CLICK HERE to listen.In Episode #37 of Golf Gear News, host Bruce Stasch reports at The Newstand on
Ex-NFL Kicker is Now a Caddie, and
John Daly's Wife Attacks Him.
In the State of the Game we read about
Sound Patents.
In She Golfs Too Dear Abby Gets into the Action and
Dakoda Dowd's Mother Dies.Component Corner explores the
The Expanding Non-Conforming Driver World. In Why Can't We All Get Along, there are some
New Trademarks on the Horizon.
Finally, Golf of the Weird hears about
Golf Clubs Used in Late Night 3-Car Crime.
As always, our show is sponsored by
Golfknockoff.com.
Check out our new
Media Kit.
Labels: Callaway, Dick's Sporting Goods, Equipment, John Daly, Karsten Manufacturing, Michelle Wie, Nike, Podcast, Retailing
Is TaylorMade Losing It’s Edge to the Square Driver?
The "hottest" marketing trend in the driver world today is the square-headed driver. Both Callaway and Nike officially hit the market with their entries at the recent PGA Show. Yet, TaylorMade appears to be sticking with their moveable weight concept they introduced in 2004. Does this mean that TaylorMade is losing its edge in the driver market that it's owned for years?
According to president and CEO of TaylorMade-Adidas Golf who was quoted at the PGA Show, "the square-headed driver phenomenon will be over in about 90 days." Wow! That's a big time shot over the bow of Callaway and Nike who are relying on their "squares" to help push driver sales in 2007.
What seems to be really occurring is the creation of two retail pricing levels. The first at $300 and a second at $500. Mr. King at TaylorMade is probably right in that the square driver phenonmenon will quickly fade and be replaced by something new in 3-6 months. Look at the last three Ping gererations with the G2, the G5 and now the Rapture all coming out in the last eighteen months.
TaylorMade's entries for 2007 are a throwback to their earlier
Burner (retail price $359) which is targeted to price-conscious "bomb and gouge" player that focuses on speed to satisfy their need for added distance and the
r7 SuperQuad (retail price $499) which should attract bigger budgeted golfers more concerned about course management and accuracy versus power.
In comparison, Callaway's entries are the
Big Bertha 460cc (Retail Price $299) and the
FT-i Series (retail price $499). Even Nike gives you two pricing options with its SasQuatch Sumo Square Driver (retail price $499) and the SasQuatch Sumo Driver (retail price $299).
If square drivers take the market by storm, expect to see new iterations of the concept extending into fairway woods and perhaps hybrids. If not, you'll see those hot "squares" in the discount rack for $299 by May 1st.
Labels: Callaway, Karsten Manufacturing, Nike, Square Drivers, TaylorMade
Ping Finds Itself in Hot Water over Military Rebates
In late September, Karsten Manufacturing, maker of Ping golf clubs, has gotten itself into some hot water by forbidding retailers from offering a discount to active-duty and reserve members of the military.
The controversy exploded when Ping terminated its relationship with Bonaventure Discount Golf and Gordon Lakes Golf Course, both located in the Atlanta area, for selling Ping clubs at a 10% discount to military personnel.
Ping, well known for protecting the retail price of their premium golf products, had cut off these two golf retailers as well as another 60-plus military golf courses, for selling at a discount. Based on Ping’s actions, their pricing policy is sacred and a retailer that violates this policy, can, and often is, barred from selling Ping products.
Well, it appears that Ping had a mea culpa. On October 3rd, they relented and offered up their own, albeit lame, discount to military personnel. Ping would offer a mail-in rebate of $80 on a set of irons (retail price $749-1099) to these customers. Instead of getting the discount in-store, the military personnel customer will have to mail it in and wait 3-6 weeks for a check.
In a partial defense, according to Ping Chairman & CEO John Solheim, “For the last year, we’ve been looking for additional ways to support the troops,” Mr. Solheim said in a prepared statement. “On three occasions we’ve sent hundreds of free clubs for the troops to enjoy during their limited leisure time, but we wanted to provide them additional benefits.”
My take is that Ping got caught in a brewing PR fiasco that had to be quieted as soon as possible. Ping has had little interest in reducing their lofty pricing, but felt it was better to appease the media jackals than tell their retailers that they were wrong.
However, those retailers and military golf course pro shops that offered an unauthorized discount and had their accounts closed will not have them re-opened at this time according to a Ping spokesperson.
Wouldn’t it have been better for Ping just to say “We apologize and are sorry?”
Labels: golf, Karsten Manufacturing, military, Ping
