Rory McIlroy signing with TaylorMade?

emart2173 · May 8, 2017

Very interesting that he went from not signing anything in 2017 to going with TM. I like it and hope it's true. Just another big name to add to the stable and should help the win total for the brand go up. I will be interested to see what he does at the bottom of,the bag with wedges and putter plus the ball.

russtopher · May 8, 2017

Puttin4Bird said:
This does come as a bit of a surprise, but I can't say I'm shocked. Honestly, I just hope that Rory doesn't go into a wicked slump like he did when we moved from Titleist to Nike.

That was my first thought as well. Hopefully this is because their gear truly is the best for his game, not just his wallet.

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Wicked Cool Bearded Man · May 8, 2017

JB said:
The timing makes perfect sense.
Plus if he wins this week, the stories are there for a brand that needs stories right now.

Yup. Could inject them back into the equipment top spot conversation after 2017 has been pretty much all Callaway

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McRock · May 8, 2017

Part of me wonders why companies continue to pursue 'old marketing' techniques. A lot of that goes back to the whole "who moves the needle" kind of conversation. Also, after being here so long, part of me wonders if the average weekend warrior still just buys clubs off the rack because of who they saw on TV hit "the long drive."

~Rock

blugold · May 8, 2017

Good for Rory, if true. I am a little shocked if the contract number is that high from Taylormade. There has to be some creative accounting going on there. I don't know how a company can bleed so much money and then throw it out the door at the same time.

blugold · May 8, 2017

Also, because of this thread, and news really, I went to Taylormade's website and looked at an M2 driver. First time I have bothered to look at the shaft options for that club. So there might be something to this from a business point of view.

fupresti · May 8, 2017

McRock said:
Part of me wonders why companies continue to pursue 'old marketing' techniques. A lot of that goes back to the whole "who moves the needle" kind of conversation. Also, after being here so long, part of me wonders if the average weekend warrior still just buys clubs off the rack because of who they saw on TV hit "the long drive."

~Rock

There are very few players who if they change driver get their own thread on THP and significant coverage online.

I'd say the "old marketing" techniques are working in this instance.

6ixOhFore · May 8, 2017

Guess money talks, I would stay with Callaway being such a powerhouse with great equipment.

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McRock · May 8, 2017

fupresti said:
There are very few players who if they change driver get their own thread on THP and significant coverage online.

I'd say the "old marketing" techniques are working in this instance.

I would counter and say that the average weekend warrior isn't hanging out online looking at reading golf news.

~Rock

JRod · May 8, 2017

Jaysfan said:
Guess money talks, I would stay with Callaway being such a powerhouse with great equipment.

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Of course it does .

The pros can play pretty much anything they want and be good so why not get paid. Even if Rors wants something they don't retail they will make it for him, or have someone else do it.

Look at the callaway irons he was playing .

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McRock · May 8, 2017

fupresti said:
There are very few players who if they change driver get their own thread on THP and significant coverage online.

I'd say the "old marketing" techniques are working in this instance.

I would counter and say that the average weekend warrior isn't hanging out online looking at reading golf news.

~Rock

fupresti · May 8, 2017

McRock said:
I would counter and say that the average weekend warrior isn't hanging out online looking at reading golf news.

~Rock

Yes but I'm pretty sure they have Facebook or Twitter and are likely seeing it in their feeds.

BristolMike · May 8, 2017

Jaysfan said:
Guess money talks, I would stay with Callaway being such a powerhouse with great equipment.

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Just out of interest, would you be saying it's about the money if the switch was going the other way? I know there's a lot of callaway love here and less so with TM, but is it completely out of the question that the TM clubs just perform better for him? He definitely wasn't playing callaway equipment for free before either and he's made the call that he's better off switching. He could have got a big money endorsement with anyone so the fact he's going TM says a lot

tgtt · May 8, 2017

Awesome!

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BristolMike · May 8, 2017

Jaysfan said:
Guess money talks, I would stay with Callaway being such a powerhouse with great equipment.

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Just out of interest, would you be saying it's about the money if the switch was going the other way? I know there's a lot of callaway love here and less so with TM, but is it completely out of the question that the TM clubs just perform better for him? He definitely wasn't playing callaway equipment for free before either and he's made the call that he's better off switching. He could have got a big money endorsement with anyone so the fact he's going TM says a lot

BristolMike · May 8, 2017

fupresti said:
Yes but I'm pretty sure they have Facebook or Twitter and are likely seeing it in their feeds.

It will be hard to miss the driver and inevitable staff bag too with how much coverage he gets

McRock · May 8, 2017

fupresti said:
Yes but I'm pretty sure they have Facebook or Twitter and are likely seeing it in their feeds.

