TM at it again!

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Have never understood the 'need' to have the latest model other than to show you can have it. Anyway if Fred MacLashem wishes to wax lyrical on how the latest Plike GAF 12.4deg hybrid clincher and a steal deal at £225 is the 'game changing' club for him and has enabled him to get his h'cap from 24.7 down to 24.3 - then so be it. Me? just a bit more practice does and try and hole a couple more 6ft putts every round (and that is free).

 

[brendy]

I dont think it matters how often they bring something new out. As a golfer you can try before you buy, if it doesnt work, dont buy it.
I wouldnt go slagging a company just because it is eager to get new products onto the market.
I am not overly brand loyal but think that it is maybe a good move doing something annually if it could possibly benefit me but I wouldnt change without good reason to.
Resale prices on 2nd hand golf clubs stink already so bringing out clubs more often doesnt really make a huge difference, usually when I am looking to change my old clubs would be battered anyway.

 

[User20205]

Surley you don't believe marketing messages though... if you believe them then your probably driving with 350 carry this year

What are the titleist marketing messages for the new 913 driver? Does it include Rory tweeting about how much extra he is getting with his driver?

aren't you ??:thup:

fair point, all the club manufacturers are guilty, but none are as blatant as TM. It may be counter productive, Taylormade product launches are like buses, if you miss one another will be along in a minute

 

[Hobbit]

Heard from a couple of pro's that the R11S is being dropped from the range because its just not moving in large enough numbers. RBZ's are still difficult to stock in enough numbers to satisfy demand.

 

[duncan mackie]

Does it really make any difference how often they release something? Why does anybody care? Surey your not suggesting that people buy a new bit of kit every time somebody releases a new one ( that's not the manufacturers problem it's the idiot that buys it).

finally some sense.

and buying last years model represents excellent value as someone who purchased RAC LT2 graphites at £80 and R9TP's at £249

however, the real key is in the underlying reasons for this cycling - TM are doing it in response to the retail sector, not to drive it.

As to the shaft options - someone's having a laugh again. The R11S driver has 21 custom shaft options (with flex options on top of that). The RBZ irons have 11. You want more - actually I am not sure there are any more; basically TM will fit just about any shaft you want.

I'm not a fanboy defending my buying decision, I've sets of Wilson, Callaway as well as some Pings and if I had lots of money I would probably buy some MP59's. I'm responding because I find it amazing that a manufacturer delivering exactly what the buying public ask for end up the frequent target for doing exactly that.

Weird.

 

[BTatHome]

aren't you ??:thup:

fair point, all the club manufacturers are guilty, but none are as blatant as TM. It may be counter productive, Taylormade product launches are like buses, if you miss one another will be along in a minute

as a buyer surely being able to pick up something that is New is good, rather than going in looking for a new tittie driver today and finding the 910 is 2 years old?

 

[Qwerty]

I'm no marketing expert, but it seems to me that it's similar to a teenager wanting the latest pair of trainers, and it is mainly younger Golfers that have a bag full of TM gear.
The last bit of TM kit I had was the XR03 driver, now that was Long!

They do make good gear, especially drivers, but I won't buy the stuff on principle now, and the fact that most TM stuff looks and sounds like its been bought from Toys R Us.

 

[BTatHome]

What principle are you upholding?

I have to say I'm really struggling to understand what it is that gets up people's backs, as Duncan said it really is the market that is dictating this.

 

[thecraw]

Heard from a couple of pro's that the R11S is being dropped from the range because its just not moving in large enough numbers. RBZ's are still difficult to stock in enough numbers to satisfy demand.

Correct.

R11s has flopped compared to RBZ.

 

[thecraw]

Does it really make any difference how often they release something? Why does anybody care? Surey your not suggesting that people buy a new bit of kit every time somebody releases a new one ( that's not the manufacturers problem it's the idiot that buys it).

If your thinking about resale value then again you've bought it for the wrong reason, your club should last enough to mean resale value is not a big factor .... And if it does then buy after a year then you get the benefit of the price crash (if you buy off at the start then you'll probably be in the first group of people mentioned already).

It certainly does matter if your a stockist as you have to heavily discount stock to punt it and usually struggle to break even. TM have dropped the r11s to £250 with a recommendation of a further drop to £220.

My mate stopped stocking TM / Adidas for this very reason when American Golf was buying in such huge quantity that they managed to reduce shirts to cheaper than he could purchase them cost and when there is an AG in the area its financial suicide.

