Rory McIlroy signed with TaylorMade (MERGED)

[xjohnx]

Callaway need a rethink because the Epic woods and pm wedges are filling the second hand racks. Add to that the new irons look horrendous AND they've got no one on staff challenging on a week to week basis I think the revolution everyone predicted hasn't materialised.

 

TM have a winner in the M family. The woods are so much better.

 

You are working off a few facts here and a ton of opinion. It's been pretty well documented that there is VERY minor performance differences between most current clubs. It comes down to look feel etc. and overall preference. And you guys do know that TaylorMade still pays anyone using their driver in tournaments without a contract, right? If you monday qualified for next week's event, Taylor Made would pay you to play their driver that week. I don't know what other companies offer but it's easy money if you're missing cuts.

[caloge]

Callaway need a rethink because the Epic woods and pm wedges are filling the second hand racks. Add to that the new irons look horrendous AND they've got no one on staff challenging on a week to week basis I think the revolution everyone predicted hasn't materialised.

 

TM have a winner in the M family. The woods are so much better.

 

I believe it would be fair to call this a minority opinion. Epic drivers are #1 by all accounts, and XR/apexcf16 are both hot commodities. Not sure how steelhead is doing, but I dont think TM has ever really lit the iron market on fire the same way callaway has. I dont have a horse in this race, but my perception is that the 2016 M1/2 sucess has been eclipsed by epic.

 

As an aside, writing epic is really annoying and I hope they change the name next year.

[AThompson_3]

Welcome Rory, no stop focusing on making your body look like you crossfit everyday. Just play golf and dominate.

Stop it. This kind of logic is what leads people to not consider golf a sport.

[caloge]

Callaway need a rethink because the Epic woods and pm wedges are filling the second hand racks. Add to that the new irons look horrendous AND they've got no one on staff challenging on a week to week basis I think the revolution everyone predicted hasn't materialised.

 

TM have a winner in the M family. The woods are so much better.

 

You are working off a few facts here and a ton of opinion. It's been pretty well documented that there is VERY minor performance differences between most current clubs. It comes down to look feel etc. and overall preference. And you guys do know that TaylorMade still pays anyone using their driver in tournaments without a contract, right? If you monday qualified for next week's event, Taylor Made would pay you to play their driver that week. I don't know what other companies offer but it's easy money if you're missing cuts.

 

I believe that is offered by many companies. Doesnt titleist/scotty cameron pay anyone who plays?

[madaboutgolf]

I suppose he could have picked any clubs and $100 million is not peanuts either ..

[QuigleyDU]

I'm surprised he signed a deal with anyone. Doesn't need the money and having the freedom to play what works for you has got to be worth something.

 

If i was a pro, i would be a total sellout. Any of these companies can build me what i want so i might as well get paid.

[Grantmur]

The hate on Rory for taking a contract is unreal, maybe he likes the ball, maybe he likes the woods, maybe he likes the money... I would just like if he would start playing to his potential

[PumaAttack]

This thread is either people who love TaylorMade, love Rory, or want to bash him for taking money. The latter reeks of jealousy.

[jay_dwight]

Clubs look fantastic.

 

I agree that money plays a factor, but I (possibly optimistically) am not sure that it's as big an issue here as some think.

 

Put it this way, Rory already has hundreds of millions coming his way in prize money, appearance money and endorsements. He therefore has more money than he will ever know what to do with.

 

All manufacturers would have paid him and yes, TM are probably one of the highest bidders. But he has now reached the stage where money is becoming irrelevant - if TM are paying him 2m more a year than any others, what difference does that make? He has all the money he needs, it's now titles and majors that will define his career. He therefore needs the clubs that will help him do that the best, and fine if they pay him lots too then that's a bonus, but even if they didn't, then the right clubs would help him win far more than the value of any deal anyway.

 

If we were talking about someone on the breadline who desperately needed cash, then the number on the deal would be more critical, but we're talking about someone who has a mountain of money and just wants to win!

 

Pretty much sums it up. This and the significance of the golfball.

[jaymayor]

It's all about the math and profit to these companies, that's all. These guys are walking talking advertisements who get alot of prime time coverage and exposure.

 

I know $100,000,000 over 10 years is not his actual contract but let's say it is for fun. Look at it this way - Let's say he plays 20 tournaments a year, and makes the cut in all of them (again this is for fun). TM would get 4 days of prime time TV advertising coverage (4 hours/day) for a total of 16 hours a week. 16 hours a week over 20 tournaments over 10 years works out to 3200 hours of TV advertisements. Take the $100,000,000 and divide it by those hours and they are paying roughly $32,000/hour for a live TV commercial, and you can't beat that deal anywhere. This doesn't include coverage on news, websites, newspapers, and just his general popularity and fans. Anytime he is in a tournament you are getting a whole week of looking at TM.

