Are we being bamboozled by the OEM?S??

[frichissin]

You got to love it when you go out to play and someone in your group has a set of knock offs or a set from Kmart. I played with a friend of a friend who just got a new set from Kmart bag, woods, irons, wedges and putter all for $299.99 and who shot an 81.
So my fellow club ho?s why do we go out every couple of months and get a new set?

I think we have been hypnotized by marketing of the OEM?S. When we hear the words ?Hit longer drive and lower your scores? something goes off in our heads and we go out and upgrade to something new.


I just don?t get it?

Just a few things the Kmart club guy plays about 10 times a year. I played with him 4 times last year and he had 2 rounds in the 80s and 2 in the low 100s

[tmtp]

For one thing, the consistency and quality of the OEM brands is usually better. The knock offs and lower end products are great for starters, but when you start to demand more from your equipment, the OEM's (not just the big guys though), will have better quality materials in their products. Yet you are in part pating for the name on the club.

[Nikeguy07]

Originally Posted by frichissin

You got to love it when you go out to play and someone in your group has a set of knock offs or a set from Kmart. I played with a friend of a friend who just got a new set from Kmart bag, woods, irons, wedges and putter all for $299.99 and who shot an 81.
So my fellow club ho?s why do we go out every couple of months and get a new set?

I think we have been hypnotized by marketing of the OEM?S. When we hear the words ?Hit longer drive and lower your scores? something goes off in our heads and we go out and upgrade to something new.


I just don?t get it?

Just a few things the Kmart club guy plays about 10 times a year. I played with him 4 times last year and he had 2 rounds in the 80s and 2 in the low 100s

Well sure..I dont have any doubt in my mind I could go to wal mart buy a set of clubs and shoot a 75 or so, but golf is a game of inches, and golf is also a game of confidence. The new technology DOES help...Its not going to revolutionize YOUR game, but it can help a shot or so, or maybe 1 shot over 2 rounds...But that is the fun of it....You are not going to shave 10 strokes by buying a new club or new set, but its a game of inches!

[equipmentjunkie]

I don't buy new equipment because they say it will help my game. I really buy it because I like it and it's kinda like a hobby. I do think quality materials help out though.

[Postal]

Who cares, its fun to buy new golf stuff.

[JPsuff]

.


But TaylorMade has "SuperFast Technology".


I mean, if THAT isn't something to spend your paycheck on, then I don't know what is!






-JP

[James]

No, I buy things that are customized to my game. No way would I consider buying Kmart clubs that are 3* closed and will be a hook machine. The clubs I have now all have minimum offset and the driver is a couple degrees open. Tell me where to get a driver *3 open from Kmart and maybe I'll try it.

[90civicracer]

I'm sure the quality control and confidence you get from an OEM are a little more than that k-mart set, at least for me.

[pgonza2723]

Originally Posted by equipmentjunkie

I don't buy new equipment because they say it will help my game. I really buy it because I like it and it's kinda like a hobby. I do think quality materials help out though.

Exactly, I could really care less about brand loyalty, I play what feels and performs best for me...so far I haven't been able to find a Target/Kmart driver that will outperform the component or OEMs consistently.

[PingPlayr]

I'm pretty big on supporting the pro-shop at the club I play out of so I try to purchase most of my equipment except for maybe golf balls and tour only clubs from them. But if my teacher told me some small companies driver would fit me best and I liked the club, I would definitely buy it.

[gdu]

Don't forget you don't have buy OEM, they're some great component clubmakers out there as well. Some even better than the OEMs

[drstroud]

Sure we are. Is there really any great technological breakthrough that has been achieved from year to year? Probably not. Over the long haul and since the use of metal woods, maybe. But the biggest has been the ball technology. Every year, new clubs come out that say they are the latest in technology. But how can that happen year in and year out? In my opinion and for the most part, they are just repackaging the same thing with different looks but with the same result.

