Why is True Temper Shorting the Entire Industry? (** NO POLITICS **)

[BCC1898]

Why have they been completely unable to keep up with any semblance of demand? They are almost single handedly shutting down the equipment industry. Why???

Edited July 21, 2021 by GwrxMod

[BCC1898]

So…are we just never getting shafts again? It’s not uncommon to wait 5-6 months now for True Temper product, PX included. 

[Flip4000]

Shipping is tight, and supply chains haven't had time to recover since people are still buying clubs like crazy. I would guess the components side is getting hit hardest of all since they have to supply club manufacturers, big box stores, and direct to person sales. Same stuff that has happened with Golf pride. 

Edited July 20, 2021 by Flip4000

[Mudguard]

Or like some other industries (cycling is another) manufacturers don't want to ramp up production in case they are holding too much when the demand goes back to normal. 

[TonyDAnnunzio]

I was shopping for a set of Dynamic Golds yesterday and having a hard time finding anyone that had them in stock...  thank goodness Billy Bob's had them and I received an email today saying they had been shipped.  Now how long it will take to get them if they went out usps is another story...

[grm24]

1 hour ago, mcounci2 said:

- True Temper will pay workers more and a Dynamic Gold will be $44.99

LOL... which means they would still be cheaper than some KBS steel iron shafts.

[BREWMASTER95060]

I help my dad run his business and our suppliers are having material issues Long lead times. stuff I buy taking two and three times longer to get the orders filled. Container ships from China are taking longer to get unloaded in Long Beach.

A lot of people had “just in time” supply chains And during the shut down the supply chains ran dry trying to get toilet paper for example. China company we do business normally takes two weeks off in February for the Chinese New Year This February they were closed for the entire month.

[grm24]

4 hours ago, BCC1898 said:

Why have they been completely unable to keep up with any semblance of demand? They are almost single handedly shutting down the equipment industry. Why???

Do you honestly believe that with off the chart demand for their product TT decided to punt on all the back orders for their product to shutdown the golf gear industry and not provide supply? FFS what has happened to this place and common sense? Read the room. Supply chains, regardless of the product, are way behind across many industries for over a year and will be for some time. Why can't allegedly intelligent people here and other places grasp this? It's going to be a long while before things catch up across many industries due to multiple reasons. Deep breath and do a bit of research. <smh>

Edited July 20, 2021 by grm24

[Thayneil]

7 hours ago, grm24 said:

LOL... which means they would still be cheaper than some KBS steel iron shafts.

i am just a small part time guy and i get KBS for way less than MRP

[cristphoto]

10 hours ago, BCC1898 said:

Why have they been completely unable to keep up with any semblance of demand? They are almost single handedly shutting down the equipment industry. Why???

 

At the beginning of this season I ordered a new set of Ping irons with TT DG 105 shafts.  I was told one month until delivery. After 6 weeks I called Ping and asked when I would get my clubs.  They said the clubs were built but they were waiting on Golf Pride grips.  They told me it would be another 3 months. I said put any grip on and ship the clubs.  I got them in 3 days.  So its not just TT with delays.  I'd say its most any product made outside the US.  

[BCC1898]

17 minutes ago, cristphoto said:

 

At the beginning of this season I ordered a new set of Ping irons with TT DG 105 shafts.  I was told one month until delivery. After 6 weeks I called Ping and asked when I would get my clubs.  They said the clubs were built but they were waiting on Golf Pride grips.  They told me it would be another 3 months. I said put any grip on and ship the clubs.  I got them in 3 days.  So its not just TT with delays.  I'd say its most any product made outside the US.  

GP is caught up. TT is getting worse!

[mcounci2]

3 minutes ago, BCC1898 said:

GP is caught up. TT is getting worse!

Yeah it was nice to see the grip section totally stocked the last time I was at Golf Galaxy!

[MtlJeff]

Try buying something with Electronics in it. Lead times are ~ 1 year for components

 

It's not just golf stuff

[Ger21]

The bad weather in Texas in the spring shut down factories for a month or more.

