Club champion acquires TXG (merged)

[bvanlieu]

 If you like their expertise before (and I have customers in GTA, want to visit them *and* TXG) why would you not want to be fit now? Matt was not a fitter. Unless you are paying the premium fees and waiting months neither is Ian for most peeps. They have other people on staff we don't see, or perhaps Mikey fits you.

 

I think people are vastly over-estimating YT revenue. It is a good size channel for golfers but its mouse nuts compared to others. Google is making all the money, a select few make a living on it.  Heck RS kills them and his content is more readers digest style of golf info. That is not meant as a slam, those videos are short morsels for the masses, not the golf geeks like us. Look at the view count of this, 2nd swing any others. Very modest, especially if you are running a retail operation with rent and staff vs. a pod out of your house. Anyone not running a small business has no idea about the true costs here.  

 

It sucks when your favorite band  breaks up but they didn't become crap musicians over night. Life goes on. I hope to meet DirtyDog someday at a golf event, and I hope to also be shaft fit at TXG and pay for their time. To me its still TXG, not CC until proven otherwise 😄 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by bvanlieu

[rgk5]

The illogical predictions by so many Swamis who have never and probably would never visit TXG are laughable.

 

1. Matt was not a fitter.

2. All the other fitters excluding my son are still there as his PHD work did not allow the time to continue.

3. Ryan is a solid edition with many years in the business.

4. Ian is still there and I can assure his standards are just as high as before the merger.

5. They have been and continue to be booked 3-4 months ahead of time for fittings.

 

The You Tube videos were complelling and for anyone to say TXG will tank without them knows little about the real fitting business.  Word of mouth is a much stronger endorsement. No one including me can predict the future but based on past performance all this negative pearl clutching is silly.

[tleader]

46 minutes ago, rgk5 said:

The illogical predictions by so many Swamis who have never and probably would never visit TXG are laughable.

 

1. Matt was not a fitter.

2. All the other fitters excluding my son are still there as his PHD work did not allow the time to continue.

3. Ryan is a solid edition with many years in the business.

4. Ian is still there and I can assure his standards are just as high as before the merger.

5. They have been and continue to be booked 3-4 months ahead of time for fittings.

 

The You Tube videos were complelling and for anyone to say TXG will tank without them knows little about the real fitting business.  Word of mouth is a much stronger endorsement. No one including me can predict the future but based on past performance all this negative pearl clutching is silly.

Well said sir!  I have been 3 times and head back in March. A premium facility in all facets, and an incredible experience. I’ve been fit by your son before he stopped to focus on his doctorate 😃.  

[Red4282]

Yea but many of you are missing the point. I dont think txg has the status it has today if it werent for matt. It was ians buisiness but matty helped build it into a monster. Now the youtube product is crap. Sure txg will do fine and get plenty of business (club champion isnt hurting for business either), but the whole deal has turned me off. 

[tleader]

27 minutes ago, Red4282 said:

Yea but many of you are missing the point. I dont think txg has the status it has today if it werent for matt. It was ians buisiness but matty helped build it into a monster. Now the youtube product is crap. Sure txg will do fine and get plenty of business (club champion isnt hurting for business either), but the whole deal has turned me off. 

I just see it as 2 different businesses. I went to TXG twice before I knew they had a YouTube channel.  99.9% of YouTube viewers will never step foot in a TXG facility. Perhaps they will order online for a club/shaft, but given the Canadian market, likely not. 
 

I understand that YouTube will help drive exposure and bookings, but that’s not why I get fit there and purchase my clubs from them. 

[Red4282]

51 minutes ago, tleader said:

I just see it as 2 different businesses. I went to TXG twice before I knew they had a YouTube channel.  99.9% of YouTube viewers will never step foot in a TXG facility. Perhaps they will order online for a club/shaft, but given the Canadian market, likely not. 
 

I understand that YouTube will help drive exposure and bookings, but that’s not why I get fit there and purchase my clubs from them. 

