Crossfield on staff with Titleist (MERGED)

[king_biscuit]

Doesn't change my opinion. Thought he was a fraud before and still do.

 

Fraud how?

 

Hoping titleist helps him do MORE giveaways and he can include his US fans. I hope it helps him get some access to more pros like Spieth. I will be super bummed out if he loses Coach Lockey. #LockeyArmy.

 

Does anyone know if he have a falling out with Buzza and Pickard? Miss seeing those two in his course videos.

 

Pickard is Buzza's friend, and Buzza moved to Thailand to teach at a Ledbetter academy. I am sad to see Mark hook up with a manufacturer, because I really like his videos and I suspect things are going to change from here forward. I actually don't care at all about watching him play a few holes with tour pros (I'd rather watch Mark and the gang over the PGA tour any day), and there will probably be more of that sort of thing. I agree whatever Mark does he needs to keep Coach around. btw, Buzza has his own channel.

[PingGuy68]

I dont think Shiels has much between the ears. Watch him come up with winners between drivers that differ by a yard.

I've seen him pick a winner not supported by any number. Shorter, more dispersion, whatever. Winner winner chicken dinner!

[OsnolaKinnard]

Good move for him as an instructor, but it seems like the beginning of the end. It's only a matter of time before Callaway and Taylormade follow suit with Shiels/Finch/etc and start feeding them early prototypes for exclusive (glowing) reviews. The days of things like the $500 bag challenge and the club shootouts are probably gone. I wonder if they'll allow a shootout to be posted if their product doesn't win.

 

Even if Titleist's product is better, it'll be tough to maintain a perception of impartiality while being signed as a brand rep.

 

Seems like there'd be a market for that on YouTube with his recent 'buyout' from Titleist. Might need to get a camera and work on my British Accent.

[dciccoritti]

Good for Mark but I worry that he'll really have to tip toe around other clubs while reviewing. He says Titleist doesn't want him to change how he reviews clubs etc, but I'm guessing he'll never post screen shots of say.. The new Rogue driver going further than his 917, etc. He'll probably just say something like, "Could I game this club?? Absolutely",but he will (probably not allowed) never say any clubs are better than Titleist , which is kind of against his whole mantra.

 

I know Callaway sponsored him previously, but now a whole bag of Titleist... Seems that money finally got a hold of Mark, too, as it has many of the other Youtube channels. At this point who is really left? Rick Shiels seems to bag various clubs so at least on the outside it doesn't seem that he directly takes money from OEMs to play certain clubs.

 

 

Money gets a hold of all these people... that's why they try and get as many subs as they can, that's when the money and opportunity start rolling in. It's not just limited to the golf community on YT, it's everywhere. People are trying to make a living, better their lives doing something they love which is something we would all jump at the chance if we had the same scenario in our face.

 

People are acting like their puppy just got killed because he took a Titleist club deal... damn... give it some time and let it play out before the judgements about how he is going to handle his channel start rolling in..... Damn!! LOL

Not saying I wouldn't take the money either for my family, but let's just be clear... He's promoting Titleist now and the whole point of his channel, at least I thought it was, was unbiased reviews, especially on course reviews.

 

Perhaps he knew this for a while which is why he brings Dan on a lot more to provide data and feedback. Perhaps Mark will step back a bit from giving too much opinion on clubs and let Dan do a lot of that stuff.

 

Either way, I'm sure he will continue to do many vlogs at great courses, and provided feedback on clubs. I know I won't be watching much for his club reviews now, but I enjoy his channel anyway. I don't find RS or Petey Finch to be very enjoyable to watch, only other place I go to watch regular guys golf is Golfaholics. Arguably... Those dudes who are just Ams might even be better than these PGA youtube pros on any given day. Recently Marko shot a 69... But that's off topic a bit.

 

I'm just saying, I think the world will be okay... I haven't seen him necessarily "promote" Titleist, nor ANY OEM now or in the past. He may have a contract but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt here and saying he will know how to navigate through the shuffle without being biased. He's just never been negative on anyone so I don't expect him to start now claiming even Titleist is better than such and such. He just happens to be on staff... Doing the opposite would be everything he is against and he doesn't seem to be the type to throw that kind of reputation away.

