Lets Talk Golf Accessories

nineadmin answers:

Use Ebay

nineadmin answers:

I think there is, but marketing the stuff is the hard part. Too many golfers equate expensive with good. I get that incredulous look when I outdrive playing partners (I’m averaging over 270 off the tee, with a longest of 292)… I spent $60 on the driver head, $17 on the shaft and $3 on the grip (all brand new- no kidding!) and assembled it myself. I got my stuff from Hireko Golf, and haven’t looked back.

I personally believe that NO golf club is worth more than $150, regardless what marketing schtick, “it” shaft, or whatever is used to sell it. It’s just getting other people on board that’s the tough part. If you had access to a swing robot, you could compare the OEM version to the clone model, just stick the same shaft and grip in there and go to town. Unfortunately, swing robots are hard to come by (not to mention expensive). It’s nearly impossible to do blind testing- people are always going to look at the head, when they see that they aren’t hitting a Ping Rapture or Cobra S9 (or whatever) most are going to get it in their head that they just can’t hit the club, skewing results. He!l, they do it now with “bigger” names like MacGregor (who’s on the comeback trail) and Wilson/Staff… Tour Edge, Fourteen Golf, Scratch and Adams all experienced similar pains in the past.

There’s also the ego that’s involved. Most people don’t care that they use generic prescription drugs or Wal-Mart brand milk (with “I’m NOT paying those prices for the real thing” attitudes) , but they don’t go around showing that stuff off to impress their friends, either. When they walk on to the first tee, most want people to see their gear (and most likely, with equally expensive bag) and say “Ooh, this guy must be good- he’s gaming a full set of ” or “He must be good- he’s got the same clubs the pro’s play”.

You could try getting people to understand the physics of the golf club. Most people think “newer is better”, but don’t realize all this CG “optimization” has little bearing: it takes at least 10g in a very specified spot to have even an iota of an effect on the ball’s flight… Even then, it might still be negligible, depending on the golfer’s swing. They hear all the “weight low and back” stuff and don’t realize that there’s a chance that too much weight will cause the loft to increase dynamically at impact, which could be a boon, but also a bane, depending on the golfer. Most think brand name equals performance, when in reality it’s the loft of the head coupled with the swing speed (with an appropriately flexed shaft). No brand name head/shaft/grip combo, regardless of how much was spent on it, will help a golfer with 85-90 mph swing speed hit a 300 yard drive. Based on Golfsmith testing, 300 yard drives don’t become a possibility until the swing speed reaches 105 mph*, even then, brand name has no bearing on the outcome.

But it’s all about having proof that people are overspending. Most clone companies are content floating in the background. It seems like they don’t really want to ruffle any feathers. Advertising costs are another reason: the more money pumpped into advertising, the more it’s taken out on the consumers (see: all major OEMS). Finding fitters/builders is relatively easy, just look around. Same with getting a building with adequate space. It’s the marketability/viability ratio that’s the hardest to overcome.

nineadmin answers:

What the hell no