The Golf Watch

This weekend was a win for Srixon

Titleist, Nike, Taylormade, Callaway and Ping.  Those are the companies you hear, see, read and are exposed to the most. They have much bigger marketing budgets than some of the smaller companies and their presence on Tour is palpable.

Then, there's Srixon, which most people affiliate with one player, and one player only, Jim Furyk. He's their brand ambassador. He's like what Fred Couples is to Bridgestone.  

But after this weekend, I am convinced that more people will be talking about Srixon.  Tim Clark and Robert Allenby both play Srixon balls, and it was the most exposure I had ever seen the manufacturer get at a marquee event.

I would expect the company to increase their marketing efforts in the coming weeks to keep the buzz going.

 

Not the strongest week for Titleist

Nike won big at the last two majors.  This week, it was Taylormade.  I know Titleist is still the number one ball in golf, but other manufacturers have been creeping up with big wins this year. 

Just look at the top-18 finishers this week.  11 of those players weren't playing Titleist golf balls...

What a month for Nike golf

Lucas Glover wins the US Open.  Tiger Woods wins the AT&T National.  And now Stewart Cink and Bo Van Pelt complete the sweep.

Trevor Immelman and Tiger pulled off the back-to-back Nike wins last year with their Masters and U.S. Open wins. 

Titleist is still the most played ball on Tour, but Nike is making some headway. 

MacGregor Golf no longer an independent equipment brand

MacGregor Golf’s 112-year run as an independent equipment brand is over.  It has been sold to Golfsmith International.  The Golfweek report is here. 

Acushnet layoffs total 169

With less people willing to pay $50 for ProV1s, Acushnet Co. has slashed 169 jobs.

The crack of the driver--watch your ears!

As many of you who have attended golf tournaments know, there is a big difference between the sound of a driver making perfect contact with a Titleist in person, and on television. 

I had never given the topic much thought until I attended a golf tournament (the Senior Players Championship) with my mom.  She remarked that the loud 'crack' emitted by Jay Haas and Fred Funk's drives startled her.

A recent article from the Scientific American indicates that the cracking sound we have grown accustomed to from our drivers very well might affect our hearing:

...the recently revealed hearing issues are related to a technological advance now commonly employed by avid amateurs everywhere the humongous driver, the head of which looks like it should be tested for steroids. When that monster club smashes the ball, the sound produced is "like a gun going off." That's what one golfer said about his gigantic driver, anyway. The constant ka-blam degraded his hearing and led to bouts of tinnitus (the high-pitched whining that sounds like it's caused by the insects in the woods with you as you search for your ball but isn't). Research on the hard-of-hearing hacker appears in the December 17, 2008, British Medical Journal...

The study's authors searched the Internet for corroborating anecdotal reports about the driver's sound and found comments such as "Drives my mates crazy with that distinctive loud BANG sound" and "Not so much a ting but a sonic boom which resonates across the course!" Indeed, about 112 decibels sprang forth from the King Cobra LD in tests cited in the BMJ report. (A club called the Ping G10 topped 120 decibels, if you're really looking to rattle the clubhouse windows.)

So...ear plugs on the golf course?

Equipment endorsement money decreasing

Not only are future tournament sponsorship deals a big question mark, but PGA Tour newcomers are seeing less money in equipment endorsements than in years past.  As Steve Elling notes:

Rank-and-file players have found that equipment endorsement money had dwindled since last year. Stars are still making hay, but freshly minted tour members via the Nationwide Tour and Q-school routes have taken a bite of as much as one-third off previous levels for equipment deals. Some entry-level tour members might have logo-less bags and hats.

Callaway in legal battle with Titleist's ProV1

Gene Yasuda has the latest on the patent dispute between Callaway Golf and Titleist.  It seems that Callaway won big in U.S. District Court, limiting the sale of the current line of ProV1 balls.  But according to Yasuda, this shouldn't have too big of an impact...

...the injunction, even if it takes effect, is unlikely to derail the Pro V1 franchise, a juggernaut that has dominated on professional tours as well as at retail since its debut in 2000. According to research firm Golf Datatech, the Pro V1 and Pro V1x balls together accounted for 22.6 percent unit market share in September – more than all the ball models sold by any single, rival manufacturer.

U.S. equipment sales decline

Adam Schupak files an interesting report in the August 9 issue of Golfweek about a significant drop in second quarter equipment sales.  That's right, the second quarter, which is known as one of the most profitable, had Acushnet and Callaway citing double-digit declines.  Schupak writes:

Retailers and analysts say consumer spending domestically has stalled over concerns about an economy wracked by foreclosures and soaring fuel prices. Adverse weather has limited rounds played in key areas, which also is affecting equipment sales, they say.

But what jumped out at me most is something we don't hear enough about...

Retailers also say they’re being hurt by shorter product life cycles. The growing practice of launching products in almost rapid-fire succession is conditioning consumers to wait, say six months, to buy a premium-priced driver because they know it will be marked down. That consumer behavior has become more pronounced during a sluggish economy.

“That mindset has come back to bite us,” (Mark) Marney (CEO of The Golf Warehouse) says.

"The only club in your bag guaranteed to keep you out of the woods"

When I first saw this on Gizmodo, I thought to myself, "Is this for real?"  Apparently, it is. 

Floyd E. Seskin, a Board Certified Urologist (I checked), has created the Uroclub ($49.95), a 7-iron, with a cap at the top of the grip that opens up and holds a half liter of fluid.  Seskin writes on the official website:

This may sound like a joke, but it’s not.  I am a Board Certified Urologist, practicing in Florida, a place where Golf is played year round.  Every day I hear these same complaints from my patients because they suffer from urinary frequency (a condition that can begin in men, as early as their mid 30’s).  Even if you don’t have this problem, let’s face it, there are not too many bathrooms on the golf course.

Just when you thought you'd heard it all...