 

Just can't help but feel like some of the comments on here are a bit biased in their own way.... not saying yours, just some others in general.

 

Biased?? What about Mark going off on wrxer's and the like. Saying (and laughing) in multiple videos how forums are just a bunch of people who type about golf instead of playing golf. Constantly making comments about how all we talk about are shafts and spin rates.

 

All with a very condescending attitude. Not that it matters because his sheep always agree and laugh along with him.

 

Sorry but even with all it's quirks, I'll take this place over him every day of the week.

[Llortamaisey]

Good move for him as an instructor, but it seems like the beginning of the end. It's only a matter of time before Callaway and Taylormade follow suit with Shiels/Finch/etc and start feeding them early prototypes for exclusive (glowing) reviews. The days of things like the $500 bag challenge and the club shootouts are probably gone. I wonder if they'll allow a shootout to be posted if their product doesn't win.

 

Even if Titleist's product is better, it'll be tough to maintain a perception of impartiality while being signed as a brand rep.

 

Seems like there'd be a market for that on YouTube with his recent 'buyout' from Titleist. Might need to get a camera and work on my British Accent.

 

Don’t forget a good pair of glasses, although, may I suggest you try something to set yourself apart from the others, like a monocle.

[jonn443]

Good move for him as an instructor, but it seems like the beginning of the end. It's only a matter of time before Callaway and Taylormade follow suit with Shiels/Finch/etc and start feeding them early prototypes for exclusive (glowing) reviews. The days of things like the $500 bag challenge and the club shootouts are probably gone. I wonder if they'll allow a shootout to be posted if their product doesn't win.

 

Even if Titleist's product is better, it'll be tough to maintain a perception of impartiality while being signed as a brand rep.

 

Seems like there'd be a market for that on YouTube with his recent 'buyout' from Titleist. Might need to get a camera and work on my British Accent.

 

Don’t forget a good pair of glasses, although, may I suggest you try something to set yourself apart from the others, like a monocle.

 

?????

[kevingopher]

Wow, seems to have really upset a few people.

 

To the guys that are upset: Do you really need someone else to make your minds up for you when it comes to purchasing golf clubs ?

 

I thought most of the guys on here are all +4 playas who bang it three fifty and can really notice the difference between a 11* launch with 1800 spins and a 11.5* launch with 1799 spins.

[JonnyKrasnodar]

The funny thing is, I always found Crossfield to be lukewarm at best when reviewing Titleist equipment back years ago when he was doing his vids almost exclusively from his driving range. He would always find Titleist classy looking but from a pure performance standpoint he seemed to always be underwhelmed. I guess getting some $ thrown his way changes those thoughts. lol

 

All of the Youtube personalities seem to be drifting towards going all "corporate" like tour players. Shawn Clement was a pure Titleist man through and through in his early days of getting his Wisdom in Golf brand going, and often highlighted their equipment in his videos. Then he hopped on to Nike when they tossed him some money, and since Nike stopped making clubs he's now a PING loyalist I believe.

 

It wont be long and we'll be longing for the "good ol days" where these guys were giving their unabashed opinions on equipment and swing thoughts, and not worry about them being clouded by sponsorship dollars.

 

I'm in the same boat though I've found Titelist in the main to be average at best compared to others.

 

I think Titleist will be ok with it because he's never given them good to great reviews but they've challenged him to put his money where his mouth is - if performance doesn't matter then why not play their clubs. They'll gain more exposure for their ball - there's an announcement in 10 days or so about that - and that's what they need. He's done more for Callaways chromsoft than Callaways marketing team has. Captive audience if 20-30k viewers per video. They've looked at Lockey and thought if we can get the odd looking, mouthy, bald Crossfield on board it'll increase exposure massively amongst golfers and cost a fraction of what advertising will.

 

Mark has said for 18 months the future of golf is in diversifying media, it's not in TV ads, it's not in Sky or BBC and they're going to pioneer it with him.

 

Exciting times.

