Dave,
I agree with your points, but need to add a couple of points to your case.....
In Vijay's specific situation (and as an aside for basically every tour golfer -not
sure if this applies to tennis or other sports), the driver he uses is one that's not
available to any 'common' player via their retail golf supplier. He plays a tour only
prototype TM driver (of course fitted to him with respect to loft, lie, face angle,
and shaft) that will never by sold to the public. So, the deception goes even further
in that the typical player cannot even obtain the equipment he uses, irrespective of
the name stamped on it. In fact, the typical player can only get the closest match to
his driver by seeing an excellent clubfitter that builds or modifies a driver to fit
that player specifically - the brand stamp on the sole is not a revelant part of this
equation (obviously the brand isn't the big issue with the tour player either)unless
the clubhead itself is garbage. It's really funny to see the 'what's in the bag'
sections in Golf Digest where the picture of the pl!
ayer's bag is included - they only show players that use clubs that are either
commercially available or ones that look similar enough to those commercially
available to decieve the reader.
Right now, all of the TM tour staff uses metals that have a .335 hosel bore. TM does
NOT sell a .335 hosel bore driver or fairway metal (retro tour spoon is an exception)
to the public. The Titleist players are using a prototype 983E or 983K driver (Els
using the 983E I believe) that is also not available - it might be released later this
year. And, of course, all are custom fitted to each player. If your wallet is fat
enough, there are sources for these real tour clubs - the cost is typically 3-5x
higher than the commercially available OEMs. (a Titleist 983E is selling for ~$1400
now)
The bottom line is that these guys pick a club (usually from a selection only
available to them) that visually gives them the most confidence, and have it fitted to
their swing - EXACTLY what the custom clubmaker should be doing. Whether the
clubmaker uses an OEM or non-OEM clubhead to start the process, the custom fitting
part of the equation is where the difference should be marketed to the public. IMO,
the tour pros will with few exceptions always use clubs made by OEMs since the tour
specific products they provide are without a doubt significantly better for their
games. These same clubs would be mediocre to terrible performers for the typical
player, but you are very correct in discussing the 'mass appeal to use what the pro's
use'. Nike Golf would be long gone without this marketing reality, as their
commercially availble clubs are nothing to rave about. Tiger, Duval, etc. ARE the
reason that Nike is in the OEM clubmaking business, even though the the ONLY similar!
ity between the pro's equipment and the clubs in the store is the swoosh.
Anyway, my point is that the deception runs much deeper than you've described since
the pro's don't use the clubs these OEMs sell in stores anyway.....
Off Rant,
Pat K.
>
> From: Dave Tutelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: 2003/01/28 Tue AM 09:02:01 EST
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: ShopTalk: brands under wraps
>
> At 09:51 PM 1/27/03 -0500, Ray Pruitt wrote:
> > as you know I am busy running a shop and don't usually talk a lot.
> > However, running a high quality OEM shop is a big job. I noticed (not for
> > the first time) , on national tv coverage , a player using one brand of
> > driver, but covering it with a competitors brand of head cover.
> > I have seen this at a TOUR event before, and I for one am tired of
> > seeing this practice. Anyone else out there have the same opinion, ? and
> > what do we the consumer and business people do about it?
> > Oh, by the way , the player was Vijay ,and he used a Taylor Made , with
> > a Cleveland headcover.
> >
> >Ray
>
> Personally, I could not do this myself. Endorsing something you don't
> believe in defies integrity. That said...
>
> I find it hard to work up any indignation specifically in the case of
> athletes endorsing one brand while using another. Tennis players have been
> doing this for years. And I have no doubt that tour golfers do too. But the
> fact that "everybody does it" is not what fails to tick me off. It's that
> the whole OEM endorsement-based sales pitch is just so dishonest that I
> don't see this as a breach that particularly sticks out.
>
> The endorsement idea -- the notion of paying a visible celebrity athlete to
> use your product -- appeals only to the weakest or most ego-dominated minds
> anyway. How could it be logical that because Vijay Singh plays Cleveland
> (or Taylor Made, or whatever) and wins, that I can improve my game by
> playing that brand. ("Be like Mike." "Gotta be the shoes." "I am Tiger
> Woods".) As clubfitters, we all know how ridiculous that is. Yet for some
> reason, this notion:
> (a) Sells lots of golf clubs.
> (b) Raises the cost of those golf clubs, because of endorsement costs.
> (c) Raises the price of those golf clubs, because of both increased costs
> and [illogically] increased demand.
>
> So I don't have a lot of sympathy for any consumer that is "fooled" by the
> headcover switch. They were fatally fooled by the whole premise before the
> switch ever happened.
>
> Cheers!
> DaveT
>
>
>
