Club endorsements that undid their Pro

[golfortennis]

1 hour ago, 3whacker said:

Curtis Strange went from playing MacGregor VIP's to Maruman and never won again

 

I don't know.  Maybe, but he's pretty honest about things in A Good Walk Spoiled.  He wins two straight US Opens, finishes a shot out of the playoff the next year, and is completely drained.  Almost lost all motivation.  Maybe it was the clubs, but he was about 35, high strung, and basically burnt out.    

[3whacker]

2 minutes ago, golfortennis said:

 

I don't know.  Maybe, but he's pretty honest about things in A Good Walk Spoiled.  He wins two straight US Opens, finishes a shot out of the playoff the next year, and is completely drained.  Almost lost all motivation.  Maybe it was the clubs, but he was about 35, high strung, and basically burnt out.    

Strange was one of my favorite players, he threw away two Masters, Im sure burnout had a lot to do with it...How else do you explain guys like him, or Bill Rogers, or maybe even Lee Jantzen

[tacklingdummy]

14 hours ago, JackpotJohnny said:

Let’s be clear here, we could blame the equipment change but Wozniacki was the real reason for the downturn in 2013. As soon as he called it off and got back to focusing on golf, he caught fire. 

Then he turned around and did it again, and still hasn’t been completely back since. 

 

When they showed McIlroy on TV and interviewed him at various tennis tournaments, it was obviously clear that he would rather be somewhere else. 

[tacklingdummy]

7 hours ago, Scotty1140 said:

First thing that popped in my head was Bubba going to Volvik. That was an instant mess.

 

I wonder at what point did he say to himself "oh f*** what have I done"?

 

 

 

Very true. The ball was not a good fit for Bubba. Right after he went back to Titleist, he won the Genesis after a significant slump. He was ready to almost retire. Not to say Volvik is a bad golf ball, but not a good fit for a guy who hits 50-yard hooks off of pine straw with a wedge. 😲

[MUNIGRIT]

Tiger can play anything because he has Taylor make the blades for him and stamp whatever logo on the side of them he requires. 

[mat562]

Francesco Molinari's decision to ditch his Taylor Made clubs for some Callaway ones certainly did the numbers on his bank balance more good than the ones on his scorecard.

Edited March 18, 2021 by mat562

[mat562]

Also Nick Price.

 

Perplexingly, the best player in the world with Ram irons, then lost all form after signing with Atrigon and continuing to use Ram irons as the shiny new ones he was supposed to be playing never materialised.

[mat562]

And Colin Montgomerie.

 

After several years as a world class player with clunky, cavity-backed Callaway gear, tried Bernhard Langer's Hogan ball in practice at the Ryder Cup and went Hogan-happy with a set of blades and the ball to boot. After playing some awful stuff, he quickly found some Yonex gear that evidently fitted him much better.

[games]

Excerpt from article on Steve Stricker's World Match Play victory in January 2001:

 

For Stricker, this is a nice comeback for a player who only five years ago was considered a rising star after two victories in 1996.With success came riches, and with riches came trouble. He got rid of his Peerless irons to sign a lucrative deal with Taylor Made, and the new equipment made him blink. A switch to Ping didn't help, and now Stricker has no club deal and likes it that way.In his bag this week were clubs made by Callaway, Cobra, Ping, Titleist and Odyssey. Worth noting is that the driver (Callaway Big Bertha, a dinosaur in today's high-tech market) and the putter (Odyssey) were the same ones he used in 1996.

 

I think it's long been taken down, but Peerless went hard negative on Stricker on their public website.  I think it was around 1999 or 2000.  The site referenced a player that was in the top 20 in the world playing Peerless irons, then dropping out of the Top 100 when he stopped.  It was a pretty bitter message.  And, I think it was right on the catalog webpage of the irons Stricker used to use...

 

    

[golfortennis]

1 hour ago, 3whacker said:

Strange was one of my favorite players, he threw away two Masters, Im sure burnout had a lot to do with it...How else do you explain guys like him, or Bill Rogers, or maybe even Lee Jantzen

 

What was the second Masters?  I know 85... 

[rangersgoalie]

1 hour ago, 3whacker said:

Strange was one of my favorite players, he threw away two Masters, Im sure burnout had a lot to do with it...How else do you explain guys like him, or Bill Rogers, or maybe even Lee Jantzen

Janzen made some changes in equipment too

spalding/Founders Etc

[golfortennis]

5 minutes ago, rangersgoalie said:

Janzen made some changes in equipment too

spalding/Founders Etc

 

Wasn't he all in on Lynx as well?  Parrallax?

[JDCON]

What about the guys who were studs as amateurs/collegiate players, then turned pro & got an equipment deal? So many examples where they dropped what got them to the dance for the big equipment deal only to become "mediocre" pros.

