TaylorMade buys Adams Golf!!! (merged)

[jimbonecrusher]

[quote name='Mikeco' timestamp='1332168337' post='4535481']
This is awesome now I can look forward to a new Adams line being launched every 3 days and a bunch of commercials with tour players saying the driver I bought 3 days ago is obsolete.

Side note did anyone else find that R11s commercial to be slightly odd? The same players that were pushing people to buy the R11 6 months ago are basically saying its no good anymore?
[/quote]

It is creative marketing. I can guarantee you that if I set up an R11s the exact same as my R11, that I will not see a difference in distance.

Call it what you will, but it is just like car companies who claim that their car has 260 hp. That is 260 baseline HP with no ancillary equpiment, not in the car, and only at the crank. After the transmission kills some of the HP, and the ancillary equipment is all running, you are down to about 220 hp at the wheels.

I will say that we can kiss the CB, CC, and MB lines good bye. Why would TM keep the hybrid iron sets or other GI sets around? Aren't their RBZ lines good enough?

TM will kill off Adams the same way that Callaway killed off Hogan. $70 million is worth it if you can take their driver, hybrid, and putter technology and eliminate a competitor. Their F12 drivers and 3 woods didn't get a fair shake, but Adams also don't put out the money for people to put one in the bag.

[punchdrunk]

I will be very interested to see where this goes.

Adams had been following TM's trends with very quick product cycles for the last few years and this year they kind of followed them with the silver paint.

In a very small way you could say that Adams was mainly just trying to pull from TM's market share and not too many other peoples. (they certainly weren't going after the Titleist guys)

Is TM buying Adams swatting the fly that has been buzzing around their ear for the last few years or are they going to make two very distinct club companies that will complement eachother?

I can see TM transferring RBZ and all of their GI stuff to the Adams name therefore only having the R series and their players clubs branded under the Taylormade umbrella? Who knows what will happen but it will certainly be interesting to see.

[Tumba]

I am 32 and a very late comer to golf. It was my perception from the beginning that ADAMS golf was a brand played by old men who smelled of Ben-gay and could not hit long irons.????

[Large David Hammer]

Couple thoughts on the "What If's..." being bandied about...

If the alternative is to disappear completely, immediately, then this option is not "bad" for Adams. I suppose I wish it wasn't the case, for the diversity of marketplace and the additional jobs. But alive, and "optimized" for TM profits, is better than dead.

My knee jerk reaction is that I agree with most posters, that the players clubs at Adams will eventually become an afterthought. (priority-wise, to TMAG) They did kinda say it.

I would like to see the TM hybrids learn a thing or 2 from Adams[b][i]...and I assume/hope they will.[/i][/b]

Adams will be known (thanks to TMAG's big-time marketing and even more focus on seniors and women) as the go-to for those and SGI players. Mid and low 'cappers need not apply. And judging by the numbers, they already weren't!

[mljones99]

I'm sorry but the reactions by some of you are hilarious.

[Mikeco]

[quote name='tbowles411' timestamp='1332168511' post='4535507']
[quote name='Mikeco' timestamp='1332168337' post='4535481']
This is awesome now I can look forward to a new Adams line being launched every 3 days and a bunch of commercials with tour players saying the driver I bought 3 days ago is obsolete.

Side note did anyone else find that R11s commercial to be slightly odd? The same players that were pushing people to buy the R11 6 months ago are basically saying its no good anymore?
[/quote]
Adams was actually putting out clubs at a pretty fast clip last year (they put out 4 drivers). TMaG never did that.
[/quote]

Noted and honestly I don't follow Adams to closely I play the pro black mb irons but never any of they're woods...I think it's more the TM marketing that confounded me

[pingman1]

Remember Hogan??????????

[Konklifer]

A sad day.

I'm glad one of the last true Adams clubs is the Super XTD hybrid. Will be bagging a couple and keeping them for a long time.

[LorenRobertsFan]

I hope things don't change with Adams' technology... I guess i'm a "taylormade dude" now :/ Will TM put their logo on everything? Will the current Adams offerings be discounted? Will anything with the Adams name be worth less/more?

