Rick Shiels Titleist/Ping Driver issue

[HomerJSimpson]

The only valid point I took away from the video providing Shiels is telling it how it is was him asking about the Ping LST and they said there were no imminent plans to release one and now have. Thats said surely it would have been inevitable as they have released previous LST models. As for the Titleist models again I don't see the issue as they would always look to improve the specs. It comes down to people wanting the latest gear upon release and like the car analogy there will always be a newer model or one with more upgrades further down the line. But what works for you at the time and don't stress it when other models come out. How much difference can one manufacturer really get from model to model?

 

[ScienceBoy]

Intel did just this with Coffeelake.

Initially released just a few SKUs then a few months later filled in the gaps. I was glad I waited as I was able to save a huge chunk of cash and still get performance.

At first they just offered the i5 8400 and i7 8700 before adding an 8600 and 8500...

It’s not just those two companies, it’s pretty common practice!

 

[Hobbit]

I switched it off when he said Titliest and Ping should have told customers that they would be bringing out another 2 drivers several months later. I'm sure the CEO would have got a lot of support from the Board by basically saying maybe everyone should wait a few months before buying. Naive of Sheils?

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I switched it off when he said Titliest and Ping should have told customers that they would be bringing out another 2 drivers several months later. I'm sure the CEO would have got a lot of support from the Board by basically saying maybe everyone should wait a few months before buying. Naive of Sheils?

As well as telling the buying public when the next model range is coming out.
Either he is being totally naive or just trying to justify his voice, and I know which one I think

 

[Wolf]

Personally really going off Shiels a lot of his stuff recently seems to be posted to just keep him relevant. Instead of ranting about companies should just stick to reviewing the clubs.

As for Titleist and Ping releasing new clubs In the same range, is it really a surprise that the R&D departments kept working and found ways to improve what they had and released it. That's simple business companies don't bring out a new product then tell people to down tools and stop working for 18 months before starting a new release incase some gimp on YouTube gets the hump. Business always moves forward they bring out products when they're ready for market and we as a consumer have a choice to buy or not to buy.

It's easy to say "if we knew about int coming we would have waited to make a decision" well we all know no matter the time frame all these products have a life span and at some point they'll be superceded what does it matter if its 6months, 10months or 2 years. If people want to upgrade and can afford to they will, if they can't they won't. Its no different to anything else with a high cost we buy.

 

[PJ87]

Personally really going off Shiels a lot of his stuff recently seems to be posted to just keep him relevant. Instead of ranting about companies should just stick to reviewing the clubs.

As for Titleist and Ping releasing new clubs In the same range, is it really a surprise that the R&D departments kept working and found ways to improve what they had and released it. That's simple business companies don't bring out a new product then tell people to down tools and stop working for 18 months before starting a new release incase some gimp on YouTube gets the hump. Business always moves forward they bring out products when they're ready for market and we as a consumer have a choice to buy or not to buy.

It's easy to say "if we knew about int coming we would have waited to make a decision" well we all know no matter the time frame all these products have a life span and at some point they'll be superceded what does it matter if its 6months, 10months or 2 years. If people want to upgrade and can afford to they will, if they can't they won't. Its no different to anything else with a high cost we buy.

I’m the same with rick. He got me into golf youtube but he is now he is the last one I enjoy watching ... used to religiously watch crossfields daily vlogs when they were 10 mins.. perfect .. too long now.. and Rick is just so boring!

As for the clubs so long as they still look and perform well people can play with them and not be suckered in by new

I have my own head covers on my woods and my driver is black so always looks just a driver .. nobody would know the model without reading it.. so long as it goes and doesn’t break no need to replace

Titleist and ping are very much bland to look at but that means they don’t look dated as quick

 

[Wolf]

I’m the same with rick. He got me into golf youtube but he is now he is the last one I enjoy watching ... used to religiously watch crossfields daily vlogs when they were 10 mins.. perfect .. too long now.. and Rick is just so boring!

As for the clubs so long as they still look and perform well people can play with them and not be suckered in by new

I have my own head covers on my woods and my driver is black so always looks just a driver .. nobody would know the model without reading it.. so long as it goes and doesn’t break no need to replace

Titleist and ping are very much bland to look at but that means they don’t look dated as quick

I find he's posting far to much in to short a time frame these days, so instead of posting decent relevant material it's gimmicky and with his delivery just very boring. He's got another new video put on him playing golf whilst hypnotised. Really does anyone care Rick!

Much better guys out there doing more interesting stuff.

