Mind Positioning - Golf Brands

If you have not read Foreign Minister George Yeo's speech at the Fullerton - SJI Leadership Lecture, I would urge all of you to read it without exception. It was carried on Monday by The Straits Times of 25 January 2010 (page A17). To borrow a quote "In this day and age, clone armies are weak armies. Mindless supporters are worthless". "Leadership becomes a chemistry among people, enabling them to draw energy from one another. And for that to happen, leadership has to respect each individual in his own right and according to his own nature." You see George Yeo is one of my favourites because he is first and foremost a thinker. A forward thinker and he could put many things together and give you a scenario and a situation to provoke your thoughts. There two types of great people in this world - the thinkers and the dreamers. I could be one of the greatest since I both think and dream sometimes one more than the other not necessary in a fixed pattern. Or I dream I am thinking or think I'm dreaming.

I last spoke about service level and how we should reward those who deserved it correctly. Most major brands' retail prices are more or less controlled. It can be any product but let's say golf clubs. A particular shop with good service, attentive staff who explains clearly to you and allow you to test their equipment and another that don't. If we find that the current price is too steep and would rather get another model or prefer to wait up for a later sales price then that is fair dinkum. However, to criticize the price, the product or to go to another shop to get them by pressing for a few bucks less after experiencing the good service are no-nos. I liken it to you doing a good job at work but with the credit stolen by another person who went on to impress the boss. 


Give credit to who or where credit is due. This may not seem important to us but we are staring at maybe $10-20 but what we do today will affect our tomorrows and the future. We are eating from styrofoam with plastic utensils now because we allow it. We shouldn't just go around demanding service but we must reward those who truly serve so that we could separate the wheat from the chaff. We should accordingly support the cause of those who believe in service.

Mind Positioing

Before we even discuss about service experience and service level, we have to take a look at products' or services' mind positioning. The easiest way to get into people's minds is to be "first". The first person to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong but do you remember who was the second? The name of the highest mountain in the world is Mount Everest and what about the second? Therefore, the first company to occupy a customer's mind would be difficult to dislodge. Coke is the "Real Thing" so you say you are drinking Coke when you should be drinking aerated water. "Pass me a Kleenex" instead of a tissue. Got to go pick up some "Pampers" when you should be picking up diapers. Zap from that "Xerox" instead of a copier. Shoot me with that Kodak instead of a camera. The list goes on.

The other aspects of sales involved “Branding” or “Positioning” – an activity which involves influencing the minds of customers to promote a product or service. It is about getting heard and seen in an ever over-crowded market place full of competitors. There is a need to create something that does not already exist in the mind of customers and prospects since there are too many companies making too much noise in the market. In communication in a crowded market place, sometimes less is actually more. So there is a need to find something that sharpens our image to cut into the mind, cut ambiguities and simplify the message to make a long-lasting impression in the market place and would be customers. Where and what is the balance?

Impact Of Advert

Let's face it. The price of most products are really all quite cheap but when you add to the production and material costs, the storage, transportation, distribution, etc. and in particular the advertising costs plus a few mark ups here and there. There you have it. A huge bulk of the $ goes to the face on the advert. When you wear Giorgio Armani undies because David Beckham does, then soon you'll be Giorgio with no money. Nike pays Tiger obscenities. There was a year when Pele was playing in one World Cup and just before the referee blew the whistle for kick off, he signalled to the referee that he needed to lace up his boots and at that moment the camera zoomed in onto Pele tying his laces and if I am not wrong, it was Puma that he donned, soon Puma became such a popular brand of soccer boots. Then Tiger chipped a shot from the fringe, it landed softly and started rolling, halted momentarily and took a break to the right rolling towards the hole and just where the hole was, it stopped for a mere two seconds before dropping in as the ball rolled in, the Nike logo showed up beautifully to the camera. Now these were brilliant moments of free advert that are incomparable to those that were staged.

