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What Happened To The Dominance Of TaylorMade Golf?

SuperStroke
blugold said:
Of course they blamed Taylormade. Do you expect Dick's to say, "We ordered too many of a driver and couldn't sell it, so we lost so much money we had to fire all of our PGA Professionals." Dick's bought that quantity to get discounts on their orders. Taylormade didn't hold a Beretta to their head and make them order too many clubs. Dick's did that. Granted, the club that is the poster child of how/why this failed was the Jetspeed, but that doesn't takeaway from the fact that Taylormade said, "to get this discount you need to buy eleventy billion drivers." And Dick's agreed to it. That's a Dick's problem.
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This argument is based on the contracts DSG and other companies signed, but we don't know what they were offered.

Two years ago, somewhere between a third and a half of the metalwoods market share was TaylorMade. They leveraged that reality into some pretty aggressive contracts, saying in essence that not agreeing to their terms is throwing a third of their metalwood sales out the window, which was probably true two summers ago. I agree that Dick's signing that contract is their problem. TM not recanting, not helping out stuck retailers with tons of bargain bin inventory, pushing variants of the same driver on retailers, that's a TaylorMade problem, IMO. It's not the inventory, it's not the contracts, the hubris and relationships between TM and retailers is the underlying problem, as I see it.
 
Tadashi70 said:
The first thing I do is offer Harry Arnett a boat load of money and then I sit back and allow him to do what he does. I go out and hire the best shaft guys I know and some Natrix from Nike.

You have to spend money if you want to make money.

I would get my gear in the hands of the consumer through a VIP program or Friends of the program plan. Build a following again and let my fans spread the word.

I'd grab Jordan, Rickie and Rory. Dump the current tour staff and really chase the younger crowd.
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Hiring Harry would not only help TM but hurt Callaway and shake up the golf industry for sure.
 
First as the CEO you have actually believe in the product you are putting out. I for one actually do like Taylormade gear as my bag suggests.

1. When you are successful the people who got you there become very valuable and tend to leave for more money. I would go on a talent hiring spree. We need the best and brightest designing and selling my gear.

2. Scale the production way back, this will hurt in the short term as we are used shipping truck load of product, but it may also have the affect of limited availability. See the Z irons for a good example of this, very hard to find and order those from my experience as they are back ordered.

3. Need to grab that one tour pro to set you over the egde in terms of tour presence. DJ is doing well, but have a Fowler or Speith using your sticks, you wont keep the stuff on the shelves.

The boat is in need of repair, repairing things is never free and usually costs a lot money as in some way something was neglected. Get out there spend some money (wisely) and lets get back to the top.
 
blugold said:
Here's what's wrong with what Taylormade has done in the past, flood the market with releases and make people feel like they have to have the newest driver, it's not working. What Callaway is doing now, multiple releases, but limited inventory for quick turn on product, is working.

I have no issues with multiple releases. Shiny toys are fun. But something has to change from Taylormade's perspective. What they are doing now isn't working. Something has to be changed, for a company to lose almost a $1,000,000,000 dollars, coupled with diminishing marketshare, in one year is staggering. With that in perspective, how can anybody make a defense for Taylormade's current business model?
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I don't disagree with you. I was just curious because I see that statement a lot and rarely see an explanation.

I think one thing to consider is not what Taylormade is doing wrong, but the possibility that other companies have just caught up to them and are doing what they used to do, only they are doing it better? I think Taylormade got fat and lazy and didn't give much credence to the "war" that Callaway waged on them. As a result, they put out some average products while the competitors were hustling to take over as king of the mountain.
 
I think as a leader they simply stopped leading, some of the latest release cycles seem to just be thrown together from a marketing, design, technology perspective and they certainly haven't been nearly as good as past years product cycles. I just bought an R15 TP for over $400 a little over a month ago, yesterday at GS the trade in value was under $175. They diminished their own brand integrity by quick cycle releases and underwhelming advertisement.


I would find out from the folks whom were there for the rise of an empire what went wrong and how do we right the ship, I would also be done with sub par designs and materials that cause too many consumers to question the validity of a product.

I like the multi brand approach but would truly identify the market for each brand and base my marketing dollars on each brands ability to tough it's market with TM being the leader and marketed as such. There's too much minutia right now and everything seems jumbled without clear plan or vision.
 
At least to me Taylor-Made was always
overrated
overhyped
oversold
sooner or later it was going to catch up with them......
 
I would copy Callaway's success in going backwards to clubs like Bertha etc. I think if TM would clear their inventory and go back a few years to the R9 line, paint their drivers black again and limit production then go with similar technology to the R9. It was simple and the weights are something many like to work/play with. You might add a few loft adjustment options but keep it simple to the average golfer and adjust the price for the masses.
 
