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How has your perception of various OEMs changes since you started playing?

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SouthernShred

SouthernShred

'16 Grandaddy Champ - Team Unity
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I know my perception has changed about several OEMs and their products have changed in almost 30 years. How about you guys? Have some stayed the same?
 
Ping - best clubs -> uptight
Callaway - midlevel clubs -> consumer friendly
Mizuno - boutique -> golf nerds (in a good way)
PXG - overpriced
Cleveland - wedges -> wedges
Srixon - gesundheit -> solid brand
Taylormade - ok -> more marketing than clubs
 
I thought Callaway was the worse thing possible and wanted nothing to do with them.

Then I finally hit them and everything changed.

For the most part though, everything else has stayed similar.
 
Ping: Best putters to now? Zero interest. Haven't looked at a Ping putter in 15-20 years.

Callaway: Quirky. The apple falling ad just seemed quirky to me. Soon after, once I played the Big Berthas with Memphis-10 steel shafts, I was sold. Still viewed them as more for the recreational player. Now though, they're clearly for everyone from pros to regular joes.

Titleist: Hacks need not apply. That was wrong for a long while, probably always. Now I view them as having a little something for everyone.

Taylormade: (cue Scottish accent) "Find your game!" Bubble shafts and copper paint jobs, I thought they were the bomb. Now, just another company that I'd give an opportunity to.

Ram: Quality. Good for Tom Watson, good for me. Now? Who???

Odyssey: Loved the initial black inserts, hated the pivot to "white garbage." Now, accept them as an industry leader but no Oddysey putter has worked for me since their early models.

Bettinardi: Ooooo, purty. Looks like jewelry. Now? Ooooo, purty. Looks like jewelry.

Tour Edge? "What edge?" Then Exotics came along and oo-la-la!!!! "Tour Edge!" Now? They're a'ight.

Cleveland: Once a preferred brand. Wedges, irons, loved their drivers. Then I got away from them. Now? I'll try a wedge here and there but no real interest to pursue more.

Srixon: Early adopter. I played their i506 and i701 irons, loved them. Now? Been interested often just haven't pulled the trigger. Still love the look of their irons, no other offerings have ever inspired me.

Tommy Armour: Great irons. Now? He was a nice fella.

Mizuno: Sleek and shiny goodness. I was on their irons train for years. Even loved one of their drivers, the Mighty Big. Wedges, woods? Never got along. Now? Dig 'em, just not moved to buy.

Wilson: I've always been willing to give W/S a shot, loved my Fat Shafts! The Deep Red was sexy. Now? The Little Train That Could. Keep chuggin', Wilson!!!

Scotty Cameron: Always liked the look, tried enough to know that it didn't matter what I used. I could suck equally with anything. Now? I'm still the same but more willing now to play what I like (almost) regardless of cost.

Cobra: another early adopter. Had the Greg Norman irons, Gravity Back, many drivers and fairway woods but most recent was the ZL Encore. Now? Eh... good stuff, not really moving my meter though.
 
All of the OEMs are overpriced for me. Then PXG offered that killer deal on their Gen 1 clubs through their PXG for Heroes program and I took the plunge.

Even though I am too cheap for the big guys I still wasn’t sure about trying Tour Edge until I saw their HL3 ironwoods. Now half my bag is a combination of their various ironwoods.




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When I first got into golf a decade or so ago I only knew of a few manufacturers:

I thought Titleist and Ping were the best of the best simply because I had heard of them before ever being interested in golf. Now I can’t stand either of the, due to their business practices.

Once I started looking around I developed some opinions about other manufacturers.

I thought Adams was really cool, even though it seemed they mostly appealed to old men. I still think that, and I wish they were still around.

I thought Tour Edge was just a small step above the no name box set stuff. Now I realize they make really underrated stuff at great prices. I’m a huge fan, even if I only own one of their clubs.

My initial assessment of Callaway and TaylorMade was that they were omnipresent in just about every bag I saw at the courses, so I wasn’t really interested in them. I know that’s a but counterintuitive, as you’d figure the popular stuff is good...but I like to stay a bit outside the mainstream. Those opinions haven’t changed.
 
When I started playing growing up, to me, there was only Titleist because of Tiger Woods. It was Titleist, the best clubs, or nothing. Didn’t know nor care to know about other brands.
 
Man, I knew so little I was an open book when I started. Ands honestly, I think that’s a large reason I can stay so even keel in all of my reviews.
 
I've had a few Brand 180s over the past 7 years.
-Used to LOVE Cleveland. Had all 14 Cleveland clubs, Cleveland bag, Cleveland hat etc etc, but when they went down the "longer and lighter" route I just wasn't into it anymore. Nothing against the brand, just never made my way back.
-Used to LOVE Cobra but had such a piss poor customer service experience with them with my old Bio Cells that I'm done. No interest any more.
-Used to think Callaway was a seniors brand (not sure why), now they're my go-to.

I think other than that my opinions have are the same as they've always been.
 
The only thoughts on an OEM that has changed is Wilson/Staff. They were a cheap box set brand to me growing up, now they’re just as good as everyone....iron wise.
 
