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Is ping the "hot" oem in 2018?

Grand Stranded

Grand Stranded

Keep grinding… you never know
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Down here in Myrtle Beach, we get golfers from all over the world, and the locals are very golf savvy. Callaway and Taylormade have always been very popular, and Ping seemed to be a distant but solid third when it came to sales, and the eye test when looking in bags at the very crowded bag drops around here. Things seem to be changing over the last few months however with the latest releases. "twist face" seems like it just isn't resonating with people in the fitting cages, and their iron line has no buzz whatsoever. Callaway seems primed for a letdown, following the boom they had with the Epic driver and 2015, 17 irons. The Rogue drivers don't seem to impress many Epic owners. The fairways seem like they will be a hit thanks to the "jail break" mystique. The hybrids, at their price point seem to be a big miss. the iron sales should be solid, especially when the new Apex are released. ThePING G400 lineup, however has caught a bit of a wave, building steam from six months ago with the g400 drivers and irons. Now with the 400 Max and G700 releases, the momentum seems to be building. The Max driver seems to be the hottest seller right now, at least locally Is anyone else noticing that PING seems to be the "Hot OEM" in 2018? Or is it just a "local" phenomenon?
 
SC LEFTY said:
Down here in Myrtle Beach, we get golfers from all over the world, and the locals are very golf savvy. Callaway and Taylormade have always been very popular, and Ping seemed to be a distant but solid third when it came to sales, and the eye test when looking in bags at the very crowded bag drops around here. Things seem to be changing over the last few months however with the latest releases. "twist face" seems like it just isn't resonating with people in the fitting cages, and their iron line has no buzz whatsoever. Callaway seems primed for a letdown, following the boom they had with the Epic driver and 2015, 17 irons. The Rogue drivers don't seem to impress many Epic owners. The fairways seem like they will be a hit thanks to the "jail break" mystique. The hybrids, at their price point seem to be a big miss. the iron sales should be solid, especially when the new Apex are released. ThePING G400 lineup, however has caught a bit of a wave, building steam from six months ago with the g400 drivers and irons. Now with the 400 Max and G700 releases, the momentum seems to be building. The Max driver seems to be the hottest seller right now, at least locally Is anyone else noticing that PING seems to be the "Hot OEM" in 2018? Or is it just a "local" phenomenon?
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I just think thethe Ping G400 and Max have been a hot topic and it's helped get things moving in a positive manner for them... Backed up with some positivity from the I200 line. I think Taylormade, Callaway and others are certainly still right there and probably ahead, but PING has a nice start for themselves in 2018.

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Nope. And I like the G400.
 
ping hasn’t been “hot” in a long time imho. g400 is a fantastic driver, but you don’t see many in play. it’s tm and cally, maybe a few titleist.


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Ping? No. Theres nothing hot about Ping, I often wonder how they actually manage to stay in business.
 
I went to buy a hybrid yesterday. Really liked the G400 and hit it well. The M3 I didn’t like at all. I kept hitting bottom shots on it. I eventually went with the Titleist 818 H2. I think Ping’s are great clubs, but there is no excitement about them. The prevailing attitude is kind of ‘Oh it’s just a Ping’.
 
I think you have to remember that for the rest of the country golf season hasn't even started yet. Also Callaway and TM just released their new product lines and 99% of golfers haven't even seen or touched the products yet. My guess is come summer time you'll see a lot of new Callaway and TM clubs. Ping released their line some months back like you noted so I think that may account for the differences you're currently seeing.
 
I think they’ve definitely built themselves a bit of momentum after some floundering the last few years. In terms of sales at Carl’s golfland, which I think is a pretty decent barometer for the market, Carly and TM are always number one, followed by Ping, then titleist. Acushnet obviously has massive sales numbers with footjoy in there, but I like where ping is in terms of their sales.


