17 replies to this topic

[NiftyNiblick]

Never tiring of being the broken record, I sent GolfSmith the following e-mail:

Congratulations on your acquisition of the legendary MacGregor brand name!

I would like to make a suggestion. Please make a set of perimeter-weighted senior clubs with the old fashioned WEAKER lofts with which we seniors grew up and feel more comfortable. NOBODY is doing that. You will have the market to yourselves. The following 8 club set is NEEDED.

4-iron: 26°
5-iron: 30°
6-iron: 34°
7-iron: 38°
8-iron: 42°
9-iron: 46°
50W: 50-6°
55W: 55-8°
60W: 60-4°

Also, weaker lofted metalwoods, preferable unnumbered, with flatter lies and without closed faces would be appreciated.

[TourSpecGolfer]

Good luck man, IMO The type of item you detail doesn't fit a large enough demographic to justify the costs of R&D, Production, & Marketing.

The solution is simple, have a custom ground set done for you in your desired lofts + matching bounces/camber, etc.. so you don't have to sound like a broken record.

What you called Jacked Lofts are and have been the standard for many years now. Another solution is to simply adapt and adjust to using a different # iron for shots needed.

[GolfTee]

I agree, I am doubting that they'd shell out the kind of dough it'd take to produce that set when the sheer number of people that'd use it or demand it is so low. Why not just spend the extra $$ and get a custom set made for you? If you don't want to spend that kind of cash, spend a few hundred bucks on buckets of balls until you get the feel for more standard iron lofts.

It's an honorable thing you're shooting for, I just am not seeing anything close to compliance in the future for you friend.

Good luck!

[Bowie8]

I am guessing that Golfsmith will use the model they employed when they bought Lynx out of bankrupcy. Cheaper quality and price and less on R&D. Golfsmith isn't exactly a super strong player in golf retailing right now. Look at their stock price. The recession has hit them pretty hard as well. They may even merge the lynx and MacGregor brands because the later has more "prestige".

[SkulledSW]

Actually guys it's cheap to make clubs now-a-days. The Chinese manufacturer's can crank the stuff out for very little. There have been articles and documentaries about thier amazing capabilities in manufacturing and automation. The only thing nNiblick would need to convince them of is that there is an actual market. The expensive part is the marketing and distribution. Especially in this economic climate.

[garth]

Weak lofts are the best!

Signed,
Dial-Up Internet
&
Analog TV w/ Rabbit Ears

Just platyin' man, I know you're missing the old school lofts, but like TSG said, its not going to happen in the near future.

[TourSpecGolfer]

SkulledSW, on May 26 2009, 05:17 AM, said:

Actually guys it's cheap to make clubs now-a-days. The Chinese manufacturer's can crank the stuff out for very little. There have been articles and documentaries about thier amazing capabilities in manufacturing and automation. The only thing nNiblick would need to convince them of is that there is an actual market. The expensive part is the marketing and distribution. Especially in this economic climate.

Keep in mind we work with Endo & Dynamic the two big boys and I can tell you for a fact it is not cheap. Yes chinese factories can pump Low Quality clubs out all day but your missing the most expensive factors:

1. No one HERE wants cheap low quality clubs.
2. R&D is very expensive
3. Marketing is very expensive
4. Tooling for each model, loft, and design is BIG bucks

In order to have a large factory in china produce your clubs in a cost effective manner you need to produce thousands upon thousands of pieces costing well into the millions.

So if it cost you 2 million outside of manufacturing then you pay for the actual product it's far from cheap for just about any company.

[xchangmanx]

Custom lofts made for you...? TSG offers them....

Id go that way as you'd have a fully customized set just for you.. Epon 701s "customized" would be my choice...

Edited by xchangmanx, 26 May 2009 - 08:42 AM.

[TourSpecGolfer]

xchangmanx, on May 26 2009, 05:41 PM, said:

Custom lofts made for you...? TSG offers them....

Id go that way as you'd have a fully customized set just for you.. Epon 701s "customized" would be my choice...

It would have to be more special than that, Im talking about heads custom ground. It would be most affordable to have them made based off of an open model design.

[SpyGolfer]

Dang... All this talk of customization is making me salivate. lol

[jphelps22]

Golfsmith is re-launching the Macgregor brand in two different ranges. They will have an affordable cast line of clubs thatwill start around $499 I believe and them they will have the premium range in the VIP Forged priced at $799. They have shown the new Macgregor products to store GM's and are in the process of finishing all marketing materials before the official launch in April. Yes Macgregor will be a house brand for Golfsmith, but everyone that I have talked with say's they have spent a great deal of time and effort developing the new products. I for one am looking forward to the re-launch and I hope that it does well.

[18th Legion]

Golfsmith has to somehow first prove itself to the golfing community. Many are not happy with the way that they handled the Lynx brand and therefore MacGregor loyalist would not see this as a favorable move for the MacGregor name. Why should we?

Understand that MacGregor started to just bring some of their lost MacGregor fans back when they went back to more traditional designs and got away from the "High Tech" direction that Barry Schneider was taking the product. Unfortunately Norman and Reid Gorman were not able to or chose not to continue.
First, we all know that most products are made in China. That isn't what distinguishes a Callaway from a TaylorMade or a Nike. The original design and concept makes it different. The different philosophies of how to improve certain characteristics are what creates a differing feel.

Second, it is the quality control that the OEM establishes with the Chinese, Thai, etc. foundry. How is it handled?
Third, the OEMs have R&D departments. We have been introduced to those people. Stites, Hocknell, Vincent. Don White of course played a significant role. The R&D department distinguishes the OEM. Does Golfsmith have a true R&D design staff? Who are they? (Having Buyers does not constitute a true R&D staff).

We are all bright enough to know that Golfsmith, Sports Authority, and d**k's in the past simply go to various Chinese foundrys and utilize those design staffs. Offering little more that cosmetic input during the design and stamping approval on the final product. That method does not constitute being an OEM, or making MacGregor a true Golfsmith design. If this method has changed at Golfsmith and MacGregor was designed by internal R&D, then it is up to Golfsmith to introduce them to the public and market MacG as such. Without this, saying that Golfsmith has done a good job with MacGregor is impossible unless we are presented with the beginning steps and decisions behind product creation. Otherwise, it is little more than shopping out of a manufacturer catalog.

Golfsmith has shown some regard for tradition by bringing back the Green. The new VIP iron from pics looks like no more than flattening out and reconfiguring the muscle on the old 1025C, which in turn was a Geotech creation that you can still find in their catalog. What some of us would like to have seen is as an example, yes, some clues to the past however coupled with modern sole grinds.

It is my hope and that of many here, that Golfsmith can continue on the MacGregor name. We have lost many names such as Hogan, Tommy Armour, Ram, and Lynx. Golfsmith must prove that there is a reason to see this as a continuation of MacGregor and not simply "Buy a Badge Marketing."

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