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Adams Golf HQ to close, TaylorMade Golf sales in decline

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The adidas Group, which is the parent company for Taylormade-adidas Golf and Adams Golf among others, is consolidating its Adams Golf Headquarters, currently operating in Plano, Texas to its global headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif.

A company official at TaylorMade-adidas Golf issued the following statement statement on Tuesday, August 12:

“We recently announced that a reorganization of our company was being planned. This restructuring includes the consolidation of our Adams Golf business currently located in Plano, TX to our global headquarters in Carlsbad, CA. We are also realigning our workforce at TaylorMade to better meet the needs of our business and ultimately, our consumers.  This includes investing in new areas to strengthen our brands and strategically approach our future to reinforce our leadership in the industry.”

According to financial statements, TaylorMade-adidas Golf sales were down 18 percent currency-neutral in Q2 and 27 percent year-to-date, totaling ~$315 million (U.S.) of decline over the first half of 2014, compared to the first half of 2013. Herbert Hainer, adidas Group CEO, issued the following statement as part of a letter to the shareholders confirming its financial decline:

Screen Shot 2014-08-12 at 11.35.27 PM

Later in the letter, Hainer addressed the decline of TaylorMade-adidas Golf sales specifically.

Screen Shot 2014-08-12 at 11.39.30 PM

Click here to see what GolfWRX members are saying in the forums.

*we will be updating the story as more information becomes available

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He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

182 Comments

182 Comments

  1. Pingback: Adams Golf Canada Demo Days | Discounts For Golf

  2. Mike Smith

    Aug 18, 2014 at 2:41 pm

    Let’s not forget what Callaway did to Hogan…

    • Ferguson, MO survivor

      Aug 18, 2014 at 7:44 pm

      Tm should introduce a driver with 2 heads

  3. FPDOZ

    Aug 17, 2014 at 10:18 am

    Just an opinion here. Personaly I think that TM bought Adams for one reson only, that is to not go to court for copying Adams “speedslot”. They do not care for the company or the employes.

  4. Golfguffer

    Aug 16, 2014 at 1:29 am

    What is more telling to me than anything, given the financials, is that TM is moving the remains of Adams to commiefornia instead of moving TM to Texas.

  5. b-man777

    Aug 15, 2014 at 1:36 pm

    Hey all: I think this is the latest move in the crowed golf equipment market needing to consolidate. There are to many companies out there trying to get a piece of a small pie. I also think that while equipment is very good these days I don’t think the improvements companies are making in their equipment from year to year is as BIG now as it was say 20 or so years ago. Also with the price and quality of equipment these days most consumers regardless of how much or little they play can’t justify a new driver or set of irons for example every few year. Thanks

  6. John

    Aug 15, 2014 at 12:24 am

    Maybe if TaylorMade didnt come out with a new driver every other week, they could have a popular driver. Who wants to pay $400-$450 on a driver. You want to know how to get your sales up? Lower the price where it is more appealing.

    • Ken

      Nov 3, 2014 at 12:43 pm

      I love the new models every other week. Gives me more to choose from, and lowers the cost of the not-so-new models!

  7. HackerDav31

    Aug 14, 2014 at 2:08 pm

    Ha! The comments around the greatness destroyed by Adams in the acquisition by Taylormade are hilarious. Clearly you all have zero actual memory of the state Adams was in before they were acquired. Just as a business 101 introduction, typically speaking, companies in excellent financial shape aren’t acquired!! Adams wasn’t profitable, and still isn’t! Wake up and learn the facts before diving in with wild theories written with zero knowledge of the situation, and even less insight into how to fix a crippled game.

    • juan pablo

      Aug 20, 2014 at 5:44 pm

      Funny comments by HackerDav31, as his initial experience into biz 101 must have certainly been different than others. Companies are acquired for many reasons, including the one you mentioned, so kudos for watching CNBC in your spare time. Many times they are acquired to eliminate competition, gain access to technology that the acquirer doesn’t or can’t have or to avoid any potential current/ future litigation. This could potentially be biz 201 or maybe even 301, so excuse me if you didn’t make it to your sophomore year at your local community college. I haven’t looked at Adams’ earnings before the acquisition but I believe they had a stellar performance on Wall Street and had shown consistent growth even in a shrinking golf market, as well as success on tour with their hybrids. I hope this sheds some light into your “hilarious assumptions” as you so poetically put it, and will prompt you too, to research before you pen emails on topics your not educated to speak on. JPL

  8. Dan

    Aug 14, 2014 at 1:08 pm

    Someone on Martha’s Vineyard said it is all Bush’s fault

  9. slimeone

    Aug 14, 2014 at 10:21 am

    Because there’s less people taking up golf they are targeting existing golfers in order to get us to keep buying more stuff than we need. It worked for a wile but people grow weary of spending money for no real reason so they are inclined not to. The shareholders hate this cos they have an insatiable lust for money.

    • Chris Downing

      Aug 14, 2014 at 7:04 pm

      Well shareholders can be pension funds and everyone’s bank savings – so there is every reason to expect a profit. Anything else is more like a hobby where you just do the right things and spend money. It’s certainly true that golf is shrinking, but that could be for a lot of reasons. I am not at all sure its about costs. As has been said here, you can buy secondhand, and join a cheaper club. (I see no time soon when I will be joining a club with £45k joining fee and £5k a year membership – I pay £800 a year and I can’t remember the last time I bought a new club – think it was 1994!).

  10. Chris Downing

    Aug 14, 2014 at 4:51 am

    Well who was surprised at seeing Adams in this position. Bought up by TaylorMade, it was only a matter of time before the HQ would be subsumed into the TM HQ. It’s all about economies of scale – why wouldn’t anyone close the Adams HQ? As far as the future goes, it’s a marketing makeover – reposition TaylorMade and perhaps trim the range, focus on the target market betterr. For Adams, repositioning them into a younger market will bring them head to head with TaylorMade and that’s just not good marketing. Adams needs to develop a niche, a target must-have user market of ts own. Actually the older market isn’t a poor target – at our golf club,the over 55s represents 2/3 of the membership. Those retired with plenty of time on their hands probably is something like 40% of the memership. That’s a huge marketing opportunity – probably more guys using on the Senior Tour would help Adams more than going younger!

    The real problem for Adams will be dealing with the internal political fall-out from dropping sales. The California guys will circle the waggons and the newcomer Adams guys may find themselves getting fired at from the inside. I predict the Adams brand going forward and aimed more firmly at the older market – but managed by the old guard at TaylorMade. Expect to see 90% of the management team at Adams being pushed out. I speak from experience of these things happening to me many times – when there’s trouble, the jobs that can be saved are those closest to the top management team. Nobody wants to see the lerson next to them loose their job – but when they are in another State – well who cares, nobody round here knows them!

  11. Jeff Daschel

    Aug 13, 2014 at 6:11 pm

    They kept saying golf participation was declining. Taylormade kept making 4 300$ drivers a year, whatever. There’s guys out there who live golf clubs enough to drive that business model. I knew they were doomed when they came out with the R11 irons. Because nobody that loved golf could stomach those things. Who the hell do they expect to keep buying the new game improvement sets of irons every 6 weeks?

    The thing that makes me mad is how they just ate up Adam’s golf. For no good reason. Adam’s was the part of the market TMAG just wouldn’t ever appeal to, so they destroyed em. Tight Lies was on my first set of clubs. I’ve never really hated TMAG like some, I know they make solid golf clubs. But look, just like Doc Holiday said in Tombstone. “Darlin? Should I hate em” “Now I really hate em”

    • Dave C

      Aug 13, 2014 at 11:18 pm

      Pissed no real successor to my CMBs will occur

  12. Walter

    Aug 13, 2014 at 5:28 pm

    Has anyone thought about the amount of golf lost this year due to the exceptionally cold and long winter? I know for a fact that I didn’t pick up a club until almost a month later than I usually do. Find data of the total number of rounds so far this year versus that of last year and you should see a discrepancy.
    Below has from February 2013 to February 2014, I couldn’t find one that was more updated. If you can find one I would be interested in seeing it.
    http://www.golfdatatech.com/cms/uploads/2014/01/February-National-Rounds-Played-Report-2014.pdf

    When a golf season is as short as it is in the Midwest, loosing 1 month out of a 6 month season is a pretty big deal. If you aren’t playing as much golf you aren’t going to buy golf equipment.

  13. adhd

    Aug 13, 2014 at 4:52 pm

    Oh my goodness. It’s the sign of diminishing golf participation.

  14. T

    Aug 13, 2014 at 3:51 pm

    Good grief. I have never heard so much rubbish spoken in one place? TM a fabulous brand, they own the driver and 3 wood market, The RBZ 3 wood is one of he best clubs ever made. Mizuno make , on the whole, the best irons, and anyone that knows anything about golf would agree. Adams will be wound up in due course, probably when Tom retires and commercially this makes perfect sense. The hatred towards the marketing of TM is pathetic. Of course they will bring out new clubs as often as they believe they can, and if you want to buy an R1, an R11, a SLDR and now a SLDRs then so be it, it’s your choice and if you can afford to do it then fair play…TMAG is a great golf brand, end of.

    • carl truitt

      Aug 13, 2014 at 4:36 pm

      Just remember that all of these companies pay their players to use their equipment. If there was a rule against that, I wonder which “brand” would own the driver category…and all other for that matter.

      If we’re talking retail sales, They all suck apparently…

    • Paul

      Aug 13, 2014 at 5:49 pm

      I think the problem is how adams is perceived, not a subpar quality. Adams, at least where I am (Canada) is seen as an old man’s brand. However, I’m 23 and a long hitter and I picked up adams irons and hybrids/fairways and LOVE the look and feel of them. I think a rebrand is in order. Have adams be the Addidas brand that sticks to tradition, and position themselves similar to titleist. Maybe spend some dough to get some younger talent from the tour (for example, Anyone think Rickie will stay with Cobra his entire career??) That would do wonders for the brand. Have the Taylormade brand stick with the “10 years further” every year and implement the radical change there. If generally accepted by the masses, easily faze it into the adams design if it increases performance.

