Ernie Nike Rumours

[20fore7golf]

Hi all,

 

I have a friend who is senior tour operations manager at Nike, and after reading the speculation on here regarding Els I emailed him today and he confirmed that there is absolutely no chance of him becoming a Nike player in the near future. My friend oversees all worldwide contracts and he said if it was happening, he would have had a meeting with Ernie by now.

 

The main reason he sited was that Ernie has a long contract with SAP. When you sign for Nike you are not allowed to have any other logo on headwear on your apparel except the swoosh. (other than Shingo which is an long, legal story ) Meaning he couldnt be a nike staffer until his deal with them is up.

 

Just thought Id post to let you know

[rhersch]

He needs to stay at Titleist anyway. He is there kind of player.

[AcesAZ]

IMO he stays with Titleist or switches back to TM. I can't really see him with another brand.

[jackn]

I agree

[emc]

I could see Ernie going to Mizuno irons, wedges and putter if he left Titleist

[The Boom Bapp]

I agree with EMC, but I believe Ernie is a pure Titleist player and represents strongly for Acushnet as a whole.

 

IMO, I would like to see him stay where he is! ;)

[Bridgestone4life]

I just couldnt see him going to NIKE. He dosent look like the type.

[DaveyH]

most nike players are fairly young athletic guys.

[ghodges]

Some one please tell me what is the Nike type. Sounds...well I won't say how it sounds. Look at the list of some of the Nike Players:

 

Tiger

Chad Campbell

Justin Leonard

Jason Gore

Steward Cink

 

All class acts...

[USNHack]

most nike players are fairly young athletic guys.

 

Not quite sure Jason Gore fits that profile?

 

Well maybe if you consider sumo wrestler an athletic profile?

 

Maybe John Daly will be sporting a swoosh soon? ;)

[nikeman1]

Ernie would be a great fit for nike. Ernie needs to get going again before the young generation passes him(if it has not already). If nike is smart they will try to get Ernie to sign. ;)

[HCEG1]

Ernie's a superb athlete. He's as strong as an ox, with forearms bigger than Tiger's legs. He played cricket and rugby for S.Africa as a youth.

[PhilSA]

Ernie had to decide between tennis and Golf... I wonder if he ever regretted the decision.. lol.

 

RE Equipment change.

 

Everytime Ernie moved equipment he had a super year. Look at 2003 when he switched to Titleist. However at the moment I feel that Scott might get more attention at Titleist than Ernie does.

 

Having said that I don't think Ernie will be TM's #1 staffer with Sergio & Retief and a few big guys already being there.

 

As a huge Mizuno fan I am, I cannot see Ernie playing with Mizuno's.

[Ducky]

Maybe Ernie will go back to Lynx.

 

;)

[PhilSA]

Maybe Ernie will go back to Lynx.

 

;)

 

Ernie need to drop Leadbetter as his swingcoach. Once he has done that he can play with any club and will still do better than he does at the moment.

 

We in South Africa speculate a lot about his performance of late and the one thing standing out, is his bad swing since he joined the Lead team.

[andrevanderpost]

We have a nickname for Leadbetter in SA.....Deadbetter (ie. you're likely to be dead before you get better.) Have a look at athe pro's who have moved to him for help - the guys who play by feel (like Ernie), they become mechanical and appear to lose the freedom in their swing that makes them great......

[PhilSA]

We have a nickname for Leadbetter in SA.....Deadbetter (ie. you're likely to be dead before you get better.) Have a look at athe pro's who have moved to him for help - the guys who play by feel (like Ernie), they become mechanical and appear to lose the freedom in their swing that makes them great......

 

Exactly... Look at Faldo. He was one hell of a player in the 90's. Today he is nowhere in driving distance etc. because Lead just took everything which was natural out of his swing. BTW I think Faldo made Leadbetter.

[spookyfish]

We have a nickname for Leadbetter in SA.....Deadbetter (ie. you're likely to be dead before you get better.) Have a look at athe pro's who have moved to him for help - the guys who play by feel (like Ernie), they become mechanical and appear to lose the freedom in their swing that makes them great......

 

Exactly... Look at Faldo. He was one hell of a player in the 90's. Today he is nowhere in driving distance etc. because Lead just took everything which was natural out of his swing. BTW I think Faldo made Leadbetter.

I think its unfair to compare Faldo in driving distance to the young bucks on tour today.

[PhilSA]

Agreed, but he he has lost a lot of distance over the years. I just think that the players loose their own natural feel with Lead.

 

Ernie's bad shot was a pull hook. '93 Masters - 13th. Left of the stream in the bushes.

 

Leadbetter & Ernie claims that they've overcome his bad shot. Only difference now is that he is all over the planet except on the fairway.

