Equipment
Scratch Golf is going out of business
GolfWRX has learned that Scratch Golf, a boutique golf equipment company founded in 2003, will go out of business. The company faced financial difficulties in recent years, which led to a company restructuring that “didn’t work out,” according to founder and outgoing President Ari Techner.
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“We fought and tried hard for 12 years,” Techner said. “We were never very well capitalized, and the golf business is a tough business. Looking back, there are a few key mistakes I could point to. The biggest mistake was trying to expand too much, which got us away from who we were as a company … of course hindsight is 20/20.
“I think we had a very positive impact on the industry, and I’m not sure the major equipment companies would have improved their custom programs as quickly as they did if we didn’t exist. I’d like to thank all of our customers for the support through the years. It was an honor to be trusted with something as personal and important as our customers’ golf clubs.
“We never had a big staff, but we had a lot of loyal, good people who worked for us. It was a dream come true to work with Don White, and I could talk about how incredibly talented Jeff McCoy is forever. The game of golf is lucky that he decided to make golf clubs, and I hope for golfers’ sake that he continues to do that.”
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Scratch Golf’s assets will change hands in the coming weeks.
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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.”
View this post on Instagram
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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Jay
Nov 4, 2015 at 2:52 pm
Are they selling off the rest of the clubs hey have?
WHere can I buy the wedge in the picture!!?
Clayton
Nov 2, 2015 at 12:31 am
Does anybody know who is going to purchase the assets and when that is taking place?
Skillet
Oct 28, 2015 at 1:40 am
Man some of the reactions to news like this surprises me. I mean some people act like Scratch Golf held your mom up at a convenience store or something. They were a boutique company who obviously loved golf components and wanted to give it a go at making some premium small run equipment. They, for the most part, did just that. The golf industry, like most others, is just too much of a machine and very hard to survive in. At the very least,, I hope all involved had some good times and found some satisfaction in their craft. And hopefully they will all move on to greener pastures fiscally. I can’t speak for some of the top shelf full iron sets they produced, but I did thoroughly enjoy several of their wedges. As workable as anything I have ever used for sure. All the best to the former staff of Scratch and thanks for your efforts to produce a product that was ultimately intended for our joy. I think I speak for many people in saying we appreciate the effort and wish you all the best.
-Skillet
Jack Wullkotte
Oct 20, 2015 at 11:07 am
I first saw the product Scratch Golf was offering to the public, right about the time they hired Don White. My only thought was, the heads were terrible looking. Not only were the models cosmetically bad, but the grinding was equally amateurish. If they continued to design iron heads looking like that, even God couldn’t help them. I never saw any of their clubs after White began working for them, but you couldn’t blame their demise on him, because in my 68 years in the clubmaking business, he was the very best. It had to either be bad management, ridiculously high prices for an inferior product, or heads designed by someone who had no idea what a decent golf club should look like.
Jack Wullkotte
Pat
Oct 19, 2015 at 3:55 pm
I’m sad to hear that Scratch has gone under. I still play my tour issue raw scratch wedge which I’ve had for 8 years and have a set of AR-1’s in the closet. One of the best iron sets I still keep around to this day. Currently play Vega but I sometimes whip out the AR-1’s when I feel nostalgic.
JP
Oct 16, 2015 at 8:36 am
I have a set of their 8620 wedges. I have played some of my best rounds with them in the bag. Took a little work to get them where I liked them, but they are solid sticks. Hate to see the company fold….
Andy W
Oct 15, 2015 at 9:12 am
Am enormously sadden to see Scratch go. Ari created some putters for me that were technically very difficult to construct, and yet made each one a piece of art that even Leonardo De Vinci would have admired. Each putter is an incredibly work of art and functions like no other. A few timeliness and quantity issues, but overshadowed when the Mona Lisa was delivered.
This art work is on display at ebay, search “Surveying Putter” or Putting.
Si
Oct 16, 2015 at 4:36 am
“Leonardo De Vinci”
Oh you so do NOT know what Da Vinci did or who he was. So shut it, shut the exaggeration
Sean
Oct 14, 2015 at 7:28 pm
Don White where are you?
KoolAid
Oct 16, 2015 at 11:55 am
Probably fishing for Brim or down in Jacksonville with his buddies fishing for Mullet.
Will
Oct 14, 2015 at 7:11 pm
what did u expect. they charge 1.5x all the established manufacturers. good to see theyre paying the ultimate price. good riddens.