      • carl truitt

        Aug 13, 2014 at 7:31 pm

        the “problem” is not adams. The problem is the never ending search for growth with the fear of a stock price drop if you miss earnings. Let’s face it, great companies get gobbled up and destroyed all the time. Crappy economic conditions, declining buyers and an abundance of cash coming out of the recession spurred TMAG to splurge on Adams (They sure as hell weren’t going to invest in an internal expansion and hire a bunch of people). I will go on record that the Adams name will be gone within 2 years. It has nothing to do with how great their stuff was…Adams as you knew it died with the acquisition. TMAG just buried it with the closing of the HQ.

        Think about it for a minute: Why would a product leader buy up a small private competitor? To get the IP, then use the IP within their own R&D process. Since TMAG has owned them now, there is no “Adams” R&D…The guys that came up with all those great products when Barney Adams ran the show are gone. All future Adams Clubs are TMAG clubs with an adams logo. When everyone realizes it, having an adams branded club will hold no value over a TMAG branded club.

        I agree that Adams was a really good innovator in the Hybrid/FW segment. Go to ebay and buy up all the Adams stuff now while you can still get it.

      • bradford

        Aug 14, 2014 at 8:53 am

        That would be a radical change, though I don’t disagree. Innovation and quality is where Adams lives. It is the only brand out there that offers legit, unaltered shaft options. They were the fist with a legit hybrid, first with a slotted club, Tight Lies speaks for itself, and the CMBs and ProA12’s are both astounding iron sets. Pairing them with Titleist would be to water them down into the “safety first” marketing strategy where you grab innovations from other companies and put your label on it after it’s proven.

        TMAg bought Adams for it’s engineering and patents. Period. It was a smart move for TMAg, but it sucks for those who love Adams golf, and it will eventually suck for the equipment market as we’ll lose the largest driver of equipment innovation.

      • JV

        Aug 14, 2014 at 12:38 pm

        Cobra is owned by Puma, who I can’t imagine Folwer ever abandoning given how much they have gotten behind him. So I DO think he will play Cobra clubs for at least a very long time.

      • BudFox

        Aug 26, 2014 at 9:01 am

        Good idea. Adidas name would carry weight, and a redesign toward younger market would help. You carry and Adams in your bag, you’re telling the world ‘my tee shots travel 185, so I need this’

        as far as prices, I have been out of the game for 15 years, and can’t believe prices. I’m searching Craigslist for my needs (golf needs)

        Don’t get me started on course fees. Very expensive hobby these days.

        • bradford

          Sep 17, 2014 at 11:11 am

          Which is weird, because a huge number of long drive comps are won with Adams drivers…It’s just a very common misconception that Adams caters to “short” players. Don’t forget, they invented the speed slot that gives you your “17 more yards”. They were also the first to provide legit aftermarket shafts, unlike the watered down “made-fors” that Titleist offers.

    • S

      Aug 14, 2014 at 8:49 am

      You sir have drunk WAAAAAY to much TM Kool Aid. TM is by far and away (with Callaway in 2nd) most of the reason aside from weather why the golf equipment sales market has decreased. Ask the CEO of Dick’s why they are getting out of the golf sales business.

      TM buys a reputable niche market brand such as Adams’s and within 5 year will destroy the brand and try to sell it. Not to mention TM eats up these smaller companies and people lose their jobs thus destroying the perception and overall feeling towards the TM brand.

      Have you hit the SLDR? Do you know how many people return the SLDR or spend more money on various aftermarket shafts because they can’t hit it? I do because I work in the business and sold the Jetspeed (which TM discontinued because margins weren’t great enough) 10 to 1. Go figure, the boneheads in upper mgmt. have a product that performs and they screw the margins up and have to discontinue.

      RBZ is the best fairway wood? You have to be a TM employee. The X Hot Pro was far and away the best Fairway Wood made by any OEM in the last 10 years.

      Stop buying into their marketing ploy. #1 Driver on tour? Maybe it is. But go find an SLDR on tour that is the same one bought on shelves. Low and Forward CG works for like .5% of golfers including tour pros who hit up on their drivers creating less spin naturally. So they have SLDR’s built with CG’s positioned further back to make it playable.

      Kool Aid drinkers beware. TM is killing the industry. Mark King started this $2 billion goal and now the company is going backwards down over $300 million. Good luck to the recently laid off Adams employees.

      • Gerry Garcia

        Aug 16, 2014 at 2:03 pm

        Couldn’t agree more.

      • bradford

        Sep 17, 2014 at 11:19 am

        Nobody was laid off.

        Low and forward actually doesn’t work for pros, and “Loft-Up” was more of an admission that the advertised lofts were wrong in the first place. Measure it, there’s 0 difference between the “higher lofted” SLDR and the older TMs outside of the number on the side.

        Return rate is clearly not 10:1. Making numbers up is silly.

        • bradford

          Sep 17, 2014 at 11:22 am

          **correction, just saw that

          Low and forward actually doesn’t work for pros, and “Loft-Up” was more of an admission that the advertised lofts were wrong in the first place. Measure it, there’s 0 difference between the “higher lofted” SLDR and the older TMs outside of the number on the side.

          Return rate is clearly not 10:1. Making numbers up is silly.

    • CM

      Aug 14, 2014 at 1:25 pm

      Sounds like somebody owns TM stock. Good luck with your TM club updates every 4-6 months in this market.

    • OzoneRaiders

      Aug 14, 2014 at 2:24 pm

      One mans opinion.

    • Bryan

      Nov 20, 2014 at 8:32 pm

      First of All TM flood the market with there clubs. Seriously One driver comes out and then all of sudden there’s another. HELLO wake the hell up folks. TM killed the golf market by sending out clubs after clubs. And not waiting for the market or stores I should say sell what they had inventory. NOPE TM waited those clubs out bcz they already had the newest set of irons being manufactured. And to buy out and failing company bcz they where going to lose there day in court, just goes to show it’s better to buying the failing company instead of losing millions in court cost. Way to go TM. TM should look at Titleist in how the market there product. Which is every other year.

  15. Kelvy

    Aug 13, 2014 at 3:39 pm

    I am extremely sad to see Adams Golf being put in this position. I have been an avid Adams supporter for the past 5 years, only in the last month have I transitioned away from the company to use a different driver and irons.

    But it makes sense to have Taylormade who oversaturates the market with equipment each year finally seeing a downturn in profits. When turning out 2 models of clubs per year, with limited gains in performance, it makes logical sense to see the company suffer at some point. I just hope this reconsolidation doesn’t turn into shutting down a company that found a niche in the market and excelled at it for many years and continues to do so. As a college student and amateur golf, who is on a limit budget, upgrading equipment each time a new product line-up appears is something I cannot do. So in the end with a decreasing number of golfers then adding an increasing price of clubs, I believe many other companies are going to face this issue, unless cost can find a way to drop and force golfers to justify a new purchase every year or 6 months. I just hope other major manufacturers learn from this “industry leader” and they change pace relatively soon.

    • leftright

      Aug 13, 2014 at 10:56 pm

      Hey, Barney just said it makes no difference. Buy you some equipment, just as long as it’s made after 1998 it will make no difference. He is probably right and the distance gains have been the ball all along. I respect Barney Adams and if he says it, it is probably true. I played Adams stuff and will continue too, its nice to know I can buy Adams stuff several years old in good condition and it will perform just fine. I still think the 9015D driver may be the best ever made. I still have mine but can’t generate the speed to hit it anymore but 7 years ago I was killing it. It’s a low spin monster and I still believe that driver would be the longest club for anyone who can generate 105mph club head speed with 13-16 launch angle ever made. There titanium fairway woods still dominate and I will rue the day my 14.5 XTD dies.

  16. DonW

    Aug 13, 2014 at 3:37 pm

    I admit it, it’s all my fault.

    I am still playing my 1985 Ping Eye2 irons.

    I do have a Taylormade driver but I guess that is not enoug.

    • AJ Jensen

      Aug 13, 2014 at 4:24 pm

      I’ll never stop playing my Ping Eye 2’s. Nothing hits like ’em.

      • leftright

        Aug 13, 2014 at 10:59 pm

        After Barney’s article I bought a set of lefthanded ISI nickels off of ebay and am going to put them in play. I’ve always wanted a set of those and I have them now, 3-SW in excellent condition. I think that article by Barney is going to set the golf industry on fire. I see major changes coming.

        • Scooter

          Aug 14, 2014 at 8:53 pm

          Hope they are not counterfeit – Jimmy Roberts Show (In Play) had a great show on Golf Channel about buying clubs on line…..

  17. ASXA

    Aug 13, 2014 at 3:28 pm

    Hopefully this does not mean the beginning of the end of my beloved Adams and all my glorious senior mens gear. Otherwise: Crippling depression.

    • AJ Jensen

      Aug 13, 2014 at 4:25 pm

      Adams makes a mighty fine hybrid club as well

      • Tom

        Aug 13, 2014 at 4:48 pm

        And Irons.

      • Chris Loskie

        Aug 13, 2014 at 10:30 pm

        The adams super hybrid xtd is the easiest to hit and hit far … great club

        • Dave C

          Aug 13, 2014 at 11:23 pm

          Adams CMBs are great irons

          • ASXA

            Aug 14, 2014 at 2:22 am

            You guys are preaching to the choir…. all my clubs other than wedges and putter (And driver because I don’t have one) are Adams. There isn’t a better senior mens flex in town.

  18. Keith Panco

    Aug 13, 2014 at 3:04 pm

    I’d like to challenge everyone to try an experiment. Go to Goodwill, eBay, a pawn shop, etc, and get some mid 1990’s clubs. Even get a 260 cc driver. Now go play with them for a week. You will realize that you can play just as well with 20 year old equipment as you can with the modern stuff. Heck, even get an old set of 1960s irons and see what I mean.

