"TaylorMade hasn't just blown away Callaway, it now positively dominates the business."
The WSJ's John Paul Newport looks at Taylor Made's rise in the golf industry, accounting for 47% of the drivers, fairway woods and hybrids sold in 2012.
Much of their success, he writes, stems from aggressive marketing, packaging and product re-invention on 6-month cycles.
The third leg of TaylorMade's success, besides Tour support and bold marketing, is ceaseless introduction of new products. Thanks to a huge research budget that golf-company analyst Casey Alexander of Gilford Securities estimates at around $30 million a year, TaylorMade floods the market with Next New Things every six months or so. The R1, for example, comes in only one club head (reducing manufacturing and distribution costs) that is adjustable from 8 degrees to 12 degrees. (Nike, Cobra and Adams Golf, which TaylorMade acquired last year, also have new, one-head adjustable-loft drivers.)
Friday, February 8, 2013 at 09:59 PM
Reader Comments (36)
But please for god's sake (and I do realize that DJ is a marketable golfer) but can the marketing geniuses at the head office select a different pic of DJ than his "At-the-Top" position??!! As a teacher of this confounding game...it's not helping.
DAMN is that some bowed wrist/shut clubface position. How he doesn't snap everything 100yds straight left is testament to DJ's crazy athletic talent...(MY GAWD!!! It looks painful!)
marketing gone crazy is the thought behind of their stuff, one of our favorite videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLMsAoe7PME
more fun here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1PzUkufIxo
As for TaylorMade, was trying to think about my personal driver count. Going back to the Great Big Bertha (I retain everything ;) I think I have:
Ping 1
Callaway 2
Titleist 2
Cleveland 2
Titleist 8
But I haven't bought anything new technology since original SuperFast TP.
WHOA! We have new information buried deeeeep in that article, I give you:
"Nike just signed world No. 1 Rory McIlroy to a ginormous, multiyear contract reportedly worth $50 million to $100 million."
Waaaait a minute now, what happened to $250,000,000? Or even $200,000,000?
Now we have a range for which the middle is $75,000,000?!? That's a BIG swing, REAL BIG!
Where is this being "reported"? What source is the author referencing?
- Nike paid Rory $750,000,000
- Tiger paid Elin $750,000,000
- Vijay's career is over because of *deer antler spray*
- Tiger is a billionaire
- Manti Teo's girlfriend died the same day as his Grandma
- real estate prices are up
- unemployment is down
- the $10,000,000 WGC Hope Bong Open will be held in South Africa
- all PGA Tour events are Non-Profit
(other suggestions?)
Hey, I'm still looking for some powdered water for my camping trip, any ideas?
The Fraud Tee is a non profit?
Ready from some Snow Bunny Bingo? I heard Tiger has lend the use of his G5 all the way to Austria and back to get thangs going. Is that true?
For bingo purposes:
The ATT pro-am is going to a 5 day event.
TW is dumping Nike like it was a caddie he loaned to an Aussie.
Tiger is joining with Jack to form a new club manufacturing venture
Banks are going to a 3 day week.
''The Great One's'' daughter is now called ''The Great Ones''
In rereading I just realized that Del is posting FACTS, and not BS RUMORS like I have.
Oh well; to the gullible go the deer antler sprays.
T/M is going with a new marketing ploy. They are going MAIL ORDER/INTERNET ONLY !!!!.
Be the first Shacker to join their new DRIVER OF THE MONTH PROGRAM!
At least DJ's wrist is somewhat 'following' his clubface (or vice versa?) It's just plain shut to the extreme. The difference in his wrist angle btwn his set-up and at-the-top positions is very...uh..pronounced.
As for my personal driver count. Going back to the first big Ti heads (in order and approx years played)
99-ish: 8.5deg TM Bubble II w/ Fujikura Tour Issused Bubble...TS flex methinks
2001-2008: Ping ISI 7deg, Stock X flex.
2008-2008: 8.5deg Callaway X-Tour, Stock Fuji X shaft (short term experiment w/ calladoggies!!)
2008-now: 8.5deg Titleist 907D2 w/ UST ProForce 76gX (cut to 44.3/4" My favorite shaft ever!! Took me about 10 yrs to find the right weight/feel and I'm not changing ever. A very boardy/firm feel vs the "wet spaghetti" feel the fancier stuff has these days.)
Going back, that old TM bubble shaft was the first one that was very stable in the tip as well as heavy enough for my taste...a great driver back in the day. It actually looked pseudo traditional compared to the ISI thing I went to right after.
02.8.2013 | Unregistered CommenterStord
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haha this is funny.....pretty sure the pros are playing TM because of the money they are getting paid.
no doubt lots of r1's sold. tee it up at your local course and the highest handicaps will be playing the r1 hacking it up. just shows that TM marketing works.
The you tube posted above says these new TM irons are even STRONGER than te already juice modern irons, and have longer shafts to boot...talk about BS tech....
My gripe about newer irons is what I call ''pimping''...the cavity with enough crap to win best in show at a low rider meet. Trashy.
For those who don't know, the hot rod adaptors, are made where you can add more loft, or less loft than the stock R9 adaptor. I have one that goes 1/2 degree more or less, and one that goes a full degree, from 7.5 to 11.5. The additional loft really helps on tight tracks, and the strong loft is good for exceptional ball striking days, on fast fairways.
i will admit i refuse to buy anything taylormade as i look at their marketing and the constant equipment turnover as a turnoff. the majority of hackers at your local course seem to be gaming the new white drivers. i'm not a follower of the masses and don't believe that TM products are bad, but also don't believe that TM is any better.
In the Original Eye-2 the loft on the PW was 50.5*...by the time the i-5 came out they were down to 46.0*.
I asked them weaken the lofts 2* per club through the bottom 2/3 of the set. During the conversation I asked the Ping rep why such a drastic difference in PW lofts now vs. then and he said "we tried to hold off as long as we could but competitors were so aggressive it was hurting us in the marketplace".