2019 is going to be a weird year for releases...

[tgoodspe1991]

Maybe I am alone in this, but I think 2019 is already shaping up to be a really weird year in golf equipment... It seems like manufacturers are taking everything to extremes, and the marketing for these products is getting blatantly silly.

 

I think 2019 will see some good releases too (I hope), but I'm not entirely thrilled the direction equipment is going in general. However, I suppose at the end of the day the OEM's have to do something to keep things interesting and keep things changing, right?

[Malc]

Yup, like the price!

[MtlJeff]

Can you give some specifics? Seems the same as any other year at first glance

[Jungleland]

Can you give some specifics? Seems the same as any other year at first glance

 

Yes it does!

[Lamb]

Maybe I am alone in this, but I think 2019 is already shaping up to be a really weird year in golf equipment... It seems like manufacturers are taking everything to extremes, and the marketing for these products is getting blatantly silly.

 

I think 2019 will see some good releases too (I hope), but I'm not entirely thrilled the direction equipment is going in general. However, I suppose at the end of the day the OEM's have to do something to keep things interesting and keep things changing, right?

 

Elucidate please.

 

My only gripe are the strong lofts! Other than that I can't see anything wrong.

[carrier street]

Maybe I am alone in this, but I think 2019 is already shaping up to be a really weird year in golf equipment... It seems like manufacturers are taking everything to extremes, and the marketing for these products is getting blatantly silly.

 

I think 2019 will see some good releases too (I hope), but I'm not entirely thrilled the direction equipment is going in general. However, I suppose at the end of the day the OEM's have to do something to keep things interesting and keep things changing, right?

 

Elucidate please.

 

My only gripe are the strong lofts! Other than that I can't see anything wrong.

 

The governing bodies are wringing hands and clutching pearls over how far everyone hits it, yet manufacturers feel the need to keep cranking up lofts so ams THINK they hit the ball farther. Seems incongruent...

[geno4952]

Maybe I am alone in this, but I think 2019 is already shaping up to be a really weird year in golf equipment... It seems like manufacturers are taking everything to extremes, and the marketing for these products is getting blatantly silly.

 

I think 2019 will see some good releases too (I hope), but I'm not entirely thrilled the direction equipment is going in general. However, I suppose at the end of the day the OEM's have to do something to keep things interesting and keep things changing, right?

 

Elucidate please.

 

My only gripe are the strong lofts! Other than that I can't see anything wrong.

 

I haven't seen any of the new irons yet.. are the lofts stronger than they have been????..... in a lot of the clubs a 7 iron is already a 5 iron loft.... sooner or later that has to stop or the 7 iron will be a 1 iron... sheesh.....my old school lofts are way out of date comparatively speaking..... my 7 iron is a 7 iron....36* and my 5 is 28*.....maybe I'll have to bite the bullet and get new irons to keep up with my buddies.....

[Lemonde]

Maybe I am alone in this, but I think 2019 is already shaping up to be a really weird year in golf equipment... It seems like manufacturers are taking everything to extremes, and the marketing for these products is getting blatantly silly.

 

I think 2019 will see some good releases too (I hope), but I'm not entirely thrilled the direction equipment is going in general. However, I suppose at the end of the day the OEM's have to do something to keep things interesting and keep things changing, right?

 

Elucidate please.

 

My only gripe are the strong lofts! Other than that I can't see anything wrong.

 

The governing bodies are wringing hands and clutching pearls over how far everyone hits it, yet manufacturers feel the need to keep cranking up lofts so ams THINK they hit the ball farther. Seems incongruent...

 

Some big words used here. Elucidate = elaborate? Never used that one. Incongruent is another good one:)

 

This is the only sport I know of where the tech is refreshed in such “rabid” (good one eh?) fashion. It’s become is own animal.