Was there a 3-4 month wait pre youtube?

[tleader]

19 minutes ago, Red4282 said:

Was there a 3-4 month wait pre youtube?

Sorry, I don’t know for sure

 

When I first attended, they only had the Toronto location (about 4 years ago), and it was about 2 months to book my preferred day/time.

[rgk5]

54 minutes ago, Red4282 said:

Was there a 3-4 month wait pre youtube?

60 days prior to the You Tube hype.

[Red4282]

1 hour ago, rgk5 said:

60 days prior to the You Tube hype.

So… its nearly doubled

[tleader]

4 hours ago, Red4282 said:

So… its nearly doubled

Another contributing factor is Ontario was in lockdown for many (honestly lost count) months throughout 2020/2021.   This created a lengthy waiting list for fitting appointments.

 

I don’t deny the YouTube factor, but agree with @rgk5 that they will continue to thrive based on their fitting/customer service experience, opposed to who’s on their YouTube channel. 

[MysteryV]

It doesn't make a ton of sense to compare anything in the golf industry now against the pre-covid period.  The world is just EXTREMELY different from supply chain / logistics constraints to the massive amounts of money pumped into the American economy via stimulus / fed reserve printing, to the rise in popularity of the game itself.  

 

That said, marketing is a powerful, often undervalued thing.  It's how brands represent themselves and show prospective customers what they can do.  It's why everything from Coke, to Gucci, to Tyson Lamb can charge a premium over unbranded items which can do the exact same job at a fraction of the price.  There's nothing wrong with that - but to discount the value of marketing is to ignore facts.

 

TXG benefitted from great marketing.  It's not a commentary on their work or their people, but this entire thread is proof that people care about branding - and in many folks opinion - the value of the brand has decreased post acquisition. 

[lefthack]

I am one of those who will likely never visit a TXG but I was a long time subscriber to the channel and especially related to Matt as a fellow lefty. 

 

Unfortunately the channel is crap now, so I unsubscribed. I'm sure as a business they will be fine, but I have zero interest in them as a business. 

[rjp322]

I must be in the minority.  I liked Matt alot but frankly watching someone swing it 120 doesnt interest me.  He does not portray the normal golfer.  What does interest me is Ians commentary.  He is what makes TXG to me.   Id much prefer having someone swing 100-110 doing the testing of equipment.  Their first few videos after Matt left were definitely not great but they have gotten better with each video.  Ian really is phenomenal with how much he knows and is the sole reason I will continue to watch the channel

[UnkleRaRa]

I was sad to see Matt go, but now he's got his own channel and is killing it. Close to 30k subs in a couple weeks. 

 

I see it as just having 1 more interesting golf channel to watch. 

 

I'm hoping to run into Matt somewhere in the GTA one day just so we can chat golf.

 

I'd also love to visit TXG this summer just to checkout their studio. 

[picardyThird]

They're slowly finding their groove, but while I appreciate Ryan's contributions I think he needs to talk less. Many times I find myself thinking that a topic is closed, and we'll be moving on to the next thing, and he'll just start babbling about something, often relating to his esoteric club collection (which is cool, but definitely not something I want to hear about every other video). If he can learn how to stay focused and concise, then it would be a huge improvement. 

 

Unfortunately, Mikey is just not improving. He's been relegated to a sort of background guy, and frankly I think that both he and the videos/livestreams would be better served without him. He doesn't have much camera presence, doesn't have the greatest tact, doesn't contribute much that Ian can't cover, and looks like he doesn't want to be there. I'm sure he's a fine dude, and a good fitter, and a great builder... let him be those things, without shoehorning him in front of a camera.

[Vlade15]

If Ian is in the video, I still do watch.  If someone else is swinging or they do a video without Ian, I do not watch.  Matt, even though he was a lefty, was similar speed to me.  So the equipment and concepts they did with him as the robot were awesome and useful.  I get zero out of watching somebody swing it 95-105 miles an hour.