[arbeck]

I find it a little funny that anyone takes any of the online reviewers as unbiased. They are accepting free clubs from companies. Many of them are going on trips paid for by manufacturers (Taylor Made, Srixion, Callaway) to test clubs at their facilities. We've seen in the past that companies will with hold product from reviewers they don't like, so there's pressure from even the most honest person to play nice to continue to be in good enough graces to keep getting the stuff they need to do their reviews.

 

If you wanted a truly unbiased review, you'd need a group to be buying the clubs and not getting them for free and then having a large cross section of people hitting them. Of course then you'd need to custom fit all those players and it would quickly get out of hand.

 

Crossfield is probably as close to a Iron Byron as you can get from a human reviewer. He's going to put a good swing on the club and get good results. Given that the club makers are all testing on an Iron Byron and are pushing up against the limits of what is physically possible and within the rules, all of the clubs are going to perform similar. I wouldn't expect anyone to send him a club that put up anything but great numbers.

[jimb6golf]

I do agree that Crossfield's teaching and testing videos were better in a way when they were from his driving range. The latest ones, including his daily vlogs, are still fun but lack the critical eye he had earlier. I hope he can adjust his philosophy and attitude a bit going forward too. His 'sore loser' and 'it's the player not the club' attitudes are wearing a bit thin too. Overall I still look forward to his videos each day but think they need some improvement.

[Paulshouse]

Last time I seen him he was going about promoting Callaway all over UK, That's when I unsubscribed. He has been a 'sell out' for some time to be honest. Adverts on every video he posts always promoting that holiday company he is with. I hear he charges £160 an hour for lessions! A guy that wasn't good enough to make it on any tour, has never mentored a tour winner charging £160 an hour! I used to really like the guy when he was an unknown failed golfer trying to make ends meet selling clubs and doing some reviews but as time went one it was obvious he had a end game plan. Sell out to highest bidder as soon as he had 1000k subs

[Hawkeye77]

How many wins does he have on tour?

 

Never you mind, sonny!

[nambreezy]

Good for Mark but I worry that he'll really have to tip toe around other clubs while reviewing. He says Titleist doesn't want him to change how he reviews clubs etc, but I'm guessing he'll never post screen shots of say.. The new Rogue driver going further than his 917, etc. He'll probably just say something like, "Could I game this club?? Absolutely", but he will (probably not allowed) never say any clubs are better than Titleist , which is kind of against his whole mantra.

 

I know Callaway sponsored him previously, but now a whole bag of Titleist... Seems that money finally got a hold of Mark, too, as it has many of the other Youtube channels. At this point who is really left? Rick Shiels seems to bag various clubs so at least on the outside it doesn't seem that he directly takes money from OEMs to play certain clubs.

he never really pointed it out when one club went further

[ProphetLogic]

It's free content, god forbid you have to sit through 20 or 30 seconds of advertising for the people who set up the trip you're watching. I feel like some of you guys are being a little bit unrealistic, doing that kind of shooting and editing isn't quick or easy when you don't have an entire crew working for you. I'ts no different than advertising in TV or magazines, the funding has to come from somewhere. Unless you want him making videos from a refrigerator box underneath an overpass?

[JasonPetermann]

Last time I seen him he was going about promoting Callaway all over UK, That's when I unsubscribed. He has been a 'sell out' for some time to be honest. Adverts on every video he posts always promoting that holiday company he is with. I hear he charges £160 an hour for lessions! A guy that wasn't good enough to make it on any tour, has never mentored a tour winner charging £160 an hour! I used to really like the guy when he was an unknown failed golfer trying to make ends meet selling clubs and doing some reviews but as time went one it was obvious he had a end game plan. Sell out to highest bidder as soon as he had 1000k subs

 

The problem with judging other people's motives is that we actually only reveal what we would do in the same situation.

Just because he is sponsored does not mean he is a "sell out." Truth is, he could have likely taken the money and never told his audience about the deal. At least he is being forthright about the situation. Will he be biased? Maybe, maybe not. But let's let the guy at least prove himself to us (Though he does not have to).

