Golf Gear News: What's the Deal with Pink Golf Clubs?

Thursday, December 28, 2006

What's the Deal with Pink Golf Clubs?

It must have started with the baby blanket thing. Someone, in their infinite wisdom decided that boy babies should have a blue blanket and girls should have a pink one. Who was this idiot anyway and what does blue have to do with boys and pink with girls? Why couldn’t the color have been yellow for boys and green for girls? Or mauve and periwinkle?

Why are the covers of "chick lit" books all pink? If you wander down your local Barnes & Noble and stop in the Women’s Literature section, 75% of the books have pink on their covers. Have I just uncovered the secret subliminal marketing message that tells women that "if it ain’t pink, it ain’t for me?"

So I see this press release on Accu-Length's new Pink golf clubs. "Once young girls start using these clubs they'll understand why LPGA star Paula Creamer feels that pink is her lucky color," says Accu-Length president & COO Rick Rutter. He goes on to say "the Accu-Length Pink Set was created to meet the demands of young girls who are becoming more and more interested in playing golf."

What demands? The burning desire of girls to have a set of pink golf clubs?

I know that Paula Creamer is all about pink. That's her shtick. Annika and Lorena do just fine without wearing pink.

The Pink Panther, who obviously is a male, is all pink. Also, fiberglass insulation is pink and that clearly isn't a "female" product. Yet Nair hair remover and Bic shavers are pink.

I don't think girls, or women for that matter, care is their golf clubs are pink, green, mauve or polka dots. What they do care about, like the other gender, is golf clubs that work.

We lament the fact that the golf industry has been in a slump. Rounds played are down, there is an oversupply of courses and equipment sales have been flat. Girls and women are one of the fastest growing segments in our anemic industry.

So what do those highly-paid marketing executives at major golf club companies do to innovate and reach out to one of the fastest growing segments of the playing population? They paint their golf clubs pink. Some cutting-edge forward-thinking minds here.

Can't marketers come up with better ideas than a paint job? Please, give me a break from this pink-mania and come up with some REAL marketing innovation.

Labels: Accu-Length, Equipment, golf, LPGA, Women's Golf