 

Watching Mike and Ryan fan a 18* driving iron 180 yards is not really something I even need to watch.  Love Ian.  Most knowledgeable person regarding equipment I have ever watched.  If the videos were just him in it, I would honestly prefer them now what they are now.

[pollock21]

Ian is TXG, it's that simple. I've learned a lot from him. The tests they have done are fantastic as well. I believe they did the first wet wedge test and those results were amazing. The other site copied from them I believe.

 

Regardless, the content is still as solid as ever. However, Matt and Ian were a great combo, the channel just worked well. Ryan and Mike are just blah for me. I'm sure they will figure it out and the channel is still good, but it was definitely more entertaining with Matt on there.

[BottleCap]

I watch more than ever now. In the past I would just watch the shaft videos and used to just watch Ian's intro and then skip to to the charts. Like many I can't watch Left handed swings, it's repulsive. Now I can just let the videos run with no fear of having to watch a Lefty.

[flyingwedges2]

Videos have good info, but listening to a Canadian drone on for  30+ minutes is like fingernails on a chalk board  🙂

 

[rgk5]

15 hours ago, flyingwedges2 said:

Videos have good info, but listening to a Canadian drone on for  30+ minutes is like fingernails on a chalk board  🙂

 

As opposed to a NYC, Boston accent or Alabama drawl? 😃

[flyingwedges2]

6 hours ago, rgk5 said:

As opposed to a NYC, Boston accent or Alabama drawl? 😃

We can include any southern accent that makes me want to stick a pin in their rump and make them speed up, as well as the improper use of English, and mixing of tense.  🙂   There aren't many Canadian hockey player interviews, for example, that do anything other than lull the listener to sleep.  The lack of tonal inflection is astounding. 🙂

[UnkleRaRa]

On 3/12/2022 at 9:24 PM, flyingwedges2 said:

Videos have good info, but listening to a Canadian drone on for  30+ minutes is like fingernails on a chalk board  🙂

 

 

Right...... Ian with his thick Canadian accent is insufferable... 

[STank724]

The YouTube thumbnail from this morning's Live just about sums up the channel these days.

 

[bvanlieu]

I've watched all their lives for years, and I think the 3 of them in a live produces a bit better chemistry then just any pair of them doing a Q&A live .  This allows either RB or Mikey to not have to carry as much of the answers which leads to too much rambling at times for some. 

 

I am sure the complaints will continue, such as too much F1 talk on this one vs. golf content. 😛 

[BottleCap]

I'm glad they got rid of Matt's depressing intro music now that he's not producing their videos. Another positive.

[third-times-a-charm]

Looks like Ian and etc were down here for something or other this week. The most recent video was filmed at another private across the street from me called Orange Tree.

 

There also happens to be a Club Champion location here as well no more than 2 miles down the road. Maybe the USA-based TXG location got a revival post-covid and post-CC merger.

[golfer55082]

On 2/20/2022 at 7:54 AM, Red4282 said:

Yea but many of you are missing the point. I dont think txg has the status it has today if it werent for matt. It was ians buisiness but matty helped build it into a monster. Now the youtube product is crap. Sure txg will do fine and get plenty of business (club champion isnt hurting for business either), but the whole deal has turned me off. 

Agreed that the new YouTube content is a disaster now . .. I cannot stand the two new persons whatever their names are. Occasionally I still click their new videos but never stay more than 30 seconds. 

[PixlPutterman]

Matty BACK FOR A TXG Video............

 

My week is complete!

[jonflesh]

1 hour ago, PixlPutterman said:

Matty BACK FOR A TXG Video............

 

My week is complete!

Was cool seeing him back. Wish it was more than just a one off. 

[noodle3872]

7 hours ago, jonflesh said:

Was cool seeing him back. Wish it was more than just a one off. 

At the end of the live Ian and Matt said they’ll be back next week for another live. I think Matt is back just like old times.