Is Cobra Redefining Iron Price?

[PKorf]

The million dollar question is does price make a golfer stand up and pay attention? It never has before, right?

Id agree it hasnt done so yet. But then again, prices havent seemed to skyrocketed like they have over the last couple years ever before either. At some point, the golfer who is educated will either buy less often and keep old tech cause it works great (like a nice used car). Or, they will not buy as much shiny and sparkly every year if the prices keep going up and up and up and up and up. They will pick and choose.

As a comparison, I wonder how much the price of hard goods has went up on average vs the price to actually play a round of golf. I dont know or have the resources to know the answer to that question but id find it fascinating data. I may be dead wrong.

 

[tahoebum]

Cobra/Puma has done a great job the last decade and a big part of that is Fowler, IMO. I love their equipment and played a couple of their drivers before I got my Epic SZ. It will be interesting to see how the pricing shakes out in the industry. Drivers have gone up significantly in the last few years and now we have Callaway with a $2,400 set of irons. I think Cobra is wise for offering similar tech for a lot less. A lot of golfers are willing to pay more for a brand they love but it's too early to tell if very many iron sets are going to get sold in that $2,000+ price range. Not long ago, most golfers I know were shocked that PXG wanted $3,000 for a set of irons.

 

[obedt]

Im asking genuinely, because the top 3 selling drivers off course are $529, $549 and $499.
What is interesting though is the top selling irons off course are both under $1000.

Off topic, but I wonder if this responds to a (non-internet golfer) demand for performance, primarily distance and forgiveness. In terms of irons the m6 sells well. The Rogue sold super well. The HB line sells. The F line sells. The Hot Metal sells. Forgiving, long designs.

For drivers, honestly nothing is as long and forgiving as the regular Epic Flash. Would be willing to bet the M6, G410 and F9 are near the top in sales behind it.

 

[KEV]

Yes, right now off course Cobra is ahead of Titleist in iron sales, and by quite a bit. Combined on and off, I would say that it gets closer though.

That is extremely surprising to me, I never would have guessed that.

I love that Cobra is coming in at these price points. It proves that a quality club can be sold at a decent price. The challenge will still be getting people to look at the product but once they capture the consumers attention the price is a huge advantage.

 

[billyh]

How many tour staff does Cobra have? Same with teaching pro’s that get stuff for free or even internet hot shots (think Rick Shields or Mark Crossfirld) with some sort od deal. All that isn’t cheap and adds up pretty quick and I bet prices dictate expenditures.

 

[dthrog00]

$899 irons plus tax is still coming out at close to $1,000. That's a lot of money for golf clubs and I don't think many people will spend the cash without being in love with the irons. I seriously doubt many people are spending $1,000 on irons because "it's a great deal".

Dave

 

[Molten]

God this thread has great information, well done @Canadan. I’m not sold the price will move the needle on its own but it will give an advantage when things are the same and there are several good, similar options so that advantage could be lucrative.

 

[Gyro25]

I hope so. With all clubs climbing up in price all it will take is fair share of the market to stay lower, gain some traction, then competitors hopefully come back down a little (or at least stay put vs climb)

 

[DonJuan]

Someone's gotta do it. At the rate things are going, golf is going to price me out of the game.

 

[SquirrelyDave]

$899 irons plus tax is still coming out at close to $1,000. That's a lot of money for golf clubs and I don't think many people will spend the cash without being in love with the irons. I seriously doubt many people are spending $1,000 on irons because "it's a great deal".

Dave

You’re not wrong. An educated golfer can find great sticks fora good bit less, by buying used, or buying Tour Edge.

When you compare that price to Titleist or Callaway or Taylor Made though, all of the sudden Cobras prices look a lot better, especially for a well known brand.

 

[Molten]

You’re not wrong. An educated golfer can find great sticks fora good bit less, by buying used, or buying Tour Edge.

When you compare that price to Titleist or Callaway or Taylor Made though, all of the sudden Cobras prices look a lot better, especially for a well known brand.

Agreed completely. There is a lot to like about Cobra right now

 

[tahoebum]

Im asking genuinely, because the top 3 selling drivers off course are $529, $549 and $499.
What is interesting though is the top selling irons off course are both under $1000.

