Are Cobra in trouble now?

[MattM97]

As long as Cobra keeps putting out the clubs they are at the price they are they will do just fine. 

[LPSISCO]

I’m more likely to play something from Cobra now, since the rep put the smack down on Bryson. He’s uber annoying. 

[chipa]

Bryson won a major and Cobra is not paying him millions at a loss, even if people don't play OL his name sells. 

[kasting333]

44 minutes ago, LPSISCO said:

I’m more likely to play something from Cobra now, since the rep put the smack down on Bryson. He’s uber annoying. 

That’ll show him 😆 

[Spankapotamus redux]

I play OL F9s. Nothing to do with Bryson, but moreso my own physical limitations. I never broke 90 consistently in 20 years until switching. Now, I've had just one round over 90 (93) out of 20. The F9s are great irons and I'm completely happy with my iron game for the first time ever. The principal is sound and works well for some people. I've been wanting to try them for years after reading about it via Tom Wishon, but I don't have a clubfitter in my area to build a set. It's nice to have access from a major OEM. That said, I've never seen another set in the wild.

Cobra makes good stuff and they will be fine.

Bryson will continue to be a tool.

[CDLgolf]

Do pros playing a brand really make or break the brand ?

 

Nike had several top players playing their clubs and they quit making clubs.

 

Mizuno doesn't have many top name pros playing their clubs and they seem to be doing well.

 

I think Cobra will be fine as long as they keep making good clubs at a reasonable price.

[kasting333]

5 minutes ago, CDLgolf said:

Do pros playing a brand really make or break the brand ?

 

Nike had several top players playing their clubs and they quit making clubs.

 

Mizuno doesn't have many top name pros playing their clubs and they seem to be doing well.

 

I think Cobra will be fine as long as they keep making good clubs at a reasonable price.

Mizuno has always had equipment free agents playing their irons. It’s rare to see a pro put a cobra club in the bag without a sponsorship. 
 

Cobra makes decent drivers and fairway woods but it’s a bottom tier OEM if we are being honest. 

[tannyhoban]

This was a blip in the news cycle. Completely neutral to Cobra sales and Bryson's brand.

 

The general population moves on to the next news cycle. In a months time did this even happen?

[MtlJeff]

I don't think it hurts them that much. I think Cobra is more of a style brand associated with Rickie than a hardcore performance brand associated with others.

 

I'm a pretty big golf fan and i even i forget sometimes that Bryson was a Cobra guy

 

I would bet 75% of people who even are aware of that comment would have to check which brand he was talking about

[Bubb]

I play Cobra irons and driver but, yes, they are damaged by this dust up. They needed traction and they’re likely to now lose Bryson and they’ll also have a tough time recruiting other top pros based on the manner in which their rep responded to Bryson. You have to be professional in situations like that. No other pro wants to be called “petulant” by their sponsor. There are too many other equipment options to risk getting in bed with someone who will blast you publicly, even if you deserved it.

[Bubb]

1 hour ago, MattM97 said:

As long as Cobra keeps putting out the clubs they are at the price they are they will do just fine. 

That’s funny you say that because I’m going to replace my Cobra irons soon but I’m likely to go with PXG or Hogan because they’re cheaper.

[GrandStranded]

2 hours ago, ProjectX said:

Matt Kuchar is THE Arm Lock Guy and the other pros on tour thinking about going arm lock don't seek out Bryson, they seek out Kuchar for advice.

I wasn’t talking about tour players, I was talking about consumers, and who influences them. Nobody who buys clubs cares what Kuchar plays.

Please don’t compare Kooch with Bryson as far a marketing power goes. 

[CDLgolf]

13 minutes ago, kasting333 said:

Mizuno has always had equipment free agents playing their irons. It’s rare to see a pro put a cobra club in the bag without a sponsorship. 
 

Cobra makes decent drivers and fairway woods but it’s a bottom tier OEM if we are being honest. 

 

I would agree with your thoughts. I just don't know what impact any of it has on retail sales. 

 

 

[PearSorbet17]

If endorsements didn’t matter, then how come Cobra is paying Bryson millions to use their stuff?  If he “didn’t move the needle” then why pay him?  
 

[GrandStranded]

Bottom line?

Cobra needs Bryson more than he needs them.

This isn’t 2010. The 10 year olds who wore those flat brimmed orange Puma hats and matching polo and shorts have grown up. They’re working out in the gym now trying to get strong as possible. They want to emulate Bryson’s or BKs game, not Matt Kuchar’s, not Rickie’s or Spieth’s.

He’s the biggest thing Cobra has going for them right now as RF’s struggles continue. Lexi? As popular as she is, the LPGA is invisible unless you’re a really avid fan of golf.

Rickie is a corporate darling, but he’s the “big hat no cattle” guy as far as golf goes. How long do those contracts last? Who knows. I don’t root against anyone, especially someone as likeable as RF.

 

[kasting333]

48 minutes ago, CDLgolf said:

 

I would agree with your thoughts. I just don't know what impact any of it has on retail sales. 

 

 

Most equipment trends come from the tour. It would be a massive loss to cobra 

[MattM97]

52 minutes ago, Bubb said:

That’s funny you say that because I’m going to replace my Cobra irons soon but I’m likely to go with PXG or Hogan because they’re cheaper.

