I'm going there: Vokey Wedges...

[Rory4Pres]

I know, I know...it's petty but I'm gonna say it.... Slate blue AND raw vokey wedges shouldn't be a premium.  Both should simply be part of their normal lineup.

 

Do you guys agree or disagree?

[14max]

Just now, Rory4Pres said:

I know, I know...it's petty but I'm gonna say it.... Slate blue AND raw vokey wedges shouldn't be a premium.  Both should simply be part of their normal lineup.

 

Do you guys agree or disagree?

Anything raw shouldn't be upcharged at all...

[IPA4Me]

I don't mind a slight difference in price, but $40 to $50 more just seems excessive - for any brand.

[lefthack]

45 minutes ago, 14max said:

Anything raw shouldn't be upcharged at all...

 

We have one less step in the process and that saves us money. It will cost you extra for the convenience. Have a nice day.

[AThompson_3]

As a guy that plays raw vokeys, I get it. There shouldn’t be an up charge because it’s less steps for the manufacturer. I also understand the golf market that raw wedges are a niche market. 99% of golfers don’t realize that the guys on tour play raw wedges. The average golfer is going to choose the chrome or black wedge over the raw every single day of the week. The people that are adamant about playing raw wedges (like myself) are willing to pay for an up charge even if they believe it’s ridiculous (like myself). The complaints about an upcharge for raw wedges are tired and overplayed. Nothing is ever going to happen. We just have to accept it. 

[Abh159]

Supply and demand. There is no reason a new driver should cost $600, but people are still willing to pay that. 

 

Last I checked Titleist/Acushnet was in the business of making money. Why not try to make as much as possible?

[Rory4Pres]

1 minute ago, AThompson_3 said:

As a guy that plays raw vokeys, I get it. There shouldn’t be an up charge because it’s less steps for the manufacturer. I also understand the golf market that raw wedges are a niche market. 99% of golfers don’t realize that the guys on tour play raw wedges. The average golfer is going to choose the chrome or black wedge over the raw every single day of the week. The people that are adamant about playing raw wedges (like myself) are willing to pay for an up charge even if they believe it’s ridiculous (like myself). The complaints about an upcharge for raw wedges are tired and overplayed. Nothing is ever going to happen. We just have to accept it. 

 

I don't understand why anyone would pay an upcharge for the raw wedges when you can just buy the black wedges and easily remove the paint in a matter of hours letting it soak in vinagar (I think, I can't remember what I used).  It's silly.  Get a raw wedge in 1 easy step.

 

Could probably sandblast the other 2 options to get the same thing if wanted.  

 

I buy a ton of golf stuff so when I complain about something like this it's my way of saying, I don't support this pricing concept and therefore don't buy premium vokeys brand new.  It's just losing easy business for Titleist.

[Abh159]

22 minutes ago, Rory4Pres said:

I don't understand why anyone would pay an upcharge for the raw wedges when you can just buy the black wedges and easily remove the paint in a matter of hours letting it soak in vinagar (I think, I can't remember what I used).  It's silly.  Get a raw wedge in 1 easy step.

 

People are going to tend to choose convenience over saving a few bucks 99% of the time. Titleist knows this so they are taking advantage of it. Nothing wrong with a little capitalism. 

 

It's basically the same as changing the oil in your car. Sure I could buy the oil for $15 and do it myself at home in about an hour, but I'd rather pay someone $40 to do it so I don't have to do the work. Saving that extra $20-30 just isn't worth it for me. 

 

 

[BigBlue7]

Why act like this is unique to the golf industry?

 

Companies in all sorts of industries release a base product and then after some time release a different version of that product with cosmetic "upgrades" and charge more for it.

 

 

[FatThinShank]

48 minutes ago, Rory4Pres said:

 

I don't understand why anyone would pay an upcharge for the raw wedges when you can just buy the black wedges and easily remove the paint in a matter of hours letting it soak in vinagar (I think, I can't remember what I used).  It's silly.  Get a raw wedge in 1 easy step.

 

I think they went the extra step of making that a lot harder with the SM8, I couldn’t actually get it down to a raw wedge that way (used CLR). I could remove the black but I couldn’t do much more. SM7 and 6 it was easy though. 

[Rory4Pres]

24 minutes ago, Abh159 said:

 

People are going to tend to choose convenience over saving a few bucks 99% of the time. Titleist knows this so they are taking advantage of it. Nothing wrong with a little capitalism. 

