Equipment
Acushnet launches Union Green golf ball brand
You might expect the announcement of a new golf ball brand to fly under the radar. With the launch of Union Green from Acushnet, the parent company to entrenched golf brands Titleist and FootJoy among others, however, there’s no danger of that. This golf ball launch is different and signals a shift in consumer interaction for one of the largest companies in golf.
What is Union Green?
“Golf has the power to unite us all. With Union Green all are welcome.”
That single statement is the ethos of Union Green—to bring people together on the golf course, to be inclusive, inviting, and at the end of the day, to have fun.
Union Green seeks to represent the new age of the golfers that look to golf as a way to hang out with friends, relax, and have some fun along the way. From a branding standpoint, it’s the 9-hole muni down the street rather than the high initiation private club that you can’t see past the gate: both are great in their own way, but one is more relatable to the majority of the golf population than the other.
The new company will be largely direct-to-consumer, but considering Acushnet’s deep penetration in both on and off-course retail. you can expect to see the full lineup of lifestyle softgoods and accessories beyond the two new golf balls in shops around the country and beyond. Does that mean exclusive private clubs? Probably not. But at your local public course looking to offer a more value-priced golf ball, absolutely!
So, about the golf balls…
In the cluttered space that is direct-to-consumer golf ball brands, from a product standpoint alone, Union Green separates itself in a way that no other current company can. Its golf balls are made in the United States under the same strict quality control standards that other balls under the Acushnet brands are made, including Titleist TourSoft.
Union Green Pindrop
A three-piece ball built to offer greenside performance without giving up distance or trajectory—simple as that.
The tech details are light, but that’s OK. The golfers these are targeted at aren’t worried about the newest urethane mixtures being used to build the cover or some compound infused into the core to make them faster. It’s all about performance and value, and with Pindrop you get a three-piece (non-urethane covered ball) for $27.99 per dozen.
Union Green Teebird
A two-piece ball built for distance and designed to fly straighter. Once again simple and to the point. Plus, for only $19.99 per dozen, the Teebird offers great value for the golfer who might lose a few during a round. Not everyone can shrug off smashing a $6 ball into a pond, but at only $1.67 apiece, it’s an easier pill to swallow.
What does this mean for Acushnet?
This is the million-dollar question. Union Green is not Titleist Light or a Pinnacle replacement, it’s a totally new upstart to fill the void for golfers serious about having fun while playing golf—those who don’t relate to the stuffy atmosphere that is often associated with the sport.
Lifestyle brands in and out of golf tend to go in two directions: high-end and luxurious or more value and consumer-accessibility focused. The well-branded UnionGreen.com website, with long-haired, backward cap-wearing “dudes” and casually dressed legging-wearing women golfing, tells you everything you need to know about what they represent and who they are hoping to connect to.
Union Green has hit the nail on the head. As a millennial golfer myself who spends a lot of time playing public golf with people from all age demographics, this is a growing segment of the golfing population. Golfers, regardless of age or gender, who care less about what shaft is in their driver and more about making sure fun is had on the course with friends.
As an equipment-obsessed, fully tuned-in golfer, this might not relate to you, but I’m sure you know or play golf with someone that fits right into Union Green’s target market. Acushnet is hoping the brand messaging lands, like a high, soft wedge into three green.
It will be interesting to see if it does.
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Whats in the Bag
Steve Stricker WITB 2024 (April)
- Steve Stricker WITB accurate as of the Zurich Classic. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, C4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 7.2 X
3-wood: Titleist 915F (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist 816 H1 (17 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (3, 4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (46-10F @55), Titleist Vokey SM10 (54-10S @53), Titleist Vokey SM4 (60 @59)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 w/Sensicore
Putter: Odyssey White Hot No. 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Grip Rite
Check out more in-hand photos of Steve Stricker’s clubs here.
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Whats in the Bag
Alex Fitzpatrick WITB 2024 (April)
- Alex Fitzpatrick what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X
Hybrid: Ping G430 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 TX
Irons: Ping iCrossover (2), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 9 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-12F, 56-12D, 60-08M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X
Putter: Bettinardi SS16 Dass
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Alex Fitzpatrick’s clubs here.
