22 replies to this topic

[Slappy9]

Ok I have had enough!  I am so sick hearing about how this switch is going to hurt Rorys career from everyone- I even heard Faldo last night just blabbing away about this.
Changing companies is not that big of a deal. Think about how many pros switch gear every year but its not that big of a deal because it gear from the SAME company...  Dustin Johnson just won with almost a completely new set of clubs!!!  New DRIVER-IRONS-BALL-and He Switched putters to a blade from his GOLO, so exept for his wedges and fairways his clubs are all different.

I dont think switching clubs is that big of a deal people, players do it all the time just within the same company!!!!!

[MileHighClub]

Did someone crap in your Corn Flakes this morning?

[RRFireblade]

Well.....

If every single person in the business both competitively and critically think it's kinda a big deal.....it's probably kinda a big deal.

[Password Is Taco]

Wait, are you saying that Rory switched clubs?

[Baai]

250 million is a big deal

You have to admit, after al that hoopla, all that press, Rory failing to make the cut and switching to his old putter after one round is embarrassing for Nike. Brilliant advertising for Titleist.

[sheppy335]

Dustin most likely was testing them for 6 months and seeing they are TM clubs to TM clubs it is a different story. Rory switched from Titleist to Nike it is a big change. I dont think the poor performance was all clubs either, i think Rory was having fun with GF during off season being a youngster which with his money he can do. he will be fine and he will win with Nike clubs. Plus people like to talk!

[qtlaw]

Lefty switched and had a break in period then did fine.  Tiger switched to Nike and won 13 of his 14 majors I think.

[mr smith]

Baai, on 18 January 2013 - 11:16 AM, said:

250 million is a big deal

You have to admit, after al that hoopla, all that press, Rory failing to make the cut and switching to his old putter after one round is embarrassing for Nike. Brilliant advertising for Titleist.

Rory stunk it up just as bad with the scotty so maybe not so brilliant for titleist.

[puttingmatt]

Baai, on 18 January 2013 - 11:16 AM, said:

250 million is a big deal

You have to admit, after al that hoopla, all that press, Rory failing to make the cut and switching to his old putter after one round is embarrassing for Nike. Brilliant advertising for Titleist.

Hell yes its a big deal !!!  Then watching him play poorly with Nike's new clubs, not very impressive. How does
Nike market that ??  "Our clubs are prefered by the worlds best " , when and if they make the cut ??
Titleist is loving this !!!!

[esketores]

The media is making sure all know Rory is apt to miss a cut here and there. In the big picture no big deal. Short term... yes Nike exec's are not happy. They'll be plenty happy as time plays on.

[Guia]

Rory will adjust.  Nike just has to work a little harder on getting his exact requirements.  

I think the only reason that Tiger still uses the Nike putter is because when he screwed up Nike
renegotiated his contact to require him to use their new putter.  A mistake on his part.  Rory was
evidently able to avoid this mistake.

[HoosierMizuno]

puttingmatt, on 18 January 2013 - 08:59 PM, said:

Baai, on 18 January 2013 - 11:16 AM, said:

250 million is a big deal

You have to admit, after al that hoopla, all that press, Rory failing to make the cut and switching to his old putter after one round is embarrassing for Nike. Brilliant advertising for Titleist.

Hell yes its a big deal !!!  Then watching him play poorly with Nike's new clubs, not very impressive. How does
Nike market that ??  "Our clubs are prefered by the worlds best " , when and if they make the cut ??
Titleist is loving this !!!!

I think this is the only reason this is a big deal. its a huge deal for nike marketing purposes. it is hard to sell clubs when your new top player is struggling. i still believe his swing is rusty rather than him needing to get used to clubs. you don't snap hook a fw wood and blame it on the equipment unless you're an amateur.