It’s harder for most of us to stomach the high price with irons because our ego’s are happy to pay for the glory of hitting the long ball, lol. It was a little strange to order my Epic Forged 4-iron a couple days ago for $240. More than I paid for a slightly used Epic SZ from CPO.

 

[annsguy]

Slightly off subject but does the tariff issue with China have a bearing on club pricing going forward. I know it will with golf shoes but not sure on clubs or components coming from there.

 

[Canadan]

Someone's gotta do it. At the rate things are going, golf is going to price me out of the game.

Will it though? buying last years gear can get crazy cheap. I just bought barely-out-of-line irons that were spotless for 450. Well over 1,000 MSRP.

For those chasing latest and greatest, I'm sure the market has the potential to shrink as prices go up, but I still think golf is VERY affordable with a bit of patience and common sense.

 

[KEV]

Will it though? buying last years gear can get crazy cheap. I just bought barely-out-of-line irons that were spotless for 450. Well over 1,000 MSRP.

For those chasing latest and greatest, I'm sure the market has the potential to shrink as prices go up, but I still think golf is VERY affordable with a bit of patience and common sense.

I've been talking to friends lately about this. It's getting to the point that about the only clubs I'll be able to or willing to purchase will be used due to prices going up. However if I do look for something new a price point like this is going to get my attention much more than many of the other options out there.

 

[Canadan]

I've been talking to friends lately about this. It's getting to the point that about the only clubs I'll be able to or willing to purchase will be used due to prices going up. However if I do look for something new a price point like this is going to get my attention much more than many of the other options out there.

I'll add in the 50% trade in programs as well. Callaway as an example offers monster prices on some stuff to keep you in their product and i dig that a lot.

 

[KEV]

I'll add in the 50% trade in programs as well. Callaway as an example offers monster prices on some stuff to keep you in their product and i dig that a lot.

That's a great point. It makes it way more manageable to upgrade when the time comes.

 

[Badger_Golfer]

Im hoping that its a trend that continues because club prices are getting to the point where most people cant afford to buy new clubs anymore. When you have to finance something like golf clubs, something is wrong.
IMO, theres no reason why golf clubs should be as expensive as they are and its nothing more than greed.

 

[DonJuan]

Will it though? buying last years gear can get crazy cheap. I just bought barely-out-of-line irons that were spotless for 450. Well over 1,000 MSRP.

For those chasing latest and greatest, I'm sure the market has the potential to shrink as prices go up, but I still think golf is VERY affordable with a bit of patience and common sense.

For me, yes. I normally have to buy two seasons behind. I'm currently playing F8s. I wouldn't spend $450 on a set of irons (and honestly it would be a waste considering the state of my game).

 

[donny475]

I like what they are doing. I believe that the equipment is what is pricing out so many from being able to outfit themselves with good decent producing stuff. I understand development and paying for engineering and all, especially working on the manufacturing world for as long as i did. But equipment has gotten crazy expensive. or maybe i am just old enough to remember when i could buy a quality set of irons for 500 dollars....

 

[donny475]

Of course i remember paying a grand for a set of 690 MB's in the late 90's too

 

[Canadan]

For me, yes. I normally have to buy two seasons behind. I'm currently playing F8s. I wouldn't spend $450 on a set of irons (and honestly it would be a waste considering the state of my game).

The nice thing about it, is how much slower golf clubs drop in price (especially irons) after year one. It's not like I'd struggle to get 350 out of my irons in a year, so basically I play them for a year for 100 bucks, which is golden in my books.

 

[DonJuan]

The nice thing about it, is how much slower golf clubs drop in price (especially irons) after year one. It's not like I'd struggle to get 350 out of my irons in a year, so basically I play them for a year for 100 bucks, which is golden in my books.

That's definitely true. I sell golf stuff to upgrade to newer stuff. Sold some clubs last week.

Sent from my SM-T820 using Tapatalk

 

[Canadan]

That's definitely true. I sell golf stuff to upgrade to newer stuff. Sold some clubs last week.

It's half the fun!!

 

[zbeekner4]

To answer the OPs question, no I don’t think Cobra is redefining iron price. They’re creating irons for a market of golfers who aren’t going to spend more than x amount of dollars on new clubs. We’ve already seen that there’s a demand for just about any priced club, Cobra is just tapping into a certain segment of golfers....and maybe grabbing a few others while they’re at it