 

Obviously there is a lot more logistics that go into something like this, but I don't think it's a big as a stretch as what people are making it out to be.

[bladehunter]

Clubs look fantastic.

 

I agree that money plays a factor, but I (possibly optimistically) am not sure that it's as big an issue here as some think.

 

Put it this way, Rory already has hundreds of millions coming his way in prize money, appearance money and endorsements. He therefore has more money than he will ever know what to do with.

 

All manufacturers would have paid him and yes, TM are probably one of the highest bidders. But he has now reached the stage where money is becoming irrelevant - if TM are paying him 2m more a year than any others, what difference does that make? He has all the money he needs, it's now titles and majors that will define his career. He therefore needs the clubs that will help him do that the best, and fine if they pay him lots too then that's a bonus, but even if they didn't, then the right clubs would help him win far more than the value of any deal anyway.

 

If we were talking about someone on the breadline who desperately needed cash, then the number on the deal would be more critical, but we're talking about someone who has a mountain of money and just wants to win!

 

 

TM was one of the highest bidders? come on... obviosly they were the highest by a wide margin.... he didnt choose a mdium bid to play their clubs.... thats just kool aid talk right there.... we all know better than that dont we?

[JoeyD12]

It's all about the math and profit to these companies, that's all. These guys are walking talking advertisements who get alot of prime time coverage and exposure.

 

I know $100,000,000 over 10 years is not his actual contract but let's say it is for fun. Look at it this way - Let's say he plays 20 tournaments a year, and makes the cut in all of them (again this is for fun). TM would get 4 days of prime time TV advertising coverage (4 hours/day) for a total of 16 hours a week. 16 hours a week over 20 tournaments over 10 years works out to 3200 hours of TV advertisements. Take the $100,000,000 and divide it by those hours and they are paying roughly $32,000/hour for a live TV commercial, and you can't beat that deal anywhere. This doesn't include coverage on news, websites, newspapers, and just his general popularity and fans. Anytime he is in a tournament you are getting a whole week of looking at TM.

 

Obviously there is a lot more logistics that go into something like this, but I don't think it's a big as a stretch as what people are making it out to be.

 

But the money has to come from somewhere. I understand $32K/Hr (very very rough math, but to your point, just for fun) is a good deal, but it's not the price per hour that becomes expensive rather than the collective sum. Golf tees cost $0.01 per piece. Buy 10 billion of them and the total becomes quite expensive. At some point, you have to make this money up out of your gross revenue before you can even start to turn a profit.

[bladehunter]

Callaway need a rethink because the Epic woods and pm wedges are filling the second hand racks. Add to that the new irons look horrendous AND they've got no one on staff challenging on a week to week basis I think the revolution everyone predicted hasn't materialised.

 

TM have a winner in the M family. The woods are so much better.

 

 

 

lol better than what?

[PureStrikes54]

2017 M2 with the right shaft/loft combo is the best driver I've ever hit. It's like the Ping G and 2016 M2 had a love child with crazy forgiveness of the G while getting the heat and spin reduction of the M2. I've hit the epic and '17 M2 and for me it's not even close on misses.

[JonnyKrasnodar]

Callaway need a rethink because the Epic woods and pm wedges are filling the second hand racks. Add to that the new irons look horrendous AND they've got no one on staff challenging on a week to week basis I think the revolution everyone predicted hasn't materialised.

 

TM have a winner in the M family. The woods are so much better.

 

You are working off a few facts here and a ton of opinion. It's been pretty well documented that there is VERY minor performance differences between most current clubs. It comes down to look feel etc. and overall preference. And you guys do know that TaylorMade still pays anyone using their driver in tournaments without a contract, right? If you monday qualified for next week's event, Taylor Made would pay you to play their driver that week. I don't know what other companies offer but it's easy money if you're missing cuts.

 

Not sure what an OEM paying has anything to do with it to be honest. My point is that "jail break" hasn't changed the world, it isn't winning on tour and having put so much into it, Callaway have come up short.

 

Hence they need a rethink. And no, £1500 green epic irons aren't the answer either.

[TollBros]

Clubs look fantastic.

 

I agree that money plays a factor, but I (possibly optimistically) am not sure that it's as big an issue here as some think.

 

Put it this way, Rory already has hundreds of millions coming his way in prize money, appearance money and endorsements. He therefore has more money than he will ever know what to do with.

