Why are we chasing the OEM's dangled carrot?

[Tree Levino]

Thought the Rapture and now M2 thread by @cardoustie was quite interesting. Older drivers keeping up while we spend $500+ a year on the "latest and greatest". Yes, we are all enthusiasts on an equipment forum so I understand the spends, but the normalization of super expensive equipment is now striking me as more and more odd. I love trying things and recently hit some shots with my buddy's Vapor Pro irons. By all accounts these things are not supposed to be very forgiving, but they are up there with my favorite irons I've ever hit. I properly love them. I can pick a set up for $350 or so that will keep up with or even exceed the performance of my $2000 Miuras. I hit a 2016 M2 recently as well and if properly fit I have no doubt it would be as long as my Max LS. So why are we eating it up? Is it because we want to believe that it's the gears fault? My buddy that plays the aforementioned Nikes shoots in the 60s with his eyes closed and the only thing in his bag he will mess with is: 

 

1. Putters - he has a million

2. New wedge set at the beginning of every season 

3. His driver is modern (Sim) but doesn't love it. 

4. Driver shafts if he isn't swinging as quick

 

[lefthack]

The only reason I got a new driver was my old one (M3) I bought for $80 sold for $125 and the new one (M6 D type) was only $148. I hit my M3 well, but really didn't know what I was doing with the adjustments so the M6 is better for me. Was looking at the M4 but the M6 was only $10 more.

 

My irons keep changing because I keep finding stuff to try. If I was right handed I could just go to a demo day.

[wsupjs]

1. People like shiny new things

2. People like the perception of others for having shiny new things

3. Golf attracts Type-A personalities that enjoy tinkering and opportunities to "optimize" their performance

 

I personally change most of my clubs every 3-4 seasons, although I do stagger replacements. No full bag overhaul.

 

Only real exception is wedges because I can never seem to decide the "best" combination of lofts/number of wedges for my bag.

Edited October 6, 2021 by wsupjs

[philly2kuk]

Rick shiels showed in the g425 driver video earlier this year that in five years ping drivers have only gone three yards further. It’s the forgiveness that has changed now, not the distance. Unless they lengthen shafts or find some massive ground breaking tech then they are limited by the COR rules.

[hypergolf]

Because WRXers are golf equipment whores....

[BallerNate]

Because the chase for the perfect bag and the best clubs can be more fun than the game of Golf itself! 🙃🤣

[Righty to Lefty]

Because we want to believe that equipment will override putting in the work.  Even pros that do put in the work still fall for the schtick but they get the gear for free so it's no skin of their back to search for lightning in a bottle.  I am thankful that I truly learned what fits me and fit my clubs to that standard and I hit my clubs til I literally cave the face in on them because I have created a standard as such that a club has to actually be better than what I currently play instead of the hope that it will be.  I can't believe that OEM's are so brave as to continue to increase the price of golf clubs and the consumers continue to fall for it.  At this point no set of irons should cost over a couple hundred bucks. A dozen golf balls should cost no more than 15 or 20 bucks max at this point really but most fall for it time after time and until we wise up as consumers they will continue to take advantage of it.  

[Valtiel]

In addition to what has been said above, there ARE incremental changes in different areas that do make a difference, especially over time. I don't change drivers much and VERY rarely buy the "new thing" in any given year. Starting from "modern" drivers, I went Titleist 910/Taylormade R11 to the 915D3, and then basically straight to the SIM. Efficiency, customizability, and performance on mishits were all very noticeable when making jumps like this. That does not mean there aren't older drivers that would produce a similar difference, but this is not a linear problem where more time = higher performance. Companies chase different design ideas that may or may not really mesh with your swing/game, things like different types of customizability, CG biases, sounds/feels, aesthetics etc etc, and as technology progresses they are better able to realize some of these ideas. The aforementioned 2016 M2 is one of the all time greats, however I find it very bulky/clunky looking and find I much prefer the lower profile of the SIM and it's cleaner pear shape.