Captain Obvious
Oct 15, 2015 at 12:07 am
Better materials and a better product = higher price, especially when the volume is lower. Similar to how Will + spelling bee = failure.
Johny Thunder
Oct 15, 2015 at 4:49 am
This is the Wal-Mart mentality that the majority of sheeple have been brainwashed to believe; price is the only deciding factor in life. Higher price = ripoff. Lowest possible price = birthright entitlement. Forget service. Forget quality. Forget choice. Forget craftsmanship. Forget artisan work. This is why Wal-Mart employs almost 1% of the US population, and small companies – a benchmark of a healthy economy – are driven out of business. Anyone who says “good riddens” [sic] to such small companies will ultimately get what they “pay” for. We’ll have to fondly recall the good old days of actual choice, and thank the global conglomerates for the illusion of choice. It’s happened in many industries already, it would be nice if golf were smart enough to avoid it.
Scott
Oct 15, 2015 at 4:47 pm
What was even worse were their hours. They were open 9 to 5 during the week only, no (or very limited) Saturday hours to get fit. That made it tough to get to the studio
Captain Obvious
Oct 16, 2015 at 3:55 pm
If you talked to one of their reps, they’d work around your schedule. I went to the studio a couple of times when they weren’t otherwise open, during the process of getting fitted for and buying my irons and wedges.
golfiend
Oct 14, 2015 at 6:02 pm
Was impressed with their wedges and availability of different grinds. In fact, I felt the forged wedges were too “soft” for my taste (meaning that it went out of the range for feedback on the soft side as opposed to the more common harsh/hard side) after owning several of them. The golf equipment business is a tough one!
Ol deadeye
Oct 14, 2015 at 1:19 pm
Sure, I’ve heard of them. Wedges are like putters, hard to set your product apart from off the rack at much lower prices. Never played with anybody who had one in his bag and I used to play three times a week. Still, I hate to see any American business fail. Better luck in the future.
Jason G
Oct 14, 2015 at 12:22 pm
Honestly, most people in the golf industry are shocked they lasted this long. Great customer service, horrendous management.
David
Oct 14, 2015 at 12:19 pm
Sad to hear but not surprising. They had a good value product early on that I loved (the cast 8620 wedges), but when they abandoned that line for only forged wedges and the prices for those clubs were 2x, I could not afford them. They probably lost a lot of folks then just based on price.
Moving to Detroit probably wasn’t the best idea either, but I think it was for family reasons.
Duffer Pauly
Oct 14, 2015 at 11:50 am
Never heard of them – never seen one of their clubs – never heard anyone I know who plays mention them…I have played golf for 50 years and these little upstarts come and go. I would never buy a “custom” club…My index goes between 3.7 (lowest) to 8.8 (highest), and I play off the shelf clubs…This custom fitting nonsense is pure garbage for all but the touring professional. And even then, a young Tiger could beat anyone with a Dunlop set from Target. Golf is a game of tempo, attitude, confidence and a little luck…Period.
Don
Oct 14, 2015 at 12:11 pm
Where have you been? I don’t know of anybody who plays golf and is up on golf equipment who hasn’t heard of Scratch Golf. But you are correct in that it is very difficult for a company like that to survive. They custom make clubs at a premium price. The big name manufactures will custom fit you and custom make your clubs with no upcharge. Not to mention you have better resale value when you try to sell a big name club. But they did have some very nice looking clubs.
Jason G
Oct 14, 2015 at 12:21 pm
I hope you are just trolling…
Captain Obvious
Oct 14, 2015 at 1:22 pm
Maybe your handicap wouldn’t fluctuated so wildly if you weren’t compensating for poorly fitted clubs.
James
Oct 15, 2015 at 12:48 am
Are you kidding or just plain ignorant?
don davis
Oct 14, 2015 at 6:37 am
Sad commentary on golf these days. The game is more corporate with big companies running the show and participation is declining . I remember the old days when clubs were treasures and Scratch Golf reminds me of that kind of company.
KK
Oct 13, 2015 at 9:30 pm
Scratch has made some of the most beautiful bespoke irons I have ever seen. Very sad it’s going under. Even sadder that modern societal values seem to be drifting further and further away from values intrinsic to golf which may be partly why golf is shrinking.
TWShoot67
Oct 13, 2015 at 7:07 pm
So sorry to hear this news. I’ve always wanted to get with Ari and DW and come up with my own custom set, but like Scratch golf I had a good 5-6 years of bad sh!# happen, like getting hurt in 2008, then not able to work until 2011 only to not find the industry was dead! I can only wish the best for all the guys at Scratch golf, hopefully things will work out for all involved! Still have my custom built 53* 1018 wedge will never sell this baby!