Golf Brands

In golf, there exist countless brands - Americans, Japanese, clones, etc. Some are very rich in history and deeply etched in their foundation. The following are some names I could think of with those Japanese marked (J): Adams, Alien, Alpha, Ben Hogan, Ben Ross, Ben Sayers, Bettinardi, Bob Burns, Bobby Jones, Bridgestone (J), Callaway, Carbite, Cleveland, Cobra, De La Cruz, Daiwa (J), Dunlop, Epon (J), Feel, Fourteen (J), Geotech, Gosen (J), GRIP, Heavy Putter, Hippo, Honma (J), Infiniti, Innovex, Kasco (J), Katana (J), Kramski, KZG, Louisville, Lynx, MD Golf, MacGregor, Maruman (J), Maxfli, Miura (J), Mizuno (J), Nakashima (J), Never Compromise, Nickent, Nicklaus, Nike, Odyssey, Onoff (J), Orlimar, PRGR (J), Perfect Club, Pinemeadow, Ping, Pinnacle, Precept (J), Ram, Rife, S-Yard (J), Scotty Cameron, See More, Slazenger, Snake Eyes, Sonartec, Srixon, TaylorMade, Tear Drop, Titleist, Tommy Armour, Tom Wishon, Top Flite, Tour Edge, TourStage (J), Vulcan, Wilson, XXIO (J), Yamaha (J), Yes, Yonex (J), Yuji (J). It is not possible to try all brands as some are not found here or for lack of interest in the products but as far as all major brands are concerned, I am quite a consummate pro in terms of having tried all the major brands, most of the available clubs at one time or another.

Adams make and became famous for their "Tight Lies" fairway woods and hybrids, Alien was for an odd-shaped sandwedge to help you out of the bunker with the greatest ease (I have never tried). You can't find Bob Burns or Bobby Jones (famous for driver, woods and hybrids) here while Bettinardi is one of the master craftsmen of putter design making high end putters. Ben Hogan was founded by the great player and famous for their Hogan Apex irons. Bridgestone is the parent of Precept making clubs and balls. I do have a soft spot for Callaway for I have first used a 3-wood Warbird to tee off and love it especially the wonderful sound it made. Since the introduction of the Big Bertha line, they have been a leader in production, design and sales and known to have made some of the friendliest clubs. It was named after its founder Elly Callaway who believed that golf is about the occasional good shot for the social golfer. Putters are their specialty for Carbite, Cleveland was founded by Roger Cleveland who started out making replicas and then specialized in wedges making the finest wedges in the market today plus a wide range of drivers, woods, hybrids, etc. They now belonged to SRI who owns Dunlop and Srixon. Roger Cleveland himself is now with Callaway.

Cobra is an Acushnet Company known for game improvement clubs - drivers/hybrids/irons. It was thought that Cobra gave the world its first hybrid. Daiwa was well known in fishing circles so much so that when you say Daiwa, I thought of fishing alone. Dunlop makes all kinds of sports equipment especially rackets for tennis and squash. At one time I owned and played with their famous Black Max squash racket and was so proud of it. GRIP is short for Golf Research In Play with low priced clubs aimed at the middle market. Japan's Honma is the Rolex of golf. A cheap iron set would set you back from $3k to $5k and the best part is that not everyone can play Honma in terms of suitability. 

I once saw a Honmas set at $85k and imagined that if I drove there to buy it then I have to trade the car and take a bus home. Infiniti is committed in club-fitting. Innovex is a direct/wholesales manufacturer. Katana means sword and they were historically sword makers maybe for the samurais. Louisville is one of the rare companies in the USA that still make persimmon drivers and woods. Maruman is a polular Japanese brand. Maxfli is owned by TaylorMade. Miura makes precision custom built Japanese clubs. Mizuno also known in other sports and swim gears is well known for the clubs especially irons and forged irons which are among the best feeling. Nakashima is famous for metal woods. Never Compromise is part of Cleveland but makes only putters.