 

It's basically the same as changing the oil in your car. Sure I could buy the oil for $15 and do it myself at home in about an hour, but I'd rather pay someone $40 to do it so I don't have to do the work. Saving that extra $20-30 just isn't worth it for me. 

 

 

 

Terrible comparison, removing the black paint is easier than making a sandwich.  I think 99% of people would spend 3 minutes of their time to save $40+.  They simply don't know that's an option.

[Rory4Pres]

5 minutes ago, FatThinShank said:

I think they went the extra step of making that a lot harder with the SM8, I couldn’t actually get it down to a raw wedge that way (used CLR). I could remove the black but I couldn’t do much more. SM7 and 6 it was easy though. 

Ahhhhh, interesting and evil.  Man, maybe I need to check out mizuno wedges next go round.  Have played exclusively vokeys for the past 8 years or so.

[swgolf12]

As mentioned, the black wedges stripped to raw won't rust up the same way as a raw does because of how the black finish is applied during the manufacturing process. They also know that the user that has to have raw wedges will ultimately pay the extra money for them so it's a business decision.  Same reason they don't release the slate blue finish until year 2, they know they can get people who want to have them to buy the chrome or black the 1st year, and then the 2nd year will buy the slate wedges whether they played enough to wear the grooves down or not. They're in the business of making money and they know the people who are specific for those types of things will shell out the extra coin to have what they want. Not saying that it's right (it's not) but it's business.

[Double Dodger]

1 hour ago, AThompson_3 said:

As a guy that plays raw vokeys, I get it. There shouldn’t be an up charge because it’s less steps for the manufacturer. I also understand the golf market that raw wedges are a niche market. 99% of golfers don’t realize that the guys on tour play raw wedges. The average golfer is going to choose the chrome or black wedge over the raw every single day of the week. The people that are adamant about playing raw wedges (like myself) are willing to pay for an up charge even if they believe it’s ridiculous (like myself). The complaints about an upcharge for raw wedges are tired and overplayed. Nothing is ever going to happen. We just have to accept it. 

Well, you pay more to get Titleist stamped on it so why not....

[towncryer]

I think there's definitely a supply and demand issue here. Because tour players want them, we want them, and we'll pay for them. Heck...people pay more for Tour Issue shafts, and the only difference is tighter tolerances for weight because that's what they get on tour. 

 

I think there's also a retail element here. As someone mentioned before, most people have no idea about raw wedges. Selling raw wedges is hard at the retail level because they don't look as nice as the finished wedges. Yes, a raw wedge is fewer steps, but the OEMs are (rightfully for them) making SO MANY MORE chrome/slate/finished wedges. It just kind of makes sense to charge more for a fringe request.

 

With all that said...Callaway's raw wedge is the same price as the other options. So yeah.

 

 

[North Butte]

There's always a market for clubs that are a) visually different and b) have some sort of Tour connection. Certain people want to own those clubs BECAUSE they aren't available at retail and they cost more, not in spite of it.

 

The raw finish Vokeys are one such product. The specialness and expensiveness is part of the marketing package.

[Krt22]

2 hours ago, lefthack said:

 

We have one less step in the process and that saves us money. It will cost you extra for the convenience. Have a nice day.

While I do agree the upcharge is too much, in the long run the logistics of keeping those heads on hand is what costs more. 95% of the golfing population thinks rust is bad, if someone sees a rusted out wedge in a store they are not going to want to buy it, I'm guessing inventory issues is why vokey stopped offering a raw finish at retail long ago (and even then, those oil can finishes had some protection). The cost of the post processing is small, they are all finished in big batches. The cost to custom build one off's is not small.

[MattM97]

2 hours ago, Abh159 said:

 

People are going to tend to choose convenience over saving a few bucks 99% of the time. Titleist knows this so they are taking advantage of it. Nothing wrong with a little capitalism. 

 

It's basically the same as changing the oil in your car. Sure I could buy the oil for $15 and do it myself at home in about an hour, but I'd rather pay someone $40 to do it so I don't have to do the work. Saving that extra $20-30 just isn't worth it for me. 

 

 

 

You buy 3 wedges which most will do that is $120 plus tax. If you're in Canada like myself and may other WRX'ers that's $150 CAD plus taxes. That ain't a convenience fee that's a money grab, that's a really nice round of golf where I'm at. s*** I'll buy the Jet Black and soak them in Coke for a few hours to get my raw wedges. I'll use a bit of elbow grease to get what I want, paying that price is an inconvenience.  

