Have there been any equipment sales failures in the last 10 years?

[BarrySanders]

Just wondering. From the current top 10 major brands, have any lines been a commercial failure? I was thinking maybe the Callaway V series, but I could be wrong

[bvanlieu]

GAPR springs to mind. 

 

PM grind wedges didn't fly off the shelves...those who are in the know love 'em 🙂  

 

 

[FifeRiviera]

15 minutes ago, bvanlieu said:

GAPR springs to mind. 

 

PM grind wedges didn't fly off the shelves...those who are in the know love 'em 🙂  

 

 

 

Gapr and 97% of other driving irons. 

 

Manufacturers fault really for continually beating the "Youre not good enough for these so heres newer easier to play super game improvement irons" No one thinks they can hit an iron anymore!

[GHIN n Juice]

GAPR is funny to me because I still carry 2 of them, lol.

 

To me the marketing/ sales failure of the last 10 years is the SLDR irons.  They were, to me, the beginning of the players distance category with their shorter heel to toe, fairly thinner topline and distance.  If they’d had a name independent of the SLDR driver and weren’t a mid cycle release I think they would have been huge sellers.

[Mych]

For the amount of marketing Wilson did through their Driver vs Driver reality show competitions, I don't think either driver (Cortex & Triton) performed or sold very well.

Edited December 5, 2022 by Mych

[BagofToast]

4 hours ago, bvanlieu said:

GAPR springs to mind. 

 

PM grind wedges didn't fly off the shelves...those who are in the know love 'em 🙂  

 

 

 

1 hour ago, GHIN n Juice said:

GAPR is funny to me because I still carry 2 of them, lol.

 

To me the marketing/ sales failure of the last 10 years is the SLDR irons.  They were, to me, the beginning of the players distance category with their shorter heel to toe, fairly thinner topline and distance.  If they’d had a name independent of the SLDR driver and weren’t a mid cycle release I think they would have been huge sellers.

Don’t think it flew off the shelves but I’ve seen a ton of GAPRs in peoples bags 

[nick_CO]

Auto flex is feeling like a failure. 

[Punchy7Iron]

18 minutes ago, nick_CO said:

Auto flex is feeling like a failure. 

Don’t think it’s a failure per se. 
 

I’ve seen plenty old hackers with too much money have them. Normal people ain’t paying that! 

[rukahs]

JET SPEED !!! HAHA

 

 

 

 

 

INSTANT THOUGHT 😂

Edited December 5, 2022 by rukahs

[J_Tizzle]

I mean in the last 10 years, I think most of the Nike drivers were pretty much busts.

 

From the main brands that are still around, I always think with like TM and Callaway they turn stuff out so fast that sometimes you'll just have a turd year and no big improvements over previous models so people just ignore the current model and stick with the old one because they know that there will be another model coming out in 12 months.  One of the reasons I love Ping woods, they turn them at such a slow rate that you're not instantly playing an old model.

[darkhelmet]

How long was the Mavrik line out?  I wasn't really paying attention because I was out for a number of years with multiple shoulder surgeries. 

 

Decided to get new irons with a lighter build once my recovery was done, and I hit a bunch of irons about 2 years ago in the fall, figuring I'd go through a fitting in the spring.  Really liked the Mavrik Pro irons and decided that was what I was going to get, but by the time Spring rolled around, Mavrik Pro was no more, and I think the rest of the lineup followed soon after.

 

And actually, it was down to the Apex (not Pro) for me and the Mavrik Pro.  Liked the Mavrik Pro just a little more, and the cost difference was also a nice benefit.  But those 2 irons seemed almost interchangeable, at least from the type of player they were targeting.  Maybe too much overlap in the product lines, and they figured they could make more money with the Apex?

[cgasucks]

19 minutes ago, rukahs said:

JET SPEED !!! HAHA

 

 

 

 

 

INSTANT THOUGHT 😂

 

When you see tour quality OEM clubs sold at your local Walmart you know it was a dud.