 

All manufacturers would have paid him and yes, TM are probably one of the highest bidders. But he has now reached the stage where money is becoming irrelevant - if TM are paying him 2m more a year than any others, what difference does that make? He has all the money he needs, it's now titles and majors that will define his career. He therefore needs the clubs that will help him do that the best, and fine if they pay him lots too then that's a bonus, but even if they didn't, then the right clubs would help him win far more than the value of any deal anyway.

 

If we were talking about someone on the breadline who desperately needed cash, then the number on the deal would be more critical, but we're talking about someone who has a mountain of money and just wants to win!

 

The most intelligent post I've read this morning. I'd say you're right on the mark with this one.

[bcflyguy1]

Baffling business decision by TaylorMade. Already had 2 of the top 5 and 4 of the top 10 in the OWGR (including the World #1 and most recent major winner), and now they agree to a long term, big money contract with McIlroy.

 

Can they not see where personality driven, big money marketing got Nike Golf's hard goods division? That crater hasn't even stopped smoking yet, and TM is setting themselves up to repeat their mistakes.

[bladehunter]

Callaway need a rethink because the Epic woods and pm wedges are filling the second hand racks. Add to that the new irons look horrendous AND they've got no one on staff challenging on a week to week basis I think the revolution everyone predicted hasn't materialised.

 

TM have a winner in the M family. The woods are so much better.

 

You are working off a few facts here and a ton of opinion. It's been pretty well documented that there is VERY minor performance differences between most current clubs. It comes down to look feel etc. and overall preference. And you guys do know that TaylorMade still pays anyone using their driver in tournaments without a contract, right? If you monday qualified for next week's event, Taylor Made would pay you to play their driver that week. I don't know what other companies offer but it's easy money if you're missing cuts.

 

Not sure what an OEM paying has anything to do with it to be honest. My point is that "jail break" hasn't changed the world, it isn't winning on tour and having put so much into it, Callaway have come up short.

 

Hence they need a rethink. And no, £1500 green epic irons aren't the answer either.

 

 

has everything to do with it... everyone wins with TM driver because they pay more tee up money..... same with titleist ball..... different trokes for different folks. but the M line is garbage in my opinin compared to the performance of the Epic AND the mizuno JPX 900...... Both are superior in every way for me to the M1 or M2.. and this from a guy who loved loved loved his sldr 430 for 2 years! so not a TM hater....

[MSchad]

Well, $100,000,000 is hard to argue with. Yes he says he likes the equipment, but I am sure $100,000,000 had just a wee bit to do with selecting TM.

 

Taylormade apparently reporting the deal is no where near 100m, but multi-year deal confirmed. We'll have to see, you know there was a pretty penny somewhere in there though, haha.

 

Finally a voice of logic and reason quoting facts. I was wondering where this 100m figure was coming from.... thin air.

[bfizzy]

Callaway need a rethink because the Epic woods and pm wedges are filling the second hand racks. Add to that the new irons look horrendous AND they've got no one on staff challenging on a week to week basis I think the revolution everyone predicted hasn't materialised.

 

TM have a winner in the M family. The woods are so much better.

 

I'm a total Taylor Made "Fanboi", but I wouldn't knock on the Epic series or any of the Callaways out there, all the OEMs make fantastic equipment and I'm always trying out stuff from other manufacturers.

 

This is purely a business decision by both parties here. TMAG thought that the investment was worth it, and Rory found a deal that was suitable enough for him to sign. Who really knows what the the full deal entails and what TM was offering vs other OEMs such as $ guarantees, performance incentives, signature equipment (think Jordan brand), royalties, etc etc.

 

Rory signing with TM isn't an indication that that their equipment is superior, nor is it a sign that Callaway or Titleist are inferior. All it suggests is that TM would reap a return on whatever investment they put in, and Rory would gain financially, but also believes it wouldn't jeopardize his chances on the golf course. "RORS" is a brand now, but he hasn't reached Tiger status yet to not be able to play and still move his name, he still needs to perform.

[jaymayor]

It's all about the math and profit to these companies, that's all. These guys are walking talking advertisements who get alot of prime time coverage and exposure.

 

I know $100,000,000 over 10 years is not his actual contract but let's say it is for fun. Look at it this way - Let's say he plays 20 tournaments a year, and makes the cut in all of them (again this is for fun). TM would get 4 days of prime time TV advertising coverage (4 hours/day) for a total of 16 hours a week. 16 hours a week over 20 tournaments over 10 years works out to 3200 hours of TV advertisements. Take the $100,000,000 and divide it by those hours and they are paying roughly $32,000/hour for a live TV commercial, and you can't beat that deal anywhere. This doesn't include coverage on news, websites, newspapers, and just his general popularity and fans. Anytime he is in a tournament you are getting a whole week of looking at TM.