[Mikeco]

It's times like these that I sit back look at my bag filled with titleist gear and get a warm fuzzy feeling inside

[pingman1]

[quote name='Mikeco' timestamp='1332170288' post='4535703']
It's times like these that I sit back look at my bag filled with titleist gear and get a warm fuzzy feeling inside
[/quote]

+1, with my PING gear

[tbowles411]

[quote name='Tumba' timestamp='1332169688' post='4535641']
I am 32 and a very late comer to golf. It was my perception from the beginning that ADAMS golf was a brand played by old men who smelled of Ben-gay and could not hit long irons.????
[/quote]
My point from an earlier post. This is what Adams is still saddled with. TaylorMade will fix that and market them to be in a better position as a GI company.

[tbowles411]

[quote name='Mikeco' timestamp='1332170288' post='4535703']
It's times like these that I sit back look at my bag filled with titleist gear and get a warm fuzzy feeling inside
[/quote]
Personally, I was told by the rep a few years ago when I was still new to golf that when I wanted to use Titleist, "We don't make clubs for guys like you." That's the reason I refuse to use ANYTHING related to Titleist, Footjoy, etc. Nice way to scare off a new customer.

[rgk5]

[quote name='swanry30' timestamp='1332163554' post='4534957']
this is a good thing. ADAMS needed the help - TMAG had the cash. simple business. i feel that it is a great fit as both companies push the limits of innovation. great news for ADAMS keeping the facility/headquarters in TX.

since there are a few people opposed to this deal - what other company would you have liked acquiring ADAMS if not TMAG?
[/quote]

Adams needed the help to do what?

[SheriffBooth]

[quote name='TheDarkOne' timestamp='1332165053' post='4535099']
[quote name='gremlin' timestamp='1332164039' post='4535003']
I hope its not like when Cally bought Hogan, and discontinued them. Adams makes some great players clubs, and I hope they continue to do so.
[/quote]


Exactly what i thought too. I remember Callaway saying that their purchase of Hogan would only enhance the brand, they had no intentions of discounting it. Yeah right.

TMAG will cherry pick the good stuff, eliminate the rest, and dissolve the brand in 3-5 years completely.
Goodbye Adams.
[/quote]

This.

Taylor Made isn't going to compete with itself in any market segment. I take the press release at face value - women and seniors is what the Adams brand will become; complete sets and SGI with noodle flex graphite. Taylor Made will fold whatever tech they like into their next gen offerings, but Adams as a players club is going the way of the dodo.

Hopefully TM incorporates some of Adams great player's products into their TP lines.

[pingman1]

Does anyone actually believe that TM, who covers every golfer from high hdcp to scratch, will keep marketing Adams? They will use the technology and do away with Adams.

[Tumba]

[quote name='tbowles411' timestamp='1332170515' post='4535733']
[quote name='Tumba' timestamp='1332169688' post='4535641']
I am 32 and a very late comer to golf. It was my perception from the beginning that ADAMS golf was a brand played by old men who smelled of Ben-gay and could not hit long irons.????
[/quote]
My point from an earlier post. This is what Adams is still saddled with. TaylorMade will fix that and market them to be in a better position as a GI company.
[/quote]

I also think that the long drive division will get a much needed boost in their look! For me it always seemed very odd to see this hip young powerful Jamie Sadlowski wearing Adams gear! Just did not look right!

[hef63303]

Has any company successfully run 2 club brands in the US? It happens all of the time in Asia, but I don't think it has been successfully done in the US. TaylorMade's best chance of making money on this is outside the US where the Adams share is very low.

[HackerVance]

Kenny will be fine. The rest of us, however, are screwed. I'm looking for a black arm band. On the bright side, look for the new white Adams Thermonuclear Powerblaster that goes 18 yards farther, complete with hats, shirts etc.

[sheppy335]

i am a TaylorMade fan but i think this is bad for the market!

How would you like to be Kenny Perry, hmmmm they didnt want me to leave did they!

[xabia]

Not happy, I better get my XTD Ti super hybrid and fairway ASAP. Such a bummer I love the uniqueness and different offering ADAMS provides

[mastapp]

Nothing new to add to the conversation, just a chance to vent. Very sad to see this happen. I was an all Hogan guy until Callaway destroyed that brand, first with inferiority then just making it go away. After tons of trial and error, I have gone almost full Adams (Irons and Hybrids), then this happens. I can't do anything about it, but I'll be very disappointed if the same thing happens with Adams.