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I think all of these manufacturers are going crazy with their pricing on these SGI sets given their target market. $1300 for a set of Women's G700 irons? Are there really that many women (or husbands) that will put out that kind of money for a set of irons? Big Bertha OS irons at $1400/set? Epic Star irons for $2400, even the ones for women?
 
c.a.eleric said:
ping hasn’t been “hot” in a long time imho. g400 is a fantastic driver, but you don’t see many in play. it’s tm and cally, maybe a few titleist.


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I see a lot of G400 head covers in bags at events I play in. Ping is a quality oem with strong customer service and support of our military.
 
PING to me is more "steady" than "hot". You'll always see a decent amount of PING bags, and people tend to be pretty loyal to the brand.
 
I realize Taylormade and Callaway are both the established sales leaders in the golf industry. I just think PING seems to have the hot lineup for 2018 compared to others. The i series irons, G irons, G400 and Max drivers, woods and hybrids seem solid, even the Stealth wedges look great. The only part of their lineup which seems to lack shelf appeal and or interest is their putters. This surprises me, because putters always came to mind first when I thought of PING products.
 
I'm probably completely off on this but it seems like Ping and Titleist are very similar in that they have a dedicated group of players that rarely stray from their equipment, Ping especially. It's not very often I hear people talk about Ping product or see new Ping Equipment in people's bags unless they are a hardcore follower.
 
I tend to agree with an earlier comment. Ping is hotish right now because their line up is out whereas Callaway and TMs lineup are just now coming to market. The g400 line has been out for awhile, it’s a great lineup so people have been picking them up. In a few months I think the swing back to Callaway and TM will begin.
 
I think that PING is primed for a year. I think there might be something to this


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Phil75070 said:
I think all of these manufacturers are going crazy with their pricing on these SGI sets given their target market. $1300 for a set of Women's G700 irons? Are there really that many women (or husbands) that will put out that kind of money for a set of irons? Big Bertha OS irons at $1400/set? Epic Star irons for $2400, even the ones for women?
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This is an elephant in the room, I believe. The OEMs explain these absurdly priced products as a "niche' part of their lineup. However, they seem to be using the higher priced segment to allow them to raise prices on everything else. I'm going to use Callaway to explain, because their clubs are the ones I play, and the company is the one I'm most familiar with. Example: "The Rogue iron lineup is a bargain compared to the epic irons." Problem is they increased the price over what the Steelhead irons cost, and that is what they replaced. Also, the pricing of the Rogue woods are ridiculous to me. Less adjustability in the driver compared to Epic, the fairways have jailbreak (which we were told last year would not help in fairway woods), and the hybrids at $250 are a joke, as far as pricing compared to the SH's they replaced.
 
I'll side with the OP on this one, but only for drivers. If I had to order of the popularity of drivers with the guys I play with, it would be:
1. Ping
2. Titleist
3. Taylormade
4. Callaway
5. Everything else
 
SC LEFTY said:
I realize Taylormade and Callaway are both the established sales leaders in the golf industry. I just think PING seems to have the hot lineup for 2018 compared to others. The i series irons, G irons, G400 and Max drivers, woods and hybrids seem solid, even the Stealth wedges look great. The only part of their lineup which seems to lack shelf appeal and or interest is their putters. This surprises me, because putters always came to mind first when I thought of PING products.
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I think Ping is going to continue to do some great things with equipment. If they were going to move up in marketshare, first it would take a lot, but second, they would have done it in the last 3 months with their new product vs the companies in front of them not having new products out.

You will continue to see Ping as a solid company in many bags, like you will Titleist (they are close in market share) firmly in the 3 and 4 spot. Perception is sometimes shielded by geography and demographic where it plays such a huge role.
 