 

I guess their irons are on par with everyone else price wise. But the rest of their stuff is always cheaper and also on par with everyone else quality wise.

[jomatty]

4 hours ago, john myrbch said:

Bryson seems to be living rent free between someone’s ears, lol.

On one hand you claim nobody cares, then typed a 500 word essay which proved not only do you care,  but you care way more than most of us.

You just don’t like him though, which is your prerogative. Your dislike aside, the guy moves the needle as does RF, so I agree with you there. 
Cobra has chosen their spokespeople well. Bryson, Rickie and Lexi are great choices.

Moving the needle and selling clubs are not necessarily the same thing.  Bryson is a good example of that.  He may move the needle but he doesn’t sell that many clubs.  The entire ol market is tiny.  He sells some Sik putters but that is still a small amount compared to the amount of spyders each of the Taylor made guys sell.  Sik just doesn’t have enough market share for him to be selling a lot of them (I’m not saying he is not a good fit for a company of their size, just that it’s not that much sales in the scheme of things)

[ProjectX]

2 hours ago, john myrbch said:

I wasn’t talking about tour players, I was talking about consumers, and who influences them. Nobody who buys clubs cares what Kuchar plays.

Please don’t compare Kooch with Bryson as far a marketing power goes. 

Why not, neither has any. Bryson is right up there with Patrick Reed as far as being universally disliked. If anything he's become a negative influence on the brands he's associated with. At least Kuchar isn't a force against his sponsors. Also Kuchar was selling arm lock putters with Bettinardi well before Bryson picked it up. 

[RSinSG]

I wonder when Koepka’s contract is up. I can see him going with Cobra and saying this is the best driver in the world. 

[Red4282]

This thread has become comical…didnt know wrx had so many marketing experts! Cobra and bryson will be just fine… with or without each other!

[GrandStranded]

35 minutes ago, ProjectX said:

Why not, neither has any. Bryson is right up there with Patrick Reed as far as being universally disliked. If anything he's become a negative influence on the brands he's associated with. At least Kuchar isn't a force against his sponsors. Also Kuchar was selling arm lock putters with Bettinardi well before Bryson picked it up. 

If you don’t think Bryson has more influence than Matt Kuchar when it comes to moving product, I can’t help you.

[boggyman]

13 minutes ago, Red4282 said:

This thread has become comical…didnt know wrx had so many marketing experts! Cobra and bryson will be just fine… with or without each other!

Marketing experts aren’t the only experts they’ve got on here.😂😂😂You should “get our more often”as the old sayin goes 😂😂😂😂

[Herlofsky27]

The response by Cobra to Bryson actually makes me want to purchase their clubs again, they actually called him out for his crap which is perfect. So I would say opposite effect if anything!

[pollock21]

Won’t hurt them at all. He’s literally the most talked about golfer week in and week out and carries the Cobra banner. The real genius in Cobra’s reply was spelling out that his driver is a custom one off made specifically for him. We all know that, but a lot of folks out there don’t. 
 

Bryson will be fine, Cobra will be fine. They are putting out top notch drivers $100 under a lot of competition. Bryson had a bad day and threw a tantrum. I still like the guy, but he has a lot to learn since he’s one of the biggest names in the sport. 

[grm24]

2 hours ago, RSinSG said:

I wonder when Koepka’s contract is up. I can see him going with Cobra and saying this is the best driver in the world. 

Koepka is still an equipment free agent. He currently has no club/ball contracts.

[Mr. Grumpy]

I went OL when Cobra introduced theirs. Still playing them. Not because Bryson plays them, but he did get them more into the news. My worry is that if they can Bryson they may stop or severely slow the R&D - yes I know "I still play their first OL offering. They work for me, I am used to them. Others make OL but I'm really not interested in what they offer. Over time, OL has proven to shave an average of 4 strokes per and on average more consistent. However, the majority of my personal best scores came VL, I was just more erratic with my scores. 

 

[Mr. Grumpy]

3 minutes ago, grm24 said:

Koepka is still an equipment free agent. He currently has no club/ball contracts.

LoL, Brooks to Cobra with Bryson would set the world afire (not that it really needs any help)

[Trouble_shooter]

20 years or so ago I played a full cobra bag, well not full but cobra driver and 3 wood, and ssi irons with aldila graphite. Now I’m on the ping wagon. No tour player has any impact on what goes in my bag, whether they criticize the company or not, I only play what looks and feels good to me. I don’t know a whole lot about Bryson, but from what little I’ve observed his style is very loud. I’m not hating on him though, he’s his own brand, same with Conor mcgregor and so on. No but cobras a solid brand no matter whatever bryson said. 

[chouls19]

5 hours ago, kasting333 said:

Mizuno has always had equipment free agents playing their irons. It’s rare to see a pro put a cobra club in the bag without a sponsorship. 
 

Cobra makes decent drivers and fairway woods but it’s a bottom tier OEM if we are being honest. 

I disagree that it’s bottom tier certainly not in quality anyway. I think the top 3 are all marketing and that’s what it comes down to. I see Cobra more like a bigger budget Adams. Quality stuff, great components (real deal shafts) and innovative designs.