Nickent gave me my first real manly driver. The Nickent Genex 425 was marketed as "killer driver and driver killer". Whenever I played with it, my flightmates would all be using it for the second nine. How could I forget that. Now they are popular with their hybrids. Nicklaus is of course named after that great man Jack together with his other brand Golden Bear. Nike is making big inroads into golf especially with the capture of Tiger previously. Odyssey is the world's leading manufacturer of very popular putters owned by Callaway. 

Ping started off with putter that goes "ping" in sound and comes with extra weight behind which they call the Anser (answer) and today all putters come with weightings behind. They extended this perimeter weighting to their irons and became even more famous. They gave the world perimeter weighting so that the clubs are more forgiving. Today they made drivers that won top accolades in the last few years topping the charts with their woods and hybrids. Orlimar was once popular with their titanium woods. Scotty Cameron is a master craftsmen for his high end putters. Srixon has a popular hybrid but more famous for their golf balls. S-Yard (Seiko) is a popular Japanese brand that sells for at least $2.5k per set of irons. 

TaylorMade was founded by Gary Adams who gave the world the first metal woods. Adidas group bought over and have not looked back churning out tons of very technologically driven, engineered and marketed range of equipment that you may need a guide to bring you through the ranges and sections. Tear Drop makes putters perhaps it is in the shape of a tear drop but a friend once told me that he once played with one and he only get tear drops at the end of each round. Was it the putter or him? Titleist makes exquisite advance equipment mostly for better players and was used by Tiger at first. Tommy Armour once made some of the best irons at some stage when John Hoeflich was their designer. Hoeflich is now with Nickent as VP. 

Slazenger and Wilson are sports goods manufacturers. Top Flite is known for their balls and owned by Callaway. Tour Edge makes very affordable clubs which comes with lifetime warranty in America and gave us the Bazooka hybrids and later came with the high end Exotics which uses chemical bonding instead of welding for their drivers, woods and hybrids. Yes! makes fine putters with "C" grooves created by Harold Swash, Yonex was once Yoneyama who gave me some of my favourite badminton rackets but also produce for golf and Yuji came to Singapore and made a name for himself for custom-fit.

Experience & Preference

Admittedly, by naming the brands, I was actually boasting a bit about experience that I do know some brands. Whether it's a driver, wood, hybrid, irons , wedge, putter or ball, I have personally tried, tested or owned some of these - Adams, Ben Hogan, Bettinardi, Carbite, Callaway, Cleveland, Cobra, Daiwa, Dunlop, Gosen, Heavy Putter, Honma, Katana, McGregor, Maruman, Maxfli, Mizuno, Never Compromise, Nickent, Nike, Odyssey, Ping, Pinnacle, Precept, S-Yard, Scotty Cameron, Srixon, TayloraMade, Titleist, Top Flite, Tour Edge, Exotics. Today's quality is of very high standard for most manufacturers but my two favourites are Ping and TaylorMade. Here's why.

Ping

I have written about how Ping was founded by Karstem Solheim through his making of a putter that sounded with "ping" and how he named it Anser (answer) but "w" was omitted due to lack of space. He went on to use the same technology that made a putter better and friendlier and transferred them to the irons. This went on to drivers, woods, hybrids today due to what is called "extreme perimeter weighting" increasing MOI. Their products are of high quality and Ping owned their own foundry in Arizona. Not only that, they have perhaps the world's best club-fitting system giving you at least 10-12 lie angles to fit each swing. 


Nobody who played Ping clubs before would fault them for how they feel or play but some folks just could not accept how they look. Ping irons gives a buttery feel like how you would use a spreader to spread on your bread. They have wonderful putters. Their hybrids are getting more popular and their woods have been a favourite for many including critics. In the last few years, they truly gave the world probably the best driver in the Ping G10 which I have reviewed. 


It was the driver most considered as best in top magazines and players. It was the only driver that was named top in 2008 and despite that and being unfairly rated again in 2009 once again top the charts. When I thought it was all over, two major American golf equipment testers who do not accept advertisements from manufacturers and who usually never selected the same club as tops, gave exactly that verdict to the G10. Ping simply marketed it as The Power of 10. Ping is traditional, quiet even and do not go on much publicity blitz. 


