Why is Srixon always considered an underdog?

[hypergolf]

I switched from Mizuno irons to Srixon last year. I realized that apparently Srixon is considered an underdog brand even though it seems quite popular amongst golfers and performs well compared to some of the big brands.

 

Why is that? Is it because of cheaper price or brand recognition is not at the level of the Titleist, Callaway etc? 

 

Srixon is extremely popular in Asia but seems a bit behind in Anglo countries. Anyone know the reason?

[Red4282]

1 hour ago, hypergolf said:

I switched from Mizuno irons to Srixon last year. I realized that apparently Srixon is considered an underdog brand even though it seems quite popular amongst golfers and performs well compared to some of the big brands.

 

Why is that? Is it because of cheaper price or brand recognition is not at the level of the Titleist, Callaway etc? 

 

Srixon is extremely popular in Asia but seems a bit behind in Anglo countries. Anyone know the reason?

Very little tour presence mainly because the big brands pay the top players. 

[MtlJeff]

Srixon is still a relatively new brand in the US, if you go back 10-15 years they had very little offering here and really focused on Cleveland Golf as being their American brand

 

I don't know if underdog is the right word, they are kinda like Mizuno. Respected brand but just a bit less presence because they are less aggressive on tour

 

Another VERY underrated thing is presence in Pro Shops at private clubs. I have never seen a pro at a CC sponsored by Srixon. Typically around here TMAG , Callaway and Titleist have all of them. And many members will play what the pro does. When our pro switched to Callaway the next year everyone had the epic flash

[Matt70]

Current iron of the Open Champion.

 

Pretty good pedigree. 

[Fairway14]

Sumitomo Rubber company (owner of Srixon), like Bridgestone, are large Japanese tire and rubber companies that focus their USA golf industry efforts primarily towards selling balls, not clubs. 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2020 by Fairway14

[jvincent]

2 hours ago, hypergolf said:

Srixon is extremely popular in Asia but seems a bit behind in Anglo countries. Anyone know the reason?

 

Lack of PGA Tour presence and marketing in the US is why they are underdogs.

 

As to why that is, you'd have to ask Srixon marketing.

[Christen_The_Sloop]

21 minutes ago, Fairway14 said:

Sumitomo Rubber company (owner of Srixon), like Bridgestone, are large Japanese tire and rubber companies that focus their USA golf industry efforts primarily towards selling balls, not clubs. 

 

 

Good old Sumitomo. They also had Dunlop Japan. Quite the history of irons there. The DP-30, DP-201, FC-201. They definitely have the pedigree. I think Srixon is just an odd name, to be honest. Like a food additive you know you shouldn't consume.

[NRJyzr]

1 hour ago, Red4282 said:

Very little tour presence mainly because the big brands pay the top players. 

 

That's essentially it.  It's always about the money.

 

[Tim Sherwood]

I wouldn't say they are an underdog. In fact here in the UK I've had people ask me where I got my (nearly) all Srixon bag of clubs. My mates who are all decent golfers but don't really give two craps about equipment were all like 'ooh fancy' when they noticed my first Srixon clubs. I'd say over here it's a lack of availability at Pro shops and American Golf that holds them back - people think Srixon clubs are a bit more exclusive as they recognise the brand from the balls, but very rarely do they see the clubs. 

Edited November 26, 2020 by Tim Sherwood

[Fairway14]

Just now, Christen_The_Sloop said:

Good old Sumitomo. They also had Dunlop Japan. Quite the history of irons there. The DP-30, DP-201, FC-201. They definitely have the pedigree. I think Srixon is just an odd name, to be honest. Like a food additive you know you shouldn't consume.

 

 Japanese rubber tire companies like Bridgestone ($35 billion)  and Sumitomo ($50 billion) have such large annual revenues that the golf industry is financially irrelevant to them.

For comparison, golf-only company Acushnet-Titleist-Footjoy annual revenues are less than $2 billion. Callaway has struggled to reach $1 billion within the golf industry so that company has made acquisitions to try and bring in revenues outside of golf. Mizuno's golf related products contribute

about $500 million of the company's $1.5 billion annual sales.

 

[Fairway14]

23 minutes ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

 I think Srixon is just an odd name, to be honest.

The name Srixon means  "Sumitomo Rubber Incorporated  Crossing Over Nations".

[Christen_The_Sloop]

9 minutes ago, Fairway14 said:

The name Srixon means  "Sumitomo Rubber Incorporated  Crossing Over Nations".

good thing they shortened it. The stamping costs would be astronomical.

[NRJyzr]

1 hour ago, MtlJeff said:

Another VERY underrated thing is presence in Pro Shops at private clubs. I have never seen a pro at a CC sponsored by Srixon. Typically around here TMAG , Callaway and Titleist have all of them. And many members will play what the pro does. When our pro switched to Callaway the next year everyone had the epic flash

 

This is a good point.  