[VCGolfer79]

They need to just stamp the irons with the loft like Hogan does. No more B S about who hits what club further. My 35* club that says 7 on the sole goes 10 yds more than my 39* club and 10 yds less than my 31* club. That’s all that matters to me. I don’t know anyone who cares how far someone can hit a 7 iron. I don’t want to hit my 7 iron further. It would screw up my hole bag. I had a fitter try and tell me I could get a club further by changing shafts. I told him I don’t need 5 wedges in my bag. Apparently too much spin on an iron isn’t ideal. I don’t mind having mid irons stop where they land and back up a bit sometimes. Point being sometimes further isn’t always better.

[tgoodspe1991]

I think it’s not so much in irons, it’s the latest driver/wood releases and the marketing around them. Taylormade’s “illegal” faces with foam injection and Callaway’s eye-sore of a “machine learning” assisted driver. Just makes me laugh.

[MixedBag]

I thought some of the jacked lofts were due to COG changes? No?

 

I haven't purchased a lot of "new" equipment for the past 2 years, I'm changing that in 2019...weird or not, it's time

[1Mordrid1]

They need to just stamp the irons with the loft like Hogan does. No more B S about who hits what club further. My 35* club that says 7 on the sole goes 10 yds more than my 39* club and 10 yds less than my 31* club. That’s all that matters to me. I don’t know anyone who cares how far someone can hit a 7 iron. I don’t want to hit my 7 iron further. It would screw up my hole bag. I had a fitter try and tell me I could get a club further by changing shafts. I told him I don’t need 5 wedges in my bag. Apparently too much spin on an iron isn’t ideal. I don’t mind having mid irons stop where they land and back up a bit sometimes. Point being sometimes further isn’t always better.

 

If it does not matter, then why do they need to change how they stamp irons?

[Red4282]

I think it’s not so much in irons, it’s the latest driver/wood releases and the marketing around them. Taylormade’s “illegal” faces with foam injection and Callaway’s eye-sore of a “machine learning” assisted driver. Just makes me laugh.

 

Totally agree. Thats why i think some clubs like the mizuno st-190 will be a big hit...performs just as well without all the marketing garbage, looks and sounds beautiful. Oh yea and SHOULD be cheaper than the 550 mark these clowns have set. But then again there are alot of gullible people who believe all this stuff too.

[cqueen]

Why does it matter if you hit a 9 iron and your buddy hits a 7 iron? They are producing equipment to keep up with the longer courses and to help the average player, granted everyone on WRX is a “pro” and can hit it 330. The equipment is what it is and everyone seems to make a point to talk crap about whatever is new because of some odd reason. We should be talking about the positives in this and how it helps everyone out. Or just keep your opinion and thoughts to yourself, always complaining...

 

 

Bring it.

[grm24]

I thought some of the jacked lofts were due to COG changes? No?

Only if one believes the tripe the OEMs claim. It's all about selling distance (jacked lofts) and nothing else. Has been proven otherwise multiple times here.

[HiSpeed48]

It looks like the focus this year with drivers will again be on driver-face technology. Before that it was carbon crowns, before that it was CG and slots, and before that it was adjustability....

 

When drivers come with built-in bottle-openers then we'll have hit the pinnacle.

[DigitalizedOrange]

It's the same thing every year, like clockwork. Manufactures release their new gear, then everyone loses their s***. Complaining that clubs getting more expensive year after year, marketing and technology are going overboard, and so on. Golf is interesting because is causes a person who's very smart and uses common sense/ logic everyday in their life to throw all of that out the window. Considering inflation golf is now cheaper than ever to play, outlandish claims by manufactures is nothing new. Take two steps down the fairway towards the hole, is that worth $500?

[Rob McHugh]

I love the way it’s only hacks like me that they assume are so gullible. I play Taylormade Rocket Bladez; nice sticks but boy are they jacked in the loft. Thing is, the Tour Preferred version have normal lofts of course ha ha.

 

Rob

[calfan36]

My driver was built by a supercomputer which was built by Lockheed Martin engineers while they were on the space station

[Prut]

None of this is really a 2019 thing. Been going on at least since 2009, about the time TaylorMade started introducing two or three new lines a year and abandoning them after 6 months.

[pjc]

I think it's not so much in irons, it's the latest driver/wood releases and the marketing around them. Taylormade's "illegal" faces with foam injection and Callaway's eye-sore of a "machine learning" assisted driver. Just makes me laugh.