[cgasucks]

1 hour ago, Mych said:

For the amount of marketing Wilson did through their driver design TV competitions, I don't think either driver performed or sold very well.

 

Sort of.  Some people bought them just for its stock shaft.

[jholz]

A cousin of the Jetspeed, I'd forward the TM SLDR as a pretty poor overall driver design that didn't last. Weight forward worked great for some. Worked great for many sometimes - but not so great most of the time.

 

Overall it was just too unstable for the vast majority of golfers. TM quickly abandoned and went back to their traditional, more-weight-back, designs and nomenclature to erase it from everyone's memory.

 

At least that's my theory. But as we all know, I'm an idiot. Take it for what's its worth.

[TheBear95]

45 minutes ago, jholz said:

A cousin of the Jetspeed, I'd forward the TM SLDR as a pretty poor overall driver design that didn't last. Weight forward worked great for some. Worked great for many sometimes - but not so great most of the time.

 

Overall it was just too unstable for the vast majority of golfers. TM quickly abandoned and went back to their traditional, more-weight-back, designs and nomenclature to erase it from everyone's memory.

 

At least that's my theory. But as we all know, I'm an idiot. Take it for what's its worth.

 

Yeah, but people purchased it. Hell, the SLDR sold well enough that TM brought out a white and a non-adjustable version soon after.

 

One that stands out to me was the Ping i25 woods line. For a Ping product, didn't seem to sell well and of course it was the last of the "i" branded series of woods.

[J_Tizzle]

20 minutes ago, TheBear95 said:

 

Yeah, but people purchased it. Hell, the SLDR sold well enough that TM brought out a white and a non-adjustable version soon after.

 

One that stands out to me was the Ping i25 woods line. For a Ping product, didn't seem to sell well and of course it was the last of the "i" branded series of woods.

 

Oh man the i25 "onnset" driver.  Just unplayable lol.

[rkillian]

1 hour ago, darkhelmet said:

How long was the Mavrik line out?  I wasn't really paying attention because I was out for a number of years with multiple shoulder surgeries. 

 

Decided to get new irons with a lighter build once my recovery was done, and I hit a bunch of irons about 2 years ago in the fall, figuring I'd go through a fitting in the spring.  Really liked the Mavrik Pro irons and decided that was what I was going to get, but by the time Spring rolled around, Mavrik Pro was no more, and I think the rest of the lineup followed soon after.

 

And actually, it was down to the Apex (not Pro) for me and the Mavrik Pro.  Liked the Mavrik Pro just a little more, and the cost difference was also a nice benefit.  But those 2 irons seemed almost interchangeable, at least from the type of player they were targeting.  Maybe too much overlap in the product lines, and they figured they could make more money with the Apex?

I play Mavrik Pros and see a lot of the Mavrik wood and iron line out on courses. One of my female golfers plays standard mavrik irons and at the state championships both this year and last I saw quite a few players with Mavrik woods and/or irons. 

 

The non-apex series irons are just on short product cycles.

 

[bcflyguy1]

In 2013, the R1 (and its face paint marketing) and RBZ Stage 2 (with the bright yellow Gilligan hats) sold so poorly that TaylorMade absolutely lost its collective mind and rushed the SLDR (the 460cc driver with all the playability of persimmon) and JetSpeed to market only 6 months later. That 12 month span is amongst the most disastrous in industry history. TM managed to burn bridges with distribution partners AND customers, culminating in a decline so severe that it led the Adidas group to sell it off for a pittance.

Edited December 5, 2022 by bcflyguy1

[Northsider]

The Callaway Optiforce and TM Jetspeed come to mind.

[kdog25]

1 hour ago, jholz said:

A cousin of the Jetspeed, I'd forward the TM SLDR as a pretty poor overall driver design that didn't last. Weight forward worked great for some. Worked great for many sometimes - but not so great most of the time.

 

Overall it was just too unstable for the vast majority of golfers. TM quickly abandoned and went back to their traditional, more-weight-back, designs and nomenclature to erase it from everyone's memory.

