Equipment
Cleveland Golf Sold to SRI Sports
Quicksilver Inc. announced the sale of Cleveland Golf today to SRI Sports Limited.
Quicksilver acquired Cleveland 2005 after purchasing the Rossignol Group. Bit by bit, Quicksliver began minimizing Cleveland’s costs and expenditures. In the past year, their stable of high dollar Tour Pros For has been slowly whittled down with only Vijay Singh remaining from their marquee staff. It became clear that Quicksilver was interested in selling Cleveland. Since June of 2007, rumors have been constantly surfacing as to who Cleveland would be sold to. However, today’s announcement that SRI Sports Limited, a Japanese company and parent of the Srixon golf brand came as a surprise to many. The remaining shares of Cleveland golf were purchased by Quicksliver this September and the final total of the sale is estimated to be $132.5 million.
Quicksilver’s decision to sell Cleveland is part of a company wide move to reduce their presence in the hardgoods business. Bernard Mariette, President of Quiksilver said, "We believe this transaction is a key strategic action for our company that will drive immediate value and enable us to reduce both our exposure to the hardgoods space and our degree of leverage." The move appears to be welcome by Cleveland officials as well. Greg Hopkins, President of Cleveland Golf said, "We are excited by the many positive aspects of this deal, including the combination of a great brand in golf with a new organization that is completely and solely devoted to the sport. Significantly, their operating model is set up to anticipate and respond to the seasonality and other specific requirements of the golf market. We believe that this singular focus will benefit the entire Cleveland organization in a number of ways."
Although a bit of a dark horse candidate, it appears that SRI Sports Limited will be a welcome home for the Cleveland brand. "Cleveland has a clear position of dominance in the important wedge market and a fast-growing presence in drivers and irons. We believe that this business will prove highly complementary to our own. We are looking forward to demonstrating Cleveland’s full potential to the market and believe that the business can benefit greatly from our stewardship," said Ryochi Sawada, Chairman of the Board of SRI Sports Limited.
Yet this acquisition has set up an interesting dichotomy within the SRI Sports brand. Srixon USA, also owned by SRI, has recently begun making major headway in the U.S. market, especially in the area of golf balls, where their ZUR line has gained rapid acceptance among Tour players and amateurs alike. Srixon’s club sales have been used as support with golf balls being the main focus of the brand. With Cleveland’s acquisition and their strong line of patents and products like the popular HiBore and CG irons and wedges. The end game for SRI and how Cleveland will fit into their global strategy will be very interesting to watch.
What do you think this sale will have on Cleveland Golf and SRI’s future? Discuss it in our fourms!
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.
From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.
Specs/ Additional Details
-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)
-Original Anser Design
-PING PP58 Grip
-Putter is built to standard specs.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.
The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.
On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.
Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.
At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.
“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.
Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.
“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.
“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.”
In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.
On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.
According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.
“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.”
See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here.
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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Elico
May 3, 2008 at 5:09 am
I am a 48 year old golf beginner (I used to play tennis), and after having tried “normal” irons, I tried Hibore, and now I can play golf!
So thank you Cleveland Hibore, I do not care about their shape and noise…
Have you tried an oversized tennis racket? It is the same thing: it helps!
robby
Apr 9, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I hope SRI keeps the current sales teams for both Srixon (balls) and Cleveland in place and does not try and combine the sales forces at this time to save a few dollars.One of the brands will suffer.SRI should continue to have two distinct sales forces calling on off course and on course businesses until such time the brands are strong enough to stand on their own..ie Titlist and Cobra.Neither brand currently has enough clout or leverage to make a business buy more Srixion balls or more Cleveland clubs just because you have one rep for both products?
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Quint
Nov 9, 2007 at 9:40 pm
I hope someone from SRI reads this and lets the Cleveland name alone. I have been a Cleveland player for years. I have owned TA5s, TA2s, CG4s, and all the woods. It would be a shame for clubs so easy to hit and marketed with PGA tour players to go away. I am glad that SRI has the chance to expand the great name of Cleveland Golf. The Hi-bore driver was a hit and I still use it to this day. Remember SRI, we want to hit the clubs, and wear the hats the guys on tour use. Keep the Cleveland line going! Thanks.
Andy
Nov 1, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Srixon did not buy Cleveland Golf. SRI sports bought Cleveland Golf. Huge Difference. SRI and Cleveland are BOTH owned by SRI sports. Srixon therefore DOES NOT own Cleveland. They are subsidiaries of SRI.