When I got into golf, I thought that I had to stick with one of the top one or two brands to get the best performing equipment. Now, I know that there are many companies, both big and small, with talented people designing and producing great equipment.
 
The one I miss is daiwa, man I loved those irons in 1984 haha


Almost Fiddy Plus 2
 
Annhl8rX said:
I thought Adams was really cool, even though it seemed they mostly appealed to old men. I still think that, and I wish they were still around.
Click to expand...

Interesting footnote is of course the former Adams President is the CEO of Callaway. And their former head of R&D is Michael Vrska who is also now with Callaway after being with Wilson and then THP.
 
JB said:
Interesting footnote is of course the former Adams President is the CEO of Callaway. And their former head of R&D is Michael Vrska who is also now with Callaway after being with Wilson and then THP.
Click to expand...

Well that’s pretty cool. Adams obviously had some talent working for them.
 
A lot more than perception of OEMs has changed.

OEMs have changed a ton since I began playing.

MacGregor, Spalding, and Wilson--all manufacturers of sporting goods in general rather than just golf clubs--were the BIG THREE when I started playing.
Now MacGregor and Spalding have left golf and Wilson has gone from a huge major to a much lesser player.

Mizuno is probably the closest thing to that now.

H&B PowerBilt, First Flight, Burke, Dunlop, Wright & Ditson, Kroydon, PGA (as a brand name), the original Hogan, Titleist, and others were all major competitors right behind the big three. Titleist is still doing well, there's a new Hogan, but where are the others?

I saw companies like Ram and Lynx and later Adams get huge and then disappear.

I saw companies like Ping, Callaway, Cobra, and TaylorMade arrive and they're still going strong for now.

Perhaps one of the saddest losses is the old Kenneth-Smith boutique company because their custom clubs were really nice.

Anyway, yes perceptions have changed with regard to clubmakers...but a lot more than perception has changed as well.
 
I never had a Titleist club till 2 years ago. I was under the impression they were for good players only. I now have an entire bag and I just love playing golf with their stuff. I was a long time Callaway wood and Mizuno or Ping iron guy before then.
 
I didn't play Titleist golf balls when they were a choice of balata-covered wound or surlyn-covered wound. They sold their non-wound balls under the secondary Pinnacle name. I just stuck to the original Top Flite (back when it was made by Spalding). I could always club myself well with the consistent if hard Top Flite.

Now that wound balls are gone and we have urethane covers, I only play the Pro V1x for the most part. It's just a good ball; every one plays the same. If it doesn't, it's me, not the ball.
 
I have been playing since the mid 80s, so totally new landscape now.

I will say, in the past few years, since I joined THP, it’sdefinitely opened my eyes to some brands I previously would have overlooked. Cobra, Cleveland, and Ben Hogan in particular.
 
When I started playing it was this (Mid 2000's)

Taylormade: Good across the board for Woods and Irons. Ball was competitive, but not the best. No putters.
Callaway: Drivers and Woods. Irons were meh.
Odyssey: The putter you used if you wanted a mallet.
Mizuno: Blades for Golf pros
Titleist: The clubs I aspire to play. Everything was top notch and what the better players at my club played. Beautiful blades.
Ping: Irons for the rest of us. Putters for the rest of us.
Cleveland: Wedges for the majority of players.
Cobra: Cheaper products for Titleist.

When I came back I wanted Callaway Driver, Taylormade Fairways, Ping Irons, and an Odyssey putter. Needless to say I have a different view on companies now.
 
I never gravitated towards any one OEM in particular when I started playing, it was just something to do and was fun. When I got more serious into the game then I started playing Callaway clubs, migrated to Taylormade and Srixon. Cleveland wedges found their way in and are great. I have went back to Callaway and will stay with them for quite some time.
 
I was a huge Taylor Made guy when I started buying "real clubs".

Now? Haven't had TM gear in my bag since I let go of my Burner 2.0 irons years ago. Don't even know if I have tried anything from them since.
Just not a fan of the products that they put out a lot of years in a row. Stuff that seemed gimmicky, rushed, no real advances. But that was just my thinking.
 
I guess my opinions have changed a little. When I started 30’years ago, Wilson were a much bigger brand. I played their gear for a while. I loved my red and white replica of Faldo’s bag. Now, rightly or wrong, I wouldn’t look twice at their gear. I always saw TM as a woods company. Didn’t give their irons a second look for years. Now I’m playing TM P790’s and they are the best irons I’ve ever used by a considerable margin.


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Almost 30 years ago I didn’t pay too much attention to equipment... no sense in drooling over clubs that I could never afford. All I had was golf magazine to give me reviews on equipment.

Now there’s the internet and THP. I know a lot more about equipment than I did and can appreciate lesser known brands.
 
When I started playing I wanted to have brand preferences mostly to feel like I had some golf knowledge. I didn’t know much at all. As I look back I would say my brand preferences are developing little by little as I gan experience and a bit more knowledge. But this is still a work in progress. Overall, among the top dozen or so brands I see differences but have equal respect for their equipment. I don’t know much at all about smaller and emerging brands but remain very open to them.
 
I think most of the major OEM make quality products. To me it about personal preference to what each person likes. Customer service is what can separate company’s in my book.
 
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