 

At least that's my theory. But as we all know, I'm an idiot. Take it for what's its worth.

SLDR was one of the best drivers I’ve ever owned. Still have it.  But you’re probably correct in that it wasn’t good for the masses. 
 

And isn’t the Stealth Plus (that so many love) weight forward? And the SIM?

[TwistedSister]

3 hours ago, jholz said:

A cousin of the Jetspeed, I'd forward the TM SLDR as a pretty poor overall driver design that didn't last. Weight forward worked great for some. Worked great for many sometimes - but not so great most of the time.

 

Overall it was just too unstable for the vast majority of golfers. TM quickly abandoned and went back to their traditional, more-weight-back, designs and nomenclature to erase it from everyone's memory.

 

At least that's my theory. But as we all know, I'm an idiot. Take it for what's its worth.

Nothing tops the SLDR 430 model driver.  Great spin and distance.  Can't call it a failure.

[jholz]

I know that there was some very decided love for the SLDR. I think those that have brought up the i25 driver (also i20) are along the same lines. I'll add another one in there - the Callaway FT Tour.

 

These were all clubs that knocked the snot out of the ball. Some people loved them as a result.

 

Keeping it in play, at least (seemingly) for the majority, was another matter.

[VNutz]

Can't call SLDR a failure, that had to have some of the greatest sales numbers ever. If you were good enough to swing it that thing was a beast.

 

I don't think there are a ton of failures nowadays, just maybe a lack of marketing push behind certain clubs since the product cycle is so incredibly short nowadays. GAPR has been so good for so many people, but TM moved past it and onto other things so quickly that it didn't have much of a chance. Kinda fitting that the Adams style clubs were overlooked.

[SUITS]

I think the ping Anser line was a very hit and miss for them. I don’t recall a ton of the pros playing the driver. The hybrid was popular amongst many and was the best offering of the line IMO. I don’t think I have ever seen any of the fairways in the wild amongst Playing partners or at the bag drop for that matter. 

[PittShark]

7 hours ago, RH82 said:

The Callaway Optiforce and TM Jetspeed come to mind.

Had to go image search the Optiforce.  Wow, now that I look at it I remember it but honestly I completely forgot that driver existed.  

[kkennedy]

How did the Cleveland HiBore do?

[larciel]

since this is DND forum, I'd say every driver at retail price is a sales failure. $499 for SLDR TP?!?! $599 for TSR?!?! Driver depreciates in value so much, it'd better to buy 2nd hand or in 6 months.

 

Of course, if I can resist that temptation, I wouldn't be in wrx. lol

[Mych]

15 hours ago, SUITS said:

I think the ping Anser line was a very hit and miss for them. I don’t recall a ton of the pros playing the driver. The hybrid was popular amongst many and was the best offering of the line IMO. I don’t think I have ever seen any of the fairways in the wild amongst Playing partners or at the bag drop for that matter. 

 

That must be why I love my Anser 4W. I don't get along with FW's that everybody loves, so it only makes sense that I love the 4W that nobody else liked. 🙂

 

I'll add that the recent new lines of "premium" putters from major brands have felt like failures to me. Mizuno and Cobra come to mind.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Mych

[Abh159]

1 hour ago, Mych said:

 

That must be why I love my Anser 4W. I don't get along with FW's that everybody loves, so it only makes sense that I love the 4W that nobody else liked. 🙂

 

I'll add that the recent new lines of "premium" putters from major brands have felt like failures to me. Mizuno and Cobra come to mind.

 

I know a fair amount of decent players using the M-Craft line of putters. 

 

On the other hand I've never seen a soul using a Cobra putter. I'm not even sure people who work for Cobra use Cobra putters.

[PureStrikes54]

Rickie Fowler Cobra Rev33 Blades. Too demanding for even Rickie and a price point $500 more than the Tiger blades. Seemed to be only a tiny niche market of traditional blade enthusiasts.