Do you think that club manufacturers should sell heads only?

[golf1836]

Now that most driver's,fairways and hybrids have heads that shafts can be easily changed do you think that heads should be sold separately? Why not most of us have shafts that we like so why should we have to buy a new one if we are not going to use it.

[MtlJeff]

The cost difference I think wouldn't be that much. I don't believe OEM's pay much for their shafts since they buy in such volume.

 

Some shafts retail for 80% of the price of the driver they are in

 

I'd bet if they did this heads would just be 449 instead of 499 and the return wouldn't be worth it

[Hawkeye77]

Should really doesn't enter into it - if there was additional profit to be made that allowed for that, it would be done.

 

The vast majority of the golfing public isn't looking to buy heads and go looking for shafts and figuring out what to do from there. They are selling you heads now and giving you "standard" and custom shaft options and fitting is widely available. Most want their club arriving with a shaft.

[nsxguy]

Should Toyota or BMW sell cars without tires ? :)

[MtlJeff]

Should Toyota or BMW sell cars without tires ? :)

 

That's actually a great analogy IMO....There is definitely a secondary market for guys who want to throw aftermarket wheels (be it offroad or racing wheels) but it's a small percentage of buyers and not a huge percentage of the cost.

 

And like Golf OEMs , some companies do offer a lot of selection as "stock". For example i looked at the GMC Acadia recently and the All Terrain version has the option of 20 inch rims with all season tires, or 17 inch wheels with offroad tires at the same cost.

 

Kind of like high vs low launch stock shafts

[farmer]

In forum world , "most of us have shafts we like", in the real world, not so much. In the new world of driver tech, pop off the old adapter, put on a new one, and sell the OEM shaft.

[elwhippy]

Nope. Too many shafts would be cut wrong and swing-weighted all over the place.

[ThinkingPlus]

Should they? Probably not. Do I wish they would? Absolutely.

[golf1836]

I am thinking it would also save them money by being able to ship the components separately. Also save space in shop's. They would not have to have multiple drivers on display with the various shafts and flexes.

[pldbryan]

It would save them money to ship 2 boxes instead of one???

[Fade]

For fishing you can buy rods, reels and rod-and-reel combos, which makes me think it can be done. It would help if the manufacturers would agree on a universal connection-technology though.

[ChipNRun]

The stock shafts which come with most clubs these days are targeted for groups most likely to use that clubhead. If you don't like the stock shaft, you can get others for an upcharge.

 

In 80% of the clubfittings I've had, I got my best numbers with a version of something from the stock shaft offerings.

 

One thing the major golf OEMs are trying to do is protect their image. Let's say they sell the heads only. Bob Yahoo does a sloppy job of installing a Model Z shaft that doesn't fit the new OEM2 driver. He then complains the driver is bad, and the company loses reputation.

 

You have a similar problem with established restaurants and their classic recipes. Foodie Fadisto will come in and says I want Shrimp Classico, but leave out the salt. So, the chef cooks up Shrimp Classico minus the salt. Foodie eats it, says it's a blah dish, and badmouths the restaurant.

 

For clubheads only, about as close as you can come as an individual is going on eBay or GolfWRX classifieds and look for clubheads only. Or, you might contact a custom club shop and ask if they have the OEM2 driver head only from a one-shot mix and match.

[andrue]

Should Toyota or BMW sell cars without tires ? :)

Considering the crap Dunlops that Honda put on my Jazz, yes. The damn things barely lasted 14k miles.

[golf1836]

It would save them money to ship 2 boxes instead of one???

I am saying that if they are shipping 10 drivers they could ship the heads in one box and shafts in another instead of shipping whole clubs.

[Hawkeye77]

For fishing you can buy rods, reels and rod-and-reel combos, which makes me think it can be done. It would help if the manufacturers would agree on a universal connection-technology though.

 

Totally different.

[sdandrea]

If the OEMs sold their iron heads separately, I'd be the worst club ho on the planet, so yes I think they should.

[baudi]

yes.

[cardoustie]

So much shipping charge savings and enviro benefits

 

Two assembled driver boxes used today ... would hold 10 shafts in one and 8 heads in the other

 

Do some mfr's still assemble in USA? Of course stateside assembly may be more $$$ than higher inbound freight costs

[A.Princey]

Should Toyota or BMW sell cars without tires ? :)

The OP obviously means as an option, not exclusively. Some of those OEM shaft options are garbage and upcharges to better ones are for the birds. What self-respecting WRXer doesn't have a couple shaft sets at home anyway, lol? Don't even get me started on grips.

[golf1836]

If the OEMs sold their iron heads separately, I'd be the worst club ho on the planet, so yes I think they should.

They could put adapters on irons too. That way you can adjust loft and lie. Also swap and change length.

[A_G Golf]

There wouldn't be any money made for them. That is appealing to an immensely small market, which has no way of making money any priced at an outrageous price...

[highergr0und]

They already solved that problem. Instead of selling head only for less profit, they sell custom head/shaft combos for more. Makes perfect business sense.

[Stuart_G]

Callaway already tried that a while back for a year or two. Remember the I-MIX heads and shafts?

 

I assume that if it had worked as a solid business model, they wouldn't have given up on it so quickly.

[jasonp87]

What i wish is theyd sell heads only to authorized dealers. Not general public.

 

[trhode]

What i wish is theyd sell heads only to authorized dealers. Not general public.

 

Most of them already do.

[KMo23]

What i wish is theyd sell heads only to authorized dealers. Not general public.

 

Most of them already do.

bingo- took awhile for the OEMs to figure out distribution channels and setup but all OEMs are now heads only for specialty/tour quality clubmakers

[golf1836]

Callaway already tried that a while back for a year or two. Remember the I-MIX heads and shafts?

 

I assume that if it had worked as a solid business model, they wouldn't have given up on it so quickly.

If I remember correctly the imix was priced very high. The head was 350.00 and shafts were very expensive. Callaway was basically charging like 200.00 for the adapter. That was 8 years ago.

[BirdieBob]

Yes, OEMs do sell heads only, just not retail!

Check with your "Builder" and he in many cases will have a "heads-only" account, so he can build the club to your specs.

(Note: This Builder may also sell the head only to you) :D

[extrastiff]

anyone else daydreaming about a multiple OEM "build-a-bear" type golf store?

[A_G Golf]

anyone else daydreaming about a multiple OEM "build-a-bear" type golf store?

 

If only... then everyone would be in there