Equipment brands you stay away from?

[JermWRX]

20 hours ago, DArnie said:

Anything from Nike.

Definitely. No chance on gods green earth that I’ll ever give Nike a penny.

[jbrunk]

Maybe this is a little unusual, but I don’t have any major OEM putters in my collection, except for a Japan-only Odyssey.  Am I avoiding them?  Perhaps.

 

Putters I avoid(?): Scotty Cameron, Ping, Taylormade, Cleveland, Toulon, Odyssey (US), PXG

Putters I own: Mannkrafted, SeeMore, Goodwood, Piretti, Byron Morgan, Bettinardi, etc.

 

As for other clubs, I’ve never gotten along with Titleist or Taylormade clubs. Not too jazzed about PXG or the the DTC brands, except for Sub70 here in Illinois, I’ll probably go check them out at some point,

[StarPlatinum]

PXG

[wrairmen7]

It’s callaway for me.. can’t make myself buy them.. maybe it’s because Phil used them for all those years 

[juddrussell]

Mine has always been Callaway, can’t bring myself to swinging them and have no idea why.

Edited August 6, 2022 by juddrussell
SP*

[Bmurr7]

Cobra- irons specifically. I've heard great things about the MIM irons, and the CB/MB but the "King" badging, graphics just turn it off for me.. another is Vokey. I love titleist stuff but for some reason the Vokeys just don't do it for me... I'm sure if I gave them a fair shake I could be swayed but til then... no. 

[GolfGrouch]

Callaway.  I owned a set of irons that ruined me with the amount of offset.

[elwhippy]

Boutique brands. Scotty Cameron. Under Armour as it has been adopted by the local lowlife. Travis Matthew. Vastly overpriced and doesn't wick sweat. Boss. Also gone downmarket. Cobra. Great clubs but no resale value. 

[JamesWA]

Miura and Scotty Cameron. 

Too expensive and pretentious.

[mat562]

I've always been open-minded when it comes to equipment, and my philosophy has long been that I'll put anything in the bag if it works.

 

Honestly though, there are a few OEMs I steer clear of.

 

I've long been averse to Callaway gear. The early woods with the hosel-less design always looked horrid to me, as did all their irons. More recently, I'll be honest and say that I'm prejudiced against Callaway gear due to their golf ball patent shenanigans with Titleist. You can say what you like about that, but my feelings are bolstered by the fact that I still don't really like the look of much of their equipment. The toe shapes are awkward, the leading edges never look right and the backs are too fussy, as well as host of other nitpicks.

 

Cobra. I used to like Cobra gear. I was a huge Norman fan back in the day, and I own a nice set of tour issue Norman blades and a few Cobra wedges, and I still treasure the Deep Face driver I played to decent effect for a few years back in my youth. The modern kit is hideous though. The clean lines of the Tom Crow/Norman era have been replaced by gaudy colours and gimicky, clunky designs that do nothing for me. Even their premium lines look like something a Chinese counterfeit outfit would knock out.

 

Bridgestone. Al their kit looks hideously OTT. Again, they've gone from making some nice, clean, premium-looking gear to knocking out gaudy tat that hurts your retinas. Some of the colours on Cobra and Bridgestone irons, in particular, look like what I'd expect from the pus to look like from a hideously infected abscess. I don't want it glaring away in my bag when I plonk it down and think about a 8-iron approach.

 

Wilson. What happened? Once a major player in the golf equipment business, and now everything they make looks like a DIck's Sporting Goods box set. What a shame. Whoever is designing their clubs and putting those number stamps on the soles needs to be punished severely. I wouldn't look at a Wilson club now. They look like cheap junk.

 

Scotty Cameron. I own several. And the old stuff's fantastic quality and has a look that I like. Yes, they're blatant Ping copies, but he gave you feel and look options that were new and different. The new stuff looks cheap, samey, and is hideously overpriced for what it is. The old stuff was overpriced too, if we're honest, but you could justify the outlay as it had a quality look and a bit of cachet to it - and it was well made and had a premium feel. The new stuff is gaudy and unexciting tat at a grossly inflated price point designed to rip off the public after playing the long con of convincing people that 300 quid-plus is a perfectly reasonable price for a cheaply- and mass-produced Ping Anser. Dare I say it, Ping are going the same way when it comes to their putters. That's why I bag an old one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by mat562

[Rapidcat]

On 8/5/2022 at 12:45 PM, GolfTurkey said:

Anything outside the big 4 manufacturers, sadly.

