The 'New Technology' Con

[swagee]

On 1/15/2021 at 5:36 AM, manxytag said:

does anybody feel like me?

 

Ping Heppler going back to smooth faces.

 

Now Odyssey going back to the White Hot insert.

 

Yet each year we are told the new technology will make you better.

 

I believe we are all being conned and all the designers are doing is making the new clubs look better.

 

Drivers are designed to look good on the bottom purely for when they are on a rack in a shop.

 

Each year they make small adjustments which makes all the difference and the prices just keep going up and up.

Been saying the same thing. With the exception of newer drivers and possibly woods, which might help to carry the ball a lil longer and straighter off of mishits, the rest are very much a marketing ploy from equipment manufacturers. 
Beside that, golf shaft, especially graphite ones, is the only area that I see real innovation in. 

[Sean2]

You can't buy a better swing, though the OEM's do their best to convince you that you can. And for the most part, we buy their line (puns intended). 

[sdandrea]

On 1/15/2021 at 8:36 AM, manxytag said:

does anybody feel like me?

 

Ping Heppler going back to smooth faces.

 

Now Odyssey going back to the White Hot insert.

 

Yet each year we are told the new technology will make you better.

 

I believe we are all being conned and all the designers are doing is making the new clubs look better.

 

Drivers are designed to look good on the bottom purely for when they are on a rack in a shop.

 

Each year they make small adjustments which makes all the difference and the prices just keep going up and up.

Been going on for decades.  Welcome to reality.

[GBBM]

It’s always entertaining when someone on WRX comes to the realization that the role of big golf companies is basically to concoct ever more ludicrous marketing stories around ever more tiny incremental/cosmetic improvements to generate revenue and increase market share. And that no, sorry, a new bag of that equipment isn’t going to magically make you a scratch golfer. I know, it sucks. 😭

[Shupe]

I don’t get why everyone is so negative about this stuff.  I’m happy that golf companies are really good at marketing to the casual golfer... If not, we would see far less new equipment.  Even if the new equipment isn’t better across the board, we sure have far more options to dial in what we are looking for now days.

Edited January 18, 2021 by Shupe
Autocorrect hates me

[RyanBarathWRX]

I believe the big thing with putters is the ability to help golfers that putt poorly and create poor dynamics,

As others have stated the technology is in the fit and less so in the ability to tweak one small factor or another - but in the same breathe they are getting better generation over generation - especially drivers and metal woods. 

A great putter with a 40 year old blade is still going to be a great putter, but a poor putter with some face technology to help with their bad dynamics and a larger shape to help alignment can bring with it some big improvement. Ive seen it too many times to say that "it doesn't matter" because it does.

 

With the OG White hot, its like Odyssey bringing back a refined and better version of something that was successful - just like how Chevy reintroduced the Camaro. 

Also just like the Camaro, buying a new car doesn't make you a better driver - but some technology can help assist with accident avoidance and when it comes to new gear its similar - its not instantly going to just make you a better golfer but it puts you in a position to fail less often and in turn hit better shots. 

[ChipNRun]

19 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Hogan was interested in accuracy rather than hitting it anywhere near his maximum distance.

 

The 3W and Driver seemed to give Hogan more distance comparatively than the other clubs. Also, the top players in the persimmon-head era knew how ride the wind and manipulate trajectory for rollout to get a couple of 300-yard drives per round. 

[TheDeanAbides]

2 minutes ago, ChipNRun said:

 

The 3W and Driver seemed to give Hogan more distance comparatively than the other clubs. Also, the top players in the persimmon-head era knew how ride the wind and manipulate trajectory for rollout to get a couple of 300-yard drives per round. 

Yeah, love watching the old Shell matches to see how they used the wind. It was more important then with such high spinning gear. 

[ChipNRun]

1 hour ago, RyanBarathWRX said:

A great putter with a 40 year old blade is still going to be a great putter, but a poor putter with some face technology to help with their bad dynamics and a larger shape to help alignment can bring with it some big improvement. Ive seen it too many times to say that "it doesn't matter" because it does.

 

A couple of things about improving putting:

• Dominant eye. Some suggest knowing if you are left-eye or right-eye dominant can help you in putting. Several golf mag explanations and "how to" suggestions on this.
• Grip thickness. Regardless of age, players who are a bit twitchy benefit from thicker grips, which will smooth out the stroke.
• Putter fitting. Once a golfer has a putter he or she likes, or is getting a new putter, get a fitting. A tweak in lie angle, shaft length or head weight can do wonders in helping consistency. (One guru claims golfers should just go see a fitter to be "put into" a putter, and not try to pick the best one ourselves.)