 

My course had a new head pro in 2019, the previous pro having left the golf industry.  This new pro was a Srixon guy.  We had Srixon gear in the pro shop, clubs and balls, and we started seeing some of that on the course.

 

Unfortunately, he didn't last, turns out to have been something less than ideal in the job.  The former head pro decided to come back to golf, and filled that vacancy.  Srixon is now gone, the new/old pro being a Callaway guy.

 

Now you see more Callaway product working its way into use...

 

[tannyhoban]

Not on this forum. Every thread about irons has Srixon reviews and recommendations.

 

Funny that. I have the Z 785 driver which will be staying in the bag but I cannot hit the irons worth a crap. That v sole was not made for my swing.

[Tiptx1122]

Just like Cobra this is very little tour presence this will always be the case because the big brands pay the top players. Srixon is every bit as good as anything else out there. Could you imagine how many people would switch if all the TaylorMade staff were playing Srixon. 

[LeoLeo99]

54 minutes ago, tannyhoban said:

Not on this forum. Every thread about irons has Srixon reviews and recommendations.

 

Funny that. I have the Z 785 driver which will be staying in the bag but I cannot hit the irons worth a crap. That v sole was not made for my swing.

Sometime the Internet and real life diverge considerably.   When I was shopping for a pistol there were many accolades on the Internet forums about the CZ pistol.  Visiting local gun shops showed that they either never heard of it, didn't carry it, or they had one in stock that they were having trouble selling. I shot the CZ demo pistol. Hated it.  I tried the Z765 irons.  Hated them.  Cleveland and Srixon are sister companies.  It's confusing.  When I was in Japan got to talking golf with some Japanese folks, they all played Callaway cast irons.  I thought they'd all be playing Japanese forged clubs.  

[Bubbtubbs]

4 hours ago, hypergolf said:

I switched from Mizuno irons to Srixon last year. I realized that apparently Srixon is considered an underdog brand even though it seems quite popular amongst golfers and performs well compared to some of the big brands.

 

Why is that? Is it because of cheaper price or brand recognition is not at the level of the Titleist, Callaway etc? 

 

Srixon is extremely popular in Asia but seems a bit behind in Anglo countries. Anyone know the reason?

Advertising and retailer/demo day availability, mostly.

 

Wilson Staff suffers from this too.

[Myherobobhope]

41 minutes ago, Tiptx1122 said:

Just like Cobra this is very little tour presence this will always be the case because the big brands pay the top players. Srixon is every bit as good as anything else out there. Could you imagine how many people would switch if all the TaylorMade staff were playing Srixon. 

Honestly, I wonder how much the local ground game comes in on this... I know the callaway rep by name (shout out to Tyler, wonderful guy)... I know the ping guy by sight... i know Taylor made and titliest reps are around both my club and my favorite retailer (shout out to Tony and golf headquarters)... I’ve seen the Bridgestone rep once in maybe 5 years... I know the cobra guy exists and I’ve never asked about the srixon rep. 
 

you look at the new honma and pxg vans and wonder if companies are trying to improve their retail footprint... 
 

moving forward with data and accessibility, I think personal performance is going to inform more buying decisions... it’s just a slow process of convincing people to look

at their actual numbers vs how they feel about a club...

 

whether srixon gets itself into the demo bays and hands of golfers looking to upgrade is a different question!

[indianagolf2]

Not a big enough name..titleist..taylor made...clearly are the top 2...ping..srixon..cleveland are a huge step under. 

[achappy]

I wonder how much the fact that they have almost zero driver/fairway wood presence?  If you look at the weekly WITBs, you will see numerous bags with their irons and driving irons but no drivers.  Drivers seem to drive the market because of the constant talk about length.

 

So no TV driver presence means no need for golf shops to get them in and it just trickles down from there.

[elwhippy]

Srixon is on the rise when it comes to hardware. The last 4-5 years have seen more irons and woods in play. Two of my regular partners hit Srixon irons and they are as good as any other premium brand. Problem is, especially at the low hcp end of the market, players only go with certain brands. Srixon is not seen as a match for Titleist or Mizuno. Add in the fact my local stores stock the balls but are loathe to even order in a Srixon club. They need a higher profile staffer than Shane, too many weeks in the middle of the field and not on TV. 

[ChipNRun]

4 hours ago, MtlJeff said:

Srixon is still a relatively new brand in the US, if you go back 10-15 years they had very little offering here and really focused on Cleveland Golf as being their American brand

This is the basic story. Srixon was big in Europe for many years. In a series of shuffles and mergers circa 2007, the Sumito Rubber Industries Ltd. of Japan ended up with SRI Sports, which focuses on tennis and golf equipment. Current SRI golf holdings:

• Srixon: Focuses on clubs for more serious golfers, and a full range of golf balls.
• Cleveland: Focuses on clubs for everyday, plus maintains the top-rate wedge family.
• XXIO: High-end custom golf clubs.