[14max]

3 hours ago, lefthack said:

 

We have one less step in the process and that saves us money. It will cost you extra for the convenience. Have a nice day.

The phrase "Less is more" certainly takes on a new meaning...

[lefthack]

11 minutes ago, Krt22 said:

While I do agree the upcharge is too much, in the long run the logistics of keeping those heads on hand is what costs more. 95% of the golfing population thinks rust is bad, if someone sees a rusted out wedge in a store they are not going to want to buy it, I'm guessing inventory issues is why vokey stopped offering a raw finish at retail long ago (and even then, those oil can finishes had some protection). The cost of the post processing is small, they are all finished in big batches. The cost to custom build one off's is not small.

 

It's not like they are storing these in a box in the back yard. Yes, rust is bad. But the only way you will get rust is to expose them. 

 

Unless I'm missing something. My wedges aren't raw, either.

[Krt22]

7 minutes ago, lefthack said:

 

It's not like they are storing these in a box in the back yard. Yes, rust is bad. But the only way you will get rust is to expose them. 

 

Unless I'm missing something. My wedges aren't raw, either.

If they are really raw, it only takes a little bit of moisture to start the process, which then compounds quickly. I imagine it can be an issue in any of the numerous humid parts of the country, it can happen during shipping, etc.

Edited February 23, 2021 by Krt22

[Krt22]

2 hours ago, FatThinShank said:

I think they went the extra step of making that a lot harder with the SM8, I couldn’t actually get it down to a raw wedge that way (used CLR). I could remove the black but I couldn’t do much more. SM7 and 6 it was easy though. 

Use toilet bowl cleaner and finish with a scotch bright pad. Still not the same as the factory raw finish, bit its close

[Pepperturbo]

Upcharge is the result of a manufacturing spec that requires taking additional steps not inline with stock manufacturing steps.  RAW and Blue require additional steps, therefore additional costs are incurred and passed on to the retail consumer.

 

Last I knew creating a RAW surface is NOT actually raw like the raw material used to form the head in the press.

[lefthack]

9 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

Upcharge is the result of a manufacturing spec that requires taking additional steps not inline with stock manufacturing steps.  RAW and Blue require additional steps, therefore additional costs are incurred and passed on to the retail consumer.

 

Last I knew creating a RAW surface is NOT actually raw like the raw material used to form the head in the press.

 

Paying for anything non-standard would likely require an upcharge to cover costs.

 

Doesn't make it sound any less funny to be up charged for "raw". Just saying.

[Pepperturbo]

7 minutes ago, lefthack said:

 

Paying for anything non-standard would likely require an upcharge to cover costs.

 

Doesn't make it sound any less funny to be up charged for "raw". Just saying.

But RAW is NOT actually raw like you're thinking.  It's a process - like Chrome or Satin, etc.

[soregongolfer]

$199 for a wedge?  Holy schnikes.

[lefthack]

12 minutes ago, soregongolfer said:

$199 for a wedge?  Holy schnikes.

 

And to think I am getting 3 free with my irons purchase. 🤣

 

But seriously, they are damn nice.

[Krt22]

1 hour ago, Pepperturbo said:

But RAW is NOT actually raw like you're thinking.  It's a process - like Chrome or Satin, etc.

No it's not, its actually raw, ie no plating or coating of any kind, that is exactly why it rusts. There may be one additional finishing step to get a uniform surface, but I would not call it an additional process 

[Pepperturbo]

29 minutes ago, Krt22 said:

No it's not, its actually raw, ie no plating or coating of any kind, that is exactly why it rusts. There may be one additional finishing step to get a uniform surface, but I would not call it an additional process 

I understand.  I don't work for them so not speaking for them.  I am just speaking as a CEO of a different product based company, that I sold.  If any product is modified in a way that is not inline with current production standards, it's a change that increases production costs, so the cost is passed on.

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[FatThinShank]

16 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

I understand.  I don't work for them so not speaking for them.  I am just speaking as a CEO of a different product based company, that I sold.  If any product is modified in a way that is not inline with current production standards, it's a change that increases production costs, so the cost is passed on.

 

I think we can agree it doesn’t make it 40$ more expensive, they charge that because they can and people will pay for it. The extra step of pulling some heads off the assembly line early before they get a certain finish is not a 25% increase in cost. Other companies offer raw finish and don’t charge extra. 

Edited February 23, 2021 by FatThinShank