[kevingopher]

Last time I seen him he was going about promoting Callaway all over UK, That's when I unsubscribed. He has been a 'sell out' for some time to be honest. Adverts on every video he posts always promoting that holiday company he is with. I hear he charges £160 an hour for lessions! A guy that wasn't good enough to make it on any tour, has never mentored a tour winner charging £160 an hour! I used to really like the guy when he was an unknown failed golfer trying to make ends meet selling clubs and doing some reviews but as time went one it was obvious he had a end game plan. Sell out to highest bidder as soon as he had 1000k subs

 

I have no words

[Paulshouse]

Of course you don't unless Crossfeild gives you some ?

 

[Paulshouse]

Last time I seen him he was going about promoting Callaway all over UK, That's when I unsubscribed. He has been a 'sell out' for some time to be honest. Adverts on every video he posts always promoting that holiday company he is with. I hear he charges £160 an hour for lessions! A guy that wasn't good enough to make it on any tour, has never mentored a tour winner charging £160 an hour! I used to really like the guy when he was an unknown failed golfer trying to make ends meet selling clubs and doing some reviews but as time went one it was obvious he had a end game plan. Sell out to highest bidder as soon as he had 1000k subs

 

The problem with judging other people's motives is that we actually only reveal what we would do in the same situation.

Just because he is sponsored does not mean he is a "sell out." Truth is, he could have likely taken the money and never told his audience about the deal. At least he is being forthright about the situation. Will he be biased? Maybe, maybe not. But let's let the guy at least prove himself to us (Though he does not have to).

 

He has every right to get his money back out of YouTube for what he puts in. It still does not make him worth £160 an hour. As for his reviews when he played up about Taylormade not sending him a driver have a look at the comments in that video. All his fanboys stating they will never buy Taylormade produces ever again. Others saying they were going out and selling their taylormade gear. If that's really the kind of idiots he has as subscriber's then no wonder he is fleecing them £160 an hour.

[mtnbiker5]

Just read where he and Paige will be doing blogs in April for pxg. Wow

[sheldonjhacker]

Who cares? I wish him well. :wave:

[CCTxGolf]

IMO Crossfield can't be sponsored by Titleist and claim to be unbiased. I can't imagine Titleist would be happy with him posting negative reviews on their clubs, so it will be interesting to see how he attempts to provide objective reviews.

 

Maybe this is why he changed his review format. Instead of going with numbers, he now does that "real world" testing where he just concludes that there's not much difference when you're playing on the course.

 

That is very true. He has slowly made his reviews less fact/data oriented and more about playability and opinion. And like you said he concludes the same thing on every review which is that there is little difference in any club

[BForrester]

Unsubscribed from Crossfield's channel on this news.

[anth]

Good for Mark but I worry that he'll really have to tip toe around other clubs while reviewing. He says Titleist doesn't want him to change how he reviews clubs etc, but I'm guessing he'll never post screen shots of say.. The new Rogue driver going further than his 917, etc. He'll probably just say something like, "Could I game this club?? Absolutely",but he will (probably not allowed) never say any clubs are better than Titleist , which is kind of against his whole mantra.

 

I know Callaway sponsored him previously, but now a whole bag of Titleist... Seems that money finally got a hold of Mark, too, as it has many of the other Youtube channels. At this point who is really left? Rick Shiels seems to bag various clubs so at least on the outside it doesn't seem that he directly takes money from OEMs to play certain clubs.

 

 

Money gets a hold of all these people... that's why they try and get as many subs as they can, that's when the money and opportunity start rolling in. It's not just limited to the golf community on YT, it's everywhere. People are trying to make a living, better their lives doing something they love which is something we would all jump at the chance if we had the same scenario in our face.

 

People are acting like their puppy just got killed because he took a Titleist club deal... damn... give it some time and let it play out before the judgements about how he is going to handle his channel start rolling in..... Damn!! LOL

Not saying I wouldn't take the money either for my family, but let's just be clear... He's promoting Titleist now and the whole point of his channel, at least I thought it was, was unbiased reviews, especially on course reviews.

 

Perhaps he knew this for a while which is why he brings Dan on a lot more to provide data and feedback. Perhaps Mark will step back a bit from giving too much opinion on clubs and let Dan do a lot of that stuff.