    • Josh

      Aug 13, 2014 at 3:28 pm

      Of course, for most beginners and ametuer players, the newest equipment isn’t going to benefit them much more than equipment from a few years ago. I would say that no matter the skill level though, newer technology will make the game easier and more fun than using 1960’s equipment, no question. It’s just like a car from the 1960’s might still run and get you from point A to point B, but newer cars with better technology make it more fun to drive and get better gas mileage. New clubs are lighter to produce faster club head speeds and engineers have increased the MOI, or forgiveness factor, over the years to make clubs easier to hit. Doesn’t mean people have to go out and buy the latest $400 driver, but I guarantee they will hit it farther and straighter and have more fun doing so than trying to hit some persimmon driver from the 60’s.

      • Fyreside

        Sep 18, 2014 at 7:38 pm

        I dunno about that. I’m a 23 handicapper and been playing for about 3 years now. A few friends and I have a yearly tourny where we use only pre-1980 blades and woods (and woods must be made of wood). Because of this I play my old set a few times a year. Usually once or twice to warm up and then for the tourny.

        The honest truth is that I don’t see much more than 5-8 yards loss on the woods. The irons are another story because I use game improvement irons in my real set. The blades go further, but are just harder to hit so I get varied distances. the short irons play almost identical to my new clubs, but with less spin.

        The only thing I notice that is dramatically different between my sets is the greenside play. the old clubs just aren’t as workable so I have to be a bit more creative and count for a little extra run.

        40 odd years between the making of the old clubs and my current set and that is all the difference I can find. I think that speaks for itself.

    • hebron1427

      Aug 13, 2014 at 3:31 pm

      This comment is pretty asinine. The advent of modern technology has made clubs bigger, more forgiving, easier to hit, easier to line up, better feeling, and more durable. And…more expensive, which is probably the reason no one buys them anymore. You think someone can play the same with mid-90s equipment? Maybe if they play on mid-90s courses. The PGA Championship had a 519-yard par 4. The course I grew up playing in the early 90s had a 490-yard par 5–and it wasn’t reachable for anyone I knew. People’s memories are short. I remember as a teenager striping a driver 260 and having the group I was playing with get all gooey-eyed at how far I was crushing it. For God’s sake, you can take the club apart, change the loft, and reattach the shaft with the turn of a wrench!

      Anyone who says you can hit a 260 cc driver the same as a 460 cc driver has no clue. Catch one 1/4 inch toward the toe and instead of a baby draw (460cc driver) you have a duckhook into the weeds or a pop-up (260cc driver). Anyone who thinks a 260 cc driver goes as far doesn’t understand physics, and how the COR of titanium dramatically impacted the game.

      I’m not saying every new club will make you better, but to say things haven’t changed since the 60s is just asinine.

  19. west

    Aug 13, 2014 at 2:54 pm

    Relocating vs. Closing down completely are two totally different things…Bit dramatic of a heading…

    • Homer H.

      Aug 13, 2014 at 4:42 pm

      Tell that to all the workers affected. What the headline doesn’t mention is the cutting of 15% of employees.

      • west

        Aug 13, 2014 at 8:22 pm

        How many employees was that? 4-5 maybe?

        • Peter

          Aug 15, 2014 at 1:17 pm

          15% of the overall business at TMaG. With regard to Adams specifically, basically everyone is being let go.

    • carl truitt

      Aug 13, 2014 at 4:44 pm

      Relocating all Adams people who live in texas to Carlsbad….really? This is a closing…none of these people are going to move to California. Sometimes you need to read between the lines.

      • west

        Aug 13, 2014 at 8:20 pm

        Plano, Tx vs Carlsbad, CA…

        I choose Carlsbad all day every day, and so would anyone else in their right mind.

        • Carl Truitt

          Aug 13, 2014 at 9:11 pm

          Sure you would…since you obviously do not have a history in Plano. I bet the folks with Adams don’t feel like you. I’m also sure that TMAG offered them all jobs back at the mothership…and also offered to pay to relocate them and their families…and help them sell their houses too. What planet are you from?

          I bet you love to pay the taxes in California too…you and Phil Mickelson could hang out and gripe about how the Government is getting too much of your check.

          Just a different perspective for you to think about

          • Chris Loskie

            Aug 13, 2014 at 10:33 pm

            Fook california… couldnt pay enough to move there

    • leftright

      Aug 13, 2014 at 11:04 pm

      Same difference in corporate talk. Why would any sane person want to move from Texas to California. Talking about going from a Ferrari to a Chevrolet, it don’t make sense but then nothing TM has done for the past several years has made much sense. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a class action suit against TM. They state their shafts are the “real deal” when they are not many times over the past decade. Matrix never made and X-Con 5 at 45 grams, or X-Con6 at 59 grams, etc., etc. Their quality and club components cannot be trusted at all.

    • bradford

      Aug 14, 2014 at 8:58 am

      Relocating to a set of cubicles inside TM headquarters must sound awesome to a group of guys who built a legendary golf company…

  20. Shelb

    Aug 13, 2014 at 2:41 pm

    Everyone is forgetting what really is happening here:

    Pricing aside, golf in general is declining. Courses are shutting down, people are having a tough time affording to play, equipment can be expensive, etc.

    Taylormade’s business model is to pump out 2-3 NEW types of clubs per year!!!!!! Ping, Titleist, Nike all generally come out with 1 model for 2 years (Ping hasn’t lately as they’ve had the Anser, G25, G30 and either has Nike with the Covert and the Covert 2.0). With TM flooding the market as well as other brands trying to semi-adopt TM’s business model, you have a golf world with X amount of people (where the number has a limit) and y amount of product being produced (where theoretically has no limit).

    There is too much product out there for the consumer and not enough people to buy this product. The current state of golf had to have this decline because the math didn’t add up. As someone stated earlier on this discussion forum, I too am surprised this hasn’t happened earlier.

    One last thing I will state, is that with the “Big Box” stores flooding the market, the green grass sellers have no chance. It’s almost not even worth it for them to sell stuff out of there tiny shop. There’s not enough margin, not enough selection, and unfortunately that’s what it’s came to. Even though most people can be fit for a driver in a second, people still think they need to try out 5 different drivers to see what one they like the best (even though it won’t make an ounce of difference because this person is likely a 20+ cap with a swing speed of under 100MPH).

    This also ties into the Dick’s firing of all their golf pros. The big box stores aren’t making enough money either, so they are going to business models where cuts are necessary so that they can make money on the bottom line.

    Golf is certainly in need of an overhaul. It’s just sad that it comes in the form of financial cuts….and usually to the small players before the big players.

  21. TontoYoder

    Aug 13, 2014 at 2:29 pm

    TaylorMade has always had very good drivers, fairway clubs and hybrids. Their irons did not fit a broad spectrum of golfers, in my opinion. That has recently changed. The addition of the Sldr irons is a big plus. With the KBS shaft they have the feel of a forged and are one of the best irons available today anywhere. I agree with other comments regarding coming out with more than one new generation of clubs a year. In reality, how much performance change can there be unless the original generation was really bad? R&D and marketing costs have to be adversly affecting the bottom line, along with having to cut prices to get rid of old inventory. Retailers are probably having fits dealing with the manufacturers also. Personally, I buy through the TM website for several reasons. Being trained in club fitting and repair,and keeping up with the industry, I know what fits. “Feel” is the one variable you cannot be sure of in building or purchasing a club. You can only tell after hitting it.
    There are gold nuts like me out there who can afford to buy clubs frequently,but I am not in the majority. This will iron itself out. We are already down to four major golf manufacturers. We do not need to lose one of them.

    • leftright

      Aug 13, 2014 at 11:08 pm

      The TM fairways and hybrids only became popular after acquiring Adams and not before then. The new drivers are also Adams technology with the slots. That was patented by Adams and the only way TM could use it was buy Adams, which they could do at the time. The only people leaving Plano for the outhouse of California are their tech guys, the rest are out of a job.

  22. setter02

    Aug 13, 2014 at 1:57 pm

    Everyone knew this was coming, and I suspect most of us are just surprised it took this long.

    TM will have to do some major restructuring and think about their product releases and tone them down. Personally, if I was the owner of the big box retailers, I’d say take your gear back at the cost price, no mark down BS towards future purchases or we won’t carry you. TM can try and run everything off a website, but that will fail as they don’t have nor want the infrastructure to do it.

  23. David A

    Aug 13, 2014 at 1:52 pm

    Most of the golfers still playing, realize you can NOT buy a game. Lessons and practice. Too bad most Americans want the easy way out and not the work required to be a decent player.

    • MikeB

      Aug 13, 2014 at 2:51 pm

      Yes,I agree that lessons and practice are the way to better golf. mI am at a point where I cannot afford new clubs nor lessons but my main goal is to play. Any money I can scrape up is being used for golfing, not equipment.

      As far as Taylor Made is concerned, they dug their own hole that they must now crawl out of. The fact that they are perhaps the most top heavy golf company on the planet seemed to have escaped them at the moment though. I pine for Adams golf as an entity as it’s days are severely numbered. I would be very surprised if the brand survives beyond the first half of 2015. I have been saying this since they were acquired by TMaG. Look at their produce line… one driver, two fairway woods and a bunch of hybrids.

    • carl truitt

      Aug 13, 2014 at 4:46 pm

      not limited to just Americans

  24. DB

    Aug 13, 2014 at 1:46 pm

    The golf industry is cyclical and is due for a down cycle. It really is that simple.

  25. JumpShot14

    Aug 13, 2014 at 1:43 pm

    I dont know why people are jumping the gun here. Is it clear what the breakdown is of the people laid off at Adams? Is this a “plant” or more “corporate offices”? I was under the impression it was more corporate office than anything.

    And if it is – this would not be unusual at all and certainly not the end of the world. In any corporate merger there is a consolidation of back office functions – finance/accounting, HR, business operations etc. Having two separate offices performing the same function set would be duplicative and unnecessary.

    • txaggieman85

      Aug 13, 2014 at 2:20 pm

      Is majority of the sales force and corp HQ.

  26. FlopShot

    Aug 13, 2014 at 1:29 pm

    This is not news. When one company acquires another, it is assumed that corporate/HQ offices are consolidated, that is part of the ROI. The only surprise is that this didn’t happen much, much earlier.