Yamaha Waverunner production stopped for over a month, and many 2021 model machines ordered last fall will not even get made.

I work in the woodworking industry, and many glues have 3-4 month lead times due to the Texas freeze.

[TrueTemper]

Hey guys and gals- Like all other industries we have been hit by unprecedented demand, raw material delays (steel, decals, chemicals, graphite.....) and labor shortages. And even when we have all the materials and labor in place there is a limit to how much capacity our Mississippi factory has. We are currently running almost 24/7 in an effort to catch up and have doubled our workforce and daily output over the last 6 months. All that to say the pinch is going to last a while longer but we are doing everything we can to catch up as quickly as we can. DB

[ChipNRun]

COVID and government-mandated closures sent shock waves through golfdom. Comments from an April 2020 article by a writer from a rival site:

• Callaway, TaylorMade, Ping and Titleist pretty well shut down their production lines... Cobra and Muzuno able to keep some workers active.
• The Big 4 (Calla, TM, P and T) entered spring 2020 with sizable inventories of clubs.

This set the stage for what supply chain people call the bullwhip effect. In the aftermath of the article,  inventories drew down and the number of new golfers rose. With the gaps in production, spot shortages arose in component areas. Organizations rush to fill the shortages, and often can oversupply certain components. So, you end up with shortage or surplus, depending on component and OEM/model.

 

In the ensuing year, three golf industry veterans kept me up to speed on the availability problems. Two manage white side golf sales outlets and one who owns a full-service golf outlet: fittings, lessons and simulators. I'm haring the same story: grips and shafts are the main shortage areas in golf manufacturing.

 

I got a Callaway team fitting recently at my local golf club. I was cautioned that substitutions may be necessary for various models. It's the same caution appearing in Callaway online site:

 

Quote

For Stock Orders: Due to unprecedented demand across the golf industry, there is a shortage of shafts and grips. Though we will make every effort to install the inline “stock” shaft and grip, we may on occasion, need to substitute for an equivalent premium shaft/grip. This shaft would be in the same weight class and flex as the stock product, and the grip would be of similar weight and type. We appreciate your understanding and support as we continue to deal with this component shortage.

 

[GooseHook]

@ChipNRun 100%. There are countless examples for the new equipment line threads, some guys were getting backordered by months on clubs because of their grip preference or shaft. 

 

Unfortunately there's not much sophistication with custom ordering now to track what components are going to drive your club's lead time up. Short of calling the customer service line and hounding them, there isn't a ton of transparency. 

 

 

 

[Pepperturbo]

The OP needs to understand distribution and supply-chain and what happens when it was all shut-down.

 

Most hard-hit has been world-wide trucking industry, which is used in nearly all aspects of parts, distribution, equipment and production, all over the US, Europe, Malaysia, and China the country with the largest hand in all production aspects.  Thanks to poor leadership in many countries, including US, staffing up and down the supply chain is another fully destroyed segment.  Doesn't matter how influential or large the company is, NO COMPANY could have planned for all the stupid decisions that lead up to SHUT-down of countries. 

 

If a company makes something offshore, or assembles it state-side, they STILL struggle to get components and or delivery, then there's how staffing affected customs.  Holding yards are overwhelmed, as are shipping yards.  And let's not overlook how the supply-chain and staffing issues affect shipping yards and staffing of ships.  The larger the company's manufacturing and or distribution is, the larger the problem.

Edited July 20, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[Red4282]

This is on the club manufacturers as much as true temper. There are plenty of other shaft companies that could have been offered as stock choices. 

[gsrjc]

I heard KBS steel shafts are going to be delayed also for the remainder of the year. 

Edited July 21, 2021 by gsrjc

[BREWMASTER95060]

What’s with the

“your content will need to be approved by a moderator”

what did I do wrong

Just for everyone or just me.?.!?

[Buzzkill]

7 hours ago, BREWMASTER95060 said:

What’s with the

“your content will need to be approved by a moderator”

what did I do wrong

Just for everyone or just me.?.!?