I don't think there's a lot of 45-65 year old people actively using twitter. Facebook maybe, but unless Facebook knows they like golf or Rory or whatever, it isn't making their feed. There's no way for me to know for sure. There are engaged golf fans (watch golf channel, read stories online, twitter, etc), and there are unengaged golfers (play every other weekend, watch the majors but that's about it). We know about it, but how about the rest of the golf masses? How do we know the 'unengaged' golf fan is going to find out about this?

~Rock

ASN21 · May 8, 2017

This is very interesting and I did not see this coming!

fupresti · May 8, 2017

McRock said:
I don't think there's a lot of 45-65 year old people actively using twitter. Facebook maybe, but unless Facebook knows they like golf or Rory or whatever, it isn't making their feed. There's no way for me to know for sure. There are engaged golf fans (watch golf channel, read stories online, twitter, etc), and there are unengaged golfers (play every other weekend, watch the majors but that's about it). We know about it, but how about the rest of the golf masses? How do we know the 'unengaged' golf fan is going to find out about this?

~Rock

If they watch the Players Championship I am willing to bet the over/under on mentions of Rory playing a new driver this week is about 42.

McRock · May 8, 2017

fupresti said:
If they watch the Players Championship I am willing to bet the over/under on mentions of Rory playing a new driver this week is about 42.

Yes, "if." I agree, it will get a lot of mentions this week, for those that are watching.

~Rock

MSB256 · May 8, 2017

McRock said:
I would counter and say that the average weekend warrior isn't hanging out online looking at reading golf news.

~Rock

fupresti said:
Yes but I'm pretty sure they have Facebook or Twitter and are likely seeing it in their feeds.

I think this could lead to an interesting topic.

What are the levels of the common golfer? If THP Level is someone who plays golf, watches golf, on a forum about golf, knows about golf equipment, etc. then what is a weekend warrior? And, if anyone is drop 300 - 400 dollars on an M2, do they watch golf and know who Rory is? If someone plays ever weekend, is it likely that they also watch golf and would recognize Rory is playing a TM driver (if he truly does)?

anthony18_7 · May 8, 2017

BristolMike said:
Just out of interest, would you be saying it's about the money if the switch was going the other way? I know there's a lot of callaway love here and less so with TM, but is it completely out of the question that the TM clubs just perform better for him? He definitely wasn't playing callaway equipment for free before either and he's made the call that he's better off switching. He could have got a big money endorsement with anyone so the fact he's going TM says a lot

I totally agree with this. Obviously my WITB shows my love for Taylormade but that doesn't factor into why I agree with this. A player of Rory McIlroy's caliber and status can basically pick whatever he wants to play with. I'm sure if his preference was Titleist, Callaway, PXG, Ping etc... he would've been able to grab a huge endorsement deal with any of them. He probably found what he liked and approached Taylormade and said, "I like your clubs, how much do you want to pay me?"

fupresti · May 8, 2017

anthony18_7 said:
I totally agree with this. Obviously my WITB shows my love for Taylormade but that doesn't factor into why I agree with this. A player of Rory McIlroy's caliber and status can basically pick whatever he wants to play with. I'm sure if his preference was Titleist, Callaway, PXG, Ping etc... he would've been able to grab a huge endorsement deal with any of them. He probably found what he liked and approached Taylormade and said, "I like your clubs, how much do you want to pay me?"

It's pretty well established that TaylorMade is the only OEM left that offers deals of any significant capacity. If he is looking to cash in and has any confidence TM is the only place to get over on an OEM.

McRock · May 8, 2017

MSB256 said:
I think this could lead to an interesting topic.

What are the levels of the common golfer? If THP Level is someone who plays golf, watches golf, on a forum about golf, knows about golf equipment, etc. then what is a weekend warrior? And, if anyone is drop 300 - 400 dollars on an M2, do they watch golf and know who Rory is? If someone plays ever weekend, is it likely that they also watch golf and would recognize Rory is playing a TM driver (if he truly does)?

I definitely would love to know the statistics of 'golfer engagement.' How many watch golf, how many read golf articles online, how many follow golf on twitter and facebook and other social media. Then, to have the demographics of those categories, and maybe go ahead and find out how much they spend on new equipment every year. It would be fascinating.

~Rock

anthony18_7 · May 8, 2017

MSB256 said:
I think this could lead to an interesting topic.

What are the levels of the common golfer? If THP Level is someone who plays golf, watches golf, on a forum about golf, knows about golf equipment, etc. then what is a weekend warrior? And, if anyone is drop 300 - 400 dollars on an M2, do they watch golf and know who Rory is? If someone plays ever weekend, is it likely that they also watch golf and would recognize Rory is playing a TM driver (if he truly does)?

I would imagine that most weekend warriors know who Rory McIlroy is. Even if they don't watch golf regularly I'm sure they know of him. I do think this is an interesting topic though. There are those of us who play golf, watch golf, think about golf, dream about golf, post on forums about golf etc... and there are those of us who if their buddy calls and wants to play he'll go play but doesn't really put much else into it. Then there is obviously everyone else in between (not counting those who don't play golf at all).