    • David A

      Aug 13, 2014 at 1:54 pm

      I would not blame the normal process of acquisition for this move. Tough times are being experienced by almost every golf company.

  27. Tommy Truth

    Aug 13, 2014 at 1:08 pm

    In golf terms, TMAGs new drive is 35 yards shorter.

  28. Tommy Truth

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:57 pm

    Theres been no new technology for a decade, product cycle is too shot, prices too high, and Tiger Woods is not playing.

    Bring on the marketing hype!!!

  29. Inthejonzone

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:57 pm

    The staggering sales figures is the main issue that has driven the closing of the plant…following an acquisition there needs to be an increase in revenue to offset the purchase price, SLDR probably helped tremendously with that, and now that the honeymoon period over and the TM loyalists saying for SLDR2/etc. they can’t rely on driving irons to increase their Q3 revenues.

  30. Tin Whistle

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:50 pm

    ain’t the arrow it’s the shareholder
    product cycle too short
    playing 1983 hogan personal irons, 2003 sonartec ss02 fwy, and 2011 nike pro ltd driver
    i’d rather make an annual pilgrimage to bandon than by new sticks

  31. CD

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:46 pm

    This is not surprising at all. TM and other companies continue to put out a “newer, greater, top of the line” product every other month it seems like. I spent alot of money upgrading my 8 year old equipment last year…New driver, 3 wood, irons and wedges, spent a pretty penny. I’ll be damned if they think everyone is going to go out a month or 2 months later and buy the “new” thing after they just bought the “new” thing. Not many people, even with disposable income, are going to drop another $300-500 on a driver when they just got one in the same year. All the golf companies should focus on making the game affordable and enjoyable for every age, this will bring profit, in more ways than one.

    • Frankie

      Aug 13, 2014 at 1:01 pm

      The game is affordable. Not every driver is 3-500. There are plenty of cheap options

      • Robeli

        Aug 13, 2014 at 1:23 pm

        Tell me which of those ‘cheap options’ are TM?

        • JV

          Aug 14, 2014 at 12:45 pm

          RBZ.

          You can get them for about $100 now, and still an awesome driver. Just so happens that Tmag has released a half dozen other models in the 2 years since those were released.

      • John

        Aug 13, 2014 at 1:31 pm

        There are affordable options, but that usually means just waiting a few months until something new gets released and the original product you wanted is now at a deep discount. Between that, and buying used, it’s easy to see where they would still take a loss.

  32. Jimmy

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:40 pm

    Ping and titleist make it work with two year cycles and they could easily go 4 or 5 years and still have very relevant clubs. Why doesnt everyone try this approach

  33. Frank

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:19 pm

    I bought my brother Titleist DCI irons on EBAY for 50$ 6 years ago.

    He plays 10 times per year, shoots low 80’s high 70’s. He doesnt intend to change his irons anytime soon.

    Baby Boomers dying, young people on Ipads and gaming systems, slow rounds, 10$ beers on the course, Tiger Woods blowing up all help the downfall of this Great game.

    • Frankie

      Aug 13, 2014 at 1:04 pm

      All the young people around here (so cal) play pretty quick. It’s the old guys playing 5-6 hour rounds. Hitting 2 balls off the tee, both hooking 100 yards into the trees. So I avoid courses that I know will be packed with them. Don’t act like the game is changing. It’s stronger than it’s ever been

      • Robeli

        Aug 13, 2014 at 1:26 pm

        “It’s stronger than it’s ever been” – pull your head out of the sand.

      • lef

        Aug 13, 2014 at 1:45 pm

        Agreed. Here in NC I see a number of old guys playing the wrong tees (saw I guy ahead of me play a driver into a par 3 a little while ago). This is killing my enjoyment of the game.

      • David A

        Aug 13, 2014 at 1:47 pm

        I have owned a golf distribution company since 1982. I started in the company in 1974. Most people would not believe me when I told them what was coming.
        The “only” thing as strong as ever is the Tour on TV. Why is there a course closing every other day on average? The old guys who walk are much faster than the kids flying around in golf carts, drinking their beer, hootin and hollerin.

        Sorry, you do not know what you are talking about.

        • Ted Walker

          Aug 14, 2014 at 12:05 am

          Old guys are not killing the game. they have always been there. maybe the slow play is caused by people who prefer to buy new equipment rather than take a lesson.. Anyway, the game will expand and contract just like anything else. The growth of the 2000’s couldn’t be maintained, especially though the economy collapse. People who weren’t around to see how the 80s changed golf would be shocked. The corporatisation has helped business people but not golf as a sport. People played better golf when they learned on a set of blades and real woods.

        • bradford

          Aug 14, 2014 at 9:09 am

          Not sure age has anything to do with it, but I have to agree that most often when I’m waiting on a tee box, it’s a group of 20 somethings that clearly don’t belong on the back tees, even though they may hit the ball 250 (they think they hit it 300). Too many times I’ve see these “big-hitters” (easily accomplished by going to the range and hitting 120 drivers, lol) lose 2-3 balls a hole because all they’ve ever learned was to hit the ball further, and they can’t hit a green to save their lives. I usually gauge it by the par 3’s, and when all four players miss the green, the group is on the wrong tees.

  34. ken

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:13 pm

    The golf equipment companies would be wise to take a step back and examine just who it is they are selling to.
    Currently the business model seems to be ‘buiold clubs for the pros. Get pros to use clubs. Market those clubs( of course a consumer market model) to the public.
    And of course the endorsement deals go to the pros who are PAID to use this equipment. Meanwhile we the people of the marketplace have to eat the additional cost of said endorsements.
    That drives up the price points and adds to the perception that golf is “too expensive”..
    I think it is entirely possible for any golf mfgr to design, build and market irons and metals that are very useful and sold at a moderate price attractive to the mass market.
    Newsflash. People are NOT buying $700- $1000 Iron sets, $400 drivers and $250 fairway metals and $250 hybrids.

  35. Iceberg

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:11 pm

    Doors close 12/1 from what I was told. This is truly a sad day in the golf industry. Adams was really doing well from a company standpoint before the acquisition. What really is lost in this is the people who worked their butts off and made Adams who they are today. TMAG is a cancer to golf.

    • TP

      Aug 13, 2014 at 12:20 pm

      I thought they are just moving the operation to Carlsbad. I don’t think they are closing the Adams brand altogether.

      • Tommy Truth

        Aug 13, 2014 at 1:02 pm

        The numbers and the move are the death toll for Adams. Oh, and the new logo is terrible. Whoever at TMAG changed it should be fired.

      • Iceberg

        Aug 13, 2014 at 2:16 pm

        Yes, the brand Adams is not being killed at this moment, only its employees (150 roughly) and their main headquarters. They will probably be assembling the clubs in Carlsbad now and probably dissolve Adams in near future

    • Philip

      Aug 13, 2014 at 12:20 pm

      TMAG is not a cancer to golf – shareholders are. They have no connection to the industry or clientele. They just want perceived increases in share values to hopefully sell out at a tidy profit later on. No different in any other industry the goes through the life cycle of small business, larger companies, mergers, and decline. Both golf and business prove just how insane humanity is – we repeat the same things always expecting different results.

  36. joro

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:09 pm

    It is all in marketing and advertising, very expensive and that is the reason why the consumer pays so much. How about an Iron head a mfg. pays 8 bucks for and a shaft they pay another 8, and a grip at 3, for the quantity they buy. An ad may cost as much as 60k for a 6 color page. So, you pay 125. for that iron. And that was a few years ago when I was in the business. The clubs could be a lot cheaper!!!!!! But, marketing sells, the Advertising Co. I gotcha now inc. loves the consumer, tell em they will hit it farther and they are hooked.

    The other thing is we are only as good as we are, lessons, hot balls, hot clubs, will only help a little cause most golfers have no ability to be any better than they are. I have seen it over and over as a club maker, teacher, and player, people cannot buy a game, yet they are the soul of why club companies are still atit making millions, or I should say made millions. Buy a 500 dollar club, next month get 50 bucks on a trade for a new 500 dollar driver. Barnum said it best,, there is a sucker born every minute, and marketing has proven that.

    • richard

      Aug 13, 2014 at 1:05 pm

      But as evidenced by TM results, fewer suckers seem to be being born these days. I buy new clubs every 4-5 years, and have just turned my bag over. I bought all 2014 clubs either new in box or mint, and paid 55% of store prices. Only one club was mint used, the rest new. The msrp of these clubs is ridiculous and they would do better if they just lowered them, and not release new versions as often.

  37. Budget Golfer

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:08 pm

    I just grabbed TM RBZ Hybrid with great condition just for $26 while if I buy new it >$100 at that time. Golf New Technology can wait. I need to improve my golf skill instead.

    • LongBall

      Aug 13, 2014 at 2:07 pm

      You got that right Brother….80% swing 15% Mental & 5% equipment

      A golf pro could be any of us hacks with a Hogan era 7 iron and putter.

      On another note…This is just one symptom of what ails golf…I usually play 2-3 superball events a season but guess what? 0 as in nada this year which has to be hurting local course revenues.

  38. Len Safhay

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:05 pm

    Putting aside issues such as product cycles…down 18 percent currency-neutral in Q2 and 27 percent year-to-date?! Magnified by lower margins, to boot?!!

    As a former CEO of a publicly traded company, I wonder how many of you realize just what a disastrous performance this is?

    The board never accepts a fiscal year budget calling for lower sales; if you could prove to them that it wasn’t going to snow anywhere on earth for the next three years and you were in the business of manufacturing snow shovels, you might persuade them to accept a “modest” 3% increase in sales as a forecast.

    So TaylorMade is probably more like 35% off plan YTD.

    Heads will roll.

    • Philip

      Aug 13, 2014 at 12:16 pm

      Such is the demand of shareholders who demand yearly increases in sales revenue, whether through increased units (market share, consolidation) or increased prices. At the very least they want the bottom line protected with decreased costs.