Also Titleist and Ping give they're products a 2 year life cycle.

 

[One Planer]

What principle are you upholding?

I have to say I'm really struggling to understand what it is that gets up people's backs, as Duncan said it really is the market that is dictating this.

I think what annoys people is the fact it's always the same line.

Longer, faster , straighter etc.

With the frequency they are upating their product lines, there is no way that technology has improved at a pace that delivers the results they claim.

 

[BTatHome]

I think what annoys people is the fact it's always the same line.

Longer, faster , straighter etc.

With the frequency they are upating their product lines, there is no way that technology has improved at a pace that delivers the results they claim.

As before, anybody that believes the marketing lines must be a great consumer for all brands to sell to.

 

[CMAC]

I'm delighted they keep coming up with new 'products', I struggled finding a driver I liked out of this years options, plus they were all £250+
Tried a TM superfast burner- the black one- loved it without knowing the shaft and bought it from AG for £65......result.

Might look at adding the RBZ 3 wood if its that good especially if it comes down again.
Wonder why they might be dumping the RBZ range before Christmas, I can see an RBZ mk11 though, the way Beemer and Audi do each year with basically the same model, but freshens it up a tad.

 

[GB72]

Not sure that this is a new thing. GM has been doing a Forum opportunity around February every year to fit people for the new TM woods. R9 and Burner changed to R11 and Burner 2.0 in a year then changed to R11s and RBZ a year later. In fact most brands seem to have an annual update of their ranges (Nike, Callaway, Cleveland). There must be a market for it or they would not do it. Clearly enough people want to start a season with a new Driver to make it viable. There is always a financial penalty for early adopters of any form of technology

The only people I feel slightly sorry for are those who pay full whack one day to see the price reduced the next but that risk is not unique to golf.

 

[seochris]

Their R&D and marketing costs must be huge as must their fees to all the pros who play TM. So given that their clubs retail at and about average where is the value...or saving?

Do they sell huge volumes to the public (us) or is the quality of the products they sell poor?

(I saw a second hand set of TM irons in a pro shop yesterday and they really looked tatty! They could not have been more than a couple of years old)

I Dont know.

 

[GB72]

The problem is that you need to release something new to get any decent marketing. A year old club is not going to get column inches in magazines or mentions on TV etc in fact it would even be difficult to build a press and TV campaign based on year old product. The retail price is also invariably going to drop so profits for retailers and suppliers will too over the life of a club. Simple fact is that to get press and stimulate sales a company has to keep releasing new product.

 

[brendy]

How many different manufacturers of all types of products out there have an annual cycle though?
Ford etc bring out a new model every year, it may have AC, Sat nav or colour coded bumpers, but still, its a new model, new and improved.

Golf shoes, new model fresh for 2012, it has a different strip up the side or coloured laces, new and improved.

Cuppa Soup, low fat new and improved recipe....

Jeans, in this years style or colour, new and improved...

 

[BTatHome]

Apple ... Anyone buy a iphone 4s last year ... Even though it was very similar to the 4 from the year before?

 

[Deleted member 1147]

The money they spend is huge and it is entirely possible that every year they can bring out a better model.
Look at F1, week on week they can bring new parts which improve.

I met a guy not so long ago who worked at Callaway, he used to work on metalurgic stress at Rolls Royce and moved to Cally because they did similar work on stress analysis with similar equipment, models and expertise as RR but for more pay.
As such I can believe the equipment gets better, my R11 is much better than any of my prior drivers, but the idiot using it doesn't.

 

[Hobbit]

How many different manufacturers of all types of products out there have an annual cycle though?
Ford etc bring out a new model every year, it may have AC, Sat nav or colour coded bumpers, but still, its a new model, new and improved.

Golf shoes, new model fresh for 2012, it has a different strip up the side or coloured laces, new and improved.

Cuppa Soup, low fat new and improved recipe....

Jeans, in this years style or colour, new and improved...

Don't know what the name is now but even back in the early 70's it was called "planned obsolecence." Its a well established practice that most maunfacturers in most industries use. Keeps R&D employed, and keeps a linear cash flow going.

If I fancied something I used to wait a year then buy it. Sadly, I've fallen foul of TM's marketing and have bought new RBZ woods, hybrid and irons in the last few month - thankfully posting my best round for a few years last week... so that means they're right, yeh?