[easyyy]

Hi all,

 

I have a friend who is senior tour operations manager at Nike, and after reading the speculation on here regarding Els I emailed him today and he confirmed that there is absolutely no chance of him becoming a Nike player in the near future. My friend oversees all worldwide contracts and he said if it was happening, he would have had a meeting with Ernie by now.

 

The main reason he sited was that Ernie has a long contract with SAP. When you sign for Nike you are not allowed to have any other logo on headwear on your apparel except the swoosh. (other than Shingo which is an long, legal story ) Meaning he couldnt be a nike staffer until his deal with them is up.

 

Just thought Id post to let you know

 

 

Thank you for the update. Interesting issue with the SAP deal.

[NPVWhiz]

We have a nickname for Leadbetter in SA.....Deadbetter (ie. you're likely to be dead before you get better.) Have a look at athe pro's who have moved to him for help - the guys who play by feel (like Ernie), they become mechanical and appear to lose the freedom in their swing that makes them great......

 

Exactly... Look at Faldo. He was one hell of a player in the 90's. Today he is nowhere in driving distance etc. because Lead just took everything which was natural out of his swing. BTW I think Faldo made Leadbetter.

I think its unfair to compare Faldo in driving distance to the young bucks on tour today.

 

Unfair, and out of character anyway. Faldo was the master of the 215 yard 2 iron, not the long drive. In the days when he was at his peak, he carried the ball 240. He was never long by any standard, which even in the old days was a handicap for winning on the US tour. It worked well for Augusta, but it made him less than competitive at many other venues on tour at the time.

[spookyfish]

Agreed, but he he has lost a lot of distance over the years. I just think that the players loose their own natural feel with Lead.

 

Ernie's bad shot was a pull hook. '93 Masters - 13th. Left of the stream in the bushes.

 

Leadbetter & Ernie claims that they've overcome his bad shot. Only difference now is that he is all over the planet except on the fairway.

Doesnt every player lose distance as they approach 50 years of age?!?!?!?

 

Faldo has let it go a little as he never plays or practices any more.

[AcesAZ]

;) Ernie has actually played pretty well this year, it's the flatstick that has let him down.

[PhilSA]

;) Ernie has actually played pretty well this year, it's the flatstick that has let him down.

 

He finished the season with a couple of good performances, but for the rest of the season his tee to green game was pretty pathetic.

[ryanpgm]

Two quick thoughts.

 

1) What exactly is "there type of player" meaning Titleist. Why do most people automatically assume that Titleist is the standard for class and rightousness in the golf industry? This kind of thinking has got to stop. If you have ever had any dealings with that particular company, they are not the easiest to deal with.

 

2) The logic behind Leadbetter causes players to lose feel and distance as they get older is nothing short of ridiculous. Let me throw a few names at you: Nick Faldo, Nick Price, and Ernie Els, all major champions who like hopefully all of us are getting older. With increased age causes decreased flexibility, reduced motor skills, waining strength, etc. Let's not forget that when Faldo was in his prime, the average driving distance on tour was around 285.

[AcesAZ]

;) Ernie has actually played pretty well this year, it's the flatstick that has let him down.

 

He finished the season with a couple of good performances, but for the rest of the season his tee to green game was pretty pathetic.

 

 

I looked up the stats and he is in the bottom half of all the ball striking stats so I guess your right :crazy: . I just remember watching him play well in those few tourneys and his putting let him down.

[AcesAZ]

Two quick thoughts.

 

1) What exactly is "there type of player" meaning Titleist. Why do most people automatically assume that Titleist is the standard for class and rightousness in the golf industry? This kind of thinking has got to stop. If you have ever had any dealings with that particular company, they are not the easiest to deal with.

 

 

 

Titleist is the best thats why!!!!! ;)

[Boise59]

Except for Jason Gore and Craig Stadler!

[PhilSA]

;) Ernie has actually played pretty well this year, it's the flatstick that has let him down.

 

He finished the season with a couple of good performances, but for the rest of the season his tee to green game was pretty pathetic.

 

 

I looked up the stats and he is in the bottom half of all the ball striking stats so I guess your right :crazy: . I just remember watching him play well in those few tourneys and his putting let him down.

 

 

No problem. His putting is not the biggest problem. If you leave yourself 30 footer birdie putts or 6 feet par putts due to bad iron play then your putting will suffer at some point in time because you can just put so much pressure on your putting.

 

Besides that did Scotty figured out that he putts better with a 36" putter shaft. That was the final blow as he putted for most of his career with a 33". I don't know if you guys have noted that he used a White hot centre shafted earlier in the season, then switched back to one of his old Ping putters before putting the Scotty back.

 

Hopfully he fwill be back with a big bang next year. I read he has a 3 year plan of catching Tiger.

[osubass1]

When you sign for Nike you are not allowed to have any other logo on headwear on your apparel except the swoosh.

 

so, how would you explain Craig Stadler?

 

he's under Nike contract and wears an HP hat.