 

The likes of Srixon, Cobra and Mizuno make great products, but unfortunately you can barely give them away in Australia so those are bad choices for a club flipping ho.

Fellow Aussie here - just buy these brands 2nd hand and they cost next to nothing and you can sell them on for what you paid for them.

 

Plus you can still get bargains with these brands new - just pre-covid, I bought brand new in wrappers Srixon Z565 irons for A$65/club.

 

Works for me.

[BYK]

I've avoided certain clubs in brands that didn't work out for me in the distant past, which was pretty silly actually

That list included Ping Drivers and Callaway irons.  Have G400 Max in the bag (which went into the bag this season after finding all the hype was real lol), and have had Apex irons in the bag forever.  Like I said, it was silly.

[SleepingUte]

PXG. First thing I think of is Parsons standing next to the elephant he shot. Other than that I’d play anything.

[GolfTurkey]

1 hour ago, Rapidcat said:

Fellow Aussie here - just buy these brands 2nd hand and they cost next to nothing and you can sell them on for what you paid for them.

 

Plus you can still get bargains with these brands new - just pre-covid, I bought brand new in wrappers Srixon Z565 irons for A$65/club.

 

Works for me.

I guess the main issue for me buying them second hand is that because they’re so scarce, getting them with a shaft I want is very unlikely. Then do I spend the money buying a shaft, what do I do with that shaft if I sell the club…all gets messy. 
 

Had a Mizuno ST-Z fairway and stuck a Ventus Red in there. Kept the original shaft and then sold the club with that shaft, thinking I could have the adapter on the Ventus switched to my new fairway. Local pro mangled the tip putting on a new adapter so I’ve put it in the too hard bucket. I can see how it would work if you’re not shaft sensitive / fussy about shafts.

Edited August 6, 2022 by GolfTurkey

[Rapidcat]

11 minutes ago, GolfTurkey said:

I guess the main issue for me buying them second hand is that because they’re so scarce, getting them with a shaft I want is very unlikely. Then do I spend the money buying a shaft, what do I do with that shaft if I sell the club…all gets messy. 
 

Had a Mizuno ST-Z fairway and stuck a Ventus Red in there. Kept the original shaft and then sold the club with that shaft, thinking I could have the adapter switched to my new fairway. Local pro mangled the tip putting on a new adapter so I’ve put it in the too hard bucket. I can see how it would work if you’re not shaft sensitive / fussy about shafts.

Yeah, I understand your pain re shafts and fitting.

 

I have a stock of shafts that I like and so I often just buy the head (Cobra mainly) and that is still do-able in Oz eg bought a pristine Cobra F8+ driver head for A$150 shipped 2 years ago and sold it for A$220 6 months ago. I bet you check out Golfbox regularly, they often have excellent deals on new stuff - bought a Cobra F8 3/4 fairway new and delivered for A$179 and sold the shaft for A$100 because I just wanted the head.

 

Not trying to promote my trading prowess, just saying that you can do transactions with these 2nd tier brands that make $ sense.

 

BTW, I do all my own club work eg adapter pulling/fitting etc, that really helps if you can get comfortable/efficient, plus I find it fun and creates a closer connection between you and your club.

 

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Rapidcat

[soulciccia]

PXG: already explained why

Scotty Cameron: don’t like the brand at all, made fortune thanks to tiger, until the studio select they were special, but now their putters are nothing more than Odyssey or TM, at premium price tags…

Callaway: makes some cool stuff, but the days of the big bertha and steelhead are gone..irons except for a couple versions of xforged or mb prototypes are way below average.

Ping: used to be the greatest fan of ping irons and putters, but they moved away from the bulletproof 17/4 tumbled and basically they don’t have any advantage nowadays.

Titleist: I miss the years of the DCI 962 and 990, 983 and 905 drivers, pro trajectory….

 

generally speaking I have to say I like old clubs much more, first because quality was waaaay higher, then because most of today’s technology is fancy and doesn’t bring any real advantage especially for the better players…

[1s1k]

I'll try anything and if it works then great.

