COMMUNITY

I would have to take door number two.
I have been through the clup hype and it killed my handicap. I played Hogans all my life but two years ago I bought into the Callaway RZR irons because they were a little less expensive everyone was buying them like hot cakes and so on. When I say they killed the handi trust me I went from a 10 to almost a 16. A six shot swing in less than a year drives you crazy as a golfer.
I went back to the store and bought Mizunos. What I should have bought in the first damn palce, they are forged clubs not becuase of the hype but they felt just like my old Hogans.
I just see winning tournaments out lasting a endorsement check any day of the week. I think most pro golfers feel the same way. I could be wrong and if so tell me. The ones that do change are done, because it takes a long time to get adjusted to a new club even for a pro.
Now Nike on the other hand is very different. They built a club around Tiger to boost sales. It has worked because golfers can play the same club as Tiger of course to some degree. Case in point Callaway didn't make a club for Phil, Phil played what Callaway already had going for other players that signed with them.

#2 easily. Unlike a lot of pros who just want to make money, my goal would be to win, win, and win. I'd love to have sponsorships, especially from my favorite brands of Loudmouth and Nike, but as a whole I want to win. Not just make money and establish a set financial situation for life.

I do not think it matters much at the professional level, for amateurs equipment can make a big diference, but for the pros it should not matter much.

I don't believe that the equipment makes one single damn bit of difference at the professional level. Even a low handicapper can hit damn near anything. I could play just about any driver you put in my hands (provided the shaft and loft are right), I just like the look and feel of mine. The only club I'd make an argument for is the putter, because a golfers relationship with his flatstick is akin to that of an old lover. But for the irons, wedges and long clubs, I say that Tiger wins the 2000 US open by a landslide even if he was playing Mizuno's or Rory sets records at the 2011 US open even if he was playing TaylorMade's. I don't buy ANY of the marketing crap. The fact is at the end of the year, 100 different manufacturers will be able to claim being in the bag of a winner on the PGA tour.

So I'd take option #1, knowing that I'm not hurting my chances of winning at all....

If I was playing golf for money, I would like to have a lot of cash saved up beforehand so that I could tour around and pick option #2. Because I want to play the clubs I like to see sitting down at the ball. I want to win golf tournaments, not make sponsorship dollars.

The problem with that is, many upstart professionals don't have the cash reserves to sustain a Tour lifestyle. Travel and lodging gets expensive, especially if you miss cuts. Sponsors start looking at you when you get up to the top of the Nationwide Tour because they feel you have a chance to be a viable billboard to advertise their product on the PGA Tour. Then they come at you with "Play our clubs, and wear our apparel, and we'll cover your tournament entry fees." That can be VERY attractive to a young pro who is looking at the immense costs to play the PGA Tour. And I gotta say, if I was that young pro, I'd probably take the deal.

Now why do established pros, who have the money to play on Tour on their own dollar, still continue their endorsement deals? Well for one thing, they may actually LIKE the clubs they are playing. After all, a lot of these clubs are quite good. But the real reason is simple: Much wants more. Why make $1 million when you can make $2 million?

And think of other endorsements too...banks, life insurance, etc. You gotta know that Phil is getting some serious perks at Barclays for banking with them and wearing their logo.

Here's an amusing story about Tiger's endorsement deal with Nike. When Tiger first came out, winning his first Masters, the irons in his bag were Mizuno MP-14s. Anyone who's hit those know that they are arguably the best clubs Mizuno ever made. (If you come across a set in good shape, get them.) Well, Titleist saw immense potential in an endorsement deal with Tiger. But in order for him to play their stuff, they had to basically copy the MP-14. It had the Titleist "look" but was made to perform exactly the same. Then Nike approached Tiger shortly thereafter with a better (more cash) deal, and they did the exact same thing...worked with Tiger to re-create his old MP-14s. I can almost guarantee you that Tiger would have played Mizuno for forever if they were a larger company. But their intent has been to remain small and produce high quality equipment rather than explode into a big company.

Want to know the funny thing about all that, though? Even the Mizuno MP-14 was a DIRECT copy of the first iron the Ben Hogan company ever produced, way back in 1957...the Precision model. All Mizuno did was add a little more bounce in the sole because turf conditions had become softer and more uniform.

So all this time, Tiger's endorsers have been trying to replicate a 55 year old club.

You should note polo1576, that most endorsement deals have 2 or 3 club exception clauses (Tiger and his Titleist putter, Steve Stricker and his Odyssey putter, Luke Donald plays TaylorMade woods - that have Mizuno head covers on them ect.) So you have a little bit of freedom in your bag, even under contract.

