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What Happened To The Dominance Of TaylorMade Golf?

SuperStroke
Dave Alvarado said:
They released the R9 in 2009...and the R15 in 2015.

Pretty sure "get back to your roots" is exactly what they're trying to do.
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I think its still to soon for the R9 to make an appearance again.
 
I don't think having 50% market share is sustainable. It is inevitable that the competition will adjust and adapt to earn some of it back. So the starting point probably says as much about the competition as it does TM.

They've got some obvious stuff to clean up regarding inventory control and marketing. They'll be fine.
 
First thing I would do is go through the P and L with a fine tooth comb. We would trim the fat and get our COGS in line with our revenue, then we would start a plan on equipment direction. You have to fix the wheel before you reinvent it

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I would stop the current development product cycle. I've had many T-Made products and withing 6 mos. they are obsolete for a newer model. It kills the current value of your current clubs and gives customers (especially gear heads) feeling almost "cheated".
 
Fantastic conversation guys. Enjoying all of the feedback as I enjoyed writing the article.
 
tider992010 said:
I would stop the current development product cycle. I've had many T-Made products and withing 6 mos. they are obsolete for a newer model. It kills the current value of your current clubs and gives customers (especially gear heads) feeling almost "cheated".
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Hmmm... it seems to me Callaway does this same thing? To me the difference there is Callaway was smart enough to release equipment geared to different groups of players - and state that. I think TM missed the boat on delineation between product lines. Kind of like they expected people to buy the first release whether or not if it was right for them, then when it wasn't, they assumed the sheeple would buy the next release. (And for a while, that's pretty much what happened ) The big blow, IMO, was the SLDR and Jetspeed lines - 2 clubs that played very similarly. Basically if one wasn't going to work for you, the other probably wasn't either. They kinda put their eggs in one basket there, and it didn't pay off.
 
I realize I didn't really answer the question. If I'm CEO I
1. Develop a strategy for getting the excess SLDR inventory out of circulation, even If it means taking a hit to the bottom line. Hell, give it away to golfers in developing markets or to HS teams. Anything so we aren't competing against ourselves and undercutting our newest products with discounted SLDR gear.

2. Focus on the fundamentals - keep producing really good equipment and start marketing it more smartly.

3. Don't panic. We've got some bigger problems and they aren't going to be fixed overnight.


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One other thing you absolutely have to do--stop releasing colors as a new release. White club, then 3 months later black club, then 3 months after that discount bin because the next club is coming.
 
Seems to me TM are out of ideas and asked JB to ask us if we had any ideas, lol.
 
I'd pay a boatload of money to bring back Tom Olsavsky.
I'd work on better inventory control.
I'd limit the release, quality over quantity.
 
More quality over quantity, I have always liked TM. Gamed Tp irons and wedges and the R9 as well as the Nubbins putter. But lately its seemed release after release, I cannot say they were all bad as I did not try them all. I hit the R15 and aeroburner and quite liked these offerings


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I'm late to this convo and can't really add much that hasn't been said.

One key thing that I would fix as the head of Taylormade is the target of the releases. Lately they seem to arrange their lineup to target different price points rather than different golfers, which just really makes no sense when paired with their release schedule and price cuts.

I would cut out the T-mag graphics on the shafts, it looks cheap and reduces value to the prosumer.

I would fire the entire marketing team and start over. It's been so poor lately that it's hard to even describe without using barnyard language.

I would quit designing and manufacturing golf balls and putters. Who are we kidding here?

Hire/Rehire a head club designer who is at the top of his game. We need to have superior tech hit the market in a few years and we need innovation throughout the lineup.

I could go on but I'll leave it at that for now.
 
I think a huge part of it is reputation. I used to LOVE TM but for years it's product after product after product and I didn't feel they had a specific direction. And I haven't personally haven't really liked much since the Burner and RAC irons and I've tried plenty of their products. That being said, I'm demo'ing a Aero Mini and it's a great club.

So I guess my point in product cycle and reputation are that they are just going to churn out product after product and what you just paid $400 for is going to be worth $100 in a few months and their inventory control must be horrendous because they always have a TON of overstock that is massively reduced in price. It just makes them feel like a cheaper product.
 