It’s for everyone.

[hammergolf]

On 7/19/2021 at 8:31 PM, BCC1898 said:

Why have they been completely unable to keep up with any semblance of demand? They are almost single handedly shutting down the equipment industry. Why???

The entire world is dealing with supply chain issues, raw good issues, and shipping constraints. It’s not just golf companies. 

[hammergolf]

On 7/20/2021 at 2:07 PM, Pepperturbo said:

The OP needs to understand distribution and supply-chain and what happens when it was all shut-down.

 

Most hard-hit has been world-wide trucking industry, which is used in nearly all aspects of parts, distribution, equipment and production, all over the US, Europe, Malaysia, and China the country with the largest hand in all production aspects.  Thanks to poor leadership in many countries, including US, staffing up and down the supply chain is another fully destroyed segment.  Doesn't matter how influential or large the company is, NO COMPANY could have planned for all the stupid decisions that lead up to SHUT-down of countries. 

 

If a company makes something offshore, or assembles it state-side, they STILL struggle to get components and or delivery, then there's how staffing affected customs.  Holding yards are overwhelmed, as are shipping yards.  And let's not overlook how the supply-chain and staffing issues affect shipping yards and staffing of ships.  The larger the company's manufacturing and or distribution is, the larger the problem.

I try to explain this every day to my customers. Many people have no concept what a 8 month shut down does to business. 

[Pepperturbo]

2 hours ago, hammergolf said:

I try to explain this every day to my customers. Many people have no concept what a 8 month shut down does to business. 

Yep, it's sad how unenlightened some people are on the subject.  That shut-down has devastated many discrete manufacturing operations, to the point, they have to almost be rebuilt.  I hear some seriously frustrating chatter from manufacturing colleagues that import components from China and Malaysia. 

[hammergolf]

16 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

Yep, it's sad how unenlightened some people are on the subject.  That shut-down has devastated many discrete manufacturing operations, to the point, they have to almost be rebuilt.  I hear some seriously frustrating chatter from manufacturing colleagues that import components from China and Malaysia. 

Yeah, we are currently moving much of our part manufacturing to domestic factories. But most are struggling to get raw materials. It’s going to be 2022 until it starts getting better.

[Philipp]

20 hours ago, hammergolf said:

Yeah, we are currently moving much of our part manufacturing to domestic factories. But most are struggling to get raw materials. It’s going to be 2022 until it starts getting better.

more like 2nd half of 2022 or even later, I‘m afraid…

[BlkNGld]

19 hours ago, hammergolf said:

Yeah, we are currently moving much of our part manufacturing to domestic factories. But most are struggling to get raw materials. It’s going to be 2022 until it starts getting better.

 

Yeah, that's the other part.   People think it would be solved by moving more manufacturing here, but that only has a chance of working if the raw materials or components are available here.

 

And in some cases, suppliers short on inventory are offering "priority" delivery... for a price of course.

[Pepperturbo]

55 minutes ago, BlkNGld said:

 

Yeah, that's the other part.   People think it would be solved by moving more manufacturing here, but that only has a chance of working if the raw materials or components are available here.

 

And in some cases, suppliers short on inventory are offering "priority" delivery... for a price of course.

If one key infrastructure sector doesn't improve, it won't recover, no matter where operations are moved.  Moving departments back stateside comes with a hefty cost, and maybe a preventative effect in the future.  But if staffing isn't addressed, it will be a worthy investment thrown down a deep, ugly hole.

 

The other day I was talking with a buddy that sold his 50 semi-truck long-haul trucking company a month before Covid hit... he had multiple distribution centers around the US.  Boy was he happy.  His company delivers tech all over N.A.  If you were a fly on the wall listening to our conversation.  You'd know how bad it really has become.

.

[hammergolf]

2 hours ago, Philipp said:

more like 2nd half of 2022 or even later, I‘m afraid…

Yeah I was trying to be optimistic.