 

[Orikoru]

If they brought out drivers named 'TS2' and 'TS3' surely logic suggests there would be a TS1 at some point!

 

[Britishshooting]

Is the brought out drivers named 'TS2' and 'TS3' surely logic suggests there would be a TS1 at some point!

915 release was D2,D3 and then they later released D4 for 'extreme spin reduction'. If i remember correctly I don't think this was exactly an off the rack purchase and i' sure it had a higher RRP.

917 was just D2 and D3

TS is now the T1-T4.

I think it's more down to tour/consumer validation and feedback, there was obviously scope for something more forgiving for slow swing speeds, and something on the other end of the spectrum to knock spin off. I don''t think either particularly appeals to the mass market.

I don't mind the later releases, I think it's ideal to have a larger range, it's not much different to the iron set ranges they do, it was just a staggered release due to feedback.


Having said this I went to leeds yesterday to squeeze into a titleist thursday session, sad I know. I tried the TS4 and spin was down a a couple hundred rpm's for me but no real improvement in numbers. I got more carry with the TS3 but there wasn't a deal in it. Any slight mishits I felt were punished more with the TS4 and dispersion was down.

I think the TS4 is for a very small minority, if you were correctly fit into a TS2 or TS3 I imagine there would be little to no improvement with the new options brought to the line-up.

 

[drewster]

Intel did just this with Coffeelake.

Initially released just a few SKUs then a few months later filled in the gaps. I was glad I waited as I was able to save a huge chunk of cash and still get performance.

At first they just offered the i5 8400 and i7 8700 before adding an 8600 and 8500...

It’s not just those two companies, it’s pretty common practice!

Can you translate this in Layman's terms for me please ? I've read it twice and have absolutely no idea what you're on about ?

 

[Slab]

It does seem he's quite agitated about it, although it looks like he's unhappy about it on behalf on someone else; Mr/Mrs Superfanboy/girl (who hasn't necessarily said whether they're unhappy about it or not)

 

[Grant85]

Hi,

Rick Shiels has recently released a video regarding the new Titleist and Ping drivers.

In the video, he talks about how Titleist have released two drivers around 10 months ago and have now announced they are adding two more to the 'family' (ts1 and ts4). He explains that if you have recently been fitted to a ts2 or ts3 you might have missed out on your max performance that could have came from the ts1 or ts4. So you've now spent £450 on a driver that isn't the best for you. Instead should companies announce whats coming out so golfers can make a decision whether to wait?

I understand that they run a business and if they stagger release the new drivers it might add up more sales or even people quickly swapping to the new club (extra £450)
*Note* I might not have explained this fully.

What are your thoughts on that subject?

My thoughts are that if you spend £450 on a driver, you want your head looking at. Unless it's a once every 10 years type thing.

If you then think you will change that club within a year, regardless of the circumstances, then you want your head looking at.

The more and more reviews / studies / stats that you see confirm that clubs aren't really going that much further.

Tour players are hitting it further due to a combination of modern equipment, fine tuning set ups, ball, technique and conditioning. No one is picking up a brand new club and hitting it miles further than last years model.

Companies are in the business of making money. They will tell whatever story they can get away with as part of the marketing blurb, but ultimately if consumers keep paying the money, the prices will keep going up.

 

[Dan2501]

I really want to like Rick Shiels content but I just can't watch him, he's so cringey and awkward when talking into the camera. I thought he'd have looked so much more comfortable on camera and talking to people on camera by now, but he's dreadful at it. That Nike interview he did still hangs in the memory, the cringe was on a different level that day, was difficult to watch.

This is it. God, so awkward.

 

[Britishshooting]

My thoughts are that if you spend £450 on a driver, you want your head looking at. Unless it's a once every 10 years type thing.

If you then think you will change that club within a year, regardless of the circumstances, then you want your head looking at.

The more and more reviews / studies / stats that you see confirm that clubs aren't really going that much further.

Tour players are hitting it further due to a combination of modern equipment, fine tuning set ups, ball, technique and conditioning. No one is picking up a brand new club and hitting it miles further than last years model.

Companies are in the business of making money. They will tell whatever story they can get away with as part of the marketing blurb, but ultimately if consumers keep paying the money, the prices will keep going up.

I don't agree with the first part, we all have different hobbies, interests and financial burdens.

I can see where your coming from, but it also depends how you look at it. Way I see it, I'll have had my TS3 for 2 years when the new model releases. I'll try the new model and even if there is only one yard of additional carry and 1% increase in dispersion i'll buy the new model and sell my old TS3 whilst it still has some value. I imagine anywhere around $200 which offsets the cost of new driver, this also prevents me spending money on replacement shafts.