Don't think I will ever be good enough to have to pick, But if I did I would take deal #2, Wins would be great.

Agree with a lot of the comments. When we think of option #1 or option #2 we generally are thinking about highly ranked name brand players and not those players who are fighting to get or keep their PGA Tour card.

I don't think most of us appreciate how difficult professional golf is on the tour. Why? Because when you think the PGA Tour you think of the household names who make millions and who have the talent to stay ranked within the top 50.

If I am player #124 I am taking the endorsment deal EVERYTIME...and you would too. The "play my own equipment and win" comment is a farce, because if you are ranked below say 75 you aren't winning and the majority of pro golfers come in way after the top 125. We see big paychecks but even the top 125 its ends meat when you factor in travel costs, hotel, food etc to every tour destination...you miss the cut...no cash for you. All of a sudden $300k...$30k goes to your caddy...uncle sam and state taxes dwindles it to $150,000. If you are married and have a home your mortgage, taxes and costs of living are going to yor family and then you have to pay for your own way on tour including tournament registration fees.

The life a professional golfer is not an easy one for the vast majority. $300k at the bottom of the PGA Tour sounds great but its not real money...and those guys live and die every tournament hoping and praying that they keep their tour card.

So yes...I ideally you would like your own clubs...but unless you are elite you make the deal.

Good comment (all of the comments are valid opinions) When these guys interview on tv, I try to listen as closely as possible. I hear a lot of "my bills are paid on time" or something referenced to I have to feed my kids, mortgage. I believe that for some of these guys, (not the ones that are making millions on top of millions) are in a life or death situation. Golf looks like glitz and glam on tv, and they never show you the part that this guy didn't make the cut and he has to go back home and ask for another extension on this or that. He has to move back in with his parents... Just think, Jeremy Lin, who's in the NBA was sleeping on his brothers couch.... No one thinks that an NBA Player, a PGA player, or any professional athlete does these types of things because of what the media makes us believe. They show us the houses, the cars, the things that we wish we could be doing and can't. They don't like to show the real side of things. I guess its like one of the comments said, you are coming up in the nationwide tour, you have not won, and someone sees you as potential. You are going to take that check. You think Lin said, nah, I'm good sleeping on my brother’s couch. No, now he is subleasing a spot on the 20th floor of the Trump Towers where the "ballers" live. I look at it like this. Maybe your parents were well off, and you never had to worry about anything, and when you made it to the top, you were use to it, and still didn't get it. On the other hand, if you had to scrap, scratch, claw, or do what ever you had to do to get in, knowing 30 days come around really fast, your hunger might be different. The person who has always had it may feed off the hunger that I may need to keep it going in my family, heritage, EXPECTATION and the other guy might be like the story of this is my week to move out of my car into just a bed period. I saw a story on Charles Howell III, and he was expected to win and shot to the top because "they" thought his swing was perfect.....Life kicked in, and he got it. Real life kicked in.

This has turned into a good topic, keep the thoughts coming.

#2 without a doubt

Here is another example: Zach Johnson. Zach Johnson is a member of my country club and when he went professional a handful of our members invested in Zach Johnson. They literally received shares, and in return offered the money that would allow Zach to play on the PGA Tour without cash worries for the chance to follow his dream.

Without that assurance...who knows if Zach Johnson ever cracks the top 100...who knows if he wins the Masters. Most PGA Tour players don't have that kind of financial support and others are just so talented that they can win 40 times on tour. Zach is a Titleist guy...fortunately he has played Titleists for a long time and he loves them.

Danny I think that if you will check next time you see Tiger you will see he is using a NIKE METHOD not a Titleist.

Tiger used his Scotty for a long, long time after he switched to Nike. That was part of his deal. He started messing around with different putters when his putting stroke went south last year, and I guess settled on the Nike.

That being said, I'm sure Nike is more than pleased to have him using their putter.

The way he putted Sunday I don't think its the putter I think its just Tiger.

Goynes first post points out that in real life sometimes there is an option #4. When Nike first signed Tiger there wasn't anything in their product line that would indicate they could make a club to compare with what the other major club manufacturers put out there. But as most of us know, these are anything but stock clubs the sponsored pros are playing and they obviously convinced Tiger that they had the talent and the commitment to make him a set he'd be happy playing.

Now this is a major advantage of a sponsored deal that hasn't really been discussed yet. Not only do you get the sponsor money, but you get a ton of custom work and ongoing tweaking at no cost to the player.

Now not every manufacturer has the talent or the wear with all to create a custom set across all clubs for each of their sponsored players, so the scenario of option #1 is valid. But so is option #4.