With how everything sits now, I'm not sure getting back to a dominant #1 is possible in 12 months for TM, or let alone anyone. Obviously they need to solve their inventory issues, that goes without saying. They need to have clear cut markets that each product goes after. The SLDR sold well, but every average Joe thought they could hit it, which is crazy. I'd turn Adams into just hybrids and try to have that name take over that market. Use TM for all the rest. Maybe release clubs that don't look and sound like the same exact tech as a recent previous model. Pretty much just don't be dumb
 
Pay Jordan Spieth $250M to play TM like Nike did with Rory.

I think they need to get away from flashy ad claims that focus on Pro's performance with their clubs and focus in what their clubs will do for the target audience. And more importantly produce something better than the competition is producing.
 
chasd3 said:
Pay Jordan Spieth $250M to play TM like Nike did with Rory.

I think they need to get away from flashy ad claims that focus on Pro's performance with their clubs and focus in what their clubs will do for the target audience. And more importantly produce something better than the competition is producing.
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Honest question: Would you still say that if Dustin Johnson had won the US Open? If Sergio Garcia had won a major (and he's been close several times)? Considering TaylorMade has fellows like them, Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer, and Jason Day on staff, I really don't think they need to shell out a quarter-billion dollars for a fellow like Jordan. Four of the top 10 in the OWGR are TaylorMade staffers. I'd say the players on staff for TM is one of their biggest bright spots.
 
I'm still a little biased towards TM metalwoods... they all just feel like higher quality clubs to me compared to other brands. Obviously just my opinion.

TM lost their way when they started releasing an obscene amount of new products. Your typical golfer who just spent a fortune on clubs wants those clubs to be the newest that company has to offer for a little while. It's deflating to buy an $1000 set of irons and four months later there's new ones.
 
What Happened To The Dominance Of TaylorMade Golf?

Poor quality first and foremost, when I worked weekends at DSG we had so many broken Taylormade clubs it seemed I was constantly on the phone with them ordering replacements.

Secondly, their woods are very unforgiving. Better golfers with cash go for usually Ping and Titleist, so you're trying to compete in that middle class mid to upper 80s group with Nike, Cobra and Callaway which almost all offer better forgiveness
 
belmontcc15 said:
Poor quality first and foremost, when I worked weekends at DSG we had so many broken Taylormade clubs it seemed I was constantly on the phone with them ordering replacements.

Secondly, their woods are very unforgiving. Better golfers with cash go for usually Ping and Titleist, so you're trying to compete in that middle class mid to upper 80s group with Nike, Cobra and Callaway which almost all offer better forgiveness
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What's interesting is that the most popular Ping is very forgiving and doesn't fit the typical "better player" profile.
 
Here is an interesting one.
Out of current product, Ping has more drivers that are current than TaylorMade does.
Im not suggesting that they have released more overall, but I think people look at brands differently based more on reputation than anything else.

And I am definitely not disputing an inventory issue.
 
JB said:
Here is an interesting one.
Out of current product, Ping has more drivers that are current than TaylorMade does.
Im not suggesting that they have released more overall, but I think people look at brands differently based more on reputation than anything else.

And I am definitely not disputing an inventory issue.
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I agree. Cobra cut prices on the Fly-Z line today and not one thread of theirs was bumped by someone complaining about resale
 
JB said:
Here is an interesting one.
Out of current product, Ping has more drivers that are current than TaylorMade does.
Im not suggesting that they have released more overall, but I think people look at brands differently based more on reputation than anything else.

And I am definitely not disputing an inventory issue.
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Even when considering the R15 460, r14 430 and the TP offerings?
 
Tweets like this are not going to win any favor in my book:

 
blugold said:
Even when considering the R15 460, r14 430 and the TP offerings?
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TP offerings are a shaft change generally speaking and nobody is going to say boo about a Ping Tour shaft.
Its a marketing difference.
 
blugold said:
What's interesting is that the most popular Ping is very forgiving and doesn't fit the typical "better player" profile.
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Yeah but it does price wise. The average golfer that plays 3 times a week isn't going to drop $450 on the G30
 
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