I do think the OP made a good point that others aren't talking about. Many like to compare players switching brands like furyk or mcdowell or others have done, but rarely do they mention the guys who have switched iron within a brand. You can't tell me it wasn't a big change going from TM MC irons to TM rocketbladez Tours. these changes i would think would be just as difficult. Rory and Tiger take Abu Dhabi about as serious as i take my first round after 2 months of waiting out the snow. its a warm up to the bigger US events.

[puttingmatt]

HoosierMizuno, on 23 January 2013 - 01:48 PM, said:

puttingmatt, on 18 January 2013 - 08:59 PM, said:

Baai, on 18 January 2013 - 11:16 AM, said:

250 million is a big deal

You have to admit, after al that hoopla, all that press, Rory failing to make the cut and switching to his old putter after one round is embarrassing for Nike. Brilliant advertising for Titleist.

Hell yes its a big deal !!!  Then watching him play poorly with Nike's new clubs, not very impressive. How does
Nike market that ??  "Our clubs are prefered by the worlds best " , when and if they make the cut ??
Titleist is loving this !!!!

I think this is the only reason this is a big deal. its a huge deal for nike marketing purposes. it is hard to sell clubs when your new top player is struggling. i still believe his swing is rusty rather than him needing to get used to clubs. you don't snap hook a fw wood and blame it on the equipment unless you're an amateur.

I do think the OP made a good point that others aren't talking about. Many like to compare players switching brands like furyk or mcdowell or others have done, but rarely do they mention the guys who have switched iron within a brand. You can't tell me it wasn't a big change going from TM MC irons to TM rocketbladez Tours. these changes i would think would be just as difficult. Rory and Tiger take Abu Dhabi about as serious as i take my first round after 2 months of waiting out the snow. its a warm up to the bigger US events.

These other players did not have all the laser show hoopla either !! Nike  and Rory
will just fine. Just seems ironic, how poorly one can play after being fit with equipment.
Its always news when a number one ranked player misses a cut !!

Edited by puttingmatt, 23 January 2013 - 03:01 PM.

[lumberman2462]

Guia, on 18 January 2013 - 09:10 PM, said:

Rory will adjust.  Nike just has to work a little harder on getting his exact requirements.  

I think the only reason that Tiger still uses the Nike putter is because when he screwed up Nike
renegotiated his contact to require him to use their new putter.  A mistake on his part.  Rory was
evidently able to avoid this mistake.

I hadn't heard that TW was contractually required to use a Nike putter.  You'd think common sense would prevail and Nike would be more than happy for TW to use any putter he wants and actually putted well and could get back to winning while using Nike irons, woods & ball vs putting like crap with a Nike putter and not winning majors.  Phil Knight doesn't seem to be that big of an idiot.

[monkeynaut]

puttingmatt, on 23 January 2013 - 02:59 PM, said:

HoosierMizuno, on 23 January 2013 - 01:48 PM, said:

puttingmatt, on 18 January 2013 - 08:59 PM, said:

Baai, on 18 January 2013 - 11:16 AM, said:

250 million is a big deal

You have to admit, after al that hoopla, all that press, Rory failing to make the cut and switching to his old putter after one round is embarrassing for Nike. Brilliant advertising for Titleist.

Hell yes its a big deal !!!  Then watching him play poorly with Nike's new clubs, not very impressive. How does
Nike market that ??  "Our clubs are prefered by the worlds best " , when and if they make the cut ??
Titleist is loving this !!!!

I think this is the only reason this is a big deal. its a huge deal for nike marketing purposes. it is hard to sell clubs when your new top player is struggling. i still believe his swing is rusty rather than him needing to get used to clubs. you don't snap hook a fw wood and blame it on the equipment unless you're an amateur.

I do think the OP made a good point that others aren't talking about. Many like to compare players switching brands like furyk or mcdowell or others have done, but rarely do they mention the guys who have switched iron within a brand. You can't tell me it wasn't a big change going from TM MC irons to TM rocketbladez Tours. these changes i would think would be just as difficult. Rory and Tiger take Abu Dhabi about as serious as i take my first round after 2 months of waiting out the snow. its a warm up to the bigger US events.

