. I just didn't understand it. Oprah? You want to take weight loss advice... from... OPRAH? She weighs 100lbs more than you. Does it look like it works? Maybe you should sell her some of whatever you eat all the time.

 

 

Anyways, sorry for the rant Sean. No, endorsements don't do anything for me. Putting a product infront of my face that I think looks cool, yeah, that works, because then I know it exists, but as far as which professionals use what.. no. Doesn't make a lick of difference. I have a friend that asks me to find clubs for him, and then always asks if any tour pro's play them. I don't understand it. There is literally no correlation between quality and who uses what. It's all about the money, and what personally fits their taste, swing, game, etc.

 

Good rant. I happen to agree with you. But, as PT Barnum said, there is a sucker born every minute. It just goes to show that we haven't changed all that much.

 

Not swayed by what pros wear, but can find myself drooling over some of the equipment I see in tournaments.

 

No doubt about that. I love the look of those Callaway MB1's. :-)

 

Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.

 

Good one!

 

On the one hand no, but on the other I have no explanation for why I have owned 2 of everything ever made.

 

You are like the modern day Noah. :-)

[Guia]

No, I don't pay attention to endorsements. The reason is that a Pro is much better than I, and also has all of his equipment tweaked. The clubs you buy off the rack in no way simulate what the pro plays.

[youraway2]

Nope, try to dress good but spend reasonable for me. I purchased many expensive shirts at TJ Max or Marshall's and the UA outlet has been good. For equipment, I play old irons and frequently waste money on drivers. I'll try a new driver and then within a couple of rounds return to my faithful one. However I can say my driver purchases are not driven by endorsements or excessive marketing. It's usually because another golfer is hitting it way past me, which occurs every day, and I try what they have.

[dkimbooo]

I'm swayed by what the pros wear. Some visuals fit my style better. Not so much with gear, unless it's something that I know is not contractually required. Even then my swing is so different, I always test first.

[Conrad1953]

After you've been a WRXer for awhile you realize how your life has

changed....and you know more about golf gear than the people who

make it. You also know more about the swing than any teacher.

 

You become like this giant fount of golf intelligence.

 

Marketing?..............seriously?

[Bunker2Bunker0no]

As a career sales/marketing schill, I guess I should be reluctant to say that endorsements and celebrity endorsers rarely have any effect on my purchasing habits, but it's certainly true when it comes to my golf equipment. Like the vast majority of this community, we wouldn't be membes here if we were just a casual/occasional golfer, so I would agree that most of us are impervious to who the OEMs sign to play the latest and greatest each year. But unlike us, I think that the majority of new or casual golfers certainly are influenced by what they see certain professional players playing/wearing. As mentioned in earlier posts, look no further than the Rickie effect on kids that we see in the crowds during tournament coverage. And I am all in for anything that helps grow the game, especially bringing kids into our game right now. I certainly couldn't pull off the all orange ensemble tipped off with a flat bill but I certainly smile when I see a Jr golfer out on the course decked out like their hero. Not only can I not pull it off, I couldn't pull them up, don't think Puma makes 42 pants and XXXL shirts but I think I may have just given myself next year's Halloween costume idea. If I can talk the family "tailor" into bringing more orange fabric together than a certain Knoxville stadium on a fall Sat afternoon....as a Hokie, I can't even make myself type the name of that place. Now pardon me, while I go shopping for that sweatshirt coach Fuente was wearing during the bowl game.....

[Sean2]

After you've been a WRXer for awhile you realize how your life has

changed....and you know more about golf gear than the people who

make it. You also know more about the swing than any teacher.

 

You become like this giant fount of golf intelligence.

 

Marketing?..............seriously?

 

There is a lot of truth to this. I have learned a tremendous amount about golf equipment on this forum.