      It is a short-term model that rarely works over the long term because nothing grows forever and it often forces decisions that generate short-term growth while often shooting the company in the foot over the long term.

      • Len Safhay

        Aug 13, 2014 at 12:34 pm

        Yep. Ultimately it degenerates into stealing potential sales from quarter 3 to make quarter 2, which is just a corporate earnings version of a Ponzi scheme and thus perforce must end. Badly.

      • Chris Downing

        Aug 14, 2014 at 5:56 am

        Shareholders don’t demand rises in sales every year – what they want is a return on investment that is better than putting it in the bank – or one of your competitors. There’s no business distruction going on here – just business reality. Amd business is about three things, increasing margins, cutting costs, and keeping customers loyal – when that goes wrong people get fired (or should do – unless you work in a bank where the formulas for getting paid are opaque) The new guys will come in after the current ones are encouraged to seek new opportunities elsewhere, they will write down the stock, have a fire sale, blame all the other guys who are not there anymore, say it turns out to be worse than at first thought, then start off again like its a new enterprise. Happens every time. Adams will be put out to grass in all this with some sweet sounding PR to cover up how the Carlsbad guys will circle their TM wagons to save their own jobs.

    • DK

      Aug 13, 2014 at 6:26 pm

      To honestly believe that they’d been successful and smart enough to get to this point, then miss a forecast by 35% is crazy. Cut that number in half and you’re a lot closer to reality…

      Which is not to say that being off by about 20% is commendable.

      Still, heads will probably roll.

      • Len Safhay

        Aug 14, 2014 at 7:07 am

        I don’t dishonestly believe anything. They’re off 27% in revenues from last year; more than that in profit, as their margins are down as well. The only way they are off “only” 20% is if they had budgeted a significant sales decline for this year. That I don’t believe. Honestly.

  39. bayouvon

    Aug 13, 2014 at 11:57 am

    Price, price, price. Manufacturers prices are at an all time high so it is no wonder that sales are down. Players are price sensitive and go to the Internet to find bargains.

    The execution strategy for most companies is poor at best. You sell clubs with Demo Days at local courses, so have the reps run demo days 2-3 times a quarter and let them hire part-time assistants.

    Price point for ladies, seniors, Junior golfers must be lowered. They are the ones taking up golf … so why price them out of the game. The best thing going for new golfers is Callaway Preowned clubs. Callaway’s program and service after the sale is the best.

    U.S. Kids Golf program is the best Junior Golf Program on the planet. Look it up …and have your local clubs embrace it. Get back in the game!

    Golf Teaching Professional … that’s in the game!

    • Spooly

      Aug 13, 2014 at 12:37 pm

      Prices aren’t at an all time high. They’re down a fair bit actually. Juniors can get a full set of clubs for $200-$300, and ladies $500-$800. And we’re not talking about Walmart either. That’s brand name sets at full price. That’s far from pricing them out of the game. eBay has wrecked it for companies. Why pay $400 for a new driver when you can go on eBay and buy one for $300(that’s fake, and is a complete POS)?

      • TS

        Aug 13, 2014 at 1:41 pm

        I agree with this. Prices are not any higher than they were in 1996 for most EQ. What was the Callaway Biggest Big Bertha when it was released? $499? You’ve been at the $399 price point for years for the “hot drivers”. The difference is that now we have nearly 20 years worth of golf equipment available that doesn’t perform significantly better than any other for the mid to high handicap.

        Although I would agree that you take a risk on eBay, most people selling used product are legit sellers that purchased at a pro shop or big box store and don’t want to accept a $45 trade-in value on a club they paid $299 for 3 months prior. I’ve known a number of people that purchased a driver for $299 when it was released….. didn’t like it…. sold it on eBay a month later for $150…. Still double what they would have received from a trade-in.

  40. ken

    Aug 13, 2014 at 11:51 am

    Golf manufacturers are victims of savvy consumers who are not among the “gotta have it now” crowd.
    Most of us wait a year or so for prices to come down then we buy. If at all.
    I am of the school that resists the “if we build it they will come” mentality.

    • Tommy Truth

      Aug 13, 2014 at 1:07 pm

      Nope, buyers will buy anything at any price that promises more yardage. Read Barney’s article…..

  41. T Jackson

    Aug 13, 2014 at 11:47 am

    I am still using a Ping Rapture driver, Sonartec fairway woods and Callaway XForged irons. I am pretty much convinced I would not score any better if I went out and bought all new 2014 clubs. Just sayin.

  42. richard

    Aug 13, 2014 at 11:42 am

    Not a big surprise, they don’t need a separate HQ and the company does need to cut costs in a declining market environment. There are massive discounts on their gear (and others), I don’t understand people going to Golfsmith to pay $1000 for a set of irons when you can do a little homework and get the same set for $600….The golf club manufacturers would be better served by realistic pricing of their products. The $500 sldr or alpha driver just makes no sense and likely hurts their overall profits. I have to say that at least the irons are a little improved over the past few years, but no reason to pay $1200 for a set when you can find the same set for $650…

  43. Toddash

    Aug 13, 2014 at 11:32 am

    Nike Golf isn’t writing these type of letters to their shareholders and employees…

    • Jose

      Aug 13, 2014 at 11:40 am

      Nike has bombed in Canada

      • Brad

        Aug 13, 2014 at 12:22 pm

        Couldn’t agree more. Personally don’t know a single golfer who has bought a Nike club in the past 5 years. I also have not seen a red driver or fairway wood at any course or range I have been at.

        • Regis

          Aug 13, 2014 at 12:46 pm

          I saw one in my foursome last week. Guy hit the crap out of it just couldn’t keep it in bounds. Not the club or designer. It’s who buys it and why.

        • Ron

          Aug 28, 2014 at 6:17 pm

          On the contrary it’s pretty good here around my parts in Canada.

          I got three friends who play well that are practically head to toe in Nike, full set of clubs included. While I am not totally Nike, I’m close (Driver, wedges, putter, ball, possibly irons). My club is re-signing with Nike for next year.

          I agree their inroads is more on the apparel and shoe side, but on the big box store side. I think they are focused on 2015, getting into more clubs and making some inroads on TMAG / Adidas….

          I am mad I can’t find the Tour Feel or Elite Feel gloves anymore around here…

    • BcavWecllh

      Aug 13, 2014 at 12:01 pm

      That’s because Nike Golf is no where near TMAG in terms of volume. TM had hugged increases with the rocket ballz line. To keep up those volumes is difficult. While Nike has made strides in the equipment business, they are first and foremost an apparel and shoe company.

  44. Joel

    Aug 13, 2014 at 11:30 am

    I think Adams stays as a brand.

    Adams has hybrid domination. TM keeps them for that alone. They may ditch Adams drivers and irons. Too bad, I have the cult classic MB2 irons. Adams has nice higher end stuff but I don’t see how that works with TM wanting their name in the bag of Tour Pros.

    Adams also has Tom Watson wedges. With Watson kicking butt the past couple years and being Ryder captain I have to wonder if there’s some farewell juice in a premium series of Watson designed wedges… perhaps under the TM brand. TM has never been great in wedges – worth a try if you’re already paying the guy. Then transition those into another line without his name but similar design. No harm, no foul. Right no their wedges mean nothing to me in the store — but Watson’s name and blessing along with great clubs and great marketing… might work.

  45. Archie Bunker

    Aug 13, 2014 at 10:45 am

    TM and others are simply running out of ideas to convince you to buy a new club every 6 months or so. Maybe they need to buy The Hammer next and capitalize on that Zolex material 😉

  46. jason

    Aug 13, 2014 at 10:05 am

    Taylormade and Callaway and Nike are public companies that must show revenue to investors every three months. The biggest one to watch is Callaway since they are not a conglomerate of other sports products thus when the golf biz slows Callaway has to do one of three things: go private, reduce prices, get bought out by bigger public company. My guess is that Nike absorbs Callaway, improving its technical products which has always been the issue behind Nike golf and its reputation for inferior retail products. I just don’t see how Callaway can reduce prices and not destroy the entire retail club selling industry thus destroying its ability to be acquired down the road….. Adams golf history is the example that will follow with Callaway lets see….

  47. James

    Aug 13, 2014 at 10:05 am

    I can never understand why people even walk in the big box stores and purchase a club brand new with stock shaft. You can wait a month after release go to ebay, get the club that someone has upgraded the shaft on and did not like the way it felt or their upgrade was not right and buy it for half of what these big box stores charge. No one other sadlowski types are going to hurt these clubs putting 50 swings on them…

    There will always be those who think oh I need the new hot item…of course after promising 15 yards more this year we should all hit it 400+ yards by now….there is no new technology, just a shiner version shaped a little different than the last..

    • M-smizzle

      Aug 13, 2014 at 11:23 am

      U mean right handed people

    • William

      Aug 13, 2014 at 12:01 pm

      And if you buy on eBay, there’s a slight chance you may even get a club that’s not a knockoff.

      • James

        Aug 13, 2014 at 3:50 pm

        I never buy from people overseas…verify serial #…if seller won’t give them to you, don’t buy..you can buy clubs here from “HOs” a lot cheaper…

        I cannot for the life of me see how these big box stores survive…I would love to know the walk in rate who buy vs those who do not….it has to be high…

  48. Danny

    Aug 13, 2014 at 9:16 am

    You mean Hack Golf with giant holes didn’t catch on?

    • Raul

      Aug 13, 2014 at 9:53 am

      Can’t wait to see Cally’s numbers. I picked up a X2Hot Driver, 4 wood and hybrid for $212 including tax at Golf Galaxy a few weeks ago. ( traded in some TM clubs). Thus, best to wait 6 months to pick up the new BB line at deeply discounted prices!!!!

  49. Sully

    Aug 13, 2014 at 9:14 am

    It is too bad to see, but as many of you mentioned. You can’t release new product ever 5 minutes. The consumer didn’t want that or better yet couldn’t handle buying enough to help Taylormade hit their projections. Product launches usually equal big numbers, but not when they are forced, just for numbers.

    I wish them luck as their business model changes to better suit the golfer.

    But please please…Dont say the word HACK GOLF! haha.