Benny
Oct 13, 2015 at 6:09 pm
Too bad, such an awesome product and custom builds like no other. It is not an easy market by any means. Looking at most of these replies manufacturing is not going to improve either. LOL.
Joe
Oct 13, 2015 at 8:54 am
Should have done better advertising. I’ve never heard of em.
Justin
Oct 13, 2015 at 10:22 am
That’s the biggest hurdle for smaller brands, I think. We’re constantly seeing ads for the “big boys”, but these smaller companies (which many, I feel, can go toe-to-toe with them) just don’t have the ad budget to keep up.
Richie Hunt
Oct 13, 2015 at 1:00 pm
I agree with Ari, most businesses I see that fail (and that my employer has bought out) struggled with expansion. You can make a great product and get a huge increase in demand, but if you can’t handle the distribution it will likely destroy your business.
I think the golf equipment world is one of the worst because if a Tour player decides to use your product, for free, and then wins an event and the public sees that he’s using your product…the demand could explode for the product. Then the delivery times lag and that creates customer dissatisfaction and if you’re not creating new products and the original product becomes a fad, then you can have all of this supply built up with nobody to sell it to. And you’re paying extra $$$ for manpower to meet that demand. Advertising should be the least of a small golf company’s worries. Creating demand and being able to fulfill that demand as it fluctuates is the real issue.
Matt
Oct 13, 2015 at 2:38 pm
Advertising is often part of creating that brand.
rockin1234
Oct 14, 2015 at 9:56 am
You’ve never heard of “’em” because they didn’t carry them at dicks sporting goods. *They advertised on this site
They did have a tour presence, not many big names, but Ryan Moore used them some years back.
KoolAid
Oct 13, 2015 at 8:42 am
I doubt Balmer and the other investors who put in millions would agree under funded was the cause. Guess this means that Don White didn’t really retire after all. Hopefully Patrick Boyd’s personal bank loan to float the company during rough times got paid off before going out of business. Sounds like the operating losses just got too much to handle and someone called the note.
Kooleraid
Oct 14, 2015 at 12:21 pm
Should have followed the Scotty Cameron business model
Buybye
Oct 13, 2015 at 3:44 am
Greed.
For being “boutique” I bet they all took big pay checks home thinking they can sustain it, instead of making super-special limited-number clubs at higher prices like some custom houses do in Japan and making them damn right perfect, but instead they tried to entice the lower-end general public into thinking there’s another option for forged clubs but when the bad rumors spread and Scratch couldn’t back it up initially, they were doomed.
I’m glad they’re gone.
Wade
Oct 14, 2015 at 12:16 am
I am sure some small companies fail because the owners/investors take too much out of their company too early, but the above statement strikes me as unfair without proof. Based on Ari’s posts I’ve read my impression is that he would not be one to do that.
Johny Thunder
Oct 13, 2015 at 12:27 am
I think “trying to expand too much” might be a lesson well learned by other companies, and would be interested to hear Ari expand on that. Too often the truths of companies closing are lost in hyperbole and cloaked in media bull****. Sometimes “small” is just the right size, regardless of what MBAs, media, shareholders or armchair quarterbacks might think. Like suggesting Scratch needed to “compete with the big boys” in order to be successful, profitable, and a great career (albeit for a comparatively small number of people). I liked what Scratch was doing; owned a few wedges and a set of EZ-1s. I’d like to see a lot more small companies in golf – ones that know you needn’t be a global corporate conglomerate to be successful and solvent.
Wade
Oct 14, 2015 at 12:26 am
Agreed. Bigger doesn’t mean smarter. Restaurants are a good example. I’ve seen it happen several times to good pizza joints that decided to expand and couldn’t handle it. Then it’s a shame when they closei. There is something to be said for wanting what you have.
rymail00
Oct 12, 2015 at 11:57 pm
Hands down the best wedges I’ve ever played and the only since the JLM wedges and now DW wedges I got this Spring.
I truely wish the best to Ari and the rest of the crew the best in the future.
Definitely a sad day.
Ryan
rymail00
Oct 12, 2015 at 11:53 pm
WOW!!!! This sucks!!!!
I was so hoping to play Scratch wedges forever.
So bummed out.