Ole Gray said:
I would copy Callaway's success in going backwards to clubs like Bertha etc. I think if TM would clear their inventory and go back a few years to the R9 line, paint their drivers black again and limit production then go with similar technology to the R9. It was simple and the weights are something many like to work/play with. You might add a few loft adjustment options but keep it simple to the average golfer and adjust the price for the masses.
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Didnt they do this very thing with AeroBurner? They brought back the Burner line, made it simple, etc?
 
jfpga said:
At least to me Taylor-Made was always
overrated
overhyped
oversold
sooner or later it was going to catch up with them......
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This isnt the thread of point fingers or rehash their short comings, how would you change it?
 
JB said:
Didnt they do this very thing with AeroBurner? They brought back the Burner line, made it simple, etc?
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True and I'll be surprised if the Aero is not part of their success to right the ship. Now bring back the R9! Hell call it R9ish or something similar but bring er back. :thumb:
 
Trout Bum said:
I think as a leader they simply stopped leading, some of the latest release cycles seem to just be thrown together from a marketing, design, technology perspective and they certainly haven't been nearly as good as past years product cycles. I just bought an R15 TP for over $400 a little over a month ago, yesterday at GS the trade in value was under $175. They diminished their own brand integrity by quick cycle releases and underwhelming advertisement.


I would find out from the folks whom were there for the rise of an empire what went wrong and how do we right the ship, I would also be done with sub par designs and materials that cause too many consumers to question the validity of a product.

I like the multi brand approach but would truly identify the market for each brand and base my marketing dollars on each brands ability to tough it's market with TM being the leader and marketed as such. There's too much minutia right now and everything seems jumbled without clear plan or vision.
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If you take our R15 TP from that first paragraph and replace it with Callaway BBA DBD it would be just as true. Clubs losing resale is a golf industry thing. Not a taylormade thing. Very few things in golf hold their value. Drivers sure as hell aren't one of them
 
Very good article. 12 months is not a lot of time especially since the next release is about to come out. Some things i can think of would be:

Find a good marketing team and not all of them have to come from the golf industry but at lease have some decent golf exposure.

Then do a consumer outreach. Send a survey to the mailing list and ask things that people have liked and have not liked. Then send an email after the data has been analyzed to let the consumer/fans know what we are planning as a way forward and thanking them for taking the time to respond and provide their input.

Ensure that all older releases are removed from inventory while only keeping small supply of latest release, and prepare for the next release. With the next release reduce the available inventory from previous releases. Since the staff will already be knee deep into the following release have that get close to being ready as inventory on current release dwindles so the follow on release can be ready to go.

Start bringing in new design people and build more forgiving drivers and woods than what we have seen in the R series and SLDR. Might be time to abandon the low and forward CG concept. Move away from the build/design for the tour guys and advertise for the weekend golfer.
 
JB said:
People have short memories and dont view any of the "technology" they have in their current drivers as new. While every other company has come out with innovative, consumers do not view the latest from TaylorMade the same way...Whether right or wrong.
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Again, I can only speak for myself but my impression is that there is very little meaningful new tech in any of the drivers out there. I believe most players with fitted drivers from the past 3-5 years, maybe longer, would see negligible on course differences across years. Confidence standing over a club is probably more significant than tech differences. The biggest tech trend I see right now is head adjustability, but I expect that just makes clubs too complicated for a lot of golfers. Not many people understand physics, and how many people really go through meaningful fitting? I'll bet online sales account for a large portion of driver sales anymore anyway. The other big trend is low spin, but I think that's overemphasized for the average golfer who seems to struggle with getting the ball up in the air. Maybe I'm way off base, but that's how the driver world looks to me.
 
Most club pro's like me seriously hated their product cycle. Haven't carried Taylor-Made in my shop in over 15 years. They need to win the green grass club pro's back. They say they are but I don't believe them.

or maybe just file bankruptcy.....
 
and to me the technology in golf clubs has hit a wall. Seeing a downtime for all club manufacturers in the near future.
 
I honestly don't have a 12 month plan for TM but I can say that 12 months is what should be expected. I learned a long time ago that CEO's don't want 3 to 5 year plans, they want actionable strategies that can be measured in quarters not years. I feel as if TM has been saying things are changing for the past 18 months, if you come out now and say the same thing does it have any impact or will it just draw in more ridicule, I suspect the later.

Looking at strategies I would return to iconic names (as Callaway has with Big Bertha) and avoid anything gimmicky sounding. Not Rocket's, SLDR's, Jet's or whatever, stick to technology in brand names your company was built upon. Show real technological advances, not just rebadged and repainted garbage. No need to reduce releases, just actively reduce inventory so your product retains value. If you short the market, so what, the reaction will be better then all the product dumping.

Oh, and make me an updated R580XD TP!
 
I will try not to reiterate what most have said re: release cycles and limiting inventory as I agree wholeheartedly. I would also shift my advertising focus from pure distance to focusing the customer on finding a driver that fits that person. I would do this by:

1. Offering a multitude of shafts with no upcharge;
2. Offering one free fitting regardless of whether a TM driver is purchased. Maybe the customer comes in with a coupon provided by TM. The fitter then fits them going through all of the shaft choices. If this is marketed through online and TV marketing, especially if TM pro staff focus on the importance of correct fitting, this might get people into golf stores trying TM drivers (with the multitude of shafts at no upcharge).
3. Get rid of TM badging on shafts and get rid of white drivers.