    #pullthepin

  50. Tony

    Aug 13, 2014 at 9:04 am

    I may be in the minority but I love how Tmag produces new equipment every 6 months. Thanks to TaylorMade I created a nice bag with 1 year old equipment for less than half of retail price.

  51. brian

    Aug 13, 2014 at 8:59 am

    IMO, this is nothing more than a restructuring and I think in time a rebranding of Adams, though as what I am not quite sure.

    Adams is the preferred brand of the over-60 and over 20-hdcp crowd. Not arguing it’s good gear nor that better players don’t use them as well – just that the critical mass of their market space is those above categories mentioned. As such, those two segments probably turnover gear at a much lower rate than the mid-low hdcp players and younger have-to-have-the-newest gear guys (like me), thereby not creating as much residual sales as TM, CG, Titleist, etc. Guy over 60 who still plays to a decent level – wh would he change every year/2 years? They watch Senior Tour guys and figure good for them, good for me. 20+ hdcp guys – just happy to be hitting ball down range and able to get off tee in front of a crowd w/o tossing it into the pond or woods.

    The market segment they go after (Adams) are not tinkerers – that is a killer to the repeat sales business. Lots of guys here have even sais they love their Adams hybrid – 1 club – not a set, a putter, a driver…just the one lovable club. Great loyalty to the brand – just doesn’t feed the tiger enough to keep a separate hq operating.

    • Carl truitt

      Aug 13, 2014 at 12:00 pm

      Well, not exactly in my opinion…TMAG bought adams for the revenue and the patents when their execs already saw that revenues were declining. It was a band aid to boost sales.

      Acquisitions rarely are accretive. They look good on paper, and make for a nice story, but most of the target company’s staff get the boot within a few years once the value is out of the deal.

      All equipment companies (especially the publicly traded ones) need to rethink their model because they are going to be in a world of hurt otherwise.

    • Dave

      Aug 13, 2014 at 12:07 pm

      33-year old here, and I love my Adams CMBs with C-Tapers

      • Tom

        Aug 13, 2014 at 3:42 pm

        Unheard of according to Brian (above) your too young to have the ADAMS label in your bag..lol.

    • Regis

      Aug 13, 2014 at 12:50 pm

      Very good and astute post

  52. jim

    Aug 13, 2014 at 8:24 am

    It’s been said many times before, but TM needs (and others) need to stop introducing new clubs every five minutes and discounting the previous models to such low selling prices. Although I’d be out of luck as I’m one of the people who waits for clubs to be discounted and then buys them. If you know they will discount the clubs in 6 months why buy the newest version right away? TM is hurting themselves this way. I’m sure the overall golf industry is down some, but they also need to get a grip on reality. And a $300 (Adams) hybrid? Come on, did anyone actually pay this steep price. Sounds simple, I’m sure it isn’t but stop flooding the market.

    • alan

      Aug 13, 2014 at 8:38 am

      agreed, further it will lower their r&d costs and promotion costs. which is what we as consumers are ultimately paying for.

  53. Bandy

    Aug 13, 2014 at 8:09 am

    Rusty, you sir are an idiot and what you said may go down as the dumbest comment ever on this site.

    • Regis

      Aug 13, 2014 at 12:56 pm

      Actually I agree with him though its not popular. I’m 63 been playing 50 years and I am a confessed club “ho”. I have 20 year old golf magazines and other data that support that the MRSP of clubs have not gone up much in the last 20 years. A top of the line TM or Cally driver 20 years ago was $399.

    • Bo-bandy

      Aug 13, 2014 at 6:44 pm

      That’s not very nice.

  54. Rusty

    Aug 13, 2014 at 5:32 am

    TaylorMade are still flying and all they have done is moved Adams into TM factory which is smart business. If it was not for TaylorMade we would all be paying $800 to $900 for a driver. Wether we buy TaylorMade or not we should worship them as they made golf clubs affordable.

    • John

      Aug 13, 2014 at 8:04 am

      You obviously know nothing about the golf industry, or equipment manufacturers. I dont have enough time to dig into all of the wrong in your statement this morning.

    • BcavWecllh

      Aug 13, 2014 at 12:05 pm

      What???

  55. kloyd0306

    Aug 13, 2014 at 5:04 am

    Don’t look at TMAG or any other OEM.

    Look at DC.

  56. ND Hickman

    Aug 13, 2014 at 4:21 am

    Crazy idea. Don’t flood the market with products and product changes every five minutes.

  57. Pingback: Adams Golf HQ to close, TaylorMade Golf sales in decline | Spacetimeandi.com

  58. BS

    Aug 13, 2014 at 2:29 am

    It would help if Rory hadn’t done his thing for Nike and had the likes of DJ and Sergio won a few more. Not seeing any of the TM staffers winning at all hurt them too. We all knew Adams was going to be vampire’d up into TM at some point anyway.

    • Billy

      Aug 13, 2014 at 2:35 am

      Justin Rose twice worldwide this year. Also, lots of TM players won this year as well.

      Not big name players, but still a TM staffer.

    • NG

      Aug 13, 2014 at 2:49 am

      Martin Kaymer- 2014 US Open Champion. More SLDR victories’ globally than any other brand.

      • Billy

        Aug 13, 2014 at 3:56 am

        I guess TM still brands him a “staffer”. He was on the TM site front page when he won the TPC and US Open.

        I forget why Kaymer doesn’t represent TM on his bag/hat.

        • M-smizzle

          Aug 13, 2014 at 11:35 am

          Cuz someone else pays him more

        • BcavWecllh

          Aug 13, 2014 at 12:07 pm

          He doesn’t have it on his bag because he has a flower in tribute to his late mother. Not sure about the lid.

      • James

        Aug 13, 2014 at 10:08 am

        Man that SLDR feels like a brick…the ping i25 i had was flying it past the total sldr in a side by side comparison…have not have taylor made in the bag since the bubble shaft lol

        • Wayne

          Aug 13, 2014 at 12:08 pm

          I love my SLDR but not with the stock shaft, I slipped an Aldila Proto into mine and it is fantastic !

        • Regis

          Aug 13, 2014 at 12:59 pm

          Me too I think I am consistently hitting my i25 325-340. Amazing considering my 85 mph swing speed.

          • Trackmania

            Aug 13, 2014 at 3:29 pm

            Obviously you jest. An 85 MPH swing, hit properly on the sweet spot, will roll out to about 235 yards in normal conditions. This being said, you are either playing golf on a parking lot, the top of a mountain, or in your dreams. Wait… maybe you meant 325-340 FEET. My bad.

          • Peter

            Aug 15, 2014 at 1:26 pm

            Unlike Trackmania, I think I recognize the Regis sarcasm when I see it.

    • DK

      Aug 13, 2014 at 6:47 pm

      Umm…

      Didn’t some guy named Jason Day win the WGC Match Play?

      Think he has one or two TaylorMade clubs in the bag.

      • leftright

        Aug 13, 2014 at 11:21 pm

        Go to the TM website. They will sell you the topend stuff for some outrageous price, just the head though. TM is going to fall from grace like it hit a black hole. They have deceive, cheated, lied done everything possible to the consumer for nothing more than greed. Go to the website and see what they are charging for the tour stuff. $500 for the head of some driver they don’t mass produce and some idiot will buy it and won’t be able to hit it because the tour guys are fit down to the molecule. I saw some guy at Doral one year hit the same head and had literally 25 shafts behind him. Like the head but needed the right shaft. Who out here has that kind of service. When I started playing I had Dynamic R,S or X. I had a persimmon or laminated head, all irons were pretty much forged or some were cast like early PIngs and Lynx’s and a couple of other, I think Confidence was one. I had the choice of a bullseye or some other stuff, can’t even remember and everyone played and dealt with it. Sometimes you can have too many choices and we have all been brainwashed into believing the “magic” club is out there when it isn’t. I do believe fittng for proper lie is important though as I learned with my first set of Armor 845’s. They had the arrogance of actually putting the loft on the head and 3 lines on the hosel stating, upright, standard or flat. There were issues and I took them to the golf shop. The irons were all over the place and I sent them back. The sent me a new set that were all over the place. That is when I started playing Ping Eye2’s which were pretty much spot on. Cut open a Ping driver and you will play nothing else but their driver, weld’s are perfect, brazes are exact, it’s no comparison and if they say 204 grams it weighs 204 grams, no more no less.

        • Regis

          Aug 15, 2014 at 11:47 pm

          Sounds like you and I started about the same time I’m 63 started when I was 13. Biggest argument was who made the best irons MacGregor or Wilson. Then some company came around pushing these metal woods called them “Pittsburgh Persimmons” Think their name was something like Taylor Made. Couple years later these wacky looking clubs called Rescue clubs started showing up. Supposed to replace our 1,2 and irons. Remember that. Think it was the same company. Couple of years ago same company started introducing adjustable interchangeable shafts. Thank God that company never took off right. Could have ruined the sport.

  59. JohnnyT

    Aug 13, 2014 at 1:42 am

    Typical corporate conglomerate tactics; buy the smaller company, milk some sales out of their product, then “downsize” their employees. And by all means, appease the shareholders, the almighty shareholders who won’t be happy without a doubling in profits every year. Greed is a sickness, and TaylorMade (in its current incarnation) brings the worst of it to the golf universe.

    MH is right, and the golf equipment bubble – like the Tiger inspired golf-playing bubble – was guaranteed to burst eventually. That’s what bubbles are best at, after all.

    If the fleecing of the middle class is mitigated, and they have a little extra time and/or money for golf, maybe sales will level out.

    Shame on these big companies for being so extremely foolish to use the high water mark as their baseline. It’s a shame for Adams loyalists that they took the easy money and sold out to Goliath.

  60. MHendon

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:52 am

    No real surprise here. Taylormade created a golf equipment bubble and its finally burst. Thank god it’s a small enough bubble not to hurt the rest of the economy like the real estate bubble that burst in 2007. I’m still digging out from that one.

