Market leader and why...

Interesting debate and the car analogy is a good one. 20 years ago there was a big difference between a BMW and a Skoda, or Ford and Hyundai. Now, pretty much all cars are good and it's increasingly difficult to justify the additional cost of a prestige brand and almost the only reason to buy one is because the owner wants a certain image. Golf clubs are similar, if a Benross was badged up as Mizuno how many of us would be able to tell ? If most club golfers switched to a less premium brand I doubt there'd be any major difference in performance, but we all fall for marketing and some brands make you feel good about your purchase and therefore more confident using it.
 
LanDog said:
They're not, they could be the best, but a market leader is a different thing isn't it, mass production and popularity, whereas Orka are more niche
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Yeah i suppose they are very different things, you can effectively buy yourself into being a market leader.
 
SugarPenguin said:
I refuse to believe that Rory has had a larger effect on Nike's marketing success than Tiger.
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Hmmm I thought to myself Tiger definitely had much more an impact but then got thinking- when did people actually start rating nikes golf equipment? More recently IMO which throws up a bit of a conundrum... is it because of tigers legacy or Rory being the new poster boy?
 
MendieGK said:
They are as good if not/ better made than ANY leading brand out there, and i am 100% confident that every other ORKA user on here will agree with me.
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I don't think they'd want to be a market leader, their strategy seems to be to remain niche. Every Orka owner I know loves the clubs, but also seems to get a kick out of them being quite rare and the feeling that they almost have a secret over the people buying TM, Nike etc.
 
turkish said:
Hmmm I thought to myself Tiger definitely had much more an impact but then got thinking- when did people actually start rating nikes golf equipment? More recently IMO which throws up a bit of a conundrum... is it because of tigers legacy or Rory being the new poster boy?
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Neither, the clubs finally got to a decent standard, Nike have started investing more in R&D and "The Oven" both a bigger impact on play I think
 
Without adding to the whats the best debate can i just add that not every player plays with what brand pay the most money. Most Ping players would make way more by switching but Ping players tend to remain with Ping, likewise Titleist hence why there comes a time when big names eventually leave.

Putters tend to be very individual and most (not all) go with what work, Nike players tend to be contracted to Nike but most other brand ambassadors play with what works. Luke Donald - Odyssey, Poulter has switched around a few times from Scottys to Odyssey to which ever takes his eye. Im not saying the likes of Donald isn't paid by Odyssey now (and TM for woods) but I believe he wasn't originally.
 
MendieGK said:
Yeah i suppose they are very different things, you can effectively buy yourself into being a market leader.
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You can do definitely, that's what Nike did in the beginning I think, but with no real quality in the clubs, that seems to have changed now with more better clubs being made
 
colint said:
I don't think they'd want to be a market leader, their strategy seems to be to remain niche. Every Orka owner I know loves the clubs, but also seems to get a kick out of them being quite rare and the feeling that they almost have a secret over the people buying TM, Nike etc.
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Nothing to do with that for me, totally about the quality of the clubs them selves and the process, build and fit of the clubs and customer experience following purchase for me
 
Val said:
Without adding to the whats the best debate can i just add that not every player plays with what brand pay the most money. Most Ping players would make way more by switching but Ping players tend to remain with Ping, likewise Titleist hence why there comes a time when big names eventually leave.

Putters tend to be very individual and most (not all) go with what work, Nike players tend to be contracted to Nike but most other brand ambassadors play with what works. Luke Donald - Odyssey, Poulter has switched around a few times from Scottys to Odyssey to which ever takes his eye. Im not saying the likes of Donald isn't paid by Odyssey now (and TM for woods) but I believe he wasn't originally.
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Mickelson switches around loads, had a Ping Anser hybrid in, Taylormade woods, SLDR a while back, Ping wedge, lots of this goes unnoticed by the mass market if he's got the Callaway bag and headcovers
 
MendieGK said:
They are as good if not/ better made than ANY leading brand out there, and i am 100% confident that every other ORKA user on here will agree with me.
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And people will Prob say that about any make they play and it will come down to personal experience of each and every brand

But it doesn't make them market leading

Popularity and numbers do

Mizuno whilst not having a lot of Pros playing them have a great deal of Amatuers playjng them

Titliest have a good mix - TM have a lot of pros and good deal of Amatuers

Ping the same as Mizuno

But you don't see many Amatuers playing Orka - that doesn't make them bad etc ( I personally don't like their look ) - it just doesn't have them as a market leader in irons.
 
LanDog said:
Mickelson switches around loads, had a Ping Anser hybrid in, Taylormade woods, SLDR a while back, Ping wedge, lots of this goes unnoticed by the mass market if he's got the Callaway bag and headcovers
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When I watched the PGA @ Wentworth last year it was also noticeable that a lot of TM players had SLDR headcovers but were still playing the R11 for example.
 
LanDog said:
Interesting

It's maybe a bit of a false stat that, or misleading maybe, respected analysts have said that Rory last year was the most impressive display of driving since Greg Norman, not even American sensationalises saying this stuff
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2 years of data doesnt strike me as being a false stat personally

My view fwiw is that Rory is actually quite a streaky player, he has days where he drives it so good (as well as pretty much anyone ever has) that these are the days everyone remembers, they forget the down days where he hits it all over the place because his good days are just so good. Also its his distance that gets him out of trouble on a lot of courses where length is worth more than accuracy
 
Liverpoolphil said:
And people will Prob say that about any make they play and it will come down to personal experience of each and every brand

But it doesn't make them market leading

Popularity and numbers do

Mizuno whilst not having a lot of Pros playing them have a great deal of Amatuers playjng them

Titliest have a good mix - TM have a lot of pros and good deal of Amatuers

Ping the same as Mizuno

But you don't see many Amatuers playing Orka - that doesn't make them bad etc ( I personally don't like their look ) - it just doesn't have them as a market leader in irons.
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thats because you're a certified TM fanboy :)
 
garyinderry said:
Is there many non Nike staff with mike clubs in the bag. Might be but I can't think of too many off the bat.
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Can't think of any, maybe a few with a putter in, guy I know who is a europro player is a big fan of his Nike Putter, guy is usually a die hard Scotty fan, the milled Method putters are supposed to be really good
 
MendieGK said:
marketing marketing marketing
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Absolutely agree with this!

However, Ping has to be up there - perhaps (unfairly) for pensioners or beginners/improvers?

I just bought a 15 month old Adams Driver for 40 notes and a slightly older Adams Driver head for 25, so while recognised as 'up there', they don't hold their value! The MyGolfSpy Driver of the Year a couple of years ago (Adams 9064LS) can be acquired for similar money. Adams hybrids are recognised as market leader though.

While happy to say Scotty is 'market leader' for putters, I don't believe he (or anyone in fact) is 'best'. Same with ball, though ProV1 is definitely 'market leader'.
 
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