These other players did not have all the laser show hoopla either !! Nike  and Rory
will just fine. Just seems ironic, how poorly one can play after being fit with equipment.
Its always news when a number one ranked player misses a cut !!

What is this 1975?  Almost every electronic device in my house uses a laser.  It's not like they built a supercollider for this presser.

[richard t]

Does Curtis Strange come to mind? Back to back US Opens. Switches to Maruman from MacGregor VIPs. It makes a difference. A BIG difference. But, millions of dollars in endorsement fees makes up for a lot of adjustment. Rory will be fine. Especially considering those clubs are made for HIM! Would not be surprised to find out they were copied exactly from his old ones. We don't buy off the rack or even custom order what those guys are privy to.

[just win]

We better give mad props then to Thorbjorn Olesen for switching to Nike and getting 2nd while Rory missed the cut. He must have just gotten lucky. I think it comes down to the pressure from the hype of switching clubs from the media and consumers that affects some guys play. Keep in mind Rory is a streaky player. He was entering a lot of tournaments mid season last year because he was in a huge slump missing cuts.

[MtlJeff]

it's a big deal because of pressure more then it is because of the actual clubs themselves. If Rory was just plain old Rory McFiniggan from Ireland and switched from Titleist to Nike he's shoot the same scores. So why shouldn't Rory Mcilroy? I mean i switched from Mizuno's to Ping G10's last year and it's not like my handicap went up.

But pressure to play well and perform for the 250M is what i'd be more worried about. Every time he struggles he is going to have talking heads say it was the wrong move to leave Titleist and he knows that. He can say it doesnt bother him....athletes always say things don't bother them. Carmelo said he and Kevin Garnett are cool after they almost fought a couple of weeks ago and if you believe that you're nuts. I'm sure Rory wants to perform and quiet these rumors and that puts more pressure on you. Even pros are not immune to this. In the back of Rory's mind when he tees it up, even if only a little bit, is the knowledge he's going to get slammed for playing poorly in large part because of the decision to shake things up after a great year. Even if that "shake up" is something club ho's do monthly!

[JRS]

if you're sick of hearing about it, don't start another discussion about it.

[SurfDuffer]

I don't know.  I'm no pro but I have been struggling for two seasons trying to replace a worn out set of irons.  I can not get into a set that I am as confident with as the old set.  It has to have an effect if you've been playing something you are used to for a long time.  Has to effect the mental game .....perhaps some players more than others.  More important is the ball change.

[tembolo1284]

JRS, on 23 January 2013 - 08:11 PM, said:

if you're sick of hearing about it, don't start another discussion about it.

hahaha. Good one JRS.

[MrElculver2424]

Slappy9, on 18 January 2013 - 09:24 AM, said:

Ok I have had enough!  I am so sick hearing about how this switch is going to hurt Rorys career from everyone- I even heard Faldo last night just blabbing away about this.
Changing companies is not that big of a deal. Think about how many pros switch gear every year but its not that big of a deal because it gear from the SAME company...  Dustin Johnson just won with almost a completely new set of clubs!!!  New DRIVER-IRONS-BALL-and He Switched putters to a blade from his GOLO, so exept for his wedges and fairways his clubs are all different.

I dont think switching clubs is that big of a deal people, players do it all the time just within the same company!!!!!

Absolutely agree. If his career is ruined (which I highly doubt it will be), it will be his own fault, not his clubs'. Watney and Oleson performing solidly early in the season with Nike equipment. Rory was just swinging poorly and will be fine.

Edited by MrElculver2424, 24 January 2013 - 06:47 PM.

[MEC13]

I don't think Rory will keep his #1 status much longer. He'll hold it just as long as Kaymer and Donald did. Big year for American golfers to work their way back into the top 10.