 

Either way, I'm sure he will continue to do many vlogs at great courses, and provided feedback on clubs. I know I won't be watching much for his club reviews now, but I enjoy his channel anyway. I don't find RS or Petey Finch to be very enjoyable to watch, only other place I go to watch regular guys golf is Golfaholics. Arguably... Those dudes who are just Ams might even be better than these PGA youtube pros on any given day. Recently Marko shot a 69... But that's off topic a bit.

 

I'm just saying, I think the world will be okay... I haven't seen him necessarily "promote" Titleist, nor ANY OEM now or in the past. He may have a contract but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt here and saying he will know how to navigate through the shuffle without being biased. He's just never been negative on anyone so I don't expect him to start now claiming even Titleist is better than such and such. He just happens to be on staff... Doing the opposite would be everything he is against and he doesn't seem to be the type to throw that kind of reputation away.

 

Just can't help but feel like some of the comments on here are a bit biased in their own way.... not saying yours, just some others in general.

 

Biased?? What about Mark going off on wrxer's and the like. Saying (and laughing) in multiple videos how forums are just a bunch of people who type about golf instead of playing golf. Constantly making comments about how all we talk about are shafts and spin rates.

 

All with a very condescending attitude. Not that it matters because his sheep always agree and laugh along with him.

 

Sorry but even with all it's quirks, I'll take this place over him every day of the week.

 

Agreed. Condescending most of the time. One of those people who thinks arguments are won by talking the most/loudest/longest.

 

And he doesn’t play well when you disagree with him, or point out that he’s changed his tune over the years (which he’s entitled to do by the way, but own it, don’t deny it)

[Hjosh7_]

Last time I seen him he was going about promoting Callaway all over UK, That's when I unsubscribed. He has been a 'sell out' for some time to be honest. Adverts on every video he posts always promoting that holiday company he is with. I hear he charges £160 an hour for lessions! A guy that wasn't good enough to make it on any tour, has never mentored a tour winner charging £160 an hour! I used to really like the guy when he was an unknown failed golfer trying to make ends meet selling clubs and doing some reviews but as time went one it was obvious he had a end game plan. Sell out to highest bidder as soon as he had 1000k subs

 

The problem with judging other people's motives is that we actually only reveal what we would do in the same situation.

Just because he is sponsored does not mean he is a "sell out." Truth is, he could have likely taken the money and never told his audience about the deal. At least he is being forthright about the situation. Will he be biased? Maybe, maybe not. But let's let the guy at least prove himself to us (Though he does not have to).

 

He has every right to get his money back out of YouTube for what he puts in. It still does not make him worth £160 an hour. As for his reviews when he played up about Taylormade not sending him a driver have a look at the comments in that video. All his fanboys stating they will never buy Taylormade produces ever again. Others saying they were going out and selling their taylormade gear. If that's really the kind of idiots he has as subscriber's then no wonder he is fleecing them £160 an hour.

 

As we all know, the YouTube comments section is a very representative sample of normal, rational people.

[Z1ggy16]

Damn he charges 160 pounds an hour?? You can get an hour with Monte for less than that.

[GolfTurkey]

Damn he charges 160 pounds an hour?? You can get an hour with Monte for less than that.

Or Dan Whittaker, who I would see in the UK, for £70 an hour.

 

I think lessons are not Crossfield's main business so he charges what the market will bear to fill a few hours here and there.

[jonsnow]

Good move for him as an instructor, but it seems like the beginning of the end. It's only a matter of time before Callaway and Taylormade follow suit with Shiels/Finch/etc and start feeding them early prototypes for exclusive (glowing) reviews. The days of things like the $500 bag challenge and the club shootouts are probably gone. I wonder if they'll allow a shootout to be posted if their product doesn't win.

 

Even if Titleist's product is better, it'll be tough to maintain a perception of impartiality while being signed as a brand rep.

 

Seems like there'd be a market for that on YouTube with his recent 'buyout' from Titleist. Might need to get a camera and work on my British Accent.

 

Don’t forget a good pair of glasses, although, may I suggest you try something to set yourself apart from the others, like a monocle.