I pretty much follow this rule and pretty much replace my gear in line with titleists bi yearly releases., with exception of my putter. I personally like shiny new stuff, so why not sell 2 year old stuff whilst it still has some decent value and then only pay about half the cost for the shiny new stuff, same with irons and wedges.

Totally agree though with regards to increase of performance with new releases or lack thereof.

 

[Grant85]

I don't agree with the first part, we all have different hobbies, interests and financial burdens.

I can see where your coming from, but it also depends how you look at it. Way I see it, I'll have had my TS3 for 2 years when the new model releases. I'll try the new model and even if there is only one yard of additional carry and 1% increase in dispersion i'll buy the new model and sell my old TS3 whilst it still has some value. I imagine anywhere around $200 which offsets the cost of new driver, this also prevents me spending money on replacement shafts.

I pretty much follow this rule and pretty much replace my gear in line with titleists bi yearly releases., with exception of my putter. I personally like shiny new stuff, so why not sell 2 year old stuff whilst it still has some decent value and then only pay about half the cost for the shiny new stuff, same with irons and wedges.

Totally agree though with regards to increase of performance with new releases or lack thereof.

I accept it's a legitimate part of the enjoyment in terms of testing and trying new equipment, and likely that everyone can improve on what they've got to some extent. But in my view, the people rushing out to buy the latest gear are not helping things.

Golf continues to get more expensive and the guy turning up to try out the sport with a 15 year old set of clubs out of his brothers garage, will likely feel out of place and be less inclined to continue with the sport.

 

[BristolMike]

What if the you hit the TS4 even straighter, further and more consistently than the TS3 for the same price and less than a year later?

Realistically that’s unlikely. If you needed what the TS4 offers (430cc head and v v low spin) it’s unlikely that the TS3 was the best driver for you at that time and you would be in a different head. It’s only going to be good for a high level player who hits the middle extremely consistently, otherwise it will be a horrible driver for you. It’s not the first time Titleist have released a special order D4 version of their drivers either.

Also the drivers have been rumoured for quite a while.

 

[garyinderry]

I had the 915 d4 head for a while. 10.5 loft.

Spun like a top. Haha

 

[Jacko_G]

I accept it's a legitimate part of the enjoyment in terms of testing and trying new equipment, and likely that everyone can improve on what they've got to some extent. But in my view, the people rushing out to buy the latest gear are not helping things.

Golf continues to get more expensive and the guy turning up to try out the sport with a 15 year old set of clubs out of his brothers garage, will likely feel out of place and be less inclined to continue with the sport.

Second paragraph is utter nonsense in my view. Will the guy who hires skis to go skiing feel out of place when on the slopes? Did I feel out of place in a borrowed wet suit when I tried windsurfing?

Everyone starts somewhere and most of the time that includes borrowed clubs from a friend or family member. It saves an initial output and gives them the chance to have a bit of fun.

Life is full of examples of borrowing/buying second hand equipment to get you started off.

 

[Wolf]

Second paragraph is utter nonsense in my view. Will the guy who hires skis to go skiing feel out of place when on the slopes? Did I feel out of place in a borrowed wet suit when I tried windsurfing?

Everyone starts somewhere and most of the time that includes borrowed clubs from a friend or family member. It saves an initial output and gives them the chance to have a bit of fun.

Life is full of examples of borrowing/buying second hand equipment to get you started off.

I'm in full agreement with you here. It doesn't have to be expensive, none of us have to buy the latest and most expensive available to man.

When I returned to playing I had a bag full of 2nd stuff and have just started replacing now. Flip side of that I'd still be happy to buy a 2nd hand set of irons in good nick.

There's so many bargains to be had that golf does not have to be expensive, buying a couple of seasons old gear isn't going to cause a massive dent in the pocket and won't really leave you far behind in technology. Same for clothing doesn't all have to be the latest Adidas or FJ, a non labelled polo and trousers from a high street retailer is fine.

Golf if anything is so much more accessible now than ever at a lower cost because of the quality of 2nd hand gear and deals on everywhere to play.

 

[Crow]

I accept it's a legitimate part of the enjoyment in terms of testing and trying new equipment, and likely that everyone can improve on what they've got to some extent. But in my view, the people rushing out to buy the latest gear are not helping things.

Golf continues to get more expensive and the guy turning up to try out the sport with a 15 year old set of clubs out of his brothers garage, will likely feel out of place and be less inclined to continue with the sport.

I agree, far too modern.