 

Obviously there is a lot more logistics that go into something like this, but I don't think it's a big as a stretch as what people are making it out to be.

 

But the money has to come from somewhere. I understand $32K/Hr (very very rough math, but to your point, just for fun) is a good deal, but it's not the price per hour that becomes expensive rather than the collective sum. Golf tees cost $0.01 per piece. Buy 10 billion of them and the total becomes quite expensive. At some point, you have to make this money up out of your gross revenue before you can even start to turn a profit.

 

I understand what you are saying, but to be fair they don't pay these contracts out in a lump sum. All companies advertise or invest before seeing a profit from said advertisement or investment. They are designed to drive in profit. Every company has some sort of debt on the books whether that be creditors, advertisements or other numerous things. This deal with Rory is just adding more debt on the books to invest in the future. The real question is if they can re-coop that $100,000,000 from Rory and Rory alone. If they feel they can, than it's a good deal.

[jll62]

TaylorMade has been sold to KPS Capital Partners for $425m (along with Ashworth and Adams) according to reports on Twitter. Looks like Rory was the big splash they wanted.

[scratchswinger]

Clubs look fantastic.

 

I agree that money plays a factor, but I (possibly optimistically) am not sure that it's as big an issue here as some think.

 

Put it this way, Rory already has hundreds of millions coming his way in prize money, appearance money and endorsements. He therefore has more money than he will ever know what to do with.

 

All manufacturers would have paid him and yes, TM are probably one of the highest bidders. But he has now reached the stage where money is becoming irrelevant - if TM are paying him 2m more a year than any others, what difference does that make? He has all the money he needs, it's now titles and majors that will define his career. He therefore needs the clubs that will help him do that the best, and fine if they pay him lots too then that's a bonus, but even if they didn't, then the right clubs would help him win far more than the value of any deal anyway.

 

If we were talking about someone on the breadline who desperately needed cash, then the number on the deal would be more critical, but we're talking about someone who has a mountain of money and just wants to win!

 

The most intelligent post I've read this morning. I'd say you're right on the mark with this one.

 

I am going to have to disagree with this. If Callaway offered 90 million and TM offered 100 million, the delta of 10 million is a massive amount of money. Put it to you this way, the 10 million is enough to support his grandchildren's, children for the rest of their lives. Yeah it might not sound like a lot at first considering it's a drop in the bucket compared to what he has, but it's still 10 million dollars. You can cut it any way you want, but with lawyers and agents all the room I can assure you that there are a lot of voices in Rory's ear explaining to him the importance of that 10 million dollars and helping him make the decision that is the best for his family. We see this from athletes all the time that are in their prime, almost always the most money wins and rightfully so.

[MMB1500]

TaylorMade has been sold to KPS Capital Partners for $425m (along with Ashworth and Adams) according to reports on Twitter. Looks like Rory was the big splash they wanted.

 

http://www.4-traders.com/ADIDAS-AG-6714534/news/adidas-to-sell-TaylorMade-Adams-Golf-and-Ashworth-to-KPS-Capital-Partners-24366170/

[JoeyD12]

Clubs look fantastic.

 

I agree that money plays a factor, but I (possibly optimistically) am not sure that it's as big an issue here as some think.

 

Put it this way, Rory already has hundreds of millions coming his way in prize money, appearance money and endorsements. He therefore has more money than he will ever know what to do with.

 

All manufacturers would have paid him and yes, TM are probably one of the highest bidders. But he has now reached the stage where money is becoming irrelevant - if TM are paying him 2m more a year than any others, what difference does that make? He has all the money he needs, it's now titles and majors that will define his career. He therefore needs the clubs that will help him do that the best, and fine if they pay him lots too then that's a bonus, but even if they didn't, then the right clubs would help him win far more than the value of any deal anyway.

 

If we were talking about someone on the breadline who desperately needed cash, then the number on the deal would be more critical, but we're talking about someone who has a mountain of money and just wants to win!

 

The most intelligent post I've read this morning. I'd say you're right on the mark with this one.

 

I am going to have to disagree with this. If Callaway offered 90 million and TM offered 100 million, the delta of 10 million is a massive amount of money. Put it to you this way, the 10 million is enough to support his grandchildren's, children for the rest of their lives. Yeah it might not sound like a lot at first considering it's a drop in the bucket compared to what he has, but it's still 10 million dollars. You can cut it any way you want, but with lawyers and agents all the room I can assure you that there are a lot of voices in Rory's ear explaining to him the importance of that 10 million dollars and helping him make the decision that is the best for his family. We see this from athletes all the time that are in their prime, almost always the most money wins and rightfully so.