 

Next thing you know, Oakley will be looking to increase their market share of the YouTube golf instructor monocle market & we'll be right back here again...

[masegolf1978]

I must say, i defended Crossfield earlier in this thread, and still do. He'd be crazy not to take the money. But i think the true test of whether or not the reviews will truly be unbiased going forward will come when he puts his current Epic against whatever he is fitted into by Titleist. I hope he will post those numbers.

[cliffhanger]

it seems like a good business move, i can't say i would do anything different.

[Nixhex524]

Good for Mark but I worry that he'll really have to tip toe around other clubs while reviewing. He says Titleist doesn't want him to change how he reviews clubs etc, but I'm guessing he'll never post screen shots of say.. The new Rogue driver going further than his 917, etc. He'll probably just say something like, "Could I game this club?? Absolutely",but he will (probably not allowed) never say any clubs are better than Titleist , which is kind of against his whole mantra.

 

I know Callaway sponsored him previously, but now a whole bag of Titleist... Seems that money finally got a hold of Mark, too, as it has many of the other Youtube channels. At this point who is really left? Rick Shiels seems to bag various clubs so at least on the outside it doesn't seem that he directly takes money from OEMs to play certain clubs.

 

 

Money gets a hold of all these people... that's why they try and get as many subs as they can, that's when the money and opportunity start rolling in. It's not just limited to the golf community on YT, it's everywhere. People are trying to make a living, better their lives doing something they love which is something we would all jump at the chance if we had the same scenario in our face.

 

People are acting like their puppy just got killed because he took a Titleist club deal... damn... give it some time and let it play out before the judgements about how he is going to handle his channel start rolling in..... Damn!! LOL

Not saying I wouldn't take the money either for my family, but let's just be clear... He's promoting Titleist now and the whole point of his channel, at least I thought it was, was unbiased reviews, especially on course reviews.

 

Perhaps he knew this for a while which is why he brings Dan on a lot more to provide data and feedback. Perhaps Mark will step back a bit from giving too much opinion on clubs and let Dan do a lot of that stuff.

 

Either way, I'm sure he will continue to do many vlogs at great courses, and provided feedback on clubs. I know I won't be watching much for his club reviews now, but I enjoy his channel anyway. I don't find RS or Petey Finch to be very enjoyable to watch, only other place I go to watch regular guys golf is Golfaholics. Arguably... Those dudes who are just Ams might even be better than these PGA youtube pros on any given day. Recently Marko shot a 69... But that's off topic a bit.

 

I'm just saying, I think the world will be okay... I haven't seen him necessarily "promote" Titleist, nor ANY OEM now or in the past. He may have a contract but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt here and saying he will know how to navigate through the shuffle without being biased. He's just never been negative on anyone so I don't expect him to start now claiming even Titleist is better than such and such. He just happens to be on staff... Doing the opposite would be everything he is against and he doesn't seem to be the type to throw that kind of reputation away.

 

Just can't help but feel like some of the comments on here are a bit biased in their own way.... not saying yours, just some others in general.

 

Biased?? What about Mark going off on wrxer's and the like. Saying (and laughing) in multiple videos how forums are just a bunch of people who type about golf instead of playing golf. Constantly making comments about how all we talk about are shafts and spin rates.

 

All with a very condescending attitude. Not that it matters because his sheep always agree and laugh along with him.

 

Sorry but even with all it's quirks, I'll take this place over him every day of the week.

 

He’s probably not wrong. There are a lot of us on this site that probably do not need to be so concerned with such technical aspects of the game until we really learn how to play, I don’t see what’s so offensive about that. The crappiest swing in the world or worst iron game isn’t going to benefit from a shaft change or lower spin, it’s the wrong focus and we have all gotten caught up in it.

 

Again, it’s been asked by more than just me, but when has this guy EVER talked down about ANY club??? He stresses GET FIT. Every video. I don’t get what some of you are afraid of. Sounds like you don’t really like to watch him anyway so his personal life choices should not affect you at all.

 

And for the record, if condescending attitudes bother you so much, how have you lasted on this site?!