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Equipment
What’s the perfect mini-driver/shaft combo? – GolfWRXers discuss
In our forums, our members have been discussing Mini-Drivers and accompanying shafts. WRXer ‘JamesFisher1990’ is about to purchase a BRNR Mini and is torn on what shaft weight to use, and our members have been sharing their thoughts and set ups in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- PARETO: “New BRNR at 13.5. Took it over to TXG (Club Champ but TXG will always rule) in Calgary for a fit. Took the head down to 12, stuck in a Graphite Design AD at 3 wood length and 60g. Presto- numbers that rivaled my G430Max but with waaaaay tighter dispersion. Win.”
- driveandputtmachine: “Still playing a MIni 300. The head was only 208, so I ordered a heavier weight and play it at 3 wood length. I am playing a Ventus Red 70. I play 70 grams in my fairways. I use it mainly to hit draws off the tee. When I combine me, a driver, and trying to hit a draw it does not work out well most of the time. So the MIni is for that. As an aside, I have not hit the newest BRNR, but the previous model wasn’t great off the deck. The 300 Mini is very good off the deck.”
- JAM01: “Ok, just put the BRNR in the bag along side a QI10 max and a QI10 3 wood. A load of top end redundancy. But, I have several holes at my two home courses where the flight and accuracy of the mini driver helps immensely. Mine is stock Proforce 65 at 13.5, I could see a heavier shaft, but to normal flex, as a nice alternative.”
Entire Thread: “What’s the perfect Mini-Driver/Shaft combo? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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Mike
Feb 15, 2020 at 6:01 pm
Many of these ‘non-golfers’ now use range balls, which cost like 10 cents each when you pocket one. But I did hear you’ll get a free craft beer coupon w/ each dozen.
Who on earth would order these balls when you can buy distance balls CHEAP at Walmart? And for ‘non-golfers’, DOES “DISTANCE” REALLY MATTER??? So, now, w/ this Union ‘distance’ ball, you’ll dribble your shot 18 yards off the tee instead of 15?
ShortHitter
Feb 13, 2020 at 7:42 am
They’ll make good margins on the direct to consumer segment by cutting out retailers. If they charge for shipping, you could be paying $30+ for a surlyn cover ball. Makes complete sense for folks that pay $15 for a phone order $7 sandwich with delivery and service fees.
mike
Feb 15, 2020 at 5:51 pm
I love your last sentence!
Will Johnston
Feb 12, 2020 at 11:25 am
The ball will be a huge success if they denounce toxic masculinity and only use gender neutral pronouns.
golfraven
Feb 10, 2020 at 5:00 pm
Some execs at Acushnet: so what are we doing about the Corona virus? Well, lets bring out a new ball brand and call it Union Green. Sounds Chinese to me and make us look like as we would care about next generation on this planet.
Funkaholic
Feb 10, 2020 at 4:12 pm
This is “woke” capitalism in action, a bunch of old white haired guys sitting around the boardroom asking each other “how do we reach millennials?” Naturally the answer is to Bart Simpson up a brand of cheap balls. Everything about this is stupid. When will executive realize, you can’t brand “cool”. Most of the young people I see on the golf course are as serious as anybody. You aren’t going to win over the stoned Frisbee golfers and nobody wants them on the course anyway.
jgpl001
Feb 8, 2020 at 3:55 pm
I have heard some nonsense in my time but this is total BS.
What are they talking about with this inclusive, eco rubbish???
And a few cheap, non descript golf balls – Give me a break
Anybody who buys these needs serious treatment and antipsychotic medication
Marty
Feb 8, 2020 at 12:19 pm
Completely incongruous. The logo doesn’t look like it belongs on a golf ball and the brand name sounds like some sort of house-brand one might find on sweatshirts and warmups at the GAP or some other big box store.
Also, how people approach the game of golf is not a “Lifestyle” or a “Lifestyle Choice”.
Chip2win
Feb 8, 2020 at 6:23 am
I’m going to make it my personal mission to avoid purchasing all Titleist/Footjoy products.
Brian
Feb 8, 2020 at 2:57 pm
Ditto. Why buy these when high-performing urethane balls are available for just a few $ more?
Rich Douglas
Feb 9, 2020 at 6:48 pm
Or for a few dollars less. (Snell)
Chip2win
Feb 8, 2020 at 5:14 am
I’m going to make it my personal mission to avoid ALL Titleist/Footjoy products in the future.
Daniel Whitehurst
Feb 8, 2020 at 4:35 am
So this is introduced for the basic player that isn’t interested in the balls makeup or materials at a lower cost than the $47 prov1 at $27. You can get a great ball like Wilson DUO at $20 or Callaway supersoft at $22. What the point of this. I thought it was a eco friendly ball with GREEN in the name. Or maybe a non conforming ball for distance.