Same deal with fairways. I love my 915FD and will never get rid of it, but good lord the SIM fairways are powerful. I was seeing almost driver-like numbers with mine recently which is something those older Titleist fairways simply were not capable of with the same swings. Iron tech has made a lot of very tangible moves forward as well with high MOI being available in increasingly compact packages not really possible in years/decades past. Mixed in with all this though there are always a smattering of "same ole, same ole" releases that really aren't tangible moves forward, but it is finding the ones that ARE that is part of the fun. 
 

So why are we "chasing the carrot"? Because it is worth it if you know what you're looking for more often than not. 

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by Valtiel

[grm24]

5 hours ago, TigerInTheWoods said:

Thought the Rapture and now M2 thread by @cardoustie was quite interesting. Older drivers keeping up while we spend $500+ a year on the "latest and greatest". Yes, we are all enthusiasts on an equipment forum so I understand the spend. 

 

And in spite of what some here think many people here that have never bought into the myth of needing the latest and greatest anything when an OEM releases a new model of anything. Drivers COR then/CT now limits have been the same since 2003. To say nothing of loft jacking on irons. Is there improved distance on mishits on now versus year past? Yes. Same with all other clubs. Doesn't mean the new clubs are better or improved.

 

That noted hitting the sweet spot consistently with any club is more important on a given swing than new club "tech" that has been introduced for miss hits. The best miss hits due to technology still pale in comparison to actually hitting the club face sweet spot.

 

With all of the claimed improvements in golf equipment over the last 20+ years it hasn't improved peoples games as much as manufacturers would leave you to believe. 

 

Love this old time WRX member signature.....my apologies for not recalling what WRX member who had posted this in his signature. Had this saved to a notes file.

 

"I know it is really frowned upon here, but hitting the club somewhere near the middle is generally the greatest tech advancement you can put in your bag."

 

 

[jomatty]

For me I chase new gear for no other reason than because I enjoy it.  Sure I fantasize that it will have a positive effect, but that is not really what I’m chasing.  I just enjoy trying new clubs and it is all part of the hobby for me.

[puttingmatt]

Chasing dangling carrots?  Easiest answer,

Cause OEM's know golfers are suckers for a new shiny object and marketed hype.

[tofur99]

5 hours ago, philly2kuk said:

Rick shiels showed in the g425 driver video earlier this year that in five years ping drivers have only gone three yards further. It’s the forgiveness that has changed now, not the distance. Unless they lengthen shafts or find some massive ground breaking tech then they are limited by the COR rules.

 

yeah I've got Tsi3 driver & 3wood on order, been using the ping i20 since they came out in '12.  Changing for the adjustable hosel and weight and the increased forgiveness on low/high face hits, also just feel like it's time for something new and shiny in the bag.  

 

Not going to be selling/trading the i20 though, still work well

[Red4282]

11 hours ago, TigerInTheWoods said:

Thought the Rapture and now M2 thread by @cardoustie was quite interesting. Older drivers keeping up while we spend $500+ a year on the "latest and greatest". Yes, we are all enthusiasts on an equipment forum so I understand the spends, but the normalization of super expensive equipment is now striking me as more and more odd. I love trying things and recently hit some shots with my buddy's Vapor Pro irons. By all accounts these things are not supposed to be very forgiving, but they are up there with my favorite irons I've ever hit. I properly love them. I can pick a set up for $350 or so that will keep up with or even exceed the performance of my $2000 Miuras. I hit a 2016 M2 recently as well and if properly fit I have no doubt it would be as long as my Max LS. So why are we eating it up? Is it because we want to believe that it's the gears fault? My buddy that plays the aforementioned Nikes shoots in the 60s with his eyes closed and the only thing in his bag he will mess with is: 

 

1. Putters - he has a million

2. New wedge set at the beginning of every season 

3. His driver is modern (Sim) but doesn't love it. 

4. Driver shafts if he isn't swinging as quick

 

Ive pretty much done a 180 and have come to these realizations:

 

1) like what your looking at

2) when you find find a putter that works, stick with it, no matter what it is or isnt (what you envisioned)

3) fit the driver for ball flight optimization

4) shafts- does it feel right? (flex-weight-swingweigth, kick)

 

Sounds pretty simple but thats the only only thing equipment wise i think truly matters. 
 

