Pro Club Deals

[Happy_Gilmore]

The thread about Padraig staying with Wilson has got me thinking..

As my post on that thread explained, I think Padraig has a great deal if he is only contracted to use 8/9 Wilson clubs and then have the Wilson bag, headgear etc etc. Gives him great freedom to use new/state of the art gear from any other manufacturer if he so chooses.

What is the standard number of clubs players have to use if signing deals with the big manufacturers? 12/13?

 

[forefortheday]

Think it depends upon the size of the cheque really!

Monty has a deal for all 14 with Yonex I belive, I guess Tigers is for 13.

It's probably to do with their standing in the game commercially

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It varies. A lot of the "whats in the bag" features often show pros using very old models of their makers clubs and I've even seen some with old 5 woods etc from othe rmanufacturers that they have had since amateur days and never wanted to change.

In my "estimation" I guess most suppliers want their guys to use their drivers and a full (ish) set of irons. They realise that wedges etc is a separate market and many pros have their own favourites. That said I know TM in particular and Callaway to a lesser degree have really been pushing their tour pros to add the wedges in as well.

In the suppliers eyes, they reckon that most of the golf buying public will see their favourite player using brand X driver and irons and look to buy a set of their range based on that.

 

[SammmeBee]

Most are now, for 95% of Tour Pros, 13 clubs with the putter being the exception, altough the top boys can be a bit more choosy/flexible as the manufacturers need their face more than they need the clubs......

 

[Parmo]

VJ was using a lot of older gear in this months GM, he had a Callaway BB 04 & a steelhead in his bag and I think his putter is quite old but don't have it to hand atm.

 

[rgs]

Generally putters wedges and balls are exempt form the deal. Naturally the negotiations dictate the final deal.

If the player is happy with the cash and the clubs he may agree to use 13/14 whereas if he is unhappy with the wedges from the manufacturer he may wish to restrict the deal to 11 clubs.

 

[SammmeBee]

Generally putters wedges and balls are exempt form the deal. Naturally the negotiations dictate the final deal.

If the player is happy with the cash and the clubs he may agree to use 13/14 whereas if he is unhappy with the wedges from the manufacturer he may wish to restrict the deal to 11 clubs.

Yes but there aren't that many golfers (ie those only inside the top 40 on the EOM) who can tell a manufacture what they will and won't use.....they usually make up something that suits them.....5/10 years ago yes there were all sorts of things going on - wrong stamps, different paint jobs to make clubs look like the ones they were supposed to be using and they all used titleist ammo.....you would be suprised how many tm players play a tm ball, nike/nike and callaway/callaway...but I can see why Harrington doesn't play a Wilson rock though!!

 

[big_russ]

You only have to look at Luke Donald. For a number of year's he never played a Mizuno driver. He played a Titleist driver as a jnior and an amateur and carried on using it as Mizuno did not make one that he liked.
As soon as the Mp600 was launched he was one of the first to start using it and he re-negotiated his contract to suit.
I also think this speaks volumes for the quality of the Mp600, especially for it to be chosen over Titleist who are renowned for their drivers.

 

[viscount17]

VJ was using a lot of older gear in this months GM, he had a Callaway BB 04 & a steelhead in his bag and I think his putter is quite old but don't have it to hand atm.

VJ, like a lot of the pro's (and not a few on this forum), seems to have an arsenal of putters, any of which may appear during a competition, so it's not surprising that putters seem to be the most excluded club from a contract.

certainly most seem to have a fall-back putter that they have used for years.