Also, as others have stated, I would carry only three irons (SGI, GI, and some kind of CB or MB line). For the CB or MB line, I would instruct the designers to keep them as simple as possible with no cheap TM badging. Use Srixon as an example. Make them forged and incredibly soft. Do the same with the wedges.
 
A lot of good replies here so far. I'm probably just re-stating what others have said already, but here's what I'd do.

1) Drastic change in marketing. Much more social media outreach and direct interactions with customers/potential customers. Branding needs to really focus on one central message across much of the lines, and naming conventions need to become a bit more streamlined.

2) Buy back much of the product on the floor of the big stores and focus on specific lines. SGI/GI/low capper clubs. I walked into my local DSG, on the floor they had (all new, too) RSi1, 2, and TP irons, Aeroburner irons, Speedblades, RBZs, AND they also had some Burner 2.0s. 7 sets of irons. And we're not even getting into the woods.

3) Focus on one specific type of technology, such as the face slots in the RSi line, and run with it. Be honest (ha, ha) about it's advantages for players who are buying the bulk of their products, not the guys who are playing it on tour.

4) Come up with a good line of balls that can rival Bridgestone & Callaway. Get golfers on board that way if possible. TMAG balls don't seem to have close to the love that the non-Titleist brands do from consumers.
 
First thing I would do? Recall every piece of gear older than 6 months from all retailers. I get it, it won't be cheap, it won't be easy, but it fixes a problem: Too much TM gear on the racks.

My local store now has R15, Aeroburner, SLDR (two types), JetSpeed, RBZ, and RBZ Stage 2 in the Driver/Wood/Hybrid categories on the racks. That doesn't include any of the 5 iron sets, as well as the outdated wedges.

Why would someone buy the new release, when there are previous versions sitting right beside it for heavily marked down prices?

A previous post mentioned it, but I really think that Rocketballz was the beginning of the downfall. Something needs to happen to the names they are giving to their gear, much of it comes off as sounding like a child's toy..... Rocketbladez, Speedbladez, RBZ, SLDR. Its a little thing, but something that a name change could bring across more of a feeling of high end.
 
I've been waiting for the promotion to CEO for a while now. Here's my 12 month turnaround plan:
1) 30 day SWOT analysis. I want to hear from each department, but especially from marketing and R&D. Marketing MUST include an external of current, former and prospective sales partners and end users.
2) We have 1 product cycle to deliver a home run. Based upon feedback, align our best bet for R&D with an all-out marketing shock & awe campaign. We need to be everywhere! Boots on the street, targeted and viral social media campaigns, testing opportunities, forum love, unique experiences to create a buzz.
3) evaluate, measure and adjust as we go. Learn to listen to the consumer and communicate effectively back to them that you understand in both words and actions.
4) Have fun! Golf is supposed to be fun, engaged and happy employees = better results
 
What Happened To The Dominance Of TaylorMade Golf?

TeedUpThoughts said:
I've been waiting for the promotion to CEO for a while now. Here's my 12 month turnaround plan:
1) 30 day SWOT analysis. I want to hear from each department, but especially from marketing and R&D. Marketing MUST include an external of current, former and prospective sales partners and end users.
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The last thing TaylorMade needs at the top is someone with an MBA.

:)
 
fupresti said:
TeedUpThoughts said:
I've been waiting for the promotion to CEO for a while now. Here's my 12 month turnaround plan:
1) 30 day SWOT analysis. I want to hear from each department, but especially from marketing and R&D. Marketing MUST include an external of current, former and prospective sales partners and end users.
/QUOTE]

The last thing TaylorMade needs at the top is someone with an MBA.

:)
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Lol, no MBA here... Just common sense
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Bring back a line like the R9. Bring back news that got you to where you were a few years ago and go out and find a young fresh face and give that man a club to show off. They need a fresh new start and it needs to happen fast. Being halfway through 2015 I would say it's probably too late for it to start for 2016 but come this time next year you should have a plan of a new line and new contracts with your new face
 
A few things.

I begin by bringing in a completely new marketing team led by someone dynamic.

I would have to believe in social media interaction with the consumer. I know the current regime or at least current as of a year ago does not want to go that route

We can't simply copy what Harry and Chad and others at Callaway have down in that arena. It would be obvious. But create our own niche and do it no holds barred.

Bring in a lot of green grass and brick an mortar customers. Open it up to a tell us what we can do, to earn your trust...them make sure we do it.

Then I find a renowned R&D person. Tell him to take us back to what made us the leader but also make it relevant.

To me we haven't had a driver that was a bit with consumers and performed for them since the R9.



Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk
 
Ole Gray said:
True and I'll be surprised if the Aero is not part of their success to right the ship. Now bring back the R9! Hell call it R9ish or something similar but bring er back. :thumb:
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They released the R9 in 2009...and the R15 in 2015.

Pretty sure "get back to your roots" is exactly what they're trying to do.
 
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