Here is something i did just recently and I absolutely love it: the unlikely combo-

 

 

yep thats right, a 2021 blade combo’d with a 2007 cb. Cause who freakin cares, its pleasing to ME.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Red4282

[WristySwing]

9 hours ago, TigerInTheWoods said:

Thought the Rapture and now M2 thread by @cardoustie was quite interesting. Older drivers keeping up while we spend $500+ a year on the "latest and greatest". Yes, we are all enthusiasts on an equipment forum so I understand the spends, but the normalization of super expensive equipment is now striking me as more and more odd. I love trying things and recently hit some shots with my buddy's Vapor Pro irons. By all accounts these things are not supposed to be very forgiving, but they are up there with my favorite irons I've ever hit. I properly love them. I can pick a set up for $350 or so that will keep up with or even exceed the performance of my $2000 Miuras. I hit a 2016 M2 recently as well and if properly fit I have no doubt it would be as long as my Max LS. So why are we eating it up? Is it because we want to believe that it's the gears fault? My buddy that plays the aforementioned Nikes shoots in the 60s with his eyes closed and the only thing in his bag he will mess with is: 

 

1. Putters - he has a million

2. New wedge set at the beginning of every season 

3. His driver is modern (Sim) but doesn't love it. 

4. Driver shafts if he isn't swinging as quick

 

 

That bolded part is a big part of this.  Your friend is an exceptional player.  He is not going to see massive jumps in equipment.  Look at those old reruns of classic tournaments and you have guys with permission heads and x-flex dynamic shafts hitting drives 290+.  Arnold famously drove the green at the US Open that one year that was over 300 out from the tees.  Technique is technique.  I had a boss that was the same.  Didn't care what he played but he got a player's package every year.  He would play 5x a year and shoot in the high 60s every time without breaking a sweat.  He had a Ping G25 driver, 4 wood, 3H, S55s, 2 Glide/Gorge wedges (can't remember what year they came out), and a Ketch putter.  All stock stiff shafts and he could easily carry a driver 280.  When he wanted to fool around he kept a set of those TM MC irons from 2012 last time I saw him.  Hitting the middle is far superior to technology.

Now for your average player who hits the middle of the driver maybe 3x a round and 3 out of 10 iron shots flush, then this new equipment is going to be light years ahead of them.  Having worked in the industry for a long time, the GolfWRX community (or at least what they pretend to be...I suspect many of the people here who cycle through 3-4 iron sets a year are just flat out lying) is a major outlier.  When I was fitting at a big box store it was 50:50 if the guy was going to show up with an old clone of some sort or a circa-2009 Taylormade/Callaway product like an R7/R9/Burner or X model to some degree.  Those are the clubs you see most often.  Go wander around a cheap muni for a Saturday afternoon in the summer and you will see very few new clubs.

[mlp021]

4 hours ago, skaarsgard said:

Fight Club quotes:

"Tyler Durden: We're consumers. We are by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty, these things don't concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy's name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra.

Narrator: Martha Stewart.

Tyler Durden: F**k Martha Stewart. Martha's polishing the brass on the Titanic. It's all going down, man. So f**k off with your sofa units and Strinne green stripe patterns.  I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let... lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may."

 

4 hours ago, skaarsgard said:

“The Things You Own End Up Owning You.”

But, I'm as guilty as most on here...constantly chasing the unicorn.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by mlp021

[scomac2002]

We're all just crows; attracted to shiny objects.  

[TimBuma]

I’ve played several sets of irons over the past few years (iblades, apex pro, Srixon 785s, Miura cb 501) and recently put an old set of s55’s back in the bag and they outperformed everything. But still want to put the zx7, tc 201s and the new Mizuno lineup to the test. We like shiny things!

[JamesWA]

I've had the Cobra F9 driver and 5 wood for a few years and can't see any point upgrading them. Moving from stiff to regular shafts recently makes them feel like new clubs.

With the irons I recently changed from Mizuno JPX to Ping G425, and from steel to graphite. Again, whether it's the clubs or the shafts I dont know, but they're way more forgiving and go 15 yards a club further. So that change was worth it.