    • Bernie Madoff

      Aug 13, 2014 at 1:52 am

      Taylormade did not create a bubble. They only provided what consumers wanted to purchase. Now that sales are declining due to better competition from other OEMs they are slowing down. I did enjoy Taylormade releasing drivers every 3 months because I always had options if I wanted to purchase and if I did like what was new I could always wait a few months and get it half off. I fear the days of getting top quality 6 month old drivers for $150 is gone.

      • MHendon

        Aug 13, 2014 at 11:26 am

        No Taylormade did create the equipment bubble through false promises and false advertising. No different than the banks making $300,000 dollar homes appear affordable to people making $10 bucks and hour. Adjustable Rate Mortgages, 17 more yards its the same misleading information just different businesses. Taylormade started it then other companies mainly Callaway, and I believe Nike felt they had to jump on board to keep up. Next thing you know you have a market flooded with equipment same as the real estate market got flooded with homes and everything becomes devalued. The CEO’s of these large companies are getting ridiculously wealthy while making everyone else poorer.

        • POTUS

          Aug 13, 2014 at 12:20 pm

          It’s up to the consumer to be responsible. Taylormade did not force anyone to buy their clubs and nobody was force to take loans for houses they could not afford or adjustable rate mortgages. Good marketing is not illegal and as a consumer it is your job to educate yourself. Go do equipment testing without salesman to see how clubs perform and if they do as advertised which they will NOT for everyone. 17 yards wasn’t misleading, it was simply what some testers were picking up mostl likely from having either old or poor fitted equipment taylormade even said this on their websites and videos. MHendon you really need to do research before you comment as always I can count on you to say something with no logic or factual backing. Consumers need to take responsibility for their irresponsibility.

          • melrosegod

            Aug 13, 2014 at 3:40 pm

            So TM is failing due to consumers being irresponsible? Curious about the “logic” and “factual backing” of your statement.

          • POTUS

            Aug 13, 2014 at 8:38 pm

            My point was that in the free world consumers are not forced to purchase products so rather than blame Taylormade I would blame consumers because Taylormade released a lot of clubs because that strategy was working because people were buying. As sales have slowed down clubs like the SLDR driver have been at full price longer than any driver TM has produced in the last few years. The way I see it to a large degree consumers can dictate what companies do through purchasing power. MHendon compared TM to banks with predatory lending but my point to him or her was that while banks were willing to give out loans of various types to people that probably should not have taken them, it was still up to the consumer to be RESPONSIBLE and make good decision because they didn’t have to buy the house they should have known they could not afford. Just because banks would give me a loan, Taylormade sell me clubs, or any other store trying sell me something does not mean I have to buy it.

  61. Nathan

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:36 am

    Bye Bye ADAMS!
    Best Hyb and Fairway i ever owned.
    From now on,if you want a decent shaft in your club, Pay TP price then an upcharge and get TM graphics all over it.
    Good on ya TM, too big for your own good.

    • Charlie

      Aug 13, 2014 at 2:15 am

      Adams isn’t closing. No reason to say goodbye

      • Peter

        Aug 15, 2014 at 1:29 pm

        Adams HQ shutting down in the fall. I’d say that’s ‘closing’

    • Billy

      Aug 13, 2014 at 3:57 am

      Can you read? Just says no more HQ in Texas. Not out of business.

      They’re still going to be around, now only one HQ, TMAG/Adams in CA.

      • Nathan

        Aug 13, 2014 at 6:22 am

        Hmm yea still going to be around, i doubt adams golf will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMAG. They will be gone, disolved by the giant soon enough.

      • Carl truitt

        Aug 13, 2014 at 6:29 am

        If you think Adams will still be around, you are crazy.

        TM bought the technology and will eventually just roll it up onto the overall TM brand. The first step is shuttering the Adams HQ. I highly doubt new r&d money is being allocated to the Adams brand. Just look at the latest releases. Just new paint schemes on last years models.

        Unfortunately, adams will be gone. Barney Adams saw the writing on the wall, and kept his workforce employed as long as possible by selling to TM.

        • Txaggieman85

          Aug 13, 2014 at 9:48 am

          Exactly. Over 125 people lost their jobs today plus the other 24 from the first reorganization earlier this year. Adams will be a former shell of itself.

        • BcavWecllh

          Aug 13, 2014 at 12:10 pm

          Don’t be surprised if Adams becomes a mid priced , game improvement line or even back to just a hybrid line again

          • Mike Smith

            Aug 18, 2014 at 2:43 pm

            Let’s not forget what Callaway did to Hogan….

  62. moses

    Aug 13, 2014 at 12:32 am

    Is it just Taylormade whose equipment sales are down? Most companies are probably down in general. So much great golf equipment has come out over the last few years with some really good exotic shafts that it’s hard to improve upon last years model. All the oem’s have hit a wall. The SLDR is no better than the R11S of 3 years ago. The 913 drivers are not better than the 910. The Razr Fit Xtreme is every bit as good as anything Cally has right now. Combine that with a shrinking golf pool along with a mediocre economy and you have the makings for a decline in $400-$500 drivers and $700-$1000 irons. And don’t get me started on the irons. 🙂

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News

Morning 9: Scheffler repeats at Players | Monday PIF meeting | McIlroy takes another shot at Norman

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Monday morning, golf fans, as an exciting final day at the Players Championship saw Scottie Scheffler retain his title.

1. Back to back, X2

Doug Ferguson for AP…”The roar could be heard from a half-mile away just 16 minutes after the final group set out Sunday in the final round of The Players Championship. It was loud enough to indicate something special had happened. The question was more “what” than “who.”

  • “Moments later, Scottie Scheffler’s name appeared on the leaderboard, and he was on his way, adding another layer to his legend as the best in golf.”
  • “His 8-under 64 tied the Players Championship record for best Sunday score by a winner. His five-shot comeback matched another tournament record. And he now stands alone as the only back-to-back champion in 50 years of the PGA Tour’s premier championship.”
  • “It’s tough enough to win one Players,” said Scheffler, who was coming off a five-shot victory last week at Bay Hill. “So to have it back-to-back is extremely special. Yeah, really thankful.”
Full piece.

2. Cantlay confirms Monday meeting

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…”On Friday, Golfweek was first to report a group of PGA Tour players were nearing a meeting with the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in an effort to continue to broker a deal between the Tour and the controversial sovereign wealth fund that has been disrupting men’s professional golf.”

  • “Two sources told Eamon Lynch a meeting was tentatively scheduled for Monday at a private residence in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, following the conclusion of the Players Championship at nearby TPC Sawgrass. Patrick Cantlay, a player director on the PGA Tour policy board, confirmed the meeting with Sports Illustrated on Sunday and tabbed the event as a meet-and-greet.”
  • “Well, I’ve gotta hear out what they have to say, and I will always do my best to represent the entire membership whenever I am in a meeting in that capacity,” Cantlay told SI after his final round at the Players Championship. “I think more information is always better.”
Full piece.

3. Mystery abounds

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”It turns out Monday’s expected “secret” meeting between the PGA Tour policy board player directors and the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is even clandestine for those who are being “strongly encouraged” to attend.”

  • “I don’t even think our membership knows anything about a meeting on Monday yet. I don’t know the details of it,” said Peter Malnati, one of the six player directors who would meet with the fund’s governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, on Monday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. “I would rather tell our membership first, but, honestly, I think at this point I probably should have more details because there may be a meeting but I don’t even know. I don’t know where it is or how I’m getting there.”
  • “The possible meeting, which was first reported by Golfweek.com and would take place in a private residence, would be the first time the player directors have met with anyone from the PIF. Malnati said Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has been pushing for a face-to-face meeting between the players and Al-Rumayyan “for months.”
Full piece.

4. McIlroy takes aim at Norman

Jack Milko for SB Nation…”McIlroy still wants to see a deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) go through.

But he holds no remorse for LIV Golf’s CEO, Greg Norman.”

  • “They’re a sovereign wealth fund. They want to park money for decades and not worry about it,” McIlroy said of the PIF.
  • “They want to invest in smart and secure businesses, and the PGA Tour is definitely one of those, especially if they’re looking to invest in sport in some way… I have spent time with [PIF Governor] Yasir [al-Rumayyan]. I think the people who have represented him in LIV have done him a disservice, so Norman and those guys.”
  • “Norman has championed LIV Golf’s cause for more than two years now, celebrating its format, players, and how the Saudi-backed circuit continues to ‘change the game.’
Full piece.

5. Boo birds

Bunkered report…”Jay Monahan was booed at The PLAYERS Championship as some golf fans made their feelings clear on the PGA Tour commissioner.

Monahan has been under fire ever since blindsiding his players with a top-secret framework agreement with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund which bankrolls LIV Golf last June.”

  • “He confirmed in his pre-tournament address at TPC Sawgrass that negotiations were “accelerating” with the sovereign wealth fund over a deal to unify the game.”
Full Piece.

6. Scheffler first in money won at The Players

Todd Kelly for Golfweek…”With a first-place prize of $4.5 million on the line, Scheffler came from five shots back on Sunday to win the 2024 Players Championship. And with that, he took over the top spot for most money won in a career at the PGA Tour’s flagship event at TPC Sawgrass.”

  • “Scheffler was previously third all-time at the Players with more than $4.5 million (with most of that earned for winning there in 2023) but now he’s over the $9 million mark.”
  • “He takes over the top spot from Sergio Garcia. Tiger Woods slides from the second to third.”
Full Piece.

7. Winning WITB

*Presented by 2nd Swing*

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (8 degrees @8.25)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X (45 inches)

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Irons: Srixon ZU85 (3, 4) Buy here, TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW) Buy here.

Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Hybrid Prototype 10 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60.5-T)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Grip: Golf Pride Pro Only

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Full Piece.
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Tour Rundown: Matching luggage for Scheffler

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For those of us from another generation, the disruption of the golf world that we knew well is both exciting and unsettling. The two most potent disruptors are rival golf leagues, not unlike the turmoil seen in the NCAA, and the Anchorman-style gangs of golf reporters. Reconciled to a past era are the dominance of the U.S. PGA Tour and the monthly golf magazines. One element that will not change, at any time in the foreseeable future, however, is the sanctity of the grand slam and golf’s four male major championships. While the LPGA and the PGA Tour Champions have seen a light and added fifth and sixth power titles, the men’s game remains staunchly in the 20th century.