[farmer]

On 1/17/2021 at 10:29 AM, codeman said:

The only driver tech that can increase at this point is MOI and aerodynamics. The faces are maxed out to the legal limit and have been for years. The marketing gimmick that the shape of the driver will make any noticeable difference in distance because you will swing it faster is absurd and just shows that they really have run out of things to do.

Many years ago, Pederson Golf made some lovely persimmon woods with a spoiler carved on the back.  I nearly talked myself into them.

[dmeeksDC]

23 hours ago, RyanBarathWRX said:

I believe the big thing with putters is the ability to help golfers that putt poorly and create poor dynamics,

As others have stated the technology is in the fit and less so in the ability to tweak one small factor or another - but in the same breathe they are getting better generation over generation - especially drivers and metal woods. 

A great putter with a 40 year old blade is still going to be a great putter, but a poor putter with some face technology to help with their bad dynamics and a larger shape to help alignment can bring with it some big improvement. Ive seen it too many times to say that "it doesn't matter" because it does.

 

With the OG White hot, its like Odyssey bringing back a refined and better version of something that was successful - just like how Chevy reintroduced the Camaro. 

Also just like the Camaro, buying a new car doesn't make you a better driver - but some technology can help assist with accident avoidance and when it comes to new gear its similar - its not instantly going to just make you a better golfer but it puts you in a position to fail less often and in turn hit better shots. 

Good points here. Keep in mind Odyssey has not claimed the OG White Hot puts a better topspin roll on the ball and covers up mistakes better than the microhinge. They only said it is popular, so they brought it back with stroke lab. This is marketing the consumers pushed for!
 

The original microhinge on the O Works line (circa 2016-17?) is the one that Odyssey said tests show puts the best roll on the ball — the one with the metal teeth hinges embedded in it that is now three generations ago. For inconsistent amateurs that helps mitigate mishits and matters a lot more than it does for pros. That also was one of Odyssey’s less popular inserts, which is kind of funny. 
 

IMO the most egregious marketing is some of the claims on irons. 

[hybrid25]

I have to bump this thread because Srixon is advertising with a slogan aimed at their driver and golf balls, "built for distance". When they make an unethical statement like that, at least in my opinion, they give the impression that their equipment goes further than other companies. Aren't all golf balls and clubs limited in terms of distance? Does a Srixon ball or driver hit it farther then Callaway, Titlest, or others? I don't think so. BS (capital letters) advertising, and unethical. 

[Socrates]

16 hours ago, hybrid25 said:

I have to bump this thread because Srixon is advertising with a slogan aimed at their driver and golf balls, "built for distance". When they make an unethical statement like that, at least in my opinion, they give the impression that their equipment goes further than other companies. Aren't all golf balls and clubs limited in terms of distance? Does a Srixon ball or driver hit it farther then Callaway, Titlest, or others? I don't think so. BS (capital letters) advertising, and unethical. 

It's like telling your friends it's X inches, but telling your wife, it's how you use it.  No one believes your marketing story, but you put it out there anyway, 'cause you have to.

 

 

[BIG STU]

On 1/15/2021 at 12:48 PM, cgasucks said:

I swear the marketing departments of the major OEMs must be the most creative bunch of people in the world.  I tip my hat to those who can repackage the wheel every year and convince people that it's cutting edge technology on putters, wedges, and drivers.

Yours and my signature prove that. Yep those V-Steels still hit as good as anything else out there--- I need to reshaft mine to fit my slower SS now. And yeah 99 Apex are as good if not better than anything else out there today

[Soloman1]

If you added up all of the claims by golf equipment companies over the years, every par 4 would be a drive and chip, and you should be putting for eagle on every par 5.

 

It used to be wood and steel, now we have cryogenically frozen, nanoparticle, NASA researched shafts and heads made from exotic materials harvested from asteroids and the Marianas Trench.

 

And yet the average golfer still can't buy a par.

Edited January 30, 2021 by Soloman1

[hybrid25]

If you opened up Callaway Golf website this is the first thing you read when entering the site:

The Future of Speed

In Epic Speed, we used Artificial Intelligence to engineer a NEW formula for speed that doesn’t even seem possible. Check out the new Epic Speed family of woods today.

[ALIF]

I just put my i210/G700 combo set in my basement and put a set of MP 20 mb in the bag. I much prefer the turf interaction and hit the MP’s as far as my i210. It’s all marketing BS!

[Socrates]

4 hours ago, Soloman1 said:

If you added up all of the claims by golf equipment companies over the years, every par 4 would be a drive and chip, and you should be putting for eagle on every par 5.

 

It used to be wood and steel, now we have cryogenically frozen, nanoparticle, NASA researched shafts and heads made from exotic materials harvested from asteroids and the Marianas Trench.

 

And yet the average golfer still can't buy a par.

You forgot the Manganese Nodules harvested from the sea floor. 

 

For those not old enough, you can Google Manganese Nodules CIA Howard Hughes.