[Naptime]

I would think with current technology any big club maker could make a club to mimic any club that any other club maker produces, subject to patents.  Even then call it a prototype and don't market it and maybe IP doesn't matter - ask a patent lawyer.  But everyone has some version of adjustable hosels, movable sole weights, cavity backs or blades, magic polymer inserts, custom grips, and miraculous unobtanium internal weights.  And they can give the pro a club that they don't market to the general public.  Maybe even some badge engineering along the way.  At some point I think the effect is mostly mental.  But mental is a big part of golf.

 

I carry a mixed bag of Cobra, Nike, Ping, and Odyssey.  If I find a club I hit well (meaning with any consistency) it stays in the bag even if it doesn't match anything else.

[stingerfade]

3 hours ago, golfortennis said:

 

I don't know.  Maybe, but he's pretty honest about things in A Good Walk Spoiled.  He wins two straight US Opens, finishes a shot out of the playoff the next year, and is completely drained.  Almost lost all motivation.  Maybe it was the clubs, but he was about 35, high strung, and basically burnt out.    

Being a jerk takes it’s toll on the soul as well 

[golfortennis]

40 minutes ago, stingerfade said:

Being a jerk takes it’s toll on the soul as well 

 

Not saying dude was a saint, but everytime I ask people for an example, all I get are crickets. 

[golfortennis]

40 minutes ago, stingerfade said:

Being a jerk takes it’s toll on the soul as well 

 

Not saying dude was a saint, but everytime I ask people for an example, all I get are crickets. 

[adeangelis]

3 minutes ago, golfortennis said:

 

Not saying dude was a saint, but everytime I ask people for an example, all I get are crickets. 

Think a lot of people will point to his quotes on Tiger when Tiger was first coming through...I also know there was some stuff out there where Arnie accused him of being abusive and what not

[Loki]

3 hours ago, games said:

Excerpt from article on Steve Stricker's World Match Play victory in January 2001:

 

For Stricker, this is a nice comeback for a player who only five years ago was considered a rising star after two victories in 1996.With success came riches, and with riches came trouble. He got rid of his Peerless irons to sign a lucrative deal with Taylor Made, and the new equipment made him blink. A switch to Ping didn't help, and now Stricker has no club deal and likes it that way.In his bag this week were clubs made by Callaway, Cobra, Ping, Titleist and Odyssey. Worth noting is that the driver (Callaway Big Bertha, a dinosaur in today's high-tech market) and the putter (Odyssey) were the same ones he used in 1996.

 

I think it's long been taken down, but Peerless went hard negative on Stricker on their public website.  I think it was around 1999 or 2000.  The site referenced a player that was in the top 20 in the world playing Peerless irons, then dropping out of the Top 100 when he stopped.  It was a pretty bitter message.  And, I think it was right on the catalog webpage of the irons Stricker used to use...

 

    

I was wondering if some would mention this before I was able. 
 

It still took him years after that win to really get back into it. Two straight come back players of the year!

[CallawayOffCenter]

The ones that initially pop in my head are Rose/Honma, ZJ/PXG, Bubba/Volvik. 

[games]

54 minutes ago, Loki said:

It still took him years after that win to really get back into it. Two straight come back players of the year!

 

And, IIRC, the year after his second straight comeback player award, he had a "cup of coffee" (a few weeks,  I think) as the #2 ranked player in the world.  Circa 2007 or 2008.  

[hacker101]

Nick Watney. 

[stingerfade]

2 hours ago, golfortennis said:

 

Not saying dude was a saint, but everytime I ask people for an example, all I get are crickets. 

Listen to him speak. He’s arrogant and comes off as a jerk every time. 

[getair23]

Hunter Mahan to Ace Hardware. 

[Holy Moses]

22 hours ago, tobiasjd said:

Harris English was on an awesome upward trend.  Then left Ping for Callaway and fell off the map.  Back to Ping and in the top 20. 

Finau too?

[cavemeister]

Years ago, Steve Stricker was young, long and coming up---I think he signed with Taylormade? Anyway he had problems after that finding a driver that he liked...

I see others  mentioned SS.

Edited March 19, 2021 by cavemeister

[iBanesto]

Rose did win a PGA Tour event with Honma.

 

Zach Johnson to PXG has not reached his usually consistent results he had with Titleist.

[KennyP]

There does seem to be a pattern with unsuccessful moves to Callaway.

 

Harris English

Sergio Garcia

Francesco Molinari

Matt Wallace

Daniel Berger

Xander Schauffele (to a lesser extent)

 

I have no idea why though. Nothing wrong with their equipment.

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by KennyP
typo

[the bishop]

Not a huge example but David Toms switched from Cleveland to TM and had a couple of forgettable years.  Went back to Cleveland after that and got his form back.  

[iBanesto]

6 minutes ago, KennyP said:

There does seem to be a pattern with unsuccessful moves to Callaway.

 

Harris English

Sergio Garcia

Francesco Molinari

Matt Wallace

Daniel Berger

Xander Schauffele (to a lesser extent)

 

I have no idea why though. Nothing wrong with their equipment.

 

 

 

I don't think Berger or Schauffele fall into this catergory.

 

Berger is back winning.

 

Schauffele is a money machine who hasn't been able to close out several opportunities.