[gdu]

TaylorMades releases for the last 18 months or so

All of which have been touted as the latest and greatest

R7 425
R7 425 TP
R7 460 Draw
R7 460
R7 460 TP
R7 SuperQuad
Burner
R5 Type N
R5 Type D
R5 TP

[RobinHunter]

I buy new clubs because I can. Also, when I shoot a bad round I can say that it was because of my new clubs and I'm not used to them - not my poor golf skills

I mean, what else would I use the money for - flowers for the wife, clothes for kids,...

[Nikeguy07]

Originally Posted by gdu

TaylorMades releases for the last 18 months or so

All of which have been touted as the latest and greatest

R7 425
R7 425 TP
R7 460 Draw
R7 460
R7 460 TP
R7 SuperQuad
Burner
R5 Type N
R5 Type D
R5 TP

Taylor Made is very very

[tmtp]

Originally Posted by gdu

TaylorMades releases for the last 18 months or so

All of which have been touted as the latest and greatest

R7 425
R7 425 TP
R7 460 Draw
R7 460
R7 460 TP
R7 SuperQuad
Burner
R5 Type N
R5 Type D
R5 TP

The thing that people don't understand with Taylor Made is that they release each driver with a specific player in mind. Not saying that it is the right way to go, but they target certain types of player with each club. They now that I will not play the r7 Draw, but there are people who fight a slice and even loading all of the weight in the heel of an r7 425 won't move as much weight as simply removing a portion of hte toe and moving it to the heel.

[mikey300]

to buy a brand new driver a top dollar is nuts, with the way that the manufactures are flooding the market, you only need to wait 6 -12 months and the price is cut in half.

[pgonza2723]

Originally Posted by Nikeguy07

Taylor Made is very very

Not like Nike is any better with coming out with the latest and greatest (SQs & Sumo's), or Callaway with their FT's, or Cobra when they did their EZ and Speed series, etc etc. Just like new cars, there are always people ready to spend their money, so why should any one manuf. not try and capture that market? Truthfully, having 500 different drivers coming out in 1 year only means I'll be able to pick up one on ebay for real cheap a year down the road.

[Nikeguy07]

Originally Posted by pgonza2723

Not like Nike is any better with coming out with the latest and greatest (SQs & Sumo's), or Callaway with their FT's, or Cobra when they did their EZ and Speed series, etc etc. Just like new cars, there are always people ready to spend their money, so why should any one manuf. not try and capture that market? Truthfully, having 500 different drivers coming out in 1 year only means I'll be able to pick up one on ebay for real cheap a year down the road.

Nike will let the launch monitor data speak for itself!!! I was just issued a launch monitor last week, and I already fit a few people over the weekend!! The numbers were quite impressive

[JPsuff]

.


It's the ball!

The greatest contribution to distance in the golf industry is the livelier ball - just like in baseball.

The proof is in the irons. Today, we have Pro's hitting 270 yd. 2-irons. Now there has been no significant change in the way blades have been manufactured in fifty years. There's no "spring effect", no titanium, no composites. Basically a 2-iron is still a hunk of forged steel on the end of a stick, yet they're hitting them farther than ever.

It's the ball!


-JP

[Nikeguy07]

Originally Posted by JPsuff

.


It's the ball!

The greatest contribution to distance in the golf industry is the livelier ball - just like in baseball.

The proof is in the irons. Today, we have Pro's hitting 270 yd. 2-irons. Now there has been no significant change in the way blades have been manufactured in fifty years. There's no "spring effect", no titanium, no composites. Basically a 2-iron is still a hunk of forged steel on the end of a stick, yet they're hitting them farther than ever.

It's the ball!




-JP

Then what is your argument to two different drivers hitting the same ball, and one has a 10 mph difference in ball speed?

[tmtp]

Other than lofts getting stronger, shafts being made from lighter, more consistent steel. Not to mention higher swing speeds and more perfected techniques by the players.

[jackamo]

All the others not Callaway!