Could not agree more!

[cgasucks]

None of this is really a 2019 thing. Been going on at least since 2009, about the time TaylorMade started introducing two or three new lines a year and abandoning them after 6 months.

 

While I agree to what you said but after looking at TM's releases though the years from their PDFs of their product literature from their own website, it seems that the madness started since 2007. That year they released 6 versions of drivers in that year alone (Burner 07, Burner 07 Draw, Burner TP, R7 CGB Max, Superquad, Superquad TP, Superquad TP (1st Edition)).

[Davidv]

Just reading the technology details released for the new Callaway Epic Flash and the Taylormade M5 and M6 drivers causes your eyes to roll back in your head with a overall dizziness. Then you read it again this time you smile and mutter holy crap are they serious.

[yellolab]

For me, it's the price. Mueller should look into the collusion with all the OEM's raising the prices:)

I've never really paid too much attention to the pricing before, but this year it's insane.

[MtlJeff]

I think it's not so much in irons, it's the latest driver/wood releases and the marketing around them. Taylormade's "illegal" faces with foam injection and Callaway's eye-sore of a "machine learning" assisted driver. Just makes me laugh.

 

I know what you mean but it used to be worse. Remember when TaylorMade made their tour staff wear "jerseys" that had 17 on the back to symbolize how you would gain 17 yards by switching to their 3 wood? I believe at one point Callaway had marcom showing you could gain "up to 33yds" or something like that with theirs. Every year drivers were also given "gain up to X yards" etc

 

That was at the height of the distance wars, maybe 7-8 years ago.

 

I'd rather they talk about artificial intelligence or how their clubs are made by robot butlers, than listen to the nonsense about how you're going to gain 10 yards every 6 months

[MtlJeff]

For me, it's the price. Mueller should look into the collusion with all the OEM's raising the prices:)

I've never really paid too much attention to the pricing before, but this year it's insane.

 

Our best bet is to reward the guys who don't do it by buying their products in large numbers.

 

In Canadian dollars, almost every OEM's driver is 650$ or more and you're correct, that has gone up quite a bit. Callaway has broken the 700$ plateau this year. I like Callaway but 700$ for a driver seems insane. So what would i do? I'd buy the Cobra F9 which if i understand correctly will be <600 with a Fujikura Atmos. The TaylorMade M4 was 539$ here. Buy those clubs instead

 

Same with irons. TMAG and Callaway are charging 1600-1700 for their forged irons. Srixon is charging 1200$, Cobra is around 1200 for their new forged CB's.....so buy Srixon instead.

 

Consumers can affect the price if many people use this logic. OEMs are betting that their branding will win out.

 

But if i was buying a new bag right now there'd be a lot of Cobra or Srixon

[williaza]

It seems to me that with Price increases for 2019 some OEMs can position themselves in a strong position by going under price. Cobra, Wilson Staff, Ping (maybe), Srixon, etc.

 

My point is Cortex $499 looks a lot different now with $529 being standard now. Also, C300 Forged at $899 vs APEX at $1399 makes me legitimately consider some of those OEMs simply because performance is probably within reason of the big boys and price is starting to become big issue.

[Golfingfanatic]

I think the big winners in the driver market this year will be brands not generally known for their drivers (Mizuno, Srixon). Also if the performance is there, I could see PXG gaining some market share. Lowering their price whilst everyone else is going could be a great move for them.

[Lamb]

For me, it's the price. Mueller should look into the collusion with all the OEM's raising the prices:)

I've never really paid too much attention to the pricing before, but this year it's insane.

 

Price is not an issue in a year or two it will be down by 50% - I never by newly released clubs. Cant see the point.

[Josh784]

Golf marketing has always been pretty tacky. Maybe that's just marketing in general.

 

I generally avoid buying current-year clubs. Once they've been around for a year or so, or have been replaced by a newer model, prices come down a lot. I play most clubs for 5-10 years.

 

Some of the technology is legitimate, but it's really hard to sort that out from all the marketing garbage.