It was only a few years back when they launched the G5 that they launched a full range of equipment (drivers,woods, hybrids, putters) all at the same time. However,some may find Ping's original stock shaft a little stiff even for Regular. I absolutely adore their drivers and irons. I just find that the irons have generous offset which makes them easier to play but not entirely to my liking and have a bigger head (though Ping does Big well). They hit very consistently for trajectory, direction and distance with a nice feel. The G10 driver is a great driver for looks, sound, feel. It feels powerful with a mid-high trajectory and goes long. 


I do personally feel that even tough it's forgiving, you'll need to put a good swing to it and may not be suitable for slower swingers of higher handicappers. However, a good whack onto it produces amazing result! The latest introduction is a full range series of G15. They touted the driver to be even much better than the G10. I mean how do you make great greater? Some reviews confirmed and flattered it is so and better than the G10. Just like me, if you make me any better, I'll be twins. Unfortunately, it gets harder to find Ping locally these days and the prices have been going up which is beyond me. So, if you are in the market looking for a new driver, you must try the G15 as it garnered 5 stars out of 5 for Performance and compared to a two others who got the same rating, G15 was given as the Category Leader. However, if you are a current G10 owner, stick to it and never let it go.

TaylorMade

Gary Adams invented the metal wood which gives so many golfers such great pleasure each time you hear a metal wood sound on a golf course. Way back in 78-79 at age 32, he gave the world its first metal wood driver. At 32, Lee Kuan Yew became Prime Minister. What were you doing at 32? He envisions a complete line of golf equipment that outperforms all others. In 1990, TaylorMade was the no. 1 metalwood in play at PGA Tour. By 1991, they became the no.1 best seeling premium brand of woods in the USA, also no.1 in driver usage among US consumers for six straight years. In 1998, they became whooly-woned by adidas-Salomon AG. In 2001, the 300 series remained no.1 in PGA Tour. 500 series was intorduced in 2002. The 500 series was named driver of the year in 2004. In 2005, the r7 quad tops Golf Digest Gold list with a score of 100 with the r5 in second place. The r5 evokes strong emotion and brought fond memories because like the Nickent Genex previously, everybody was trying my driver by the second nine. It is either I am a great driver of the ball which made the club look good or it was the club that made me look good. 


I mean every one makes great clubs out there but once in awhile, something comes out that is that good for so many people, now this is rare. TaylorMade lets you see the technology they created and introduced by putting them all on the outside ant yet you get to see a nice package. They are constantly pushing the frontier of technology to the edge. Basically, I feel that they make golf more exciting. I think they must have excellent engineers, designers and marketers. the r5 was followed by the very successful r7 which first came in 425 cc head before growing into a 460, they later threw in a r7 Draw version, they had a TP version, a black 7 Superquad, r7 CB Max, Burner, Burner Draw, Burner TP. 


 Are you confused by now? Never mind, I can be of help to you if you were to just ask. As I am writing now, TaylorMade has released the new R9 and after that the R9 460 drivers, the Raylor hybrid, a Rescue hybrid, a Rescue TP version hybrid, R9 irons, a new wedge with interchangeable face, putters. Beofer i could release my next blog, a new R9 SuperTri driver with a black face is on the way with a Superfast Burner after recently releasing the world's first five-piece ball the Penta. I will tell you more about each shortly. This is all very interesting and exciting.

Just before I sign off, with the Lunar New Year around the corner and while spring cleaning, take some good and usable golf clubs that you no longer use or seldom use and pass it on to a friend who might need it since you are already playing with some newer and better equipment.

Cheers!

Oh yes, a few nice slogan to go along:
We all know Nike's Just Do It! Tiger does.
Adidas has "Impossible is Nothing"
adidas (golf shoes) - "Performance Lives Closer To The Ground - GO LOW".
Footjoy - Put yourself in their shoes (showing pictures of two top pros).
Mizuno - "Pure" (referring to the pureness of their famed forged irons).
TaylorMade R9 irons - The Most Technology You'll Never See".