Jack
Oct 12, 2015 at 10:39 pm
This sucks. They made some great wedges. Irons I never really loved, but their wedges looked and worked great. They sorta pioneered making multiple grinds available to customers rather than just pros. Not sure what it did for my game, but it sure was cool.
marcel
Oct 12, 2015 at 8:53 pm
hard market
Stevemac
Oct 12, 2015 at 7:44 pm
Really great guys that I got to meet in Oregon many years ago-thank you, Steve
Nick
Oct 12, 2015 at 6:45 pm
In 2009 I was interested in some scratch irons. I sent an email to a general mailbox address off their website figuring I’d get some automated response. 15 minutes later, I got an actual reply from one of the VPs (forget the name). We exchanged emails for a week about the set makeup and then he was even gracious enough to contact my club pro and sell the set at wholesale to him instead of at retail to me. I still play them and will for a long time.
Justin
Oct 13, 2015 at 10:26 am
That’s pretty cool! Not only did you get good clubs, but a memorable experience, as well!
Doug G.
Oct 12, 2015 at 6:42 pm
After both playing Michigan golf for a over 3 decades, Ari and his crew (Patrick, Don, Jeff) were the only people I’ve ever met with the true talent to properly “fit” both wedges or irons to someones game. I’ve been everywhere in M.I. and I’ve seen every “club fitter” “golf pro” you could name and NOT ONE has successfully done similar work with grinds, bounce, finish, stamping etc. Sad day in my world of golf, truly hope these guys grind it out and come back with the same premium stuff.
James
Oct 12, 2015 at 3:49 pm
Not surprised. I remember reading that the Materials they used were not as advertised. Didnt they just get RAW heads forged or cast from Kyoei (Vega, Yururi ect ect) and finish them off in the States? Pretty tough to compete when your costs per unit are 3-4x and are no different than other forged wedges.
derek
Oct 12, 2015 at 4:09 pm
Poor taste to say that on such somber news. That was proven to be a lie. Scratch tested and showed proof. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
Joe
Oct 13, 2015 at 8:56 am
And from dudes named Liar…
Joe Duffer
Oct 14, 2015 at 12:48 pm
You can never trust a “Joe” as well…
Travis
Oct 15, 2015 at 7:51 am
That is the most asinine statement on this thread. Who cares where they got the heads, it is what they did with them that set them apart. The great painters of the world get their paint from the same place as everyone else.
James
Oct 17, 2015 at 8:56 pm
An artist is not a Company that has to compete with non-artists offering a similar product at a much lower price. The reason I made the statement about the heads is because it is pertinent and had a meaningful effect on the companies bottom line. The Company is not making any of the clubs themselves but simply stamping blank heads, the only thing making them unique is the stamps and the paint. which make it automatically more expensive per unit than other large companies who get bulk amounts of raw heads from Japan (1018 series – Kyeoi forged) or China (8620 series). The clubs that Don White got to grind are different, they are atleast raw heads forged from Japan and finished by one of the best, but were extremely expensive.
cb
Oct 12, 2015 at 2:55 pm
sad news, these guys were excellent and extremely talented people and they always were nothing but gentlemen to customers. the OEMs should be lining up trying to get these guys working for them
Garrett Metcalf
Oct 12, 2015 at 2:30 pm
seriously bummed by this I’ve had the original EZ1 in my bag since 2007 wanted to get a set of AR1 V2 to replace them I have to find a set before they’re all gone!
3 Jack Par
Oct 12, 2015 at 2:08 pm
That sucks. I bought a set of SB-1s this spring, and my iron game has never been better. I love my irons, and I was hoping that I’d be able to replace them with another Scratch set when these wear out. As a Detroit guy, it was cool to have an equipment company like Scratch in my back yard, and it’s sad to see they couldn’t make a go of it.
Mark
Oct 12, 2015 at 2:05 pm
Quality product and a bit different. Didn’t stand a chance against the big players. I wonder how Hopkins are doing?
Tom
Oct 12, 2015 at 1:42 pm
Well thats a pisser.
Pure745
Oct 12, 2015 at 1:35 pm
Ugh.. hate to hear this. Can’t thank Ari, Patrick, Jeff, and Don enough for making some of the coolest irons and wedges I have ever had the pleasure of hitting.
KCCO
Oct 31, 2015 at 2:14 pm
you own some of the best irons, prob the best they ever made!
Kyle
Oct 12, 2015 at 1:25 pm
Always sad to hear someone else in the biz went out of business. Wish them all the best going forward.