These days all the media talk of a recession in the U.S. which in turn affects the rest of the world. I'm no economist, but I read the definitions common of a recession in the newspapers as "decrease in the gross domestic product (GDP) for two or more consecutive quarters. However, as "My Average Joe" definition is much simpler: I have less money to spend, so I have to be more cautious with my purchases.
As a large avid golfer, does this mean I have to shelve my plans to purchase some new clubs this season? Of course not, I just have to be more cautious, according to my definition. Moreover, I do not want to buy cheap, inferior clubs just because I'm a little short of money. I still want high quality, but at a reasonable price I can afford.
The solution is to stay away from the well known but expensive top-level brands like Titleist, Ping, Nike, Callaway and tastes, and instead look at the cheaper brands of second level offering the same quality but at a much lower price. And just to be sure, I'm not talking about some cheap counterfeit clubs knocked together in a sweat shop in some third world country, I'm talking proper clubs manufacturers of well-established traders.
Let's see in detail the two main issues: price and quality – How can a second level of manufacturer offers the same quality at a fraction of the price?
Quality: There are only so many factories there that produce club heads, shafts and grips – the three main components of each golf club. Often the factories that produce club heads of the big names also make the heads of other, lesser known manufacturers. They use the same raw materials, including high quality titanium and stainless steel in production processes. When it comes to shafts and grips are even more evident: manufacturers, both at higher and second using the same axle brackets that can be verified easily by reading the descriptions of respective products. In other words, from the same materials and components are used in the quality of top and second tier manufacturers is very similar if not the same.
Price: An article in the Golf Digest respected for some time argued that a modern $ 500 top driver brand actually costs about $ 77 to build: $ 55 for the clubhead, $ 15 for graphite shafts, $ 3 for the grip and $ 4 for mounting. Since the consumer pays $ 500, where did the other $ 423 go? Well, some of course, enters the R & D, some goes to the shareholders of the company, but a lot goes into the pockets of professional golf to support that particular brand. Here are some cases in point:
A more recent article on the website of Golf Digest that contained both the tour and the income of employees Tour's top 50 money 2007. It is surprising that Tiger Woods tops the list, had it tourism revenues of approx. $ 22.9 million, plus an additional $ 99.8 million in revenue outside of the tour. That's almost $ 100 million in guarantees and other commitments! Phil Mickelson made approx. $ 40 million in cash out of the tour, and Vijay Singh nearly $ 25 million. Even Michelle Wie, who only got a measly $ 9899 to play golf, grossed about $ 12.5 million of revenue out of the tour in 2007 alone. Then, Who pays for that? Well, if you bought a golf club from a known brand that you did – paying a huge premium on top of the actual value of the club. This definitely not where I see my hard earned money go, especially if times are getting tougher.
So what's the alternative? Manufacturers second level! Their production costs are still the same as before, but not spend money on endorsements. Also save money by selling their products online rather than in a retail store, therefore reducing the rent and related costs. Although they still cost about $ 77 to build a controller (eg above) which will sell for only about $ 100 – and still make a profit.
Money for the same Otherwise (unintentionally!) Things in the pocket of a golf pro who now can buy a complete new set of golf clubs. I like that! Do you?
Fortunately there are a number of web sites out there that provide more detail on second-tier manufacturers and help with decision making.
Tiger Woods Introduces New Nike Golf Drivers