I don't want a bunch of [email="sorry-@ss"]sorry-@ss[/email] cast irons with "Driver DNA", I want a set of classic looking, forged heads that I can work and feel. I don't want a hybrid with an instruction manual, I just want something that sets up square and doesn't have a 20 yard hook bias. And I don't want to be blasted with a bunch of ads telling me that I can hit my new Adams clubs 25 yards farther (at a ball speed of 165 MPH), because that doesn't do a damn thing for me at my swing speed.

The one good thing I take from this is that at least they aren't moving or eliminating the Plano, TX office, which will be good for the local DFW economy.

[dsparob]

[quote name='Goldenhawk' timestamp='1332162108' post='4534855']
Well, TMaG might just keep the Adams Brand. Just like Acushnet had Titleist and Cobra for a while.

But I can see white Yes putters and further releases of RBZ and slot technology woods in the future.
[/quote]
Yes! Already had white putters in the lineup for 2012. I hope they do keep them separate the same way Accushnet did as well.

[Jamboy72]

Does anyone think this might actually be a good thing???

I get the argument that less competition can harm the consumer, but I don't believe this merger will have any ill effects on the consumer market...far too many replacements/other companies available!

TM can handle the players market and continue a large market share in woods....Adams can continue to dominate the senior/ladies offerings and certainly help TM improve hybrid/metal wood technology...

Some combination of the C-groove and ASGI could be very, very interesting...

Personally, I think the only people who have concern based on product offerings would be those playing Adams clubs which TM decides to discontinue...most likely the "player" clubs which are often talked about on this site, but are fractionally a very, very small part of the overall market...

[Roscoe P Coltrain]

Leaped like Italian cruiseship captain. More 2 faced than the old 6 million dollar man character.
[quote name='DixieMafia' timestamp='1332162337' post='4534869']
No wonder Chip Brewer jumped ship.
[/quote]

[ZJohnson]

This makes me f****** sick. Good thing I got my new xtd fairway and hybrid before they turn white.

[brentj40]

i wonder if tm staffers get to use adams clubs in there bags now? that would be interesting

[Isaac_Newton]

[quote name='Mikeco' timestamp='1332170288' post='4535703']
It's times like these that I sit back look at my bag filled with titleist gear and get a warm fuzzy feeling inside
[/quote]

That warm fuzzy feeling probably left you for a while after Fila bought Titleist.

[NYKnuckleballer]

[quote name='smackygolf' timestamp='1332168105' post='4535459']
Under Armour had no interest in a company with a 6% profit margin. I'm not guessing. They quit sniffing weeks ago. The financials on Adams are terrible.
[/quote]


And yet they still managed to build a cash stockpile of $18M with no offsetting short- or long-term debt.

Adams margins weren't fat but they were getting thicker. Yes! Putters wasn't rolling yet. The company just had a record year earnings-wise. The company was poised for growth.

I think TMaG got a good deal, paying 10x earnings for a nationally recognized golf brand.

[Mikeco]

[quote name='tbowles411' timestamp='1332170683' post='4535743']
[quote name='Mikeco' timestamp='1332170288' post='4535703']
It's times like these that I sit back look at my bag filled with titleist gear and get a warm fuzzy feeling inside
[/quote]
Personally, I was told by the rep a few years ago when I was still new to golf that when I wanted to use Titleist, "We don't make clubs for guys like you." That's the reason I refuse to use ANYTHING related to Titleist, Footjoy, etc. Nice way to scare off a new customer.
[/quote]

Yea I would chalk that up to an ignorant rep....it's no secret that titleist has focused they're attention on the low handicap player, but they've always made a few sets for new players and high HDCP's for example the AP1 and even back to the 981. I don't blame u for having a bad taste in your mouth over that rep...but if u ever see fit to give them a shot they make a great product and they're very consistent with theyre offerings...to sum it up I feel like when they put out a new product they invested some time and though I.e. when they finally launched an adjustable driver it was revolutionary...I feel like some other company's "TM" throw a bunch of S#*T at the wall and hope something sticks