 

This^^^^^

[JonnyKrasnodar]

Callaway need a rethink because the Epic woods and pm wedges are filling the second hand racks. Add to that the new irons look horrendous AND they've got no one on staff challenging on a week to week basis I think the revolution everyone predicted hasn't materialised.

 

TM have a winner in the M family. The woods are so much better.

 

You are working off a few facts here and a ton of opinion. It's been pretty well documented that there is VERY minor performance differences between most current clubs. It comes down to look feel etc. and overall preference. And you guys do know that TaylorMade still pays anyone using their driver in tournaments without a contract, right? If you monday qualified for next week's event, Taylor Made would pay you to play their driver that week. I don't know what other companies offer but it's easy money if you're missing cuts.

 

Not sure what an OEM paying has anything to do with it to be honest. My point is that "jail break" hasn't changed the world, it isn't winning on tour and having put so much into it, Callaway have come up short.

 

Hence they need a rethink. And no, £1500 green epic irons aren't the answer either.

 

 

has everything to do with it... everyone wins with TM driver because they pay more tee up money..... same with titleist ball..... different trokes for different folks. but the M line is garbage in my opinin compared to the performance of the Epic AND the mizuno JPX 900...... Both are superior in every way for me to the M1 or M2.. and this from a guy who loved loved loved his sldr 430 for 2 years! so not a TM hater....

 

Fair enough. I've had the total opposite experience with the 16 and now 17 M2 compared to the other drivers. Only one that came close was the Srixon.

 

At that level I think performance has to factor in somewhere along the line though.

[JoeyD12]

TaylorMade has been sold to KPS Capital Partners for $425m (along with Ashworth and Adams) according to reports on Twitter. Looks like Rory was the big splash they wanted.

 

http://www.4-traders...tners-24366170/

 

Wow

[xjohnx]

Callaway need a rethink because the Epic woods and pm wedges are filling the second hand racks. Add to that the new irons look horrendous AND they've got no one on staff challenging on a week to week basis I think the revolution everyone predicted hasn't materialised.

 

TM have a winner in the M family. The woods are so much better.

 

You are working off a few facts here and a ton of opinion. It's been pretty well documented that there is VERY minor performance differences between most current clubs. It comes down to look feel etc. and overall preference. And you guys do know that TaylorMade still pays anyone using their driver in tournaments without a contract, right? If you monday qualified for next week's event, Taylor Made would pay you to play their driver that week. I don't know what other companies offer but it's easy money if you're missing cuts.

 

Not sure what an OEM paying has anything to do with it to be honest. My point is that "jail break" hasn't changed the world, it isn't winning on tour and having put so much into it, Callaway have come up short.

 

Hence they need a rethink. And no, £1500 green epic irons aren't the answer either.

 

 

has everything to do with it... everyone wins with TM driver because they pay more tee up money..... same with titleist ball..... different trokes for different folks. but the M line is garbage in my opinin compared to the performance of the Epic AND the mizuno JPX 900...... Both are superior in every way for me to the M1 or M2.. and this from a guy who loved loved loved his sldr 430 for 2 years! so not a TM hater....

 

Yeah I only brought it up in context of you saying TM woods are "better". I think we all spend enough time on this site to admit nothing is "better" than anything else nowadays. We all like we we like, and if we got kicked a few bucks we may be bagging something other than we like the most. It helps to look at it backwards, If we all had an unlimited budget to buy anything we want right now we'd many of us would immediately jump at something other than what's in our bag right now. Some people play what they can afford at the moment. On tour money is no object and the resources are at your disposal. They play what they want unless they are getting paid to play something different (most are). One day we'll all get along and respect eachother for liking the equipment that they like or fits their game. I love WRX but I don't understand why opinions take over so strongly and some people say things like "better" all the time.

[moegolfer11]

TaylorMade has been sold to KPS Capital Partners for $425m (along with Ashworth and Adams) according to reports on Twitter. Looks like Rory was the big splash they wanted.

 

http://www.4-traders...tners-24366170/

 

ADDYY saw some insane gap ups on the 3 month chart...a couple trading groups I'm a member of have been noticing these. I guess this is why they say "buy the rumor, sell the news."

[JoeyD12]

So much for the argument that this was equipment based and not money. This deal has been in the works for some time, even before Rory made his golf ball comments. Well orchestrated. Looks like the M&A had Rory already factored in as these things take months to iron out. This is pretty crazy news.