But I tend to steer clear of Callaway, Ping, PXG, Titleist, Nike, Scotty Cameron, Wilson... 

[jdotmill]

Everything in my bag is all Nike aside from putter and driver, and I stay away from Titleist. Cameron’s are way overpriced, and I’ve never been a fan of Titleist drivers, so they’ll never find a spot in my bag

[Fuscinator]

I'll try anything. Even though "kaboom, baby!" and the 'Scotty' droolers are pretty nauseating, I'd even try those clubs (though, I love my putter and have no desire to even look at a different one).

[er1cchandler]

PXG - never loved their brash branding

Callaway - I find their irons audibly clunky, even the blades, when compared to other brands. I've never once considered them (currently play Mizuno or Ping). That said, I think their latest wedges look very nice.

[14max]

TaylorMade

Titleist (the near-future exception might be gloves/golf balls)

PXG

[14max]

TaylorMade

Titleist (the near-future exception might be gloves/golf balls)

PXG

Cobra

Edited August 8, 2022 by 14max

[theothertwo]

PXG

[SteelieD]

PXG

PXG

Cobra

 

I used to avoid Vokeys because I had one 10 years ago that I hated. Recently put one (and then two and then three) in the bag. Absolutely love them. Funny how it changes over time with different product cycles/marketing campaigns and such. 
 

But still… NEVER PXG. 

[Ghostwedge]

7 hours ago, mat562 said:

I've always been open-minded when it comes to equipment, and my philosophy has long been that I'll put anything in the bag if it works.

 

Honestly though, there are a few OEMs I steer clear of.

 

I've long been averse to Callaway gear. The early woods with the hosel-less design always looked horrid to me, as did all their irons. More recently, I'll be honest and say that I'm prejudiced against Callaway gear due to their golf ball patent shenanigans with Titleist. You can say what you like about that, but my feelings are bolstered by the fact that I still don't really like the look of much of their equipment. The toe shapes are awkward, the leading edges never look right and the backs are too fussy, as well as host of other nitpicks.

 

Cobra. I used to like Cobra gear. I was a huge Norman fan back in the day, and I own a nice set of tour issue Norman blades and a few Cobra wedges, and I still treasure the Deep Face driver I played to decent effect for a few years back in my youth. The modern kit is hideous though. The clean lines of the Tom Crow/Norman era have been replaced by gaudy colours and gimicky, clunky designs that do nothing for me. Even their premium lines look like something a Chinese counterfeit outfit would knock out.

 

Bridgestone. Al their kit looks hideously OTT. Again, they've gone from making some nice, clean, premium-looking gear to knocking out gaudy tat that hurts your retinas. Some of the colours on Cobra and Bridgestone irons, in particular, look like what I'd expect from the pus to look like from a hideously infected abscess. I don't want it glaring away in my bag when I plonk it down and think about a 8-iron approach.

 

Wilson. What happened? Once a major player in the golf equipment business, and now everything they make looks like a DIck's Sporting Goods box set. What a shame. Whoever is designing their clubs and putting those number stamps on the soles needs to be punished severely. I wouldn't look at a Wilson club now. They look like cheap junk.

 

Scotty Cameron. I own several. And the old stuff's fantastic quality and has a look that I like. Yes, they're blatant Ping copies, but he gave you feel and look options that were new and different. The new stuff looks cheap, samey, and is hideously overpriced for what it is. The old stuff was overpriced too, if we're honest, but you could justify the outlay as it had a quality look and a bit of cachet to it - and it was well made and had a premium feel. The new stuff is gaudy and unexciting tat at a grossly inflated price point designed to rip off the public after playing the long con of convincing people that 300 quid-plus is a perfectly reasonable price for a cheaply- and mass-produced Ping Anser. Dare I say it, Ping are going the same way when it comes to their putters. That's why I bag an old one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You're comparing some brands color ways to body fluids ?

You must be  fun to hang with on a slow day at the course. 👍

[sui generis]

John Daly's clothing line. 😜

[ephmen]

PXG

Edited August 6, 2022 by ephmen

[kwcsports]

I don't like anything TM has made in the last 10 years. I liked the v steel and 200 steel years ago, that's about it.

[jbandalo]

TM and Cobra for me. Their gear just looks cheap to me. Other than those two brands, I’ll play anything. 

[PearSorbet17]

PXG and Cobra