This last topic surges in pertinence each March, just before the playing of The Players Championship. Two camps stake tents and run banners up the poll. One cries out for elevation of the PC to major status, while the other digs a trench around its impregnable quadrilateral. My personal take is this: Every four years since 2016, golf is played at the Olympics. Is Olympic Gold the equivalent of a major title? Yes, it is. It comes around every 1,500 days and brings elite golfers together in competition at the most important athletic event and venue. In my mind, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele earned major titles in Brazil and Japan, as did Inbee Park and Nelly Korda. As for the Players Championship, why not? The field is stronger by ranking than any major event, and the golf course demands every shot that golfers can create.

The Players Championship is so important to the U.S. PGA Tour that all other tours under its umbrella take the week off. No Korn Ferry, no Tour Champions. The LPGA and the DP World Tour follow suit, which shrinks the amount of watchable golf to two events. On that sour note, let’s run down this week’s play, beginning with the Players Championship and ending with the Asian Tour in Macau.

PGA Tour @ Players Championship: matching luggage for Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler is making a bid to be the player of his generation. From the previous one, a fair number have taken leave from traditional competition. The Johnsons, Koepkas, and Reeds from the 1980s no longer play the events that stand the test of time. The born-in-the-90s generation had its first great champion in Jordan Spieth until he took leave of the senses that brought him to golf’s pinnacle. Spieth’s descent ran opposite Scheffler’s rise.

Scottie Scheffler had won nothing on the PGA Tour until February 13th of 2022. He won on that day in Phoenix, then won three more times by the middle of April. One of those wins was the API at Bay Hill. Last week, Scheffler won for a second time at the Orlando course. Last March, Scheffler won his first Players Championship, by five shots over Tyrrell Hatton. On Sunday, Scheffler dived headfirst into a cauldron of fierce competition. Facing challenges from Olympic champion Schauffele, Open champion Brian Harmon, and U.S. Open champion  Wyndham Clark, Scheffler breathed. As the only man to reach 20 under par, he earned a second consecutive title at Sawgrass and reminded us that it has been two years since he won the Masters and that he is on a tear.

It all began at the fourth on Sunday for Scheffler. After pars at the opening three holes, Scheffler’s driving wedge from 92 yards landed 20 feet shy of the hole, took one large bounce, then spun left, trickling into the hole for eagle. He followed that incantation with another birdie, then two pars. The stretch from 8 to 12 was where the champion made a statement. His quartet of birdies over that run, brought him to 19-under par and let the pursuing pack know that even lower than the winning 17 under in 2023 would be necessary.

And the trio was game. Harman and Clark both dipped below 70, to reach 19 under at the final pole. Schauffele could not find a similar gear and closed with 70 — 69 would have earned him a playoff with Scheffler. It was the extra gear, the ability to go low when all things mattered, that eleveated the now two-time champion to the top of the podium. In five of his eight tour wins, Scheffler has posted a sub-70 round on day four, and four of those have been 67 or lower.

With elegant precision, Scheffler applied the final thrust at the par-5 16th. He played safely away from Pete’s Pond on the right, into the left greenside bunker at the back of the putting surface. His bunker shot was thing of exquisite accuracy, trickling to a planned stop about 20 inches from the hole. The birdie concluded matters and rang the sort of bell that Dye courses tend to display.

Asian Tour @ International Series Macau: Catlin earns playoff victory

There are two sorts of golfers that compete on the Asian Tour, which makes no secret of its alliance with the LIV. The first are the AT stalwarts, the ones who play as golfers have always played, with little guarantee and much pride. The others are the ones who compete on the LIV, eschewing both risk and pride for the guaranteed payday. Their deal costs them world ranking points, so they play in AT events, hoping to qualify for golf’s major events.

This week in Macau, one of those LIV golfers shot 60 on Sunday and did not win the tournament. Hard to believe, you say? Aye, but when another golfer shoots 59 in the third round, follows it up with a 65 on day four, then makes overtime birdie twice at the par-five closer, the razor’s edge of great golf is sharpened. Thus did it happen with American John Catlin and Spaniard David Puig.

It was Catlin who signed for 59, and it took a twisting, eagle putt at the last to enshrine the first-ever, sub-60 on the Asian Tour. It was Puig who closed the gap on Sunday with a 60 of his own, which featured a bogey at the lengthy fifth hole, but was followed by seven birdies and an eagle over the next 13 holes. Catlin had a six-feet putt for the regulation win, but missed. In extra time, Puig nearly holed for eagle at 18, then tapped in for birdie. Catlin’s second danced along the OOB perimeter, before ending on an access road. His drop and pitch left him another six feet to remain alive, and this time, he converted.

At the second go-round of the par-5 finisher, Puig found the green in two, but took three putts from nearly 50 feet. Catlin confronted another challenging pitch for his third, and once again, his wedge game won the day. He tapped in for birdie and the win.

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Morning 9: Rory, Xander, Clark share Players lead | Rory on controversial drop | AK misses Macau cut

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Friday morning, golf fans, as day two of the Players Championship gets underway from TPC Sawgrass!

1. McIlroy grabs share of the lead

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”Despite hitting two tee shots into the water and being at the center of a controversial drop after the second one, four-time major champion Rory McIlroy opened the 50th Players Championship with a 7-under 65 to grab a share of the first-round lead Thursday.”

  • “McIlroy, the 2019 Players Championship winner, was tied atop the leaderboard with Xander Schauffele and reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, who had much more uneventful opening rounds at TPC Sawgrass.”
Full piece.

2. Xander and Clark also fire 65

Ali Stafford for Sky Sports…“Schauffele, playing in the group ahead of McIlroy, charged up the leaderboard with five birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn to make a bogey-free start to the week and set the initial clubhouse target.”

  • “The pair held a share of the lead until Clark produced a spectacular back-nine birdie run, where he rolled in from 20 feet at the 15th before taking advantage of the par-five next and birdied the 17th to join the group on seven under.”
Full piece.

3. McIlroy drop debate

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”McIlroy rinsed two tee balls into the water, the first at TPC Sawgrass’ par-4 18th hole and the second on the par-4 seventh. While the former prompted some discussion, the latter produced an especially lengthy back-and-forth between McIlroy and the other two players, as the trio spent more than eight minutes trying to determine where McIlroy should drop.”

  • “Initially, the walking ESPN+ reporter said that McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond, said that McIlroy’s ball “absolutely” hit above the red penalty line before kicking into the water left of a long fairway bunker. The one television camera angle showed McIlroy’s ball clearly bouncing once, though it was unclear where exactly it pitched.”
  • “That’s an emphatic 250-yard difference,” an announcer said of where McIlroy was looking to drop, and where he’d have to drop, had his ball not crossed in play.”
  • “It bounced into the water but we were just trying to make sure that it was above the red line,” McIlroy shouted over to his playing competitors, who were inquiring about his thought process.”
Full piece.

4. Beall: Time for a different system?

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”Reputations in golf are a fickle thing, and to compromise them for what may or may not have happened hundreds of yards away is an avoidable gamble. Perhaps McIlroy should have been more open to what his opponents were saying, yet there’s a case that he shouldn’t have had to defend himself in the first place; that should have fallen to a rules official. And the current system isn’t just failing the player whose score is in question. It shouldn’t fall to opponents to police the field, for that responsibility can put them in awkward, uncomfortable positions that can simultaneously put them in an unfavorable light.”

  • “Just because this is how golf has always done it doesn’t mean it has to be this way in perpetuity. It’s a change easier said than done, one that requires more rules officials and more cameras, two resources that are not in plentiful supply. But this week the PGA Tour is returning its Every Shot At broadcast option and its new television center opens up a world of possibility for how the tour is watched … and in some cases, reviewed.”
  • “Much of the conversation this week has been about the tour product, specifically, how it can be enhanced and refined. But the tour’s primary product is its players, and what the tour wants to improve also needs to be protected. In this case, that means protecting them from themselves. Something so valuable shouldn’t be vulnerable to five minutes.”
Full piece.

5. Tom Kim out with illness

Golf Channel report…”Tom Kim withdrew Thursday after eight holes of the opening round of The Players Championship. The PGA Tour sent out a social media post citing an unspecified illness as the reason.”

  • “Kim, who started on the back nine on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, was 5 over par at the time, including two bogeys and a triple bogey.”
Full Piece.

6. Owen Wilson poised to play golf’s Ted Lasso

Hollywood Reporter…”The streamer behind Ted Lasso has placed a series order for a show starring Owen Wilson as a former pro golfer who needs to get his life back in order. The Loki star will also be an executive producer of the untitled series, which comes from Apple Studios and creator Jason Keller (Ford v. Ferrari).

  • “Wilson will play Pryce Cahill, whose golf career ended prematurely 20 years ago. After he gets fired from his job at a sporting goods store in Indiana and his wife leaves him, Pryce sees a troubled 17-year-old golf phenom as his way back.”
Full Piece.

7. AK one of five to miss Macau cut

Paul Higham for Golf Monthly…”Although he was four shots better in his second round, Anthony Kim still came unstuck at the International Series in Macau as he missed his first professional cut in 12 years.”

  • “Kim was one of 21 LIV Golf League stars teeing it up at Macau Golf & Country Club, and one of five to miss the cut along with Harold Varner, Danny Lee, Eugenio Chacarra and Graeme McDowell.”
  • “The American improved from his opening 74 with a second-round 70, but still finished on four over which saw him miss the cut by eight shots.”
Full Piece.

8. Best Driver 2024 is live now on GolfWRX

What’s the best driver of 2024? This year, to answer that question, we have expanded our panel of expert fitters to help you find which of the 2024 drivers is best for your game, breaking down the candidates by clubhead speed.

Full Piece.

9. Photos from The Players

  • Check out all of our galleries from TPC Sawgrass!
Full Piece.
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