SC LEFTY said:
This is an elephant in the room, I believe. The OEMs explain these absurdly priced products as a "niche' part of their lineup. However, they seem to be using the higher priced segment to allow them to raise prices on everything else. I'm going to use Callaway to explain, because their clubs are the ones I play, and the company is the one I'm most familiar with. Example: "The Rogue iron lineup is a bargain compared to the epic irons." Problem is they increased the price over what the Steelhead irons cost, and that is what they replaced. Also, the pricing of the Rogue woods are ridiculous to me. Less adjustability in the driver compared to Epic, the fairways have jailbreak (which we were told last year would not help in fairway woods), and the hybrids at $250 are a joke, as far as pricing compared to the SH's they replaced.
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This part is not really true. It was more about needing time to figure out a way to make it work/fit in such a small head which they did a year later and with very good results if you haven't tried them yet.

I think Ping has a really good driver in the G400 however I don't think they are going to top Callaway as the hot OEM but I do think they will have a good year
 
Lions81 said:
This part is not really true. It was more about needing time to figure out a way to make it work/fit in such a small head which they did a year later and with very good results if you haven't tried them yet.

I think Ping has a really good driver in the G400 however I don't think they are going to top Callaway as the hot OEM but I do think they will have a good year
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Sorry, but I don't buy that. Same way I'd be shocked if the sliding weight isn't back on next years drivers. But please understand, I hate that this sounds like I' picking on Callaway. They all do it. Every year. Think TM and face slots, weighting systems, etc.
 
SC LEFTY said:
Sorry, but I don't buy that. Same way I'd be shocked if the sliding weight isn't back on next years drivers. But please understand, I hate that this sounds like I' picking on Callaway. They all do it. Every year. Think TM and face slots, weighting systems, etc.
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Fair enough, to each his own, I know you aren't singling out Callaway, and discussion is good. From my own testing of the Epic FW against the Rogue FW, the jailbreak makes a difference, at least for me and my swing. Similarly, Callaway didn't say the sliding weight didn't matter etc, they offered the Rogue with less adjustability while keeping the epic. I would agree I think the next Epic line probably continues to have adjustability/sliding weight.
 
Ping will never be the "hot" brand, for one they will never ever market themselves the way that #1 and #2 do, and imo, that's a good thing.

What ping will always do is have a continuous following and consistency.

I'm an avid fan, but, I know they'll never be a Callaway and I'm thankful for that as it would be the Ping I grew up enjoying.
 
I almost think the std G400 release was a new approach for Ping to help gain moment and awe for the even more forgiving MAX. I think the driver sales help push sales of the other sticks in the bag. I've gamed Ping drivers for a number of years now and rarely hit anything better.

I'm not sure Ping is the "Hot" OEM right now, but I certainly think their MAX driver is well timed and their tour guys are playing well.
 
I used to be a Ping loyalist, so much in fact that a number of my golf shirts are Ping Tour Logo and probably 1/3 of my golf hats have the Ping name on them. The problem I had with Ping back then, and I don't know if it holds true today, was the fact that I was looking to get into the next generation of irons but when testing them against my then current set there was zero, zero improvement in either distance or dispersion. IIRC, I was looking at going from i15s to i20s. Maybe one has to skip a generation or two to see major differences in distance or dispersion improvement with Ping? Is Ping not innovative enough or too conservative?
 
DNice26 said:
I almost think the std G400 release was a new approach for Ping to help gain moment and awe for the even more forgiving MAX. I think the driver sales help push sales of the other sticks in the bag. I've gamed Ping drivers for a number of years now and rarely hit anything better.

I'm not sure Ping is the "Hot" OEM right now, but I certainly think their MAX driver is well timed and their tour guys are playing well.
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Here is why I have a new found respect for PING. They came out with the G400 driver, which I think we'd all agree, is a solid choice. Six months later, they come out with the 400 Max. For the first time, they are getting push back from people about their "release cycle". We read about people who bought the G400 being upset about buying without the option of trying the Max. I, on the other hand, applaud them for keeping the Max at the same $399 price as the G400 version. I think most of the other OEM's would have released the Max as a "premium" version, and slapped a $450-500 price tag on it.
 
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