Nutzfourgolf
Nov 1, 2007 at 11:23 am
How about those people who don’t think Srixon makes great irons??? I play the Srixon irons and left Mizuno to do so…. I also play the new WG-706 wedges – left Cleveland wedges to do so. My Driver is a TM Super Quad and 3 Wood is Titleist – I play what I belive in and what works for me. Srixon is a great brand and make kick ass hard goods not just great balls. My adage is try before you buy…. And don’t knock it before you try it – or if you’ve never hit it! I think the acquisition is beneficial for both companies. I’m sure that alot of folks were surprised that Srixon had the juice to buy another premier brand. Most surprising to me was the fact that Srixon seems to target the niche market and Cleveland targets the mass market. Will be interesting to see how the brand differentiation shakes out… Just my opinion! Keep it in the short stuff!
Anonymous
Nov 1, 2007 at 12:25 am
Hibore XL was one of the best selling drivers this year. At times, it is the best selling driver. for those who said that it’s a flop, please do some research before you make such a false statement.
it’s great that some people like classic shaped drivers, but why aren’t the major brands making them anymore? because classic shape is old technology. It’s simply doesn’t even come close to some of the “modern drivers” from a performance standpoint. If you rather choose a classic driver simply because you’re more used to it, you’re just fooling yourselves!
a lot of people criticized metal woods(same way that people are criticizing geometry driven drivers) when they first came out, who’s actually using them now? For those who complain about oddly shaped drivers, maybe you should go back to persimmon woods to be truly classic, otherwise, aren’t you just a hypocrite?
Back to the topic, I can only see good things come out of the merger. I look forward to seeing what both companies will be making in the near future.
uncleboo6
Oct 31, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Good move!!! hopefully will help to return to the Cleveland of old!! great wedges solid irons and growing the driver market.It makes sense to marry the two brands (Srixon and Cleveland) to create a stronger market presence to chalenge the big guys!
Juansky
Oct 31, 2007 at 7:22 pm
Time to get rid of my Hibore before prices take a dump! Titleist here I come!
Anonymous
Oct 31, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Sumitomo Rubber Industries and their division of SRI sports are best known as the premiere market leader, #1 in Japan under the Dunlop/XXio brand. People who believe Cleveland and Srixon will be heavily involved with one another are absolutely mistaken. Although Srixon balls are doing well and gaining momentum, Srixon equipment does not hold a candle to the number of units that Cleveland sells annualy. Cleveland will remain untouched for the forseeable future, and operate as a complimentary brand within the SRI umbrella. They are DOMINATING in wedge share following the release of Zip Groove Products… and for a while this season the Hibore XL was the best selling 2007 driver. It is unfortunate that the sale rumors have created such an opportunity for people to bash the company… because market share wise they are doing quite well. It will be interesting to see what Cleveland can accomplish with a company who understands the seasonal nature of the golf business and hardgoods, especially with some financial backing to expand. Those are three key elements the company lacked under quiksilver…. and thus why a change was needed. I look forward to good things from Cleveland Golf now that they have support from such a huge, golf minded, successful company. Stay tuned… and don’t bash for no apparent reason.
George
Oct 31, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Good news for Cleveland, they are in dire need to get a true technology in their equipment. The HiBore was a disaster and
really thumbed the nose of golfers who love more traditional shapes, plus that sound was unbearable! Perhaps with the technical
resources of SRI they can leverage more technology and performance from the brand.
Jerry
Oct 31, 2007 at 10:17 am
Some of Cleveland golfs older drivers were classics and still played by many, like the 460 comp. If you look at Adams and the new driver 4350 tour, maybe they will go back to that classic shaped head with some major updating and a deep face and upgraded shaft options as many of us still like the classic shapes. I think they can improve sales to the demanding golfer if they continue in that direction
Josh
Oct 31, 2007 at 10:05 am
I think it will be great for both Srixon and Cleveland as brands. Srixon golf balls are getting more and more recognition. Plus the new forged irons are beautiful. Perhaps they can focus Srixon directly to golf balls, and start releasing some nice FORGED cleveland irons and such. Something like some gunmetal 701 tours with the CG symbol on the back perhaps???
Derick
Oct 31, 2007 at 8:41 am
I wonder if SRI will use cleveland as there club brand and Srixon as there ball brand. Cleveland was really making strides in the right direction as far as club design, were Srixon needs a little help. All and all I think it was a good purchase for SRI and hopefully the customers will see great equipment in the future from Cleveland.
James
Oct 31, 2007 at 6:38 am
Does this mean they will start making any decent equipment???