1st Place, Callaway
close 2nd, tie between Ping and Cobra
close 2nd, tie between Ping and Cobra
Which OEM "won" 2019?
If we had a Most Improved Category I'd give the award to Tour Edge/Exotics. Seems like they found a niche in volume products under TE and Performance with Exotics. Their street cred went up in MHO.
Thornton Melon
Active member
I think it has to be Cobra. Going into the year they weren't in the mainstream of competing with the big boys. Now their stuff is on par. Ignoring the actual equipment performance, just looking at placement in stores, their stuff is in the conversation with everyone else, which it wasn't in past years at least to my amateur eye.
jjfcpa
Active member
Callaway does one thing better than all the rest. No matter what level of golfer you are, they can fit you into something that will work for you. And not just fit you, but micro fit you because they have different levels of gear that will match your skill level. They also fit senior golfers, myself included, much better than the other OEM's and with 10,000 seniors signing up for Medicare every day, that's a really important part of the golfing demographics.
Thanks Callaway for delivering products that allow me to continue to play golf as I enter my senior years.
Thanks Callaway for delivering products that allow me to continue to play golf as I enter my senior years.
This was a very competitive year with most OEMs making leaps in technology and doing a great job creating buzz. Callaway created some fantastic buzz for sure and their equipment seemed to get a ton of praise. Would be hard to argue against them. Mizuno is building some momentum as well and I would think they took a step forward this year. If we are looking at percentage gains year over year - they may have taken a bigger step than some of the others. Ping made huge gains last year and I didn't see them give any ground back. Cobra - they have maybe made the biggest gain in my personal psyche this year. 
Taylormade is solid from top to bottom as always, but they seem to be in the process of rinse and repeat that may need a fresh approach, IMO.
Taylormade is solid from top to bottom as always, but they seem to be in the process of rinse and repeat that may need a fresh approach, IMO.
BlkNGld
Active member
Who wins depends on the rules of the game.
I'm sure Callaway will finish #1 in clubs among all the OEMs. But IIRC overall Acushnet probably is larger (JB can probably confirm that).
If I'm an OEM that made some big leap in market share or profit, I probably feel like I won.
I'm sure Callaway will finish #1 in clubs among all the OEMs. But IIRC overall Acushnet probably is larger (JB can probably confirm that).
If I'm an OEM that made some big leap in market share or profit, I probably feel like I won.
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How do you feel Titleist did with their entirely new line that has been released the last 14 months? I think they botched the driver release by not dropping all 4 TS drivers at one time, but I think having all 4 of them makes it clear they want to have a club for every golfer.
I am 1000% biased, but based on what the sold, and my own personal experience it has to be Callaway.
Personally I also think Cobra and Mizuno took big leaps this year. My brother that has never played a Cobra club to my knowledge & has the F9 driver and 3W in his bag, and I can't remember ever seeing a Mizuno driver get the buzz that the ST190 and ST190G got this year.
Personally I also think Cobra and Mizuno took big leaps this year. My brother that has never played a Cobra club to my knowledge & has the F9 driver and 3W in his bag, and I can't remember ever seeing a Mizuno driver get the buzz that the ST190 and ST190G got this year.
I concur with many of the other posts. It depends on the definition of “winner.” If we are talking in relative terms, what company had a release that advanced it the most in terms of its size, market share and consumer expectation, I think Cobra was a winner, with the F9 and “Speedback” concept. In absolute terms, Callaway probably was a winner. I think there can be more than one winner.
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- #60
i'm with you. i've hit the last few iterations of mizuno irons, and have been pretty disappointed in feel and performance. i know some of that is personal preference.
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- #61
pretty much exactly why i started this thread. the cobra momentum is undeniable, though i don't know whether that translated into sales. but then you look at everything callaway released this year and how good it all is, and i felt like they were both winners though in different ways.
I think the inclusion of the TS1 driver was a big move forward for titleist in terms of reaching out to a specific market they previously hadn’t served directly.
I’d vote overall Callaway starting with the Epic Flash (#1 winner on pro tours worldwide I heard), woods Callaway (even Henrick Stenson switched to the Flash), irons (Apex big winner across multiple categories although strong competition) and putters (Odyssey- big hit with Stroke Lab).
The only area I didn’t give them the win was in wedge category as my guess is that Titleist continued their lead with SM7 model. I consider the new Callaway Jaws a 2020 release as was a late introduction in 2019. 2020 will be interesting as the Jaws wedge is getting a lot of attention.
The only area I didn’t give them the win was in wedge category as my guess is that Titleist continued their lead with SM7 model. I consider the new Callaway Jaws a 2020 release as was a late introduction in 2019. 2020 will be interesting as the Jaws wedge is getting a lot of attention.
SlightDraw
Well-known member
Callaway seems to continue to "win" big here in 2019
I'm going to ask a question for honest feedback and not to cause conflict:
do you think that's due to product and it's performance solely or does their interaction here and on social media boost the choices being posted? I ask because as it's been posted earlier, sales numbers for Callaway equipment and the accolades that results from those numbers are impressive.
r80rew
Well-known member
Never considered Callaway until I hit the Apex19, They are legit ?.
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- #67
I cant help with who wins with golfers, other than THPers, but I can with sales from my info at least.
Largest gains year over year appear to be Cobra and Mizuno.
Callaway has been steady and remains number 1.
There are companies that are down a bit. Ping is down a bit. Titleist is down a bit. TaylorMade slightly.
SlightDraw
Well-known member
I don't think Callaway is in the spot they are in currently without completely owning the marketing and social media market.
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- #70
They are done in month over month and year over year.
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- #72
I wasn't speaking only of metal woods. Generally speaking yes they do decline in year 2, but they released irons this year.
True, for some reason I think metal woods having a higher turnover rate than irons so thus would have a bigger impact than iron sales. Unlike us not jobs who change them multiple times a year, I would think people play irons for a few years. Although iron purchases are higher dollar amounts so maybe that is why it is a wash, but I really know next to nothing.
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- #74
I think you are fairly accurate there. Although companies like Mizuno who sell very few metal woods probably think the opposite.
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I'm not trying to sound like a Callaway homer but I really think they won. The woods with use of Artificial Intelligence was a huge advancement and marketing opportunity. The Apex and Apex Pro seem like they may have been the one of the most popular iron releases since the last Apex release. Putters it seems like Odyssey is always at the top. I think they had one of the strongest releases ever this year.