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Country Flags on Golf Clubs?

Canadan

Canadan

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Albatross 2024 Club
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This may seem like a weird question, but hear me out.. Sorry if I picked the wrong thread, as I wasn't sure if this was relevant to clubs specifically..

I am a Canadian living in the US (by choice, I quite enjoy my life here and rarely say a bad thing about the US beyond my high school experience a decade ago). I do however, hold my heritage very close to my heart, and often am found using a Canadian flag ball marker, wearing a hat with a Canadian flag on it, or something of that nature.

When I see excellent products coming out of the US, I am very happy to see the success (ex: Bettinardi putters) however, I am a bit put off by a few of their products having US flags on them or the headcovers. I admit, it might be a strange thing, but I can not tell you how many times I've had friends and golfing partners comment on how I am using a club personally with a US flag on it. I know it's all in good fun, but I can honestly say it deters me from buying products as I would rather be extremely proud of my clubs than have people poke fun of the flags.. Oddly enough, this role was reversed when I played a lot of hockey, and naturally many of the gloves and gear have Canadian flags on them, and some of my playing friends complained and even cut off the flag tabs.

So I guess my question(s) ends up being, do you guys and gals think I'm crazy about this stuff? Do you like having your flag on your clubs? Do you think club makers should offer a variety of flag options based on where they sell them? If it were up to me, I'd have both the US flag and the Canadian flag on my club.. but that's just me.
 
I love the flag on just about anything. I wonder, couldn't you just buy some stickers and put them on your clubs? That way you could have both flags.

On another note, I pull off any made in China stickers on anything I have.
 
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clam fist said:
I love the flag on just about anything. I wonder, couldn't you just buy some stickers and put them on your clubs? That way you could have both flags.

On another note, I pull off any made in China stickers on anything I have.
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Yeah, stickers aren't so bad... I was thinking more like the US flag on the bottom of Coughlin's awesome new Bettinardi, or some of the putter covers provided on Scotty's...

Things that can't easily be modified by a sticker haha
 
nothing wrong with being proud of your heritage, I commend you for it. if I lived in another country I would do the same.
 
Interesting problem. I live in the US but I am not a US-citizen. It wouldn't bother me personally to use a product with a US flag on it, and I probably am using such products, though I can't think of them now. I can easily 'justify it' by the fact that I am living here...
 
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I am confused about your question or concern. You say you are put off by products with the American flag on it showing it was made in the USA but you at the same time go on the golf course wearing a maple leaf ball marker or Canadian flag displayed on your hat. You also say you do this because you hold your heritage close to your heart which I totally respect. I think for a similar reason those tags are on those items you are questioning. To show the pride the people who made those items have in their workmanship and more importantly their country. I see the tags merely as just being proud of your country just as you are with your hat and ball marker.
 
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White Rhino said:
I am confused about your question or concern. You say you are put off by products with the American flag on it showing it was made in the USA but you at the same time go on the golf course wearing a maple leaf ball marker or Canadian flag displayed on your hat. You also say you do this because you hold your heritage close to your heart which I totally respect. I think for a similar reason those tags are on those items you are questioning. To show the pride the people who made those items have in their workmanship and more importantly their country. I see the tags merely as just being proud of your country just as you are with your hat and ball marker.
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You're right about that, and in reading the Bettinardi website, it sounds Bob is tremendously proud of their location and has no interest in leaving the country.. I guess my point was more that if I had two clubs in my hand, both swung equally well, I'd be more inclined to buy the one that did not have the US flag engraved on it. And again, it's not a pot shot at the country by any means, as I already noted that if it had both flags I'd be all over it.. Just wanted to hear your opinions as US citizens, and whether you get the same sense of pride in having your flag on your golf gear that I do with mine..

Personalization of golf equipment seems to be a constant talking point on this site.. I was just hoping to spin a thought I had into a fun discussion.
 
To answer your questions: I don't think you're crazy to think or question the practice. The flag is just a visual way to say "made in the USA" and offers more aesthetically pleasing ways to get that fact across. Most countries require some method of identifying the country of origin on the product so I could see a US made product in another country probably not using the flag but just the text in that nation's language.

Personalization options are something else. I think you should be able to personalize your gear however you want as long as you're willing to take the ribbing from your golf buddies.

The only question I have is are your friends just giving you a hard time about playing clubs with the flag on it? Or was it funny at one time, and the joke has gotten stale (ok, two questions)? As it has been said by many here on THP, we should play the clubs that are right for our game, whether it's made in the US or made in Luxembourg.
 
My Luxembourg 7 iron rocks.

535px-Coat_of_Arms_of_Luxembourg.svg.png


I don't even think about the flags. Generally speaking if it has sticker I can take off I will, no matter what is on it. I like clean clubs. Kind of strange anyone would even notice or make a comment about a little sticker though.
 
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My driver Head cover, Only a 2nd generation American with Swedish backgrounds. I get alot of comments about it especially in my home town, it being 20% Swedish and Andersons (like me) Everywhere.
 
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rhinogolfer said:
The only question I have is are your friends just giving you a hard time about playing clubs with the flag on it? Or was it funny at one time, and the joke has gotten stale (ok, two questions)? As it has been said by many here on THP, we should play the clubs that are right for our game, whether it's made in the US or made in Luxembourg.
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I don't currently own any clubs with American flags on them. I had a Cameron that happened to have an American flag on it years ago, and it was a weak/stale joke and eventually was taken out of my bag to avoid any further ribbing. It only made me start thinking about it again yesterday when Coughlin showed that fantastic looking Bettinardi with the US flag etched on the bottom of the putter.

I definitely agree about the final sentiment. We absolutely should be playing the be clubs best suited to our game.
 
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johnblah said:
My driver Head cover, Only a 2nd generation American with Swedish backgrounds. I get alot of comments about it especially in my home town, it being 20% Swedish and Andersons (like me) Everywhere.
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That is a sweet looking headcover.. I love the support of your ancestry!
 
I'll use the club with the flag that matches my outfit.
 
I have no problem with the flag of a country where a product was manufactured being on said product.

We laser all of our parts with the US flag in one spot or another. No reason not to be proud, its not like we have an over abundance of US made stuff floating around.

Hell maybe if all Chinese products were required to have a flag perm attached on them instead of a small "made in" sticker, more people might think twice about buying that certain piece of merchandise...

Note, I am not against Chinese products as a whole, just the ones they steal, reverse engineer and manufacture with absolute **** components.
 
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