A few years ago at the St. Louis Golf Expo, I had a detailed conversation with the regional rep for Srixon. He confirmed the market segmentation, discussed above, between Srixon and Cleveland.

 

Last few years, Cleveland has reemphasized its iron and long club offerings. Since the arrival of the Launcher CBX irons in 2018, Cleveland is bumping into Srixon in the Game-Improvement market.

 

A merchandise manager and fitter at a local golf shop talked about the CBX arrival. He said a dozen golfers that spring came into the shop for a Callaway or TaylorMade fitting, but ended up ordering the CBX instead.

[golfing_penguin]

4 hours ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

Good old Sumitomo. They also had Dunlop Japan. Quite the history of irons there. The DP-30, DP-201, FC-201. They definitely have the pedigree. I think Srixon is just an odd name, to be honest. Like a food additive you know you shouldn't consume.

 

 

Uncle Roger would recommend Srixon. With MSG.

Edited November 26, 2020 by golfing_penguin
Mis-typed

[the bishop]

4 hours ago, jvincent said:

 

Lack of PGA Tour presence and marketing in the US is why they are underdogs.

 

As to why that is, you'd have to ask Srixon marketing.

Disagree with Tour presence.  They are well represented on a lot our Tours.  My own perspective is that Srixon is seen primarily as a iron company (and wedges w/Cleveland) rather than a compnay that offers a good full bag solution - even though their woods tend to get good reviews and some, but not all, Tour staff play them.

 

https://www.srixon.com/us/tour-list.html

Edited November 26, 2020 by the bishop

[setter02]

Tour presence is lacking as mentioned, but I think the bigger thing is the lack of availability in shops and lack of really having a solid top to bottom line up.  You see reviews for irons and balls, but what else?  Wedges have been a Cleveland thing, but that does nothing for the Srixon name when people don't know its the same company.  No putter line to compete with Odyssey, Ping and SC.  Woods have been lack luster in 'tech' and favor a very subdued appearance over all (much like Titleist before the TS line).  

 

If people had the ability to get things in their hands easier, more would likely purchase, but depends on how much effort they want to put in to the NA market.

[jvincent]

45 minutes ago, the bishop said:

Disagree with Tour presence.  They are well represented on a lot our Tours.  My own perspective is that Srixon is seen primarily as a iron company (and wedges w/Cleveland) rather than a compnay that offers a good full bag solution - even though their woods tend to get good reviews and some, but not all, Tour staff play them.

 

https://www.srixon.com/us/tour-list.html

 

I probably should have said lack of high profile tour presence.

 

Yes, Lowry won the Open but none of the others are really very marketable.

 

In fact a lot of people would avoid Srixon because of Holmes and Bradley because they're so infuriating to watch. 

[iNeedMoreGolf]

I think its because it seems like such a non american brand... i know that sounds insane maybe but thats my theory. I play the ball here and there its really good. Im sure the irons are really good too... same goes for a few other brands tho too so... i kinda compare it too... the cup o noodles brand vs the ones the have Chinese lettering on them... 

[Honixx]

I have to put myself in this category of not giving Srixon it's fair shake.  I absolutely loved the feel of the 785's when I tried them last year but I just can't convince myself to pull the trigger.  Not sure why.  I consider them to be the Kia of golf clubs.   I know they make really good, reliable cars, and even though bang for the buck they are hard to beat, I just can't bring myself to buya Kia either.  Guess I'm vain.

[me05501]

It’s the money. 
 

If you remember 20-25 years ago, the driver market was dominated by Titleist (975D/983K etc) and Callaway (Hawkeye). Taylor Made decided they wanted to own the top position as most played driver on the PGA Tour.
 

The plan they came up with was to pay “tee up” money to anyone who would put the TM driver in his bag for the first round of each tournament. They didn’t care if the players were on staff or not as long as they used the TM driver on the day the club counts were conducted. 
 

The amount they paid wasn’t that significant but it was coincidentally about the same as the cost of traveling to and staying at the event. Players on the bubble could solve one of their major worries by choosing the TM driver and letting TM cover their weekly expenses. 
 

It worked better than they could ever have imagined. TM came to dominate driver selection on tour and poured a ton of R&D into driver innovation. 

 

You can trace Titleist’s domination of ball endorsements to a similar strategy. They have long provided free balls to promising Junior and Am players to build loyalty. When a player makes it to the Tour he very likely has a long history of using only Titleist balls. They can get away with paying less than other ball companies for a skinny endorsement contract that includes the ball, glove and maybe the hat. 

Edited November 26, 2020 by me05501

[hypergolf]

I got the answer on YouTube.