JThunder
Feb 10, 2020 at 2:52 am
Yes – Duo, Supersoft and several others compete with Tour Soft, but all at lower price than Tour Soft or Onion Green.
Danny Boy
Feb 10, 2020 at 9:26 pm
Onion Green – Now that’s something I can get behind
Steve Sanders
Feb 10, 2020 at 3:21 pm
Yeah Vice and Snell already offer high quality golf balls for less than this and even the big name brands already have plenty of products made of higher-quality materials in the $20-25 price point. Who in their right mind is looking for a “message” in their golf balls? I’ve never bought a 15-pack of cheap pinnacles at a course and thought to myself “But does pinnacle speak to my personal opinions on inclusivity and casual enjoyment of golf?”
Rich Douglas
Feb 8, 2020 at 1:10 am
This is a press release, nothing more.
How could these balls be any different from the rocks they sell under the Pinnacle line?
How is it that these balls are some form of “lifestyle brand”? Seriously, what’s the lifestyle or the brand?
If I’m running Callaway, I’m talking to the legal department about suing for infringement…on the TopFlite line!
And if one of your selling points is that the ball is cheap to lose, well….
MadMex
Feb 8, 2020 at 12:55 am
Good lord !!!!! All they needed was the race angle,,,,
” para todos ustedes que no pueden pagar el precio de las Pro-V1 les ofrecemos esta basura !!!”
Translation: “For those of you who can’t afford the price of Pro-V1 balls, we offer you this garbage!”
Yes, I am Mexican and do speak and write fluent Spanish,,,,,,,,,,
El Burro Kuchar
Feb 10, 2020 at 2:56 am
¡El sindicato verde!
TequilaSunrise
Feb 10, 2020 at 4:05 pm
I thought you were Scottish!
hwt
Feb 7, 2020 at 11:08 pm
This is clearly an attempt to get into the vice/snell/tbc/sugarloaf sector. Too bad it looks like it was thought up by a heavy handed dumbo in the corporate office. Won’t be even testing these bc this is such a corporate facepalm moment.
Also interesting they say that the ball get the same quality testing as…….the truesoft? Why in the hell would you promote that when you have the #1 ball in golf?
JP
Feb 7, 2020 at 10:35 pm
Laughable
2putttom
Feb 7, 2020 at 8:50 pm
kewl, appealing to the millennial golfer.
Michaele11111
Feb 7, 2020 at 8:07 pm
Was that an advertorial?
No matter what dog patch you play at or how high your handicap is, I hope you are enough of a golfer that you wanted to vomit after reading that article.
Whoever sold the Acushnet CEO on this one better have their resume up to date.
Alexander Schilling
Feb 7, 2020 at 6:05 pm
This is dumb
SV
Feb 7, 2020 at 5:38 pm
Bring back the Acushnet Club Special!!
Shallowface
Feb 9, 2020 at 3:49 pm
Nah. That name isn’t inclusive enough. “Club” implies exclusivity.
Looking forward to the next decade when the children of these people turn on, tune in and drop out.
James
Feb 7, 2020 at 5:28 pm
History has proven repeatedly that collectivist words like “inclusive” are dead ends and lead to complacency and laziness. Careful, Titleis… I mean Acushnet. The Ball is DOA.
In other news, the Truvis already owns the cool-kid ball market.
Moosejaw McWilligher
Feb 7, 2020 at 5:18 pm
By definition, something new from Acushnet – or sub-brand thereof – cannot be called an “upstart” (or startup).
The “green” part of the name had me expecting something eco-friendly. That has been the near-exclusive connotation of “green” for decades now. Since that doesn’t seem to be the case, it feels like false advertising, which doesn’t endear Acushnet to me.
DL
Feb 8, 2020 at 9:21 am
Green means eco-friendly but it’s not so it’s false advertising hahhaha
Maybe Union Green has to do with uniting people through golf which is played on a golf course that has greens… hence Union Green lol
Rascal
Feb 8, 2020 at 11:42 am
The green obviously relates to marijuana, come on guys.
Moosejaw McWilligher
Feb 10, 2020 at 2:48 am
In that case, $27.99 for a box that size is a good deal!
scooter
Feb 8, 2020 at 11:44 am
Yeah, probably the only way this ball has a chance in h*** is if Acushnet were to promise most of the profits go to true green (environmental) causes … ain’t gonna happen … just a $$$ marketing scheme