 

[driveandputtmachine]

Everyone is different.  Some people don't want to pay for a fitting but want to blow a pile of money or even a little with swapping, and try new heads a shafts to find what they could have found in a day of travel and fitting.  However for many the fun of assembling is the reason why, and for some it is just trying something new.  For others it is always having the latest and the greatest in the bag.

 

I have been fit, I know exactly how far I hit, or close enough, and iron with X loft at X length.  I am not trying to find more yardage, I am trying to find something that the club I am swinging helps hide my misses.  I know for a fact that my irons help my two main misses, which is slightly toe side and getting steep.  I could not have figured that out at a fitter close by since there are only two grass fitting locations near me.  One is all Taylor Made and the other did not carry Srixon(they may now).  These irons will remain in the bag for quite some time.  Once I find an iron set I play them for 4-7 years.

 

3 wood, well they are the bane of my existence.  I am always trying new ones, trying to recapture what I had with my two favorite previous 3 woods.  Putters I switch for a few rounds to change it up, but always end up back with my Sunset Beach.

 

Wedges I replace the low end ones almost every season, or at least every two years.

 

Driver, I played the 400 max from Ping up until 4 months ago and the Max LS stole my heart.  It was almost as forgiving and a lot less spinny.  It will be in my bag unless I happen to try something next year that fits me better.  I find it hard to judge forgiveness in a bay, so I have decided that I will probably go TM the next driver since the East Coast Kingdom is only about an hour away.

[BottleCap]

I’ve done fittings, but I’ve found I’d rather play a few rounds with equipment before something gets a spot in the bag.

[monkeyboy]

We are sheep.

Marketers, corporations have to constantly feed the beast and know very well how to get our dollars.

 

They change our mental perceptions thru their tactics.

 

Couple that with an incredible amount of wealth at this point in society...and people who are less secure in general.

 

 

 

 

 

[nitram]

I recently reverted back to my old SLDR 430. Yes the same one I have lamented here on more than a few occasions that's too tough to tame. But it continues to perform better than anything I've tried besides a 2016 M2. It has a different shaft now and I'm quite content to live with the results. Same thing for my fairway woods. I've recently re-shafted my old V-Steels and while I may lose 5 yards to the modern stuff, I know where the hell they're going and how they're going to act when they get there.

[MtlJeff]

I think a lot of people here are very well informed and know fully well a new club isn't going to make them better.

 

I own several putters, several drivers. I'm in talks to buy another custom putter, i'll probably buy another lob wedge this year just because i want a Ping one to match my iron set. I can't go a year without buying 2-3 drivers.

 

I'm not some babe in the woods. I know these won't make me better. I like new stuff because it's fun and i don't really care about the money. I don't have Pepperturbo levels of money, but MtlJeff is doing fine enough to partake in these shenanigans

[Fairway14]

Instant gratification.

[lefthack]

6 hours ago, BallerNate said:

Because the chase for the perfect bag and the best clubs can be more fun than the game of Golf itself! 🙃🤣

 

I'm not going to lie, trying new stuff is at least half the fun. I consider myself fortunate to have gone from good to amazing in my bag this year. 

 

It is a bit of an upfront investment, but the sale of old clubs fund the purchase of new. So it's not like I've dropped $3k all at once. More like $600 a few times. 🤣

[Puttersaurus Rex]

-Marketing

-Fear of missing out (FOMO)

-Diderot Effect

 

(Timely topic as we are already getting the, "What 2022 cLuBs R tHerE GoiNg to Be?", and "DM me tHosE clUb pix".)

[DeCuchi]

What?!!!  Because having the latest/greatest makes me better than the rest of you peasants! 🤣

[Davidv]

Because I can and it is fun, all part of the game and enjoying your passion for golf. 

[me05501]

Something like 75% of the US economy is driven by consumer spending. Golf OEM’s are equal parts R&D and marketing companies. They’re good at it! 

[NJBigFish22]

As someone who needs to replace most of his bag, I think going used on driver and woods is a good option.  With that said, if your looking for a used driver, the prices on some aren’t a big savings over buying new.  I don’t tend to flip clubs, so spending $1200 on a iron set I will keep for years, I don’t see the cost as that outrageous.