[Sean2]

As a career sales/marketing schill, I guess I should be reluctant to say that endorsements and celebrity endorsers rarely have any effect on my purchasing habits, but it's certainly true when it comes to my golf equipment. Like the vast majority of this community, we wouldn't be membes here if we were just a casual/occasional golfer, so I would agree that most of us are impervious to who the OEMs sign to play the latest and greatest each year. But unlike us, I think that the majority of new or casual golfers certainly are influenced by what they see certain professional players playing/wearing. As mentioned in earlier posts, look no further than the Rickie effect on kids that we see in the crowds during tournament coverage. And I am all in for anything that helps grow the game, especially bringing kids into our game right now. I certainly couldn't pull off the all orange ensemble tipped off with a flat bill but I certainly smile when I see a Jr golfer out on the course decked out like their hero. Not only can I not pull it off, I couldn't pull them up, don't think Puma makes 42 pants and XXXL shirts but I think I may have just given myself next year's Halloween costume idea. If I can talk the family "tailor" into bringing more orange fabric together than a certain Knoxville stadium on a fall Sat afternoon....as a Hokie, I can't even make myself type the name of that place. Now pardon me, while I go shopping for that sweatshirt coach Fuente was wearing during the bowl game.....

 

Hah! I would recommend getting a hoodie a la Bill Belichick. :-)

 

I agree, I think the most members of this forum are no doubt a bit more discerning when it comes to the purchase of golf gear.

[egr2teup]

I'm not swayed by endorsements but I'd really like some of the shirts Hideki has been wearing the last couple of years. They aren't available in the US so I don't know what they might cost which could invariably change my mind. $50 is my limit for a shirt.

[Tcann32]

I think most are influenced by marketing on some level. ProV1 the #1 ball in golf. That comes from somewhere. The fact that I can amass dozens from the rough throughout the season tells me that it works. Scotty Cameron is another business great at marketing. Switching gears Apple is probably better at this than anybody. They announce new features that I have had for years in another platform.

 

I am a second hander for clubs. I just don't see any value in a $400 driver that I can have for a 1/3 of the price next year. I do know that I am always looking at the "name" companies. I'm not out looking for clones.

 

Yeah, but most people aren't WRX'ers who do research on everything and are very knowledgeable on gear

 

Something I've learned from a previous life in sales, and have learned from many individuals in marketing: When companies announce the "#1 XXXXX in XXXXX", it doesn't mean that it's the best. It means it's the highest selling, which obviously has some relevance to performance, but not always, and it certainly does NOT tell the entire story on performance, at the very least.

 

It's a trusted brand. It's a great ball, and yes, it is going to be in the top 5 for 99% of players, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's the best. Subjective aspects make up about as much as performance in most golfers choice in golf balls, and they offer ZERO quantifiable evidence as to why the would actually be the best ball in golf, and I find it interesting that they have been allowed to claim they are the "number one ball" without offering said evidence, or I should say I'm surprised that they haven't been forced to change the slogan to add reference to the sales aspect, not performance.

[Roody]

For clubs I would say I'm not tremendously swayed by what a pro might play. Clothing however, I think I'm a little more swayed by. If I see something a pro is wearing on TV and I like the look, or the color combinations, I think that gets logged into the memory banks for the next time I'm in the pro shop buying.

 

Yes, but you are not buying it because a pro is wearing it but because you like the look/color.

Definitely! The pro is essentially modeling the clothing for me. Probably one of the most effective ways to get the masses to see the styles/looks.

An example of where I've bought after seeing a pro wear it is when I noticed Luke Donald wearing the RLX shirts a few years back. I liked the look, and now own three RLX shirts.

[fox10078]

I feel like I'm backwards, I'm partial to some brands, and I tend to try and like the players who wear those brands. I like Speith but I'm not going to start liking Underarmor because he wears it.

[2ball]

Endorsements have never swayed me to purchase a particular product. What sways me is performance, quality, and price. Be it clothes, clubs, and the like.

 

For example, I can go on line, or a place like Marshall's, and get good quality name brand golf clothes for a fraction of the cost...I don't mind that they are last year's styles. Why pay $80 for a polo shirt?

 

Just because Jordan Spieth wears UA, or whoever wears or plays whatever, has no impact on what I purchase. However, endorsements must work, or companies wouldn't do them.

 

I am curious, are any of you folks swayed by endorsements? If so, why?

 

It worked for Nike during the golf boom of the late 1990's -2000's. Tiger sold a lot of clubs and balls for Nike.

[2ball]

For clubs I would say I'm not tremendously swayed by what a pro might play. Clothing however, I think I'm a little more swayed by. If I see something a pro is wearing on TV and I like the look, or the color combinations, I think that gets logged into the memory banks for the next time I'm in the pro shop buying.

 

Yes, but you are not buying it because a pro is wearing it but because you like the look/color.

Definitely! The pro is essentially modeling the clothing for me. Probably one of the most effective ways to get the masses to see the styles/looks.

An example of where I've bought after seeing a pro wear it is when I noticed Luke Donald wearing the RLX shirts a few years back. I liked the look, and now own three RLX shirts.

 

I have three pair of skechers now because of Matt Kuchars endorsement and over the top hilarious TV commercials. And I wanted to match my 8 year old son. {sarcasm}

[SilverBullets]

For clubs I would say I'm not tremendously swayed by what a pro might play. Clothing however, I think I'm a little more swayed by. If I see something a pro is wearing on TV and I like the look, or the color combinations, I think that gets logged into the memory banks for the next time I'm in the pro shop buying.

 

Yes, but you are not buying it because a pro is wearing it but because you like the look/color.

 

But he is buying something because the pro is wearing it. The pro was on TV and his outfit caught the eye of Roody. Roody liked the style and the color scheme he saw and went out and bought it. Say it was UA and he saw Speith. Sure he isn't directly correlating 'I am buying this because I love Jordan and want to look like him'. But he very much is buying it because of marketing. He saw the color scheme and the style on TV, it fit his eye, he goes to UA, see that shirt and buys it. That is 100% why these companies pay these pros. It's not necessarily the name and the body, it's the time on air. Bigger name pros get more time on TV and have larger followings. Their social media accounts are bigger than other pros. They are at the top of the leader board more and more people see them. Their clothes, or clubs, or logos on bags, etc. get seen and viewed more times and for longer times. That is why there is more value there and why the bigger names get more money for their sponsorship. It's not because when UA thinks of Jordan Speith they immediately think of winning. It's because he is on TV so much and has so many followers that their gear immediately hits a larger following.

 

Take Travis Mathew for instance. When they started they were like the anti golf, golf clothing company. They wanted golf clothes which were a west coast style that you can wear outside of the golf course and not look like a stupid golfer. A new brand, a new trend, a new style. They sign Bubba who was a completely unorthodox professional golfer. Do you think Travis Mathew would be what Travis Mathew is today if not for bubba? Bubba won what? 1 Masters in TM gear? Its not a coincidence that TM quickly exploded right around that time frame. Millions of viewers saw this guy with a new style in good looking, trendy, not traditional golf appear.

 

I'd venture to say Travis Mathew would still be in the Linksoul territory if not for the millions of people viewing Bubba on Sunday a handful of years ago. That area where they have a small cult following and have gained some traction but aren't major players in the market yet.

 

It's not about being a fan of person who is wearing the gear, it's about how many people will see that dude on TV, in public, on social media, on commercials. The more people who see your product, the more people who are familiar with your product, the higher the odds of a chance of sale. People can't buy something when they have never heard of or seen the product before. Their browser doesn't magically send them to their website.

[deadsolid...shank]

I see a lot of shirts out there that I like. But I never see them for sale anywhere.

 

I did see several players on tour hitting the M1/M2, figured it must be pretty good. That's why I wanted to try it.

 

So I guess it works somewhat on me.

[Shilgy]

For clubs I would say I'm not tremendously swayed by what a pro might play. Clothing however, I think I'm a little more swayed by. If I see something a pro is wearing on TV and I like the look, or the color combinations, I think that gets logged into the memory banks for the next time I'm in the pro shop buying.

 

Yes, but you are not buying it because a pro is wearing it but because you like the look/color.

Isn't that the point though? You bought it because of the endorsement. If you had not seen it you would not have wanted it. We develop a sense of "this